Image: Buddha Sleeps

Being and Nothingness

Fifty-five years ago today, a Vietnamese monk, Nun Nu Thanh Nuang, poured gasoline and set fire to himself in Hue. Twenty two years ago today, Timothy Leary died in his sleep.

After all these years, I honestly don’t know whether Dr Leary’s work helped us understand why the monk’s death was important to us, or whether he helped mask us from the true meaning by taking us elsewhere. Many saw no conflict in actively protesting and actively tripping. In fact, many claimed then that the “enlightenment” received through herbal and chemical stimulation was an important component of our political activism. These days, I wonder more often whether we were just bullshitting ourselves and simply following the pleasure principle.

In the end, of course, both the revered Buddhist martyr and the revered western materialist trod the same path into being and nothingness.

Night Music: The Crossing

Lowering The Standard of British Journalism

For the few years a long time ago in the 1960s when I was a Tube-riding office worker, enduring the forty-minute commute each way, I read a lot of newspapers; my evening solace was the London Evening Standard . It was the right size for a cramped transit car, a tabloid, but with 60 or 70 pages of solid material. I read a ton of theatre, movie, and book reviews, nearly always completed the cryptic crossword, and kept in touch with sports and business. I was very fond of it, and it was one of the things I missed when I came to Canada in the 1970s.

These days, I read online a couple of British papers every day, but I haven’t looked at an online edition of the Standard for a long time. I vaguely remember being disconcerted by the appointment as the Evening Standard’s editor of George Osborne who had been Finance Minister throughout the socialism for the rich, austerity for the poor years of David Cameron’s bitter regime.  But then I forgot about it.

Until this morning that  is, when I found this incredibly detailed article confirming that Osborne’s business model for the Standard is selling PR as news for a price.  The Standard

“has agreed a £3 million deal with six leading commercial companies, including Google and Uber, promising them “money-can’t-buy” positive news and “favourable” comment coverage … The project, called London 2020, is being directed by Osborne. It effectively sweeps away the conventional ethical divide between news and advertising inside the Standard…

As part of the sales pitch at the Evening Standard’s West London offices, would-be partners were told to expect campaigns that will “generate numerous news stories, comment pieces and high-profile backers”.

London 2020 involves six “themed projects” running for two years. These include politicised initiatives on clean air, plastic pollution, schools and workplace tech and a project designed to address London’s housing crisis. The six 2020 “partners” have each paid half a million pounds to head projects that will be sold to Standard readers as “improving London for the benefit of all.”

According to one insider: “What was being offered was clear – theatrically constructed news, showing everything good being done. “

Not everyone was buying into this scheme. “Some companies, including Starbucks, walked away from the Evening Standard’s pitch, rejecting the offer of paying to boost their reputations through tailored news and comment.” Starbuck’s executive was very clear in his rejection: ”

“Buying positive news coverage is PR death…something you might do in Saudi Arabia, but not here. This wasn’t right for us. We do engage in advertorial [a hybrid mix of advertising and editorial] but that’s just marketing. We don’t need to buy our reputation.”

This is a long read, but well worthwhile.

Clark & East First Avenue Proposal

Back in February, I reported on a major new development project happening on the City-owned and barely used block on the north-east corner of Clark Drive & First Avenue.  When it was first announced I stated my support for the concept. Since then, we have seen some preliminary signs and renderings.

It is by any measure a large scale project.  However, for once I think the Planning Department has chosen an excellent spot for such a large building, at or near the lowest point in Grandview, allowing the building to flow sensibly uphill.  With the additional information to hand, I continue to be a supporter and hope that it gets built.  (My only concerns are noise and pollution mitigation at a very busy intersection).

Needless to say, that is not the opinion of a lot of people in Grandview that I know and trust. But this time, I believe they are wrong and making the wrong complaints about the wrong building. I am dismayed to learn, just last night, that even the GWAC Board has taken a position opposing the scale — though interestingly not the concept nor the location — of the affordable housing/detox centre at First & Clark.

GWAC’s regular monthly meeting on Monday June 4th at 7:00pm in the LTC under Britannia Library will primarily concentrate on this development, with a panel discussion comprised of Vancouver Coastal Health, BC Housing, City of Vancouver, and the project architects.  That will be worth hearing.

The City will be holding an Open House about the same proposal on Monday June 11, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in Room 1236, Building B at VCC 1155 E. Broadway (access of E. 7th Avenue).

Historic Software

I have been viewing CGI movies of historical sites and periods with an eye to patterns of urban growth. In particular, this one that takes detailed looks at Paris through various periods within 2000 years of development.

 

I’m not in a position to argue for or against the historical truth of any of the images imagined, but they sure make the study interesting.  The highly mobile views create an exciting learning experience and just about enough time was spent on each chronological example to keep both the information and the visual activity flowing.

The wonders of super-fast processing would have little value without the content to make it worthwhile. And thanks to YouTube.

The Impromptu Rock Choir: Tonight!

Tonight is Van Morrison night for the no-rehearsal, no-experience-required, all-abilities Impromptu Rock Choir which meets and sings every Tuesday night at the WISE Hall on Adanac.

Tonight from 7:30pm they will be rocking out to “Brown Eyed Girl” and other favourites.

They meet here every Tuesday and they have a website.  Come along and join in just for the fun of it!

Image: And The Trees Danced

Night Music: Riders On The Storm

Poem: Lo And Behold

 

I owned

a copy of the prized

Olympia edition;

the green wash covers

emblazoned blatantly

with Nabokov’s name:

it was the first of his books

I had read.

 

I read

of Dr Humbert’s passion for the inchoate, of

his natural tendency

to banter playfully,

to engage in badinage,

tete-a-tete when lullabies were more

in order.

 

I was lulled by his Lo-ness;

morals melted away

in the face of such cultivated delights.

My concupiscent

member — so far from

deliquescent — expanded

its horizon in the face of such

conspicuous symbols.

 

I re-read

the book this year

after a lapse of decades;

and with the misty

dimness of hindsight

I re-visited the garden

of inspired words

that Nabokov had planted

in Humbert’s name.

 

I swear

the attractive tragedy

was as great today

as it had been yesterday.

But fifty years of

child abuse headlines

has made it unsafe

to appreciate

the Slav bard’s words

in public.

 

A fifty year old now

needs a plain cover

as much as a

fifteen year old

did then.

 

Image: Bold Colour #2

Our Wild Life

Perhaps because we feed them during the winter, our patio garden is often filled in the summer with lots of small birds, crows, squirrels and the like. We very much enjoy their company.

The other day, the Everloving did some spring planting. In one round pot she placed a heliotrope in the middle and surrounded it with quite a few beautiful trailing lobelia. It was perhaps her favourite this so far this year.  Yesterday, we awoke to find that all the lobelia flowers had been chewed off, every one.  This morning, even the stems have gone!

Heliotrope sans lobelia

A few Google searches convince me that it is the mice that are doing it.  They probably climb over our garden wall and see what’s there for the taking.  Damn pirates!  This is taking our welcoming spirit a bit too far!

Night Music: Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll

City Fees and Street Festivals

There is an interesting article published by CBC today regarding the soaring cost of putting on street festivals such as Commercial Drive’s Italian Day (June 10) and the various Car Free Days across Vancouver (July). Most of the increase in costs comes from charges for sanitation/clean up and security/policing costs.

Brunella Gaudio of Italian Day said waste management costs doubled this alone.  The society estimates the festival will cost about $50,000 over their budget this year. Car Free Day has found security cost increases to be the most pressing expenditure.

I’m sure the city could go a long way to assisting with both these expenditures, or at least explain why the costs have escalated so far above wage increases for the workers involved, for example.

 

COPE Candidates On the Drive Saturday!

COPE hopefuls for nominations in this fall’s municipal election will be front and centre at a meet-and-greet tomorrow, Saturday 26th May, at The Drive Coffee Bar, 1670 Commercial, between 1pm and 5pm.

 

Come along and meet some really committed folks who are looking to make our city a better place.

Image: Tulips and Vase

Night Music: Kodachrome

Image: Bird’s Breakfast #1

Night Music: I’ll Stand By You

Image: Gai Lan Emergent