Category Archives: Cmty Campaigns

various endeavours like: True North Media House: Olympic social accreditation, Clayoquot Sound blockades, various lists, bestofs, award, tourism blurbs, un-conferences and geek camps + TEDx live blogging/tweeting

Artifacts: Nepal Relief Efforts round-up, Vancouver, 2015

In 2015, Nepal suffered a series of cataclysmic earthquakes, devastating villages… {I suppose it’s worth noting that this was also in the week of some other conundrums and tragedies involving the royal family and cataclysmic change in government and society in general}.

Anyhow, living in Vancouver at a time, and feeling lousy about my then-new-found health situation, I tried to participate in various relief efforts and *at least* document and amplify as best i could.

riffs and musings about Nepal

Since my childhood fascination with the Himalaya mountains and the thought of drinking yak milk tea high altitude, villages, Nepal held a place in my heart. {I also have a dear friend from the country who’s helped me out in multiple times of disarray}.

As it goes, a few years later, I finally made my first visit to the country for an extended Ayurveda treatment and was unbelievably charmed and fascinated by the intrepid and kind nature of the Nepali people.

As such, this post is simply to remind myself, others and history about the grassroots efforts that went on at the time to bring relief.

Postcards: Specifically, I did my own campaign of “Postcards for Nepal” in which anyone who demonstrated some activity to support Nepal relief efforts, would receive one of my handmade postcards. Not a big deal i realize but you do with what you have.

Postcards from Nepal relief

evidence of postcards for Nepal

Campaign posters: And, as is my habit, I documented handbills and flyers for other relief efforts and campaigns and did my best to donate and promote Nepal relief efforts and admired the grassroots and creativity of many of the initiatives. I see you.

another really interesting grassroots initiative to send medical equipment. As I recall, there was also some early instances of 3-D printing put to use during this time

Food: I also worked with then-nearby Gurkha Nepal restaurant who were hosting weekly lunches and dinners at which proceeds went to the relief efforts.

checking in from Gurkha restuarant

Some really nice guys working there (as I understand, they subsequently sold and moved on). Also noting that i chronically misspelled the name of the restaurant.

Continue reading Artifacts: Nepal Relief Efforts round-up, Vancouver, 2015

Tokyo’s “Lonely” Olympics and the Mess Left Behind on theBreaker.news podcast

Olympics are over if you want it. Pod’d some thoughts with Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin a few days ago about the lay of the land here in Japan and the cognitive dissonance between Tokyo2020 Olympics on TV and for the people hosting / paying for it.

this photo has nothing to do with the post but it is a baseball game at the Olympics on teevee just to decorate the post a wee bit

As such, i call it “The Lonely Olympics”.

But first listen in browser or you know, all those *other podcast places*.

Breaker.news Podcast: The Games are over, but Tokyo’s problems aren’t

I was sorta the “warm-up act” for Jules Boykoff, authour of NOlympics. who has rocked the media during Tokyo 2020/1 including this riff on my pal Bob Mackin’s heavy news pod.

I had *a lot* fo say and maybe said “too much” but felt a lot of frustration being a “regular resident” on the ground in provincial Japan awaiting vaccinations and paying taxes while the IOC’s debacle continued with excuses, conundrums and constant bubble-breaking. But, nobody asked me… well, except for Bob :) .

Mostly though, I’m curious about your opinion from wherever you are.

From Bob Mackin’s podcast description from week of Aug. 8, 2021:
Click to listen to Bob Mackin’s “The Breaker” podcast with me riffing from Japan

The Tokyo Olympics are over.

Postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, but they happened in the pandemic anyway. 

The International Olympic Committee is claiming success, because the Games eventually opened and closed on time. But the Japanese people are stuck with the bill and more coronavirus infections than there were when the cauldron was lit in an empty stadium surrounded by protesters. 

On this edition, hear expert analysis from ex-Vancouverite Dave Olson in Okayama, Japan and Jules Boykoff,  political scientist, author and Olympics industry critic from Portland, Ore.

Plus commentary and Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines.

from Bob Mackin’s “The Breaker News” pod

More: Japan Times ran a series of articles with various names and reactions… & some very enjoyable Deep Dive podcasts

Episode 93: Week 1 at the Tokyo Olympics: Gold, Covid and Naomi Osaka

Episode 94: Week 2 at the Tokyo Olympics: A marathon in the heat

Episode 95: Theremins and gold medal wins: Farewell to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Scenes of Tokyo Olympic Life in Japan on CKNW Radio, Vancouver

Okayama Calling ~ DaveO on the Air

Unrelated photo of Japanese Corespondent and Multi-purpose pontifying pundit

Another talkie talkie scene report about Tokyo2020 Olympics from Japan on CKNW 980 AM radio Vancouver from Monday Aug 2nd, 5PM PDT (or Aug 3rd Tues 9AM JST) with Martin Strong / embedded and downloadable for your convenience.

No shortage of topics & conundrums ?

Discussed: medal and C19 counts, table tennis, Judo, USA v CAN Football, Belorussian refugee, Georgian miscreant bubble breakers, lack of celebration, mixed emotions, going rogue, quasi-states of confusion and emergency, typhoons and surfing, 13 year old and sibling champs, unwanted positivity & hopeful negativity etc.

Questions welcome. Unrelated photo above for amusement.

Notes:

statistics ahoy
medal counts
case counts
high temps
typhoons
13 year skateboarders
fainting archers
boycotting doctors
exiled Georgians
positive pole vaulters
endless table tennis
food complainers
overwhelmed translators
yet more quasi sorta states
“Olympics fever” headlines
impending elections
bed hijinks
grandstanding IOC
double speak (we were fine to cancel but… )
war chests
“athletes should just do their job”
protests
refugee Belorussians
legacy of athlete’s “standing up” for a minute
4% of revenues goes to athletes
my idea of Sean Lennon singing Imagine woulda be great(er)

Continue reading Scenes of Tokyo Olympic Life in Japan on CKNW Radio, Vancouver

Countdown to Tokyo 202x Olympics with “Scene Report” on CKNW Radio, Vancouver

Get your ears on and listen to Tokyo Olympics “scene report” chat with Jody Vance on Vancouver news/talk radio 980AM from July 12th afternoon PST, July 13th 9-ish AM JST.

A few notes to go with: 

Covered a lot of ground but so much more. Looking forward to keeping you up-to-date from regular folks’ point of view as #Tokyo2020 gets underway.

Tokyo 2020, for many reasons will be a very unique iteration (understatement!) of the Olympics with very few spectators, loads of precautions and a host city in 4th state of emergency.

Importantly: truly hope events occur w/o public health consequences.

Lots of anxiety / frustration about IOC hubris & government waffling.

(I realize) it’s not unusual for Olympics to get off to a rocky start that’s for sure and once they get going, a lot of the negativity fades and good times prevail.

For record, at +/- 16% vaccination rate in Japan.

In “better news“: Since anybody watching (aside from oligarchs & bureaucrats) will be watching on TV (regardless of all the things going outside of the sports venues), fancy new technology will make sports (including a few new ones *skate, surf, rock*) look really great on TV – might as well get to know crazy tech – cameras, clouds, microphones etc. 

Hey that was fun! could talk with Jody Vance for an hour (one tech hiccup when my phone *automagically* connected to wife’s car via bluetooth – ooops :)) 

We didn’t get to riff about the extra challenges for athletes coming from Delta-heavy countries, the onerous participant waivers athletes have to sign, and IOC chief Bach’s visit to Hiroshima and other gaffes…

Any Vancouver or elsewhere media on the ground needing a high-five, hit me up. Happy to listen to any comments, questions, musings, concerns about Tokyo2020 and IOC / Olympics in general. Continue reading Countdown to Tokyo 202x Olympics with “Scene Report” on CKNW Radio, Vancouver

Hockey Primer (for Seattle and beyond)

Hockey Lounge 4:20 24/7, immortalized at Olympic Plaza in SLC, Utah, 2002
Preamble: for years, mostly living in Olympia, Washington and later Vancouver, BC I wrangled a website called HockeyNW tracking historic and contemporary hockey culture around Cascadia including teams: Tacoma SaberCats, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, flashing back to Seattle Metropolitans,  bits of Portland and of course Vancouver, as well the in-line hockey teams i coached through a YMCA league in Olympia.

During this time my brother Dan and i (something) hosted the “Hockey Lounge” in Olympia, Washington – a speak / toke easy” to spread hockey culture (and provide occasional crash space for rock n roll bands – another story).

 
Some of the artifacts are shared in this archive, others might be eventually.
 
Anyhow… what I’m saying is: all of this was anticipating the arrival of another NHL franchise in the Northwest which eventually became the Seattle Kraken. Took a while and now I live far away but, recently shared a bit of an “hockey primer” with a friend who lives in Washington State who is a soccer/football supporter to share a little bit of culture and basics about the sport.
I don’t really write about hockey anymore and my “consumption experience” is generally solo, with coffee in the cottage in Japan, regardless, sharing here for posterity:
June 11, 2021 Hello [redacted],
 
Been meaning to tell you a few things about hockey and now it’s a really good time for you to start paying attention because it’s almost into the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I’m currently listening to Seattle’s “expansion cousins” Vegas Golden Knights game six against the Colorado Avalanche (who used to be the Quebec Nordiques) yes it’s a little bit confusing especially when you consider the winner of the series will play the Montréal Canadiens, who are from Quebec – Canada sorta / of course but the French-centric part and who shocked the hockey world by running over their long time rival Toronto (a.k.a. the centre of the universe) Maple Leafs and then swept aside the Winnipeg Jets (who used to be the Atlanta Thrashers) it’s things like this that require a good primer.
 
The good thing about Seattle Kraken is now Vancouver has a natural geographical rival. In the past, the other teams would all match-up with natural dance-partners and Van was sort of stranded in their own little glorious West Coast anomaly. As we’ve seen with MLS, having teams in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver makes for good times for supporters/fans/whatever.

Continue reading Hockey Primer (for Seattle and beyond)

Tokyo Olympics (+ Beijing) and IOC Hubris on theBreaker.news podcast

a lonely Tokyo Olympic sign spotted in a library Aug 2020

theBreaker.news Podcast: Five-ring circus controversy in Japan and China

I talked about the Tokyo Olympics with Bob Mackin – who I first connected with leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics when he did an article featuring Kris Krüg and I talking about citizen documentation campaign which eventually became True North Media House. This segment also explores the human rights issues about Beijing 2022 Winter Games. (off record, we talked about IOC scrambling for relevancy). 

Since then, I interviewed Bob for the Olympic Outsider, podcast (as we both headed home on the Seabus amongst revellers to Lynn Valley, North Vancouver and i also appeared on his TheBreaker.news podcast in August 2020 talking about these same subjects + baby Ichiro Stanley Thorvald. 

Anyhow, i’ve shared a lot about this topic on other channels including recent convo with Jody Vance on CKNW 980AM radio Vancouver but a few notes:

In brief, pushing ahead with Olympics in Japan call into question:
* health & safety of residents
* economic “handcuffs” & sovereignty
* fairplay for all athletes (esp from countries in crisis)
* funded junkets for dodgy operators
* rude / vague double-talk & IOC hubris
* no fun for residents who made this happen

Curious to hear your views after listening.

My riffs start at 6:00-ish mark (and consider supporting Bob “the hammer” Mackin as he holds governments to account).

May 30, 2021:  Should the Tokyo Olympics be postponed or cancelled?

Should the Beijing Winter Olympics be moved or boycotted?

The future is now for the five-ring circus. On this edition, host Bob Mackin ponders the pandemic in Japan and China’s human rights abuses. Guests Dave Olson in Okayama, Japan and Ivy Li of the Canadian Friends of Hong Kong.

Plus Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines.

theBreaker.news Podcast: Five-ring circus controversy in Japan and China

More notes (social riff round-up): 

A lot of the “IOC family” are wealthy, privileged, vaccinated and aren’t necessarily worried about the impact they have on Japan after they leave. They’re staying in hotels, not a bubble, using public transportation and surely will be going out and about.

Easy to tell them but very difficult to enforce in any way. And punishment? These wealthy/privileged folks don’t give a fck about a fine. IOC Officials roll with basically diplomatic immunity during the games

…Especially the athletes coming from countries currently in crisis. What a dilemma for them to leave their families and support networks behind in such bad situations! Then possibly bringing variants back to medical systems which are unable to handle more chaos. :(

I am less concerned about the athletes who will likely be diligent about staying in the bubble and way more concerned about the “IOC family“… 60,000 executives, fat-cats, VIPs and sponsors rolling in with no quarantine requirement or vaccination and no bubble. Stay home IOC!

Related: 

*Of course* there are lots of articles discussing the Olympic topic from various “major media expected new sources” like Japan Times, Washington Post, Asahi Shinbun blah blah blah but this one from Teen Vogue with particularly awesome so I’m gonna share this *and definitely not* gonna get carried away with a laundry list of resources. {If curious, you can check my various Twitter channels, I’ll assume you can figure that out (look in right side bar if needed) oh and follow for Olympian and author of NOlympics @JulesBoykoff and former VANOC comms guy @GraemeMenzies who wrote a treatise about modernizing the event.

Anyhow, Teen Vogue is slaying, ergo:

The Olympics Devastate Host Cities and Need a Permanent Location This op-ed argues that the impact of the Olympic Games on host cities has become too devastating to ignore.

BY EMILY BURACK
JUNE 1, 2021

The Olympics are broken. Nowhere is this clearer than in Tokyo, where polls have indicated more than 80% of Japanese citizens oppose the upcoming Summer Games and the Japanese government has declared a state of emergency. As of late May, just 3.7% of the population had received at least one dose of the vaccine and Japan is grappling with a “fourth wave” of COVID-19. There’s never been an Olympics so deeply unpopular with a host city — and so dangerous to hold — and yet by all indications, the Tokyo Games will go on as scheduled.

Even without a pandemic, the impact of the Olympics on host cities has become too devastating to ignore.

Talking Tokyo Olympic conundrums on CKNW Radio, Vancouver

Oh listen… i talked about Tokyo Olympics and various conundrums with Jody Vance on CKNW AM Radio in Vancouver.

Wanted to share the feelings of deceit and frustration the the residents of Japan are feeling with IOC’s demands for “sacrifice”, more doctors, volunteers and threats of penalties if cancelled/delayed. Suggestions: delay until Oct or later and/or IOC “family” stay home. Also thoughts about athletes from countries in crisis. Is it fair for them to leave family to try to focus on competing. Sigh. Anyhow, was a treat to share as an erstwhile representative of my new home country. Get your ears on…

Listen above in browser (skip the creepy news bit at the beginning) and/or download archived audio via John B below. 

Note: awarded from Jay S “Bonus points for the use of the words “bromide” and “coterie”” and happy to get in namechecks of Whalley, Lynn Valley and Ichiro Stanley as well as my home city Okayama, Japan. 

UPDATE: 

Just did another audio hit on theBreaker.News with Bob Mackin about Olympics conundrums and IOC hubris in Japan. Now featuring more Dick Pound (ugh) thwarting sovereignty and lack of fun times and excitement. Seems much of the world doesn’t know the low-down in Japan and other Asian locations.

If you have questions (&/or need a guest to riff), hit me up at the “studio”.

studio has character but lacks some modern conveniences

PS check my (rather prescient) previous convo with Bob about Olympix etc last August (and our convo on the Seabus during Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Memento: Canucks and related hockey artifacts

Memento: Canucks and related hockey artifacts

Various hockey ephemera (cards, calendars, tickets, clippings), made into a shadowbox once upon a time, broken, harvested and laid in situ.

Primarily Vancouver Canucks related including: Captain Marcus Naslund, goaltenders variety  of Gary Bromley, Kirk McLean, Dan Cloutier plus tickets stubs from Vancouver Canucks, Seattle Thunderbirds, schedule from Vancouver Giants, plus Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky to rub off some greatness, and a list of Stanley Cup champions torn from a newspaper. Plus, Vancouver Canucks puck #inventory

Of such items, many many more exist in boxes, this just appeared behind broken glass.

Media: Stanley Cup snap in “Real Clear Sports” (2009)

Memento: Stanley Cup snap in Real Clear Sports

As an enthusiast of creative commons “alt copyright”, I publish/shared many photos under an “non-commercial/attribution/sharealike license” which resulted in my images popping up in many places, often not with the proper attribution and dubious commercialization, but hey, life’s complicated like that sometimes. Nevertheless, I do try to document these things for the permanent record. In this case, my photo of the Stanley Cup (snapped at an NHL trophy exhibit at SLC Olympics in 2002) used and shared in many places, including / here in “Real Clear Sports” (whatever that is) in a bit of “meta” documentation using a screenshot of an archived version of the page.

Media: Social Olympics in 24Hrs Vancouver, 2009

Kris Krug and Dave Olson discuss social coverage of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics with Bob Mackin as in 24 Hours Vancouver, July 16, 2009
Printed detail of Kris Krug and Dave Olson discuss social coverage of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics with Bob Mackin as in 24 Hours Vancouver, July 16, 2009

Excerpt:

Social media strategist Kris Krug said talks are underway to host the True North Media House in the W2 Community Media Arts Centre.

“We’re just a bunch of kids who are doing social media and online media and we just want to cover the Olympics,” Krug said. “We’re banding together to share sources, resources, photographers, places to work, press briefings.”

Krug and Dave Olson are leading a local new media group that sought access to the Games through VANOC and the B.C. 2010 Winter Games Secretariat.

“We were shut out and frozen out at every step of the way,” Olson said.

Krug said the International Olympic Committee is reluctant to open the doors wide to new media, fearing that it will erode the value of international TV contracts.

They adopted an if you can’t join them, beat them with kindness strategy and conceived the True North Media House.

See also: Business in Vancouver tells the True North Media House story + archived link