August 15, 2009, carnegie newsletter

AUGUST 15, 2009 carnnews@l'cn.bc.ca www.carnnews.org ( 373 hits perctay!) http://hanesters.sru.ca/chodarr (INDEX)

Disordered Brilliance We can curb the dark side of genius, but s hould we?

Imagine yourself the ch ief curator of a futurist ic museum of brai ns, taki ng a stroll through your collection. On your left are row upon row of jars filled with the brains of the bri lliant writers, artists and composers who had bipolar disorder, a genetic illness characterized by alternati ng states of depression and mania. Sylvia Plath, Walt Whi tman Cole Porter Anne Sexton, Vincent Van Gogh, Gustav Mahle'r, Virginia Wolf, I [cnnann Hesse, Mark Rothko, Mark Twain. Charles Mingus and Georgia O'Keefe. In a smaller bottle are bits of Ernest l-lemm ingway"s manic-depressive brain- all that"s left after he shot a bullet through his skull.

On your right arc the brains of the obsessive-compulsives, including many of the world"s great scientists. You reach for the one marked Isaac Newton open it, and drag your fingers over his grey-white ' frontal lobes. Might there be remnants of his genius preserved in his neuronal networks - perhaps the time he formulated the law of gravitation or studied the nature of light? Could some of his hatred toward his father and mother be buried withi n his brain's strata like an ancient ant trapped in amber?

The brain: about a kilogram and a halfofsofl matte3r that can freeze a second of experience forever in its cellu lar connections. Ten billion nerve cells are the architecture of our experience. Recent studies have shown that even human talents are retlected in the brain's structure. As just one exam pi, consider the dendrites - tiny branches that convey signals to nerve cells. It turns out that machinists have more dendrites in certain areas of their brains than salespeople, at least the ones less clever with their hands.

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Next to Newton's jar arc the brains of other prom inent British scientists: William Harvey, the discoverer of blood circulation, who built dark subterranean chambers to thi nk; Sir Francis Galton, a distinguishd . .st, known for his pioneering 191h .c entury eugcn1c1 stud1es of human intell igence, who once resolved to ~aste everything in the hospital pharmacy in alphabetIcal order. He got as far as C and swallowed castor oil before its laxat ive effects put an end to his gastronomical experiments.

You open the jar marked He n ry Cavendish and hold his wet brain in your hands. Cavendish was an eminent 181h Century scientist who made important discoveries in chemistry. electricity and physics, but he was so shy he ordered his fe male servants to stay out of sight or be fired. And to ensure his privacy, he developed an elaborate communication system of letter boxes and double doors in his house.

You poke your finger into his spongy, convoluted fissures. Cavendish never loved; nor was he fu lly human in many other ways. If a drug could have increased his capacity to love and reduced his shy-ness, who knows what experiments he would have failed to c~nduct? Instead he cou ld have lived his wealthy l1 fe 111 manta! bliss in a lavish castle with li ttle time or will to carry out demandi ng, exacting experiments.

If Ana.fi'anil, an antidepressant that curbs obsessivecompulsive tendencies, had been available in the 1700s, wou ld the state of modern science be retarded a hundred years? Or would pharmaceutical inhibitors have freed all these geniuses from the prison of their minds, allowing them to soar to new heights? I low will future scienti fic development be affected when the obsessive-compulsive geniuses are el iminated from the world? Will we have made the individual happier at the expense of the planet?

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On your way out, you return Cavendish's brain to the shelf, pop a few Anaji-anils into your mouth, and lock the door. On the front of the museum, engraved on an oak plank, is a motto from an obscure 20111 Century eccentric: "Blessed ar c th e cr acked, For they shall let in the light."

By Cliff Pickovcr (taken from Utne Reader) fit's easy to think of all us "mental health consumers" and those whose brains were or still are swimming with really nifty (dangerous!?) drugs and chemicals. Our experiments are valuable too. Ed.]

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one flaw In Wotnen .::> Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They light for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a fami ly member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength lefl.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken hea11.

Women come in all shapes. sizes and colors.

They'll drive. Oy, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The hean of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

This is our Learnmg rapponeur, llum.

Adrienne wrote 2 line pieces about the Eastside Stories event and an email kerfuffle lost them: they were printed in the last issue but the paiming of the office had her photo in a box. An apology and a buck wi ll get a cup of coffee ... sorry kid!

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideas.

They give moral suppon to their fami ly and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS TIIAT TilEY FORGET TH EIR WORT! I

Signs of the Times Bud Osborn

across North America hand held pieces of cardboard crudely lettered or painsrakingly printed express the lived poetry of poverty no home no job no money no food and name preventable diseases untreated because of inability to pay for relief or healing signs reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific please help God bless you have a good day God bless please help signs call to us beg plead pray

for a meagre but heroic response give to all who ask but they want my money for alcohol they want my money for drugs give to all who ask but there's too many of these signs that disclose and subvert by their very underStatement the social extermination of human beings their sheer physical presence their faces their eyes their likeness pierce our entertainments pierce our wasrefulness our priorities our conscience a blind man homeless holds a sign and sees through us so deeply and clearly we can't srand it

and demand public space be made private and these living signs driven elsewhere anywhere nowhere by inore bylaws by more police these living signs anger they terrify because they refleCt our own possibilities in this anti-human economic sysrem no food no job no money no home so we need more zones of exclusion more censorship of human beings who hold these signs of the times because they hold them for us all

It's the 2Jrd Birthday!

With this issue, the Carnegie News/eller has been alive for twenty-three years. It started out with 12 pages in 60 copies run off on a photocopier upstairs.

Right now it's 16-28 pages in 1200 copies but always twice a month, 23 times a year. The first Newsletter Office was a storage closet in the basement. Now the Association Office is the port for both the newsletter and the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) with Wendy Pedersen and Jean Swanson.

Inroads have been made at C ity Hall, with copies going to the Mayor and Council, Central and Social Planning, and several staff people who circulate extra copies as far as they' ll go.

A note to the gentrifiers who' ve got delusions of grandeur: the park at the comer of CarraII & Hastings is Pigeon Park, not Pioneer Place. The people who live in the Downtown Eastside have already named that space. Please remember this if you put up a sign in that park after the tourist-friendly greenway is complete. By the way, the green space on the CPR right-of-way adjacent to the Van Horne building that has been gated off to keep the public out, is in need of a name ....

PauiR Taylor, editor.

MAIN STREET STATION • storytelling &kids activities each week r-------=~~~~~---.

• high quality produce, meat &Cheese Downtown Eastside artists are invited to bring • ready-to-eat food &coffee their work to Thornton Park at Main & Terminal on Wednesdays between 3 & 7pm (every week!)

• free grocery delivery by The Fanner's Market has agreed to give space for the sale o f art by the artist. Bring a coupl e of pieces . 1 &b k bICYC e i etune-ups o f your best work to offer for sale and g ather with •t d fellow artists having a fun afternoon.

• USe your DebI Car tO O ppenheimer Pa rk Arts Outreach will be provid ing get Market Money*. the tables. Bring your own lawncha ir & come m ake a *$2 fee per transaction

few bucks. For more info rmation fo to Oppenheimer Outreach on Dunlevy Street.

CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION • • • • • •

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Education I Library Committee meets at 3pm in the Seminar Room on Wednesday. August 19' Sen iors Committee meets at 2pm in the Theatre on Thursday, August 20'" Community Relations Committee meets at4pm in the Association Office on Thursday, August 27'" Program Committee meets at 4pm in the Association Office on Tuesday. September I" Finance Committee meets at 4pm in the Association Office on Wednesday, September 2"d Board of Directors meets at 5:30pm in the Theatre on Thursday, September 3'd ' Dog Days' of CRAB Beach

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August may be the dog days of summer; politics slows down. Of course Crab Park at Portsidc still is .. there as a refreshing breeze on the past hot summer. . .-· ·· · Angry, Not Mad O ur July I" Fes~i val at Crab Park came and went"'~.. ~· ·.._. !!"' , successfully feedmg 600 people & three live local Yeah, you rea cat music bands.

And you may be all that Lately we are trying to get the birdmarsh at the But I'm no mouse western edge of the park freshened up. It is full of And you're in my house green pond scum & invasive plant species, so the You say you put a cap in h is ass vanous types of birds can 't get a drink of water.

Because his due-date was past We have phoned the Vancouver Park Board and hope to see the birdmarsh g iving a drink to the variShot 'n killed ety of water fowl as soon as is possible.

Because he'd been billed For a five rock The Crab - \.Vater for Life Society has a new Board elected July 26. 2009. & we will strongly oppose What a crock! unnecessary billionaire stadiums bes ide the birdLike a man in a cage llli".a_.,.r.marsh and our local park.

I'm in need of rage I won't pretend lie was my friend ow time to mend!

I dream of a li fe Without the knife With child and wife Yeah that's rad You think you're that bad You must be mad I know it's wrong And yes, I go on But that deep in the g round You won't be found And yes I'm sad But angry, not mad!

Stanton J & friends

News from the Library New Books A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of going to a few local bookstores to purchase new material for the library shelves. As you might imagine, shopping with other people's money is quite enjoyable, but it's not as easy as it sounds! Afier all, 1am choosing books for you, not for me, and how can 1know what you most want or need? We do have systems for tracking circulation slats, and to some extent we can observe what types of stuff go out the most, but we also need to hear directly from you. Please let us know what you would like to see more of in the library, either by talking with us directly or filling out the comment cards at the check-out desk. It's your library, so take part!

On my recent shopping trip, I was hoping to till gaps in a number of areas, especially: language learning. new First ations-related titles, local history and nature guides, and alternati ve spirituality. We have had a number of recent requests for more books about Wicca, and here are a few of the titles we purchased: Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Wilcflcraft (AKA ''The Big Blue Book") is a comprehensive sourcebook for all things Wicca. Practical. historical. and theoretica l. this text is considered to be a musthave for both experienced practitioners and those taking their tirst steps down the path.

The Spells Bible by Ann-Marie Gallagher features over !50 spells for all occasions, com(Ylete with detailed instructions and beautiful full-colour photographs. Learn to work spells for success in romance, a better career, mental and physical health, bigger libraries Uk), and more.

Th e White Goddess, by Robert Graves. In this classic work, the late British poet Graves explores the mythological roots of English poetry through the figure of the White Goddess, whose "nests ... lodged in rock-clefis or the branches of enormous hollow yews, are built of carefully chosen twigs. lined with white horse-hair and the plumage of prophetic birds and littered with the jaw-bones and entrai ls of poets".

In Animal Spirit Guides, Dr. Steven Farmer provides concise details of more than 200 animals that may come to you in physical or symbolic form as guides and teachers. Which is your animal spirit guide?

Finally, former UCLA Archaeology professor Marija Gimbutas sketches the matrilineal village culture that existed in southeastern Europe between 6500 and 3500 B.C .. before it was overwhelmed by the patriarchal Indo-Europeans, in The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe. Check out amazing sculptures and figur ines discovered during archaeological digs, and follow along with Professor Gimbutas' engaging narrative as she describes the significance of each object.

These are just a few of the titles that will be arriving on Carnegie shelves in the ncar future. Do you have your own wish list for new books/DVDs/CDs etc.?

Come and let us know.

Aaron, your part-time librarian

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Local Kid - rising star!?!

Look for Tire One Pol Cookbook. If you can't find it just yet don' t worry: more are being printed.

The story behind this is pretty good. Diane Brown works in Carnegie's kitchen and has for a number of years. (Yes, we already had electricity and indoor plumbing before she got here!) Diane has been working on putting together recipes that people can follow even with just a hotplate and a pot. The above-named book is the result and, best and most practical, the pages are laminated and held together with a wire ring bi nding, meaning you can open it at the dish you are concocting without having to continuously reopen the book with grubby hands to find out the next step. Talk about common sense.

For more information and to see how others in the ~ hood are raisi ng awareness about food, go to this blog: dbrowncooks.wordprcss.com

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DEAR VOLUNTEERS Dear volunteers of your own volition don't start bitchin' you said Yes & signed on the chalked-out dotted line now fo you have your Ransom money for a Loved One Dance? Well, DO Y A?? Like "Infant Ultimate Fighting' or 'Think you can goosestep with the stars?' now someone has to win and it is now time for the Big Mop-Up to begin. The difference between experienced and inexperienced is Always send the INS in first so they can soak up and brush away the worst; now let's go to The Best Place on Earth licence plate factory- quitting after a day or rwo is a felony so onward to where we train our thugs er.. I mean Security. Why oh why is the only time the rich cry is when they're caught instead of full hearted & empty headed explanations, that tarnished image begins as a bedsheet\and before you can yell FORE it's been torn into a noose knot. Oh well how about finding a cure for selfishistolyuosous It's like being as weak as your strongest golflink fence since one day this too will become a Capital Offense now don't count on me but don't count me out just yet; I'm the one with no hands nailed to the side of my head .. I'll probly end down in a dead end job like counting the surmounting amount of dead our daily bread amen. ow all m en*women*kids & your dogs some of you I may have known have a nice fall face-first into a cop's fist, af1er wiping layers of blood & stuff off someone doing nothing at all except spitting up blood on said cop's shirt. I see a face guess what thug it's a girl you've been punching & kicking you don't care but !think she's really hurt(' Who doesn't!' days Mr. Pig) You wi ll swc4ar it was I on I contact but we say You Lie!! In a not so brutal world your badoe # will bring no more thunder 'cause me & others ':,ill be courtsidc to sec you tremble a Court Martial never felt so good ... loss of benefits & friends who have already begun their 'distance dance' finally you break apart & cry baby cry BUT what they want is what we get now which comes first? Ostracized* Victimized*Terrorized*Baptized*Spit in your eye!

Bygones have gone bycbye when no one cares about anything or anyone I think we've just been prioritized (&right in front of my better eye).

You know I could never stand the sound of my own heart beating so beat on this heart that will not lie pardon me but I think I might give driving the satan/god ice cream family truck a try. Good (no such

thing as) luck! Aurvoir*Aioha which I think is both q hello & goodbye Damn: did it again .. sigh bye I

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY "Twice & thrice over as they say. good it is to repeat & review what is good" - Plato ..

FLASH! On the 2nd floor of Carnegie, the Association has had an electronic screen mounted on the wall above the volunteer reception desk. The reasoning went like this: The wall space taken up by all the reduced covers of the Carnegie Newsletter since August 15, 1986 was running out. In order to move all the panels up to the molding, the City would have to hire an approved scaffolding company and get it done professionally because of liability concerns.

A brilliant idea came from one of the best and brightest in our Library- get into the 21 51 century, digitize images of each cover, burn them on a DVD and run it in slideshow mode on a large monitor. Other possibilities bubbled up ... digitize images of each panel in the banner carried for the Annual Women's Memorial March. It's too big to display at eye level so everyone can appreciate the work and feelings stitched into each one, in memory of the women who have been murdered or are still missing.

Perhaps prepare a digital piece to give information about the Heart of the City Festival or local plays (eg.

Bruce The Musica~ Opera (homelessness) Eastside Stories, Oppenheimer Park festivals and events throughout the Downtown Eastside; possibilities!!!

The Publications Committee has begun drafting a policy for the monitor's use and the nuts and bolts of procedure to get something put on. There will be criteria and there will be a curator to jury submissions. I.e. there are things that will not be accepted.

All this is to inform everyone that the Screen is a plasma component but it will not be used as a TV or to show movies. It won't be operating for a few weeks yet; look for it to go on in September.

PRT

Colleen's Corner There comes a point in your life when you realize: Who matters Who never did Who won't anymore ....

And who always will.

So don't worry about people from your past.

There is a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

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CAMP QDADRA - PRE MEETING for OUR FALL CAMP Volunteer Prog ra m I Seniors P rogram Camp Description of new camp & Selection process Fun, Games and recreational ideas Food preferences, allergic concerns • When: T hu rsday, September 3, 2009 • Where: Carnegie T hea tre • Time: l Oam

1. VOLUNTEE R DIN NER BY THE SEA-

CRA B PAJU< B Y THE GAZEBO Wednesday, August 19th @ 4:00pm Sharp!

Please pick up your ticket from the Volunteer Program Office

2. DJ Mix & Fri ends ·with OJ Cody

CAR NEGIE

hosted by Colleen

Friday, August 2 1st, 2009

7- lOpm

Carnegie Theatre EVERYONE WELCOME! 3. Vo lun teers o f the Month fo r J ULY:

Marguerite T ., Kitchen Prep extraordinaire Harold Melbourne, Computer Lab

Carnegie Centre is the pillar of the needy I have witnessed your kindness and your knowledge You have the capac ity to see good thi ngs in others.

Your true service. done with love, is amazing You give courage to the hopeless I have learned power. peace & joy in Carnegie.

The pain and sad ness people have Carnegie knows how to handle that Our loneliness and our tears You turn that into happiness.

You arc the hope to the Downtown Eastside people Ruth Matemolja Go to Carnegie

4. Annual Picnic Volunteer/Seniors Cates Pa rk, Deep Cove T UES DAY AUGUST 25,2009- 9a m - 5pm Canoeing, Kay~ki ng, eating, walking, sight-seeing. eating, Adventure seeking, cards, Frisbee, singing, eating!!! Meet at Info desk at 9am Sharp!

Please sign up with Colleen. 3' Floor.

Vo lunteer Program Office

When you're lonely go to Carnegie When you want to talk go lo Carnegie When hungry, Carnegie has reasonable prices When thirsty, come have a cool g lass of water.

If you're upset come to Carnegie You fee l tired come to Carnegie You want news of government or information You want to volunteer come to Carnegie.

Come join the club We're a ll lonely and hungry We all need someone to talk to You're not alone; we are all in it.

Ruth Matemotia

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after homelessness Created and performed by people living issues of homelessness and mental health We are excited to launch a Photo Contest seeking photographs that speak to the following:

"After Homelessness... " Guidelines: I) ONLY ONE entry per person 2) Accepted fo rmats: Digital images. Please submit a low-resolution (72dpi) version. Please be aware that the winner of the F irst Prize will have to submit a high-resolution (300dpi) version as well.

-Print photographs, 8 x 10 maximum size 3) Both Black & White OR Colour photos will be accepted 4) Please submit mate rials along with your name and full contact information. Please note that materials wi ll not be returned.

5) Submissions deadline: August 24,2009 Prizes:

$500 First Place • Plus use in publicity materials $250 Second Place • Plus display on Headlines web site

The winning photograph will be used in all promotional materials for the after homelessness ... public ity campaign, including posters, fl yers, bus shelter posters, web site and e lectronic commu nications. The top ten photographs will also be showcased in a gallery exhibition at the Gallery Gachet beginning December 2, 2009.

The photographe r wi ll be credited in all materials. The photographer will retain all rights to the photographic image, and will grant Headlines Theatre the rights to the image in perpetuity fo r the purposes of both the production and ongoing publicity in relation to Headlinesa€TM work , and to reproduce/adapt the image as we see fit in both print and electronic form.lf the winning images include a s hot of a person who is identifiable, the photographer should have or be able to get a signed release fo rm from that person to accompany the image.

Dig ital images can be submitted by email to: photocontest @headl inestheatre.com Send print photographs to:

After Homelessness Photo Contest Headlines Theatre 323-350 East 2nd Ave., Vancouver, BC • V5T 4R8

Olympic w atchdog group asks UN to monitor rights during 2010 Games

Games.

The presence of observers could allow the Games to be a true case study for how an Olympics affects a community, Johal said.

Vancouver's city counci l recently amended its <?lympic bylaws over concerns that language deSigned toyrotcct the commercial rights of sponsors could be mte~preted as prohib iting political protest.

At the same t1me, the securit) agency in charge of the Olympics continues to work with its civil rights adv1sory pane l and has prom ised not to interfere with legal protests.

The IOCC was formed by a group of academics and activists after Vancouver \\On the bid in an effort to create a community organization that could work with organizers and the city on how to avoid some of the historically negative soc ial impacts of the Games.

The organizi ng committee and government officials had ~i~1~cd a com 1~1 i tment to 14 areas, including accesslbll ny, cducat1on and transportation, as well as housing and civil rights.n Activists say few of those guarantees have come to pass.

"By fili ng a complaint. it doesn't change the situation on the ground but it docs take one small step in holding to account (Vancouver and international Olympic organizers) and the different government partners in terms of how they are organ izing the Games and what if any impacts there arc go ing to be on housing and civil liberties." said Johal.

Vancouver organizers poilll to a number of steps taken to try and mitigate the impact on the Games. including providing money for temporary housing to compensate for pressure on city shelters and supporting job traini ng programs for venue construction.

A persistent issue is a concern that police are issuing thousands of tickets in the Downtown Eastside for infractions such as jaywalking in order to be able to jail the people who can't pay the fine during the Games.

City councillors promised to try and reverse some of those tickets after activists disrupted a council meeting last week.

An Olympic watchdog group is asking the United Nations to send human rights observers to the 20 I0 Winter Games.

The Impact on Communities Coa lition has also filed two new complai nts to the UN over civil rights and housing in the hopes of finding a way to hold organizers accountable for the way the Olympics affect those two areas.

While the complaints won't be heard until after the Games, group spokesperson Am .lohal says they cou ld be used to open up a much-needed international dialogue.

"Our ultimate aim is to see a reform in the 01) mpic bid process. It's nawed from the front end and we tend to see a recurrence of the same pattern in the cities hosting these Games," he said in an interview from Geneva after filing the two complaints.

The group is concerned that tenancy laws are not strong enough to prevent people from bei ng evicted from their homes to make way fo r Olympic tourists.

While the city of Vancouver has established a permit system for Games-time rentals that could thwart some of the problem, critics say there's no way to police it.

Meanwhi le, the group is also concerned that the connuence of Olympic-related city by Ia\~ sand ru les the organizing committee has at venues will sharply curtail the right of free speech. Activists arc also cla iming they arc being harassed by police who are seeking to meet with them to discuss protest plans fo r the-~::::....-~

It Shall End

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love~~~~~

Making Means all the above ~ With the warmth ~{A We share, my dove.

When a kindred spi rit be near, Neither heartache nor fear Can harm us here.

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s ome So there was this Said he was a god.

One of Seven, called Scorpio he s A plumber An expert in explosives And our hotel manager.

We are consumed by the light ~ Within the shadows of the night.

A different Game Many different Games For each tenant All tidy and clever C heck 'em in, check 'em out.

But at what cost, Do we lose the ones we've lost?

Like water under a bridge We've come so close to the edge.

Said to me, he said Your pen is at an end I never paid any mind Not really believing him Not really buying into that god s hit Delusion was my guess Poet-trauma s tress from the Golan I Ieights Blowing up stuff for Queen Lizzie.

My reali ty lessons came hard Revolutions social, protestations of existing orders Called for me Second nature Bom for the fray Love & Pain the only masters - oh I forgot Regret Regret for thopse unintentional times of callousness So I go my careful way, passing as ll appy, whole and blessed, because I am, I ever was a nd I will always be Me. Wilhelmina ---------------------.

Facilitate English Conversation Classes If you are fluent in English and willing to share your knowledge of Canadian culture, volunteer at the UBC Learning Exchange helping people practice speaking English.

The program is 12 weeks. You teach 3 hours per week and attend a 3-hour workshop on Friday afternoons.

Mark Smith, UBC LE, 612 Main St; 604-408-5183

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Because when it's wrong We must be strong.

When it's gone, We must go on.

When deep inside We know it's died.

We're caught up in a world of w ind , Only to find it s hall end.

Stanton J & friends

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Baldie, cue- bait, receding hairline, skin head, chrome dome, Sir Hairnomore !

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By Rick Nordal .----------. s .-----------, Little brother! We do not use those words anymore. The politically correct definition for hair loss Is ......

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Pay Back Pay Back will lay heavy on your back You'll be on your knees Asking the good lord to alleviate your pain God has socked it to ya And glory hallelujah For all the pain you've inflicted on me The chains are on you And I am now free

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"'";i VS. Stuck at Young

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Erin Ryan

When I was young and mostly naYve and lucky, stardust, blessed, moonbeamed bri~hl~ned, f~rtunate .. ~ Oh yes I had my ups, my downs, tnppmg wh1le ' I y freefalling to the ground; with untangling shoelaces, j · A~ ~ ~ scraping knees, fist fighting bullies, bloodied noses, -~ ~. ,i,t! a ; o / \ aching knuckles- didn't tell, didn't cry, played hide • t ' l /_ & seek from you for awhile. She wished, she prayed. she kissed me better. . imaginary princess maybe in my wildest dreams and naughty schemes, a longed for and loving Cinderella, although in the end she Add iction never did arrive; not once did this regal royal ever AII of my life I've been flying materialize in childhood.

And now I feel I've been dying.

Oh yes this is true in point of fact and I am now much To save my soul I must start trying lesser for this. If you believe in "to th ine own self be If I'm to stop all this crying. true" however you ponder it that is somewhat of what I am about. Few, I know, feel that I am enti rely free A moment out, without a blowout. of worries - past, present and future .. This all of you 1\ moment down, without being on the ground can truly believe within, without and way beyond a I must stop .. all this time I'm losing. shadow of a doubt. Revealing somewhat stunning My life has become a loss clues to you is not my usual tactic or rather frequent Of bad choosing. forte; most friend ly folk erect walls along with false By doing drugs and all th is boozing. confidence but I have no teary-eyed heartbreaki ng sadsack life-altering sorry secrets .. . uh huh, I know From bad advice and living in this vice.

I've told you some superficial ones that have someIf I could only change the way I think how formed and shaped me but I'm very lucky to With my life so close to the brink. have no pennanent scars compared to others for the Because soon I feel I'll need a drink most part Don't you think so? Do you not agree with And the drugs that make me think. me?? No matter I can take whatever come what may Now I feel the water in my eye, 'cause when I was young I played out the less than And I begin to cry. stellar marked deck and received the cards that were So now I have the need to ask why. dealt/dumped on me from stars far away and beyond our realm.

Only if I could fly.

Can' t win, can' t lose, j ust trying to keep it steady as I I cou ld rise so high go with my feet firmly planted, grounded at my Just once again before I die.

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE ancient mariner helm.

Stanton J

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A Multimedia, Outdoor, Visual Arts Market in Napier Square (Napier at Commercial) Every Sunday - August 9 to September 6. 2009 12:00 noon- 5:00pm

For more Information, leave a message for Katherine Polgrain at 604.718.5800 or e-mail her at courage@vcn.bc.ca

¡ Britannia

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C om m unity Sel\â&#x20AC;˘ i c~~ Cent1 c

1661 1\ apier Street Vancouve1 , B.C. VSL 4X4

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In April 200 I a 3-day Free Trade Agreement of the Americas meeting took place in Quebec City. The leaders of 34 nations auended. To prevent protesters from disrupting the meeting a I 0 foot high 2 12mile long fence was erected. This poem is intended to convey the feel ings of a young Quebecer and his girl friend who lived in "Quebec's Old City."

The Storming of the Quebec Fence I heed my mother's warning who states the golden rule Don't taunt the bull, disturb the cows on your way home from school.

For fences are for cows you know with bull safe-guarding there And yet I chose to risk my life in fields -just for a dare.

I see a fence erected I heed the great divide Familiar places taunt me Quebec. my home and pride The old restraints of childhood are more than I can bear The thought is running through my mind to take my chances there.

I cannot take my eyes away from entrance so denied It haunts my dreams, it captures me A challenge to my pride.

In one made moment I affirm that I will go inside.

I mount the fence with bold intent The evil I have done The bull is coming towards me I have nowhere to run.

And even as I walk in chains I see my girlfriend there I am a hero in her sight and that is all I care.

Velma Demerson*

[Velma, now in her 70's, was declared "feeble-minded" as a woman of 18 and institutionalized for several years. It was not a psychiatric assessment. She and a Chinese man had gotten pregnant and the racist, fascist eugenics ideology, shared by many of the so-called superior Aryan (white) race, separated her and several thousand other women and girls from society for the purpose of bettering the population. Velma took the government and medical professionals involved to court and, i.I:"" after several years, won compensation. She authored a book (<14tf'l tiUed Incorrigible.]

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Ask your library staff Don't Pull the Plug on Libraries!

loans, and childrer;\ programs. In the last few years, the money has also been used to buy literacy and Did you know ~h at public li brarie~ in_ British Colum- ] Aboriginal materials and fund _storytelling programs. bia are funded 111 part by the Provmc1al Government? What can you do? You can wn te to your local MLA, In 2009, libraries haven' t heard from the Province to the Minister of Education, Margaret MacDiarmid, what the funding will be for this year, even though and local newspapers tell ing them how important the year is well under way, and there are strong indi- , libraries are to you. You can send a postcard (availcations that funding will be cut for next year. able at the library) to Gordon Campbell demanding Libraries in rural areas will be particularly hard hit, Ithat the Provinciai路Government restore library fundbut the Vancouver Public Library also relies on this 'i,ig~For mo~ in formati~n, talk to us aii~bTa?y-;Qr money fo r things like online resources, Interlibrary visit www.stopbclibrarycuts.ca.

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