Yes, there is rage, but we can never condone violence or threats of violence.
Take the rage, and make something of it, instead of tearing things down.
Volunteer, contribute to society. Don’t like how things are? Help make them better.
It’s easy to be angry. It’s hard work to improve society.
Don’t like politicians? Why don’t you run, and see if you can do a better job?
Don’t like journalists? It’s hard work to discern the truth and to report on it. The job often entails writing about things people don’t want exposed, that people don’t want to hear.
But without searching, and striving for accuracy and truth, how can we improve our lot?
It’s interesting and concerning to see more threads on food security on various social media channels. With drought hammering many regions around the world that billions rely on for vegetables and fruit, we need to bring this conversation home to BC and the lower mainland.
A key step, in my opinion, would be to halt all further “development” of green and agricultural spaces. All development, for whatever purpose, be it housing or commercial, should be limited to redeveloping areas previously used for such purposes.
And if we can reduce our footprint and re-green spaces, all the better.
We can keep building condo towers, office towers, malls, and warehouses, but what are all those who want to “live, work, and play” in our wonderful region going to eat as supply chains, er, dry up?
We need to dramatically improve our urban/suburban agriculture game.
All schoolyards should have gardens. Lawns should be replaced with a mix of native plants and edibles. Municipalities should support inititatives that match folks who want to grow gardens and fruit with homeowners who have land but who for various reasons cannot garden.
There are many things we could do if we set our minds and muscles to them!
I’m being repeatedly reminded of people’s stupid behaviour while guiding weekend buses taking folks on hiking tours north of Whistler, BC.
Passing on curves over double-yellow lines? Sure!
Missing head-on collisions by a few meters because of passing on curves over double-yellow lines? Sure!
Not checking your rear-view mirror and hitting the brakes for no apparent reason in your subcompact with a bus behind you? Do you have any clue how far it takes a coach bus to stop?
I’d rank half-ton and 3/4-ton truck drivers as the worst (we’re invincible!), followed by supercar drivers (way more money than responsibility), followed by motorcyclists (gotta go fast, gotta go fast, gotta go fast.)
You may all not care about being in line for a Darwin Award, but I care about the 50+ people on the bus.
I was flabbergasted to get a flyer in the mail today from a major sporting goods chain with $200 – $250 sunglasses for kids so they can look “cool” going back to school.
What the hell?
When so many families can barely afford a standard set of school supplies?
When schools in a relatively affluent area like the BC lower mainland need lunch programs so kids don’t go hungry?
It was wonderful to have the Edmonds City Fair & Car Show back in SE Burnaby, BC, after a 2-year Covid hiatus!
It was a gorgeous day with great entertainment and lots of cool cars.
Here are a few shots of the opening with First Nations blessing, greetings from all levels of government, and a few shots of some of the cars and performers.
Thanks to the City of Burnaby, community organizers, and event staff for a wonderful day!
I was hired to document the event, so this is all I’ll post until I get my edited shots to the organizers.
Eventually I’ll put together a Flickr album as I’ve done with previous City Fairs.
It was a lovely day for a Skytrain/walk to the Farmers Market in New Westminster, BC, late this afternoon. We checked out Tipperary Park, and concluded in the early evening with some time on the river boardwalk.
Putin’s paranoia reaches new heights, or should that be 6-foot depths, as new Russian ban on Americans includes some dead individuals:
“Russia bans more than 900 Americans from entering the country, including President Biden and Secretary Blinken: Russia published its updated “stop list” on Saturday, banning a total of 963 American officials and figures from entering the country.
“The updated list included the majority of US senators and members of the House of Representatives, former and current government officials, journalists, military personnel, advocates, citizens, CEOs — and even a few deceased individuals.
“Longtime Arizona. Sen. John McCain and Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Melissa Drisko, who both died in 2018, were included on the list. . . ”
(CNN)
I’m curious that if the “majority of US senators and members of the House of Representatives” were banned, who is in the minority . . . and more importantly, why?
I took the car in for scheduled service today, and while it was in the shop for about three hours, I wandered up Willingdon to the “Amazing” Brentwood here in Burnaby, BC. Had not yet been in the redeveloped mall.
Yes, it’s impressive in some ways.
But overall I found the ramble along kilometers of concrete sidewalks amid the ever-increasing density of massive new towers diminishing and depressing.
Yes, I know. People need places to live and to work. But the pyramid scheme of “endless” growth on a finite planet is increasingly troubling.
I’ve lived in New York City. I’ve lived in Tokyo. I’ve spent time in Hong Kong. . .
Perhaps I’m sounding NIMBY-ish on a city-wide scale. Perhaps for younger generations oceans of concrete and asphalt are “home.”
But give me lush forests, give me healthy creeks and lakes teeming with life other than human. . . We still have that in Burnaby. But it’s increasingly being hemmed in by walls of glass and steel.
