Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Utility of Hippies

Vancouver is one of those lucky places in which the people who initially mapped out the city - elites for Christ's sake - did a bunch of good stuff by setting some land aside for, um, the future of civilization or something. Stanley Park is a great example. Except for kicking out those natives who already lived there of course. WHOOPS.

Another example of native-kicking-out-and-setting-land-aside is this, the UBC Endowment Lands. Both properties are now the most valuable land there could possibly be in the city, and yet nobody's sold it all to developers from Hong Kong.

Look:

PENISES

The end of the little penis sticking up is Stanley Park, a short walk from anything downtown, and the end of the big penis sticking out to the left including that awful greenish infection it has is pretty much all university land.

On the university's land there is a research farm set up by people who sing songs and write poems and also have advanced degrees. The Lovely Daughter is lucky enough to have one of these hippies as her teacher, so her class heads out to do some farming every second Thursday. FOR NO PAY.

[COMMENCE THUNDERBLOGGING]

The farm is mostly surrounded by trees.
The Children's Garden is thisaway.
The Lovely Daughter & Co.'s plot.
Some jerks are above it all.
Others just vant to be left alone.
Predators wait to pounce.

Dude, the colours.
They're, like, trippy you know?

Above I was being a little idealistic about our fabulously wise use of land. Here go some trees just outside the farm's parking lot:



But even that stuff has the hippie tinge.

ALSO:

29 comments:

Smut Clyde said...

It is not Thundrablogging until the alt-text includes botanical and zoological names.

Substance McGravitas said...

What, I'm gonna put purpleus flowericus in there?

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Not just hippies; Milwaukee had a bunch of socialists who set aside a stellar public park system along the lake and river and including public bath houses.

Combined with the naturalists and people Like Bob LaFollette, who believed in saving natural resources for actual citizens, wisconsin was splendid.

Of course now, it's all for sale to the Gilded Fuckwads. So let's light out for Canuckistan, Huck.

Substance McGravitas said...

Have I mentioned that the second premier of BC was Amor De Cosmos?

You are welcome any time. Lotsa cranes in this town.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

SMUT CLYDE HAS SO MANY RULES.

Smut Clyde said...

"He had unusual phobias — including a fear of electricity. As he grew older, his eccentricities intensified, he became increasingly incoherent, and by 1895 he was declared insane. One of his more notable eccentricties was the founding of a hot food delivery company to prospectors in the Klondike Gold Fields. The difficult logistics of this service scared away investors and ultimately provided its downfall."

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

ORBS!!!!!!!
~

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Nice bees, too.
~

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

LEAFS SUCK has nothing like that type of co-ordinated planning, but our lackadasical "let's divide the city from the lake with an elevated highway over a six to eight lane arterial road" approach did produce this.

We also have at least one park hippie.

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

I'm confused--which blog am I at?

And what are those flowers and bees DOING TOGETHER?

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

"let's divide the city from the lake with an elevated highway over a six to eight lane arterial road"

the only place in downtown Toronto where you realize you're on the Lake is from the upper floors of the towers. It's quite funny.

And annoying, if you are walking around.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Milwaukee used to have a nudist beach hippie.

Substance McGravitas said...

Down the cliffs from UBC is Wreck Beach.

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

It's quite funny.

And annoying, if you are walking around.


Actually, there's some pretty interesting development going on south of the Gardiner on our Harbourfront. This condo for example. Unfortunately, since this stretch of LEAFS SUCK is a couple hundred metres wide and the northern border of this neighbourhood is an elevated highway over top of an eight lane boulevard. It's nice to be so close to downtown, it kinda sucks to have to dodge that much traffic to get to it.

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Our clothing optional beach is on the island.

Substance McGravitas said...

I think I've driven by that condo. There's a whole bunch of land around there that seems to be getting attention. Let's hope it works out.

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Let's hope it works out.

Who knows, stranger stuff has happened. LEAFS SUCK waterfront development is overseen by TWRC and TPA, both agencies with representation from all three levels of government, and a handful of other stakeholders. It is a recipe for moving forward quickly. That said, two urban beaches in five years.

Focus is now on the West Port Lands, where they want to put the athletes village for PanAm 2015. Well that and the ongoing drama with our mayor.

Substance McGravitas said...

Maybe that land could be used for a really big parking lot.

Substance McGravitas said...

Hey, isn't Sugar Beach pretty isolated from most foot traffic right now?

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Might have to go nude smelt fishing at Wreck Beach.

During the smelt season, naturists share this area with clothed fishers and their families. Smelt fishing is typically prohibited from the middle of June to the middle of August.

"Mind the hooks!"

Substance McGravitas said...

The downside of the water here is that it's pretty cold; there's less swimming at Wreck Beach than there is hanging out and getting drunk/stoned.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Actually, there's some pretty interesting development going on south of the Gardiner on our Harbourfront.

Gosh, if only we had a local who could have shown us some of the ins and outs of the Toronto...

there's less swimming at Wreck Beach than there is hanging out and getting drunk/stoned.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Lake Michigan is pretty cold most of the time also. Although it doesn't stop the drunken loons from jumping in it on January 1st every year.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Might have to go nude smelt fishing

You've been hanging around fish too long.

Glennis said...

Good hippie gardening!

Smut Clyde said...

I went to Wreck Beach when staying at UBC in 2009 but there were NO WRECKS chiz chiz.

fish said...

Might have to go nude smelt fishing at Wreck Beach.

THAT IS NOT A WORM!!!

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

S.C. (IF that is his real name) was ripped off and deserves a refund.
~

fish said...

I am interested in how one gets two green penus. AFAF

Dragon-King Wangchuck said...

Gosh, if only we had a local who could have shown us some of the ins and outs of the Toronto,,,

I live in teh burbs. Maybe you could try this guy if'n you don't mind only going to places frequented by buxom redheads.