by Sean Orr | Hate and Hateability: Blog Lists Reasons To Hate Vancouver, So We List Reasons To Love It. Hmm, I hate “I Hate Van” because I’ve been hating Van for so much longer, but I hate the Huffington Post’s weak, cheerleading response even more because I can’t stand smarm. Scamcouver might do it better, and though I think it’s a lot easier to hate on Vancouver than to actually go out and make it a better place, I do appreciate the author’s Sense & Sensibility-like stance on shyness being a cop-out.
‘Follow the money’: Hundreds of millions are spent in the Downtown Eastside every year, but where does it all go? Aw, isn’t this swell! Kirk LaPointe decided to grace the DTES with his presence. The neighbourhood shouldn’t be seen as an alien entity that needs more oversight than the rest. How about you follow the money from illicit drugs all the way to Kerrisdale, Coal Harbour, and Yaletown instead?
Or should that be, follow the fur? Dog on drugs is the talk of Yaletown. “Marijuana affects dogs differently, similarly to the range of effects experienced by humans…” Thanks for the heads up on that, Dr. Vancity Buzz!
Follow the property tax: Vancouver has lowest property tax rate in Canada. Special shout out to all those complaining about Meena Wong’s speculation tax.
I wouldn’t ignore foreshadowing from a man named Macbeth: Canada Housing Crash Could Hit Next Year: Hilliard MacBeth. Oh, next year, eh? As in, after the election? Best comment: “I predict that it will snow in at least one place in Canada this coming January.”
Speaking of foreshadowing: Does Twitter foreshadow wins for Gregor Robertson, Barinder Rasode, Jonathan Cote, and George Affleck? I’ve already referenced Nada Surf’s “Popular” once this month, so I’m clearly fresh out of ideas…
Elvis Everyone has left the building: Stephen Harper Mocked Over Photos Of Empty Seats At UN Address. But what about what he said? “Saving the lives of the worlds most vulnerable mothers, infants, and children must remain a top global priority…” Except, of course, you know, if they are dying because of climate change, because…er…that doesn’t exist. And definitely not if they’re being bombed by Israel…
But it’s ok: Canadians becoming more ‘progressive’: poll. Nobody knows what that means, but it’s provocative.
Speaking of provocative: What is public art? If you have to ask, then you probably shouldn’t.
Romancing the stoned: Vancouver’s Underground Music. “Long besot by negative stigma from Vancouverites and tourists alike, the area possesses a seedy, oppressive mystique that permeates the rain-soaked streets…” Ooooh…
Craigslist of the Day: For sale: bullshit European baby scooter made of wood and smugness – $40 (west end).
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re:” Stephen Harper mocked”. Any time I hear him speak I want to vacate (yes, both meanings). When has “saving the lives of the most vulnerable”, of any sex or age been a priority with Harper,s
government? does the genocide of Native women come to mind? what exactly has the Government done in B.c or Canada to solve poverty, homelessness or mental health problems, apart from passing the buck to the Provinces and Municipalties?
The Globe also did an investigation back in 2009, found that over 9 years, about $1.5 billion was spent in a four-dozen block area, mostly directed at 2100 people. Just an utter waste. http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/thefix/
The rest of us in the City are like DTES arrivals; we will all die. The difference is that most of the DTES people, through an attitude of party-or-die, actively work on rapidly accellerating that process, while leaving a menacing trail of destruction behind them. Self-destruction will never be ‘solved’ or eradicated, but the worst we can do is enable and prolong it.
In the 90s, the City adopted ‘congestion is our friend’ as it related to liveability, the idea that concentrating residential, commerce and arts/entertainment would drastically reduce vehicle traffic, and it has worked superbly. The idea of the DTES is to concentrate hell, to support those actively pursuing early death (don’t call them unmotivated), and to those others that have an intact shred of sense or self-worth, to get out of there. No one with functioning human instinct would stay. It is completely unnatural.
Thanks for commenting. You’re completely wrong, but thanks anyway!