Archive for BC
David Cooper
Congratulations to David Cooper for being named a member of the Order of Canada, for “his innovative contributions to Canadian performance photography and for his dedicated mentorship of emerging artists.”
David is an astonishing talent and spirit. I love that the announcement focused on David’s mentorship of others. I cannot think of a better thing to have said about you.
The above photograph, of dancer Alex Kolarcik, is from Cooper’s work on The Performance Research Project. What a great photograph! The portrait below is by Emily Cooper.
Home
This is from late 1999, on my way to the clinic to get my staple-stitches out. I had injured myself trying to hop a curb with my bike: I tipped over, shattering my humerus, separating my shoulder, and breaking a bone in my neck. I was in the hospital for about a week.
It was an exceptionally sweet time for me, though. My care at St. Paul’s hospital was marvellous and friendly, and there was no bill. Lots of friends and colleagues and clients from work came by. My brother and his wife brought their kids. I enjoyed morphine for the first and last time.
I was still pretty new to Canada – born here but raised in the States, not returning until 1996. It was during this hospital stay that I saw manna falling from the sky – here, in Vancouver, BC. I was given such grace.
The photograph is by my dear and esteemed friend Lincoln Clarkes, who had brought two pies to my hospital room.
“I’d rather leave the room quietly than seriously injure someone.”
I am teaching a conflict-resolution module to my advanced-communications class tomorrow afternoon. I love this Pam Grier interview.
Can I get class credit for that?
My beloved province is home to so many financial ruses and scams.
This story amused me more than it should have.
Almost six months after the B.C. government asked post-secondary institutions to stop taking large cash payments for tuition, many [universities] have closed the loophole identified in Peter German’s report on money laundering. [German is a former high-ranking RCMP officer leading a province-wide investigation into money laundering and the gambling industry.]
Contained among the recommendations … was concern that B.C. universities and colleges could be vulnerable to money laundering.
The report included an example of a student who went to an unnamed college with a duffel bag containing $9,000 in cash and asked to deposit it.
“Peter German has advised that people are paying thousands of dollars in suspicious cash for multiple semesters in advance and then seeking refunds by cheque,” Attorney General David Eby said at a new conference in May. “Our post-secondary institutions must not be used to launder money, and we are asking them to review their policies to put a stop to it.”
Since then, many of B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions have moved to end the practice, including Thompson Rivers University and the University of the Fraser Valley. …
Several schools are still reviewing their policies. [My employer] Kwantlen Polytechnic University … still accepts cash but is “looking at the possibility of moving to a fully online payment model and recently adopted a new online payment method for international students.”
Neighbours
Great footage. The wolf watching in the background makes it perfect. God bless British Columbia!
basil.CA 