Building a sense of community

Yesterday was the Reality Rally -- a way of getting Edmontonians out of their homes and into a big picnic in the park. This was conceived as an event for Facebook users... a way to get them off Facebook for a while. In the eventual crowd of about 30 that showed up, there were quite a few non-Facebookers.

Given the glorious weather -- maybe too glorious at 30 degrees? -- it was surprising more people didn't show. Radio and TV were covering it, and my own Edmonton Journal article appeared Friday.

Nevertheless, it was a genuinely enjoyable afternoon. Here is the crowd starting to gather -- in this photo, only at half its eventual size.



As the event progressed, it became clear that we had a great mix of people here -- people who genuinely wanted to be sociable and meet others and have fun.

This was really a great way to celebrate my second last weekend in Edmonton. Thanks for organizing this rally, Matt!

In Calgary

Last week, I had some work to do in the mountains. This meant a short stop-over in Calgary. Despite its proximity, I hardly know Calgary. I must say from this short visit that Calgary seems to be doing many things a lot better than Edmonton.

1. LRT. Their system dwarfs that of Edmonton. I saw a sign on the extreme west end of the city that said that the LRT would be arriving in that community by 2008. This amazed me. The kind of timelines we’re used to in Edmonton are in the five to ten year range. The famous can-do attitude of Calgary is certainly reaping benefits when it comes to rapid transit.

2. Downtown. For a start, it is much bigger than Edmonton’s. It surprised me to see the great canyons between the rows of skyscrapers. Their downtown seemed almost as big as, say, Montreal’s. Plus, the preservation of many old buildings was heartening to see. In particular, I enjoyed Stephen Avenue. I have no clue why Edmonton has not developed a pedestrian zone like this. Please, give us somewhere that we can take refuge from the bikers. Not that I’ve got anything against bikers, of course. I just don’t know why they’re allowed to thunder up Whyte Avenue, deafening conversations every few minutes.

Here is Stephen Avenue:



3. Homeless. The issue has been well publicized, but seeing it for real is still disheartening. There were entire sections of the city where I saw nothing but homeless. Calgary has built a lot more shelters for them than Edmonton has, but I’m not sure this is the long-term solution needed.

Another thing I noticed about Calgary is that the “look” for males is more corporate. There did not seem to be as many big, beefy and aggressive-looking males.


I am glad I had a chance for one last trip to the mountains as well as a stay in Calgary before leaving Edmonton. It is now exactly two weeks to departure time.

A party to make Canada proud

This weekend I went to a birthday party for a Hungarian girl I know. It was hosted at the Garneau Pub. The employees had decorated the whole place, including the patio, with balloons and streamers. They had passed the hat and raised money for a camera, a camera case, and memory card. The birthday girl was visibly impressed. She's lived here only a year and must go home in only a few weeks. Everyone wanted her to enjoy her first ever "Canadian birthday" to the utmost.

It was quite the event. Such a warm evening and cold beer flowing liberally. I did not leave until 3 a.m.

Of Gambia and Games of Skill

Anyone who discounts sports as a low-brow waste of time is underestimating the great communal experience of going to a game. Yesterday, at the Commonwealth Stadium, I watched Austria take on Gambia in the FIFA under 20 World Cup. Most of the crowd were "neutrals," so it was fun picking a favourite and cheering them on. There were some teenage boys in front of us having a whale of a time, cheering for Gambia, making wise-cracks, generally entertaining those around them. They struck up a conversation briefly with the two young children behind them, extending the good cheer. They were never crude or threatening. The whole mood was fun. Enjoying sports and the sun.

Austria won 2-1 by the way.

And incidentally, out of completely idle curiousity, I looked up the weather in Gambia for today. As it so happens, the daytime high for Banjul, Gambia is 31. Which is exactly the same as for Edmonton.

Yukko!

A few months ago, the Edmonton Journal did an expose on food safety in city restaurants. The public reaction to the issue forced an opening up of the safety inspections, which are now available for anyone who wants to see them. Since then, occasionally an article appears like the one excerpted below, which is about the China Palace Seafood Restaurant:

Prosecutor Rob O'Neill said the violations found during many inspections included restaurant staff leaving raw meat out in improper temperatures and rinsing vegetables and noodles in dirty sinks where raw meat had been.

As well, inspectors found mouse droppings and fly infestations, dirty kitchen equipment, unsanitary dish rags and raw meat hanging over uncovered vegetable containers.
Inspectors also spotted mouldy sweet and sour sauce, leaking water, dripping oil, grills with encrusted grease and dust and unsanitary staff washrooms.
[Edmonton Sun. July 10, 2007]

All I can say is, Yukko!

Well, actually, that is not all I can say. This food safety issue is one of a host of issues that have been publicized by our local media, which would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Another big profile issue was the government jets zooming all over the province at vast expense -- the official records for which were witheld by government until AFTER the 2004 provincial election. And how about the story the Journal also broke on the government agency, the Energy and Utilities Board, that hired private investigators to spy on Alberta landowners? All coups for the good old print media!

I bring this up because the print media is in trouble. Todd Babiak had a column about this a couple of weeks ago. It was an alarm cry for anyone who cares about journalism's role in promoting a healthy democracy. The fact is, not enough people are paying attention to the news. How many people are subscribed to a newspaper these days? Of all the people I know in this town, I can think of only one subscriber. My father gets the Edmonton Journal. Nobody my own age -- including me! -- is subscribed to any local paper.

But look at why... Look at what I just did. I got an article online from the Sun and stuck some of it on my blog. The last time I subscribed to a paper, 1995, that would not have been possible.

Yes, Internet -- you are a temperamental monster, wreaking havoc on some cherished parts of our culture, yet liberating others.

I don't know where all this is going to lead us, but I do know this. In the same way that those who only travel a city from inside a car don't truly know it, those who never read about a community don't really know its politics.

ADDENDUM:
Sometimes I write something and it appears to wrap up nicely, but then on closer inspection, I realize it doesn't. I had to add something to this post because as initially written, it made an assumption I wasn't happy with. Reading is not the only way to find out what's going on. Of course. Radio and TV -- especially the CBC -- illuminate the issues of the day. It's partly a question of the rigour that the given medium gives to the issue. My point is, everyone should pay attention to a dependable media source on a fairly frequent basis. By dependable, I'm not wanting to get into left or right wing bias. I just mean something that will explore an issue in depth, not in a soundbite.

Where it's at

I’m posting some photos taken by my friend James Birkbeck who has captured Edmonton at its finest. These were taken on Canada Day. They are a timely reminder to me that, current council shenanigans notwithstanding, there are some things that the city has done well. Chiefly, the river valley, and the skyline that presides over it.


Below is an Edmonton oddity that people often make fun of: the High Level Bridge waterfall. I don't know the full story, but I gather that the waterfall was supposed to operate during all of the temperate months, but the engineers somehow messed up, because the system can only use treated water, not water from the river itself. Therefore, it's enormously expensive to operate, and hence is only turned on for very special occasions.


I say bugger the naysayers. I think the waterfall rocks. We need more weirdnesses like this and fewer mockers.

Also in the river valley is the neighbourhood of Rossdale, one of the nicest neighbourhoods in town. Rows of delightful terraced housing, in brick, built to last. I just don't know why Edmonton didn't continue developing in this kind of scale. It all looks so welcoming and liveable. Once you get out to, say, Terwilliger, the sterility of the place is unsettling. The city centre is definitely where it's at.

Canada Day

It was hot and sunny yesterday. A large group of us descended into the river valley and watched the fireworks display. The small hillside where we sat was teeming with small moths, a couple of which perched on my girlfriend's finger. They were joined later by a caterpillar.



After the fireworks, we trooped up Walterdale Hill with hundreds, possibly thousands, of other revellers. It's quite a sight to see so many people walking and not a single vehicle. I tried to imagine what it would be like if they closed down more roads for entire days during the summer -- a perpetual street party, perhaps? At the very least, it would be far more exciting than endless commuters stuck in traffic.