Happy Dude

A Smiley Mask

From the UBC Museum of Anthropology. I don't think the mask is traditionally known as 'Happy Dude' or 'Smiley Mask', but I thought they were aptly descriptive names.

Unsunny Sunday

It's raining today - a good day to trek to London Drugs and get some new light bulbs. I sometimes like to play with my camera and take photos of miscellaneous things in the house. The thing is, normal light bulbs emit a very yellow/orange light that becomes really apparent in photographs. However, there are bulbs that emit a nice white light that looks more natural. Hence the trip to go get them.

I'm impressed. The lighting ambiance in the house is much nicer, and this also allows for better indoor photos. I have to say I have never gotten excited about light bulbs before. I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with it.

Blueberries. I like blueberries. A lot. I got my first box of blueberries of the season from the green grocer, and ate more berries than I should. Since installing the new natural light bulbs, I decided to photograph the berries. Kathryn says she cannot eat blueberries plain. I don't know why. I have no complaints though - all the more blueberries for me.

About Yaletown

Yaletown was a grimy industrial annex to downtown Vancouver on the north side of Burrard Inlet. Then Expo '86 came along, and the whole area was levelled to make room for the fairgrounds. After Expo, the area was again levelled, and is now a very trendy urban residential area. I think it's a pretty funky place, but a little too 'urban' for us to actually live in at this moment.

There's a certain dichotamous je ne sais quoi about the area. (I know, it's a pretentious-sounding sentence) It's a place filled with buildings that are either really old and industrial looking - invariably converted into very cool commercial space, or are very new high-rise residential buildings. A little away from the inlet, and you are very much aware you're in an unban area. Along the inlet, though, there's lots of manicured green space and walkways.

A bit about the weather:

If you saw my entry July 22, I was complaining about the heat. So compare that to the weather for today, and the upcoming week. Now it's quite a bit cooler than normal for the height of summer! The thing is, I actually like the cooler forecast. Now I can sleep at night...

A Line In The Dirt

A Proclamation in Burnaby

There's a little dirt gully that runs along the Skytrain route in Burnaby, by Metrotown. This was used by local young'uns with their dirt bikes. As you can see, someone didn't appreciate the city putting cement blocks down the centre of the gully to prevent its use by the bikes.

A Big Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

So this is either the mother or father that keeps a nest in a tree by Kits beach. It's common now to see the young eagle sitting about the branches of the trees, but more rare to see one of the adults hanging around.

Today's All About Me

Me


Today it's all about me. I never post pictures of myself here, seeing I don't find it facinating to see myself in pictures. But today I will post several pictures. Obviously I would have taken none of these pictures. Most are taken by Kathryn. I'll put up more pictures when I get home from work today.

Tearing Up Granville Street

A cross-cut view of Granville Street

Downtown, Granville Street is being dug up to make way for the new Canada Line which will connect the Skytrain transit system to the airport and Richmond.

In Yaletown

Kathryn and a new piece of public art in Yaletown

Fairview

Fairview as seen from Yaletown

Gulabs Galore!

At the All India Buffet

Yesterday after work Kathryn and I went to the All India Buffet. It's a pretty good place. Normally I'm not big on buffet restaurants, and think they're rather gauche. But this one is ok, the food good, not over-busy, and they have a killer view of downtown and the north-shore mountains with an awsome patio, as you can see. The beer is cheap: $2.95 for a pint, and $9.99 for a pitcher. The gulab jamuns are dangerously addictive. I'd recommend the place.


This is the weather from the Environment Canada web site. Normally Vancouver will have 1 - 3 days a year where it might hit 30 degrees celsius. 36 is really extraordinary. I'm not too fond of temperatures like this - it's too hot for my liking.

The Weekend!

A West-End highrise.

Generally considered part of downtown Vancouver is the West End neighborhood. Filled with dozens of residential high-rises, it is one of the more trendy places to live. Here's a typical building.

A Kitsilano Eagle

A young bald eagle

At Kits beach, there's a tree with a nest that's been used by bald eagles for the past few years. When I saw this guy, I had to take out my camera and zoom lens.

A Turtle

A turtle of Central Park

Central Park is located in Burnaby. In my opinion, Burnaby is the least sub-urbanesque of Vancouver's suburbs. Being fairly densely populated, it has a somewhat urban feel about most of the place. This is a good thing for Burnaby.

Fort Langley

Exciting Fort Langly

Now it's true the previous picture from yesterday was from Langley, but I wasn't really too willing to admit I was in Langley, nor give any impression I like to hang out in Langley in my spare time. Not that there's anything wrong with the place.

On Sunday we went to the Fort Langley National Historic Site. Built in 1827, this was originally meant to be a fur trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company. It is also the site where the Crown Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed in 1858. Effectively it is the birthplace of BC.

This all sounds well and good, but the site is underwhelming. We expected the place to be fairly small, but there was almost no content to put in perspective what the significant goings on here were about. we saw the whole place in less than 25 minutes, and that was really stretching out the time there. It was not worth the $7.25 admission fee.

The town of Fort Langley itself is more interesting, though. We went to the local pub, which served decent food. Waiting for the bus, we wandered around. Looking at the dates on grave stones in the cemetary was somehow facinating.

This picture is inside the Fort. This is about the most interesting scene you might get. Apart from this there's a few bored staff dressed in hokey psuedo-19th century garb wandering about.

Shoe On The Wire

Not an uncommon sight in Vancouver

Fairly often around Vancouver, you might come accross a pair of shoes like this tied together and thrown up to hang from power lines.

On Deer Lake

On Deer Lake

We went to Deer Lake park in Burnaby yesterday. I've never been there before. I have to say if you drove into the main entrance, It really doesn't look like much at all. It's quite underwhelming. However, if you enter the way we did, on a trail through a back way, it's really extraordinary. The photos I posted yesterday and today are all from this little excursion. There were few people around, and while exploring we saw a marsh with frogs, a number of types of dragonfly, and birds I never saw before.

Kathryn By The Marsh

Kathryn

A Frog In The Marsh

A Frog

This guy was hard to spot in this murky swamp.

In The Marsh

A Dragonfly

Bukwas

Bukwas

Meet Bukwas. Or at least I think it's Bukwas. Known by the Kwaguelth people of the central coast of BC, this dude hangs out on the dark edge of the woods. Because of this, he's also known as the wild man of the woods.

This is a mask kept in the UBC Museum of Anthropology

Some Doodling

This morning it was unusually difficult to drag myself to work. I haven't slept nearly enough this week. The good news is that tomorrow's Friday, and the begining of the weekend!

Kathryn, meanwhile, created a great plan for improving the public image of Canada's most revered Prime Minister:

A Lilly

A Lilly

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. We took her out to The Old Spaghetti Factory in Gastown. It was a good time overall. The problem is, Kathryn and I got there first, and waited -50- minutes before being seated! On top of this, my mom's meal was cold, and they took it back 5 times to heat it before it was a proper temperature. I'd still go back, but I'll be filling out the comment card for that one.

A Volleyball Net

Volleyball Net

These are setup every spring and summer on pretty much all the beaches in Vancouver.

An Odd Thing

One odd thing about the trails in Pacific Spirit Park is that amongst all the trees there are a number of individual hulks like the one you see here that have been burnt out. I don't know what the purpose is. It's obviously not a natural occurance since you will see one burnt remnant surrounded by healthy trees.

By The Trail

A tree by a trail.

While Pacific Spirit Park is not exactly an ardent hiking area, I think it's one of the nicer places to wander if you're in the mood for finding a quiet place.

Kathryn On The Trail

Kathryn

Yesterday we took about an hour and had a walk in Pacific Spirit Park. There's a fair bit of good trails there. It's also far less visited than Stanley Park.

Making Waves On Kits Beach

It was unusually windy yesterday evening, so we went out for a walk along the beach. Vancouver beaches normally gets very gentle waves, if any, as it is protected by Vancouver Island, as well as the harbour itself. Seeing the water agitated like this is rare, so I had to take out my camera.

Crows

Crows of Ambleside Park

I find crows to be interesting beasts. It seems they spend most of their time being thoroughly angry, particularly with each other.

7/7

Gloucester Road Station

One year ago, Kathryn and I were in London, and had to go to travel from our hotel in South Kensington to Heathrow Airport for our noon connecting flight to Rome. Just before we did, we stopped by the local Boots drug store to get a couple snacks. When we got into the Underground Station, there was the beginning of a small line up that wasn't moving. Signs were put up saying there was a temporary electrical problem, causing delays. After waiting a little while, the Station was declared closed and everyone was evacuated, after which the station locked down.

I thought the way the station was shut down really odd, but at the time was more concerned that we'll miss the plane. All the taxis were taken, but Kathryn had the idea of returning to the hotel to charter a shuttle car to the airport. In the hotel lobby, as the clerk was phoning for the shuttle, the TV was turned on CNN, giving live coverage of London, and the terrorist bombings.

London is a great city. Like Vancouver it seemed very multicultural and tolerant. I am still troubled by the events of that day last year.

A Lily Up Close

A Lily

So I already put up my last rose photo for the season, but I didn't say my last flower photo. They are an easy way out for making a purty picture.

Mmmm.. Beer!

A 16th Century beer tankard

The ceramics section of the museum was surprisingly interesting. There were a fair number of beer tankards, like the one you see here. Seeing them all got us really into the mood for beer, so we went to get a pint at a nearby pub right after leaving.

You Thought I Was Old!

A 25,000 year-old figure

This is the oldest human-made object I have ever seen. Made from clay, this fertility-charm was found in Austria, and now kept in the Koerner Ceramics annex at the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

Totem Pole At UBC

A totem pole

We went to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC yesterday evening, since it's free Tuesday evenings. It's the best place to see art and artifacts from the people of the West coast of Canada. I worked there when I was a teenager, giving tours and presentations. I was surprised how much things have changed there, which is good, as it keeps the place dynamic.

Outside the museum there's a couple typical Coast Salish bighouses, with several totem poles. Pictured is the top of one.

One More Rose

One last rose photo for the season

The rose season is getting pretty much over now. This was taken a few days ago at the UBC Rose garden. One of the last ones still in good shape, as they are starting to dry out and wilt.

On The Patio

Homework on the patio

Our apartment has a great patio we don't use a whole lot, but it is nice for late spring and summer.

Hot!

Not something you see everyday in Vancouver

This is the temperature yesterday afternoon. Well... not entirely - it was a little cheating, though, since 37 degrees was in the sun. 31 was more in the shade.

Wedding Pictures

On our Wedding Day.

Actually, this isn't my photo. We hired a couple excellent photographers from Mstudio Weddings, Peter and Linda. I have a link to their site in my links. There you can see more of our wedding photos.

Anniversary

A walk in Villa Pamphili

Today is Kathryn and my first wedding anniversary. I'll also post pictures from our wedding a bit later. I can't tell you how glad I am to have the opportunity to travel through life with her by my side. We've been together nearly 4 years, and have had a quite a few adventures together. Our travels in Europe are one small set. I'm really looking forward to having many more adventures with her through the coming years, both great and small.