May 14, 2014
Where have all the Conversationalists gone?
Last Wednesday, I was feeling good. The sun was out, I was in my favourite part of downtown, and I felt inspired and alive - like my good old manic days that would last for weeks. The ones where I'd start four businesses, thrift shop for 12 hrs straight and forget to eat. Am I in denial to miss that? Anyway, feeling so inspired and alive, I automatically thought of my friend Ken and our hours-long vintage and fashion conversations, so I headed off to shoot the shit with him down at Deluxe - then I remembered Ken was dead. So I thought, well Rod will be there, I'll go shoot the shit with him, then I remembered Deluxe was gone - closed due to a $3000 a month rent hike. Okay, no need to get down, I'll go talk design with someone at Inform. Well, the only bodies at Inform were ones glued to computer screens behind cash desks. Five bucks, they're practicing the snobby sales technique identified in the UBC study, Should the Devil Sell Prada? Retail Rejection Increases Aspiring Consumers’ Desire for the Brand?
Well whatever, not yet feeling deflated I thought, 'Okay I'll go sit down and have a coffee somewhere.' Somewhere, conversation was already flowing, and I could at least be part of it. Uh, since when have coffee shops been so quiet? Not one person was engaged in vocal conversation with anyone. Not because they were glued to a book, writing, or staring off into space thinking, but because their heads were bent down, staring into their phones. Holy crap, people get with it. My public library has more conversations going on! I left without buying a coffee (or tipping someone for bending their arm beyond 85 degrees).
Highly irritated, I turned around and headed back home. On my way, a homeless man complimented me. (I was hoping to run into you, but I'd put a little extra effort in that day.) I turned around and said, 'Thanks.' He said, 'Anytime, sweetheart'. So, from now on, when I want to have a conversation, face to face with someone, I can feel confident the homeless guy at Water and Cambie will participate - and I guarantee he has a hell of a lot more stories and opinions to share than the dipsticks glued to their screens. What's that old saying, 'All text and no talk makes Jack a dull boy'?
God, I miss hanging out and just talking.
Stacy Reynaud
image: Simone Signoret, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, Yves Montand
May 7, 2014
12 Best of Craigslist Vancouver May 7th
Mar 19, 2014
Wink and Howie's Place - A West Vancouver Mid-Century Home Demolition
Jan 3, 2014
Nov 16, 2013
BC Binning Residence SOLD
BC Binning Residence, West Vancouver, BC image Stacy Reynaud
I first wrote about the BC Binning home, located in demolition permit happy West Vancouver, in 2010 - the post is below.
Ironically, I spent Friday at the Association of Fundraising Professionals' National Philanthropy Day luncheon. Awards were presented to x for raising x amount, y for raising y amount, etc.
The Land Conservancy, the nonprofit that owns the Binning home, is $7.6 million in debt (as I noted back in 2010, they were headed for trouble).
Listening to the keynote speaker, Dan Pallata (the guy whose TED Talk has over 2.5 million views), break down salaries for top earners in the US blew my mind.
The developer offered the TLC $1.6 million for the home - rumour is that he bought the house next to the Binning residence.
Checked out Crack Shack or Mansion lately - there's a Part Deux?
You'll see what $1.6 million buys you in Vancouver.
BC Binning is almost always a favourite. He's a local hero. Kate Barron Gallery Manager Art Emporium.
It's too bad the TLC didn't hand the Binning Home over to the District of West Vancouver as they did with the Arthur Erickson designed Baldwin Home in Burnaby in May 2013.
West Van is a corporation and could hold it as an asset - not to mention it'd be a perfect public relations and marketing tactic for them.
Come on West Van - offer the TLC $7.6 million for the Binning Home and write it off as an advertising and marketing expense.
For a story in the Vancouver Sun from 2007 see here.
Nov 5, 2013
Yes - Another West Vancouver Home Demolition - and Chestnut Tree History
There's a cute 1930s home at the end of our block. I always wondered how long it would be before it fell victim to a McMansion. Well, it's yellow-fenced now, so it won't be long. As I was taking photos of the outside, the demolition contractor came by, and we chatted. I asked why the home wasn't being offered up as a demolition sale before it was torn down (I could see furniture, doors and fixtures through the smashed-out windows - much reminisce to this home that I contacted the then West Vancouver Mayor about, but she wouldn't reply. I brought up the issue of sustainable demolition practices with her when we were at the same cocktail event two summers ago - tongue-tied and red-faced, she excused herself. However, it could've been the wine talking). I digress.
The contractor was nice enough. He said the owner felt it wasn't worth it (money-wise) to have a demolition sale. I said it shouldn't be about the money. I also asked him why it was okay for the neighbourhood to be disrespected by having garbage thrown all over the property and not in bins - he said the asbestos removers did it (I don't think they were actually there because the home was just fenced up last Wednesday and you need a work permit and none were posted). Why don't we offer rebates or something to contractors who adhere to sustainable demolition practices? I have no idea. The Corporation of the District of West Vancouver is into making money - albeit at the loss of heritage/culture. I remember the old mayor bragging about issuing a couple hundred demolition permits in one summer alone. After all, there's no financial gain in heritage preservation, correct? I hear the same thing repeatedly - 'It's not worth it [architectural/heritage preservation].'
That big chestnut tree is one of many planted up either side of the entire street. I was told by a neighbour that the trees actually have some protection (although this one isn't cordoned off as it should be). Even BC Hydro couldn't cut them down. Each chestnut tree is groomed straight down the middle of its canopy - the hydro wires pass between the canopy - you can see them in the photo above.
Here's a little history on the infamous trees I pulled from a website here:
The Horse Chestnut trees, lining 17th Street, were planted by the Boy Scouts on May 24, 1935 to raise funds for their organization. The trees were donated by the Provincial government, and local home owners were encouraged to sponsor a tree for 25 cents. Many people associate the planting with a visit by Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts. However, although the Baden-Powells toured Vancouver in 1935, they did not visit West Vancouver in an official capacity. The double rows of these ornamental shade trees frame shaded avenues up 17th Street past the Gertrude Lawson House and Municipal Hall, and up 14th Street past Hollyburn School. The species is native to Greece and Albania, and can grow as large as 30 meters tall. Over the years, the trees have succumbed to a number of diseases, compounded by heavy pruning resulting from their initial planting directly under electrical wires. As early as 1980, there were problems with falling branches and debris, and obstructions for bus routes. On April 19, 2004, Mayor Ron Wood, former Boy Scouts Jack Leyland and John Gibson, resident Katerine Dickinson and the 2nd West Vancouver Boy Scout Troop planted a new tree and unveiled a rock bearing two commemorative plaques to mark the beginning of a program to replace trees that had been lost over time. |
The contractor took me on a little tour of the house so I could take some quick photos with my phone.
Oct 12, 2013
Heritage Status for Canada's Oldest Skate Park?
A lot of my friends skated this park in the 1980s. Now, we middle-aged Gen Xers are rallying behind it. Seylynn Skate Park was built in 1978 and is Canada's oldest concrete park.
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Oct 10, 2013
My Top Picks from Interior Design Show West
Please pardon my 2013 crappy phone photos.