Vancouver Bloggers Meetup Info…

I feel bad for not having YET attended a meeting….setting up a kid free night is always a bit of a hassle..BUT  I do want to go and meet more local bloggers.

If YOU want to meet other bloggers…check out Raul’s post about it all and all his links…he is the man.

Seriously….he is amazing.

There are loads of blog related events in Vancouver…the Meetup group is a great way to make friends and find out what everyone else is up to!

When Dad Needs to Grow Up

This weekend we went to Vancouver Island for the first time since we left there about 4 years ago. I loved the Island. There was the beautiful wave pool in Courtenay, the festivals, Miracle Beach, and the good restaurants.

Well. There just wasn’t jobs. So we moved and while I like where we are, it sure isn’t Vancouver Island.

Our trip there was a quick one-trade in the car, grab the new one and make a run back to Nanaimo to catch a ferry. Four ferries in total really, and by the time we were on the last one all three of us had decided that we’d rather poke ourselves in the eye with pointy sticks then do this again. 18 hours of travel gets us to Salt Lake City, people, and I’d much rather do that then just travel across the water to a place that I can see from my damn kitchen, no less.

Finally, we were near the end. The boat began to turn and the announcement to “get your butt back to your car people, because you don’t want to be holding up people behind you” comes on the loud speakers. Seriously, they’re not kidding. You don’t want to mess with a bunch of tired, hungry people who just want to get home and you being the person solely responsible for keeping them a second longer on that boat.

Suddenly a piercing screech reverberates through the boat. A blond little boy, face twisted in anger, is tantruming in the middle of the aisle.

“NOOOOOOO Daddy! It’s time to go! GO!”

The Dad ignores him and keeps walking.

“But Daddy! Please! It’s time to GOOOOO! NO Daddy!”

The little guy stands and sobs, big fat tears running down his cheeks.

The Dad turns around and puts the boy’s coat on him, grumbling something. We hear snippets of, “come on, stop making so much noise.”

Little hands grasp the Dad’s coat and a small, tear filled voice whimpers, “But Daddy, it’s. time. to. go. Please?”

From my seat I’m watching this exchange, wondering why the boy is so upset and feeling a surge of empathy for the father, who is trying to calm him down. Maybe he needs to use the washroom, or grab a schedule, and this little guy is going nuts because he’s worried that they need to get to their car. Ah, kids. They just melt down at the worst possible moment.

Dad then turns breezes by us briskly, leaving the little boy standing alone in the aisle whimpering.

“Just one more! I’ll only be a minute!”

Guess where the Dad goes?

The Arcade Room.

For the Cat Lovers out there…

I am feeling like a total moron right now.

An angry total moron.

We just adopted to little kittens from a rescue place, run by this amazing woman.  If you want to adopt a cat..contact me…she is amazing.   Her cats are all from sorry circumstances and all need loving homes.   She is tirelessly dedicated.

Anyway…she gave us a real education about cat care…despite us owning cats for most of our lives.

The biggest issue for her is clumping kitty litter.

Go on..google it. Google the dangers of clumping kitty litter.  You will come up with stuff like this and this and much much more.  Sadly..due to the fact that NO real studies have been done..this is mostly anectdotal.  But it sure made sense to us.

Especially this part…”Certain litters are actually causing serious problems for our feline friends including asthma, bronchitis, intestinal blockage and possibly even lung cancer.”

And this part…”Clumping clay kitty litters may be related to a wide variety of seemingly unrelated cat health problems, included diarrhea, frothy yellow vomiting, mega-bowel syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney problems, respiratory problems, general failure to thrive, anemia, lethargy, and even death.”

We spent around $3000 plus on Aurora due to Mega Bowel Syndrome.  He had masses taken from his bowels twice, before it became apparent that his bowel could no longer function properly without surgery.

Not ONE Vet mentioned or asked about clumping kitty litter.  Not one.

Phoebe has terriby breathing problems. She sneezes ALL the time.   ALL the time.

We have  taken her to various vets to ask about allergies, etc.  Not ONE mentioned clumping kitty litter.

Not one.

Not one suggested that the kitty litter might have been a possible problem.   

And it just never ever occured to us. 

I kid you not.

Both of us are so used to using it, it never crossed our minds.

And we breathe and ingest that stuff too.  Ick.

We will not be using it ever again.

We have purchased  a product made from recycled newspaper.  It does cost more, however, you use less of it..way less than the clumping stuff.

And it is safe.

Most pet stores carry this stuff.  

You will notice that most vets and animal shelters also NEVER use clumping kitty litter.

I am feeling very very dumb right now.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Mimi’s Official Site of Blogblast for Peace

Peace Globe Gallery

PBS Documentary on Afghanistan a Must-See

Just finished watching the Frontline documentary, The War Briefing, originally aired October 28th on PBS. I can’t state strongly enough that EVERYONE, politicians and members of the general public alike, should view it.

The situation in the region, including in Pakistan, is far, far worse than news reports have been able to portray.

The documentary and website should make us all deeply reflect about Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan - or any International involvement, for that matter - particularly in light of Pakistan’s fragile position and possession of 50 nuclear weapons.

[Please vote up the same post over at Challenging the Commonplace, an affiliate of Progressive Bloggers. The higher a post ranks over at PB, the far greater likelihood it will get read.]

Scholarships available for girls 14-17 years old.

If you are or know someone who does some volunteer work in your community, AND is between the ages of 14 to 17 years old, I would really encourage that person to apply for the Violet Richardson Award. The deadline for the applications is December 1, 2008. I belong to a local community service club called The Soroptimists International of Vancouver and we regularly give out scholarships and bursaries to students. Although the deadline is next month, there’s still time to fill out the application and get it in to me.

Here are more details about this award:
The Violet Richardson Award is a program conducted by the Soroptimist International of the Americas Federation. As a volunteer service organization Soroptimist believes that by acknowledging young women’s volunteer involvement now, they will grow up to be vital active members of the community. The Violet Richardson Award honors young women between the ages of 14 and 17 for volunteer action such as fighting drugs, crime and violence, cleaning up the environment and working to end discrimination and poverty.

The Violet Richardson Award program begins at the local Soroptimist club level, where the type of award varies from a certificate and recognition at a club meeting or special event to a monetary gift to the young woman and/or her charity. Club level winners then become eligible to compete at the district level and the six district level winners are honored at the annual Founder Region Conference where the Region winner is announced. The Region winner is then one of 28 Soroptimist International of the Americas finalists, one of whom will receive a $2500 contribution to her volunteer organization.

If you are interested in getting an application, please send me a message at carol dot browne at gmail dot com and I can email you an application. I’ll also give you my contact information so you can either snail mail in the completed form, fax it to me or email it over.

I’ve attended three award ceremonies since joining the Soroptimists and volunteered to be the photographer (of course!) at both awards. I have some photos here if you’re interested…

Podcast - Stories of Poverty in the 1st Person - E21, Vanessa

Episode 21 of 24. A reading from the book Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front.

Vanessa’s background is one of wealth, with an emphasis on conservatism, religion and traditional “family values” and roles.¹

Likely not surprising, Vanessa’s independent spirit and (suspected) genius almost immediately placed her at loggerheads with her family’s expectations and the norms of much of society still.

When I thought about my future, one thing was clear: I didn’t want to grow up and serve some man. I didn’t want to get married… There was no freakin’ way in hell I was staying home ’til 5 o’clock and making sure someone’s dinner was warm. I didn’t want to be a servant. I worried and fretted about this. I did not want to be a wife; that’s what it boiled down to. I could accept the notion of fatherhood, but not husband…

Then, when I did grow up, that’s what I became. For years. That’s the biggest thing that bothers me about society: It beats your spirit out of you.

¹ Which prompts me to wonder whether the pressures to maintain traditional gender roles might not be even greater among the very wealthy. That is, the wives of the very wealthy need not work to maintain their or their family’s lifestyle.

A “How To” on Civil Disobedience

Here’s a lesson on how to use civil disobedience effectively.

Otto the octopus of the Sea Star aquarium in Coburg, Germany disapproved of his surroundings.

We knew that he was bored as the aquarium is closed for winter, and at two feet, seven inches Otto had discovered he was big enough to swing onto the edge of his tank and shoot out the 2,000 Watt spotlight above him with a carefully directed jet of water…

Once we saw him juggling the hermit crabs in his tank, another time he threw stones against the glass damaging it. And from time to time he completely re-arranges his tank to make it suit his own taste better - much to the distress of his fellow tank inhabitants.

Clearly, Otto was expressing his displeasure with the choices his controllers had made for him. He had his own, independent views of what they should be.

Might we learn something from Otto about asserting our autonomy? Or the wrenching back of same from the powers-that-be?

Nah!

Vancouver to Permit Laneway Housing

So reports the CBC. But lest we low-income and homeless people start jumping up and down, shouting out “It’s about time!” and exhaling our oh-so-long pent up breath, there is this:

The average cost of a conversion is expected to be around $150,000, but owners will only be able to rent and not sell the laneway homes.

Before any of the alley homes go ahead, there will be public hearings on a neighbourhood by neighbourhood basis, and only homes already zoned single-family will qualify for the pilot project. That means the first laneway house won’t be built for about a year.

No, a conversion needn’t cost anywhere near $150,000 as evidenced by this solution and that one and oh, so many others…

[Cont'd at Challenging the Commonplace]

Housing Solutions - Tiny Houses for $1,500

The problem with a Tumbleweed house is that even the 65 square foot model is over $36,000, plus shipping.

Well now I learn that early this year students at the University of British Columbia’s Emily Carr Institute designed and built four houses, each unique, each 64 square feet, and none more than $1,500…

[Cont'd at Challenging the Commonplace]