Happy Melted City

The last time I posted here, four months ago, was the day of the last 2011 Stanley Cup Finals game. If you follow hockey at all, you know that the Canucks did not win. And if you were following the news, or twitter, or know anyone who lives in Vancouver, you know that the city erupted in violence within minutes of the game's ending.

I was heartbroken. (I posted about it on my personal blog.) I was devastated by the damage done to businesses, to my neighbourhood, to my perception of my personal safety. The riots came within a dozen blocks of my apartment – at once a world away and far too close. I haven't been out taking photos for this blog since.

Until today.

This photo's from back in June, two days after the riots. It was a sunny day. Broken glass had all been swept up, broken windows boarded up or replaced, evidence of the riots quietly removed or covered over. I took this on Seymour St near W. Georgia, where a car had been set on fire outside The Bay. The heat was such that it melted this nearby parking meter. The burning car had been removed, but the parking meter bore a sort of silent witness.

Tomorrow, something more cheerful!

Post title from this song by Black Moth Super Rainbow.

Black Mark

On the 27th of December, there was an apartment fire in my part of town. Fortunately no one was hurt, and most of the damage was contained to one suite due to the building's concrete construction. It was an exciting evening in the neighbourhood! As I was out for a walk the next day, I grabbed this quick shot with my phone. Two weeks later, despite several restoration company vehicles parked in front every day, it looks almost exactly the same - there's now plywood in the window. I can't imagine what the inside must look like, and how hard it must be for the folks who live there to be suddenly homeless for a while.

Post title from this song by Samuel F. Scott & the B.O.P.