…:::jamieleigh:::…

happy monday!

this weekend was very busy for me, starting with a quick trip to seattle to see alice in chains play at the paramount theatre. followed by a day walking around the beautiful city, browsing pike place, and taking in the works at seattle art museum (thanks for the student discount!!).

saturday evening i had the honour of attending the vancouver media coop’s fundraiser at the hd lab- wow!! i was humbled to be in the presence fo so many amazing artists and activists who are not only very talented but also passionate about people, justice, and the earth. right on!!

sunday was also action-packed: it started with the poverty olympics which i have to say was the highlight of my weekend! it was so amazing to see the intense community and creative spirit in the DTES. community members staged a theatrical event aimed at shaming the feds, province, civic governments as well as big business. what a success!! my favourite parts were the hockey game (pigeon park vs. vanoc predators)  and “wrestling for our community” (mr. con dough takes on four of the cutest little kids who represent the community). Also, the poverty olympics anthem is rad:

Oh Canada
Our home on Native land.
A billion for security,
Instead of building homes.
Olympic spending has gone sky high
While thousands sleep outside.

From far and wide
Oh Canada
Invite the world to see
A quarter million souls,
Poor and freezing cold.
Oh Canada, where is e-qual-i-ty?
Oh Canada, we are ashamed of thee.

after leaving that event to have coffee with a couple friends, one of them pointed out a fresh piece of graffiti beneath our feet: a power-washed stencil aimed at sex-tourists. what an awesome idea!! although i don’t really agree with all of the points of this campaign, i do appreciate these messages on the sidewalks of vancouver!

after that, i did a little more research for my ethnographic film and i’d have to say that this weekend was a success!!

looking forward to the week ahead….

as the city gets all geared up for the circus, the reality of it is hitting me. this is actually happening. bus routes are all disrupted. it takes me an average of fifteen minutes longer per trip taking transit (this morning my commute was lengthened by 45 mins). tomorrow all the drivers of van city will have nowhere to park their shiny city-dwelling suvs.

enough ranting. how ’bout some good news?

totally LOVED this article in the Georgia Strait! nice to see the diversity in coverage. along side the calendars for pro-olympic events, they posted the anti-olympic events online!!

in other news… good ol’ BUD was yapping again. when speaking about terrorist threats, he mentions the olympic resistance network…

security. sigh.

happy february (cue ominous music)

between classes, filming, and practicum life is pretty hectic at the moment!

here’s a little preview of some pictures i took for a friend this weekend- check out her website for more info!

hockeydresses.com

I know this is old new, but its good news. I urge you all to read the story of how seven Aboriginal leaders and other peaceful protesters from Manitoba brought attention to the numbers of Missing and Murdered Women in Canada. The demonstrators were not protesting the Olympics, rather, they used the torch relay as a vehicle to raise awareness.

In other news, I’ve been following the Olympics Resistance Network. I plan to check out some of their events including the 2010 Welcoming Committee mobilization. Below is a promotional video:

…the next couple months should be an interesting time in vancouver!

it was an epic battle…

we fought the good fight…

…but eventually the flamers were victorious in o.t.

happy birthday, susie. i heart ya.

So I have been hearing a lot of negative buzz surrounding the new HST- especially as it pertains to the restaurant industry- but I have yet to hear anything positive, albeit from the provincial government’s touting HST as “the single most important step British Columbia can take to boost its economy” (http://www.gov.bc.ca/hst/).

What do you think?

I’d love to hear your opinions!!