Recently in moose-ings Category

On my now regular walk to the Stadium Skytrain station the final part of the route passes by another example of great Vancouver Public Art. This time it's far more contemporary and is a wall of Graffiti, called Beatty Wall 2007. Even on a wet dark day it brightens up the the walk. Hunting around I found reference to something called the Vancouver Graffiti Management Program. nb: I can't get a link to the official page to load :-(

This states that 'A mural program provides new, legitimate outlets for graffiti writers and other artists to display their work. Interested property owners can choose to donate a wall for the program, and the City will facilitate the process and provide the supplies.'

I've not seen any other examples of this in the downtown core but I think it's a cracking way of creating something really positive by connecting with your community.

Technorati Tags: art, BC, Public Art, graffiti, Vancouver

I'm not sure how Vancouver compares to other cities in the world when it comes to being bicycle friendly. It's been fun to read Roland, Richard and D'Arcy's adventures on their bike into work, the latter being in Calgary.

Of course when commuting it's always important to know where and what you can lock your bike to. This cyclist cleverly picked an unusual location to leave his bike AND took the trouble to remove all the valuable stuff to avoid theft!

Technorati Tags: BC, bicycle, bike, cycling, moose-ings, mooseings, Vancouver

In a period of what appears to be booming construction (or as I think of it sometimes 'Setting the City up for a fall!") there are countless cranes around town. It's amazing that I've not yet seen one been put in place but this picture is the closest I've come so far!

Technorati Tags: construction, moose-ings, mooseings, cranes, Vancouver

Judging by the amount of pot consumed in the city this little spaceship does actually exist! It's parked on the banks of False Creek and is one of the more curious pieces of Vancouver Public Art. Created by Jerry Pethick is accompanied by a collection of sculptures which tell the Time Top's comic book story (William Ritt and Clarence Gray). Commissioned in 2001 a fuller description can be found here.

I understand that one of the benefits of all the condo blocks going up is that the developers have to commission public art as part of their plans. If you look carefully around town you will be amazed at the amount of art that is present.

This is a link to a picture showing the installation of the piece. I have to say I rather like it!

Technorati Tags: art, Public Art, False Creek, Vancouver

I thought I'd already blogged the story of a good friend of mine a few years back who finally hooked up to the internet for the first time. He was around 50 at the time and was delighting in all things Google.

He decided to do some online research for somewhere to stay on a little vacation he was planning. He was going to be self sufficient and take his own tent, cooking stove etc as I remember. Anyway, to do his research he typed in the general location of where he was heading followed by the word 'camping.'

To his amazement he got hundreds of links back to a very different type of camping. So amazed in fact that he spend a good few hours going through them! (Not really, just joking!).

More recently Leftantler and I attended Northern Voice which was held at the Forestry Sciences Building up at UBC back in February. At the same time as the conference there was an exhibition of wood related items, one of which was the below.

As Leftantler explained on flickr:

These two photographic prints were on display in the atrium.

Caption read as follows:

"This door is an investigation in three-dimensional patterning afforded through oblique laminate construction techniques and the subtractive process of CNC milling.

The peephole is taken as an activation device across the space of the door, registering on either side its use or non-use. Defining the inside, the peephole is pulled towards the viewing eye while the geometric ridge is a barrier pulled sharp to the outside. This dialogue privileges the viewer with the ability to access the peephole and provides a geometric index of subtractive patterning relative to orientation of use.
WILLIAMSONWILLIAMSON."

The interesting and perhaps unsurprising thing is that Leftantler has now had well over 4000 hits on this picture on flickr! I wonder if any of them were the same folk that appeared when our friend searched google for camping sites.

Technorati Tags: google, Leftantler, NorthernVoice, nv07, UBC, searching

'Stadium' stations are curiously named. Back in the days of yore, I would go and see concerts at Wembley Arena and even sports events at the old Wembley Stadium. Wembley Park Underground (ironic on two counts) Station was in fact a country mile from the Stadium/Arena.

On a slightly smaller scale Vancouver has the same approach, placing the 'Stadium' Skytrain Station a fair walk from the actual venue. I remember being a tourist in the city and getting the Skytrain from Granville to Stadium to go and see the Canucks. I wondered then if we actually ended up further away from the game than when we got on at Granville.

To be fair, calling it Stadium/Chinatown is a step in the right direction. That is unless you actually want the Stadium (which is in the other direction). Foolishly I expected a Stadium station to be at ... the Stadium. I didn't read signs, but I did struggle when I couldn't immediately spot the Stadium when I came out of station.

The struggle was short-lived though, as it was back at Wembley, we just followed the crowd. Someone in there must know where the Stadium is! ...

Technorati Tags: BC, hockey, NHL, Canucks, Vancouver

Another piece of seawall art. "Welcome to the Land of Light" by Henry Tsang, a local artist who was born is Hong Kong but raised here in the city. This work is from 1997. The photo shows the third line of a poem which complete reads "Come to time where people talk different but good together."

I like this piece and it reminds me of the game I get to play frequently on the bus. Count how many different languages you can hear being spoken. I think my record is seven or eight, complicated by the fact that although I know it's often a different language, I've no idea which one!

Vancouver is an amazing place and every so often I get to write an entry on moments that bring this home to me. Henry's work captures the excitement and opportunity of living in the city. As the last line of his work says "Here, you begin live like chief. World same like in you hand."

Technorati Tags: BC, HenryTsang, moose-ings, mooseings, public art, Vancouver

I chose a grey Saturday morning to visit Kerrisdale Village for the first time. My target was Kerrisdale Cameras - a store I've been aware of but never visited. I was pleasantly surprised by both the village and the store. The latter being as close to the service I used to enjoy at Greys of Westminster back in Blighty. Bob certainly put me at ease with his no fuss approach to my questions and secured the sale.

This picture is therefore one of the last with my trusty Nikon P2. The wi-fi was always an overrated feature that I ended up not using. Kerrisdale village, on the other hand, is far from overrated and is a hive of interesting stores and has a very good feel. The folk in the stores seemed, like Bob, to be fairly chilled and friendly. If it's passed you by I recommend you check it out ...

Technorati Tags: BC, GreysofWestminster, Kerrisdale, KerrisdaleCameras, stores, Vancouver

This thin red line adorns a section of the seawall by David Lam Park. It is called Red Horizontal and dates from 2005 by an artist called Gisele Amantea. The piece was created with the cooperation of local residents and according to the Georgia Strait (A good little guide to walkable public art) addresses '... ideas of personal space in an impersonal context.' A quick hunt around online leads to other interesting work by Amantea, less of horizontal line than a window into the work of a Canadian artist ...

Technorati Tags: BC, moose-ings, mooseings, public art, seawall, Vancouver

I've seen countless flags in different neighbourhoods around town. I wonder if the same company has a deal for all of them? This one points to a very good neighbourhood specific website run by the Yaletown Business Improvement Association. This is a buzzing part of town with dozens of restaurants and bars, its going to take me a while to try them all! ...

Technorati Tags: BC, moose-ings, mooseings, Vancouver, Yaletown