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Museum’s ‘whale bone porn’ leaves Vancouver mother ‘extremely disturbed’; demands its removal
Never mind the Internet. A Vancouver mother and schoolteacher is sounding the alarm after stumbling upon another medium that she thinks may corrupt young and impressionable minds: 19th-century “whale bone porn.”
Ann Pimentel raised the concern — and coined the unlikely phrase — after visiting the Vancouver Maritime Museum (VMM), a modest institution on the city’s west side. That’s where a small collection of etchings and engravings on whale teeth and bone is on display, part of a larger show that also features example of maritime tattoo art.
Nine of the etched pieces on display show images of a sexual nature, some of them quite explicit. “A Whaler’s Hope of the First Night Ashore” is etched across a tooth that’s eight inches long, extracted two centuries ago from an unfortunate sperm whale. Underneath the title is etched a saucy scene. A man and a woman, flesh exposed. Mouths open, limbs entwined. You get the idea. (Arlen Redekop/Postmedia News)
![U.S. Army deserter escapes capture outside Vancouver church ‘sanctuary’ when elderly friend fights off policeFor more than three years, U.S. Army deserter Rodney Watson has staved off deportation using nothing more than the brick walls of Downtown Vancouver’s First United Church — and the unwritten biblical code of “sanctuary.”Thus, when border officials spotted Mr. Watson “off property” during a routine check of the building Tuesday, they saw fit to make their move.Seeing the officers approach, an elderly friend of Mr. Watson rushed in to fight them off, allowing the 35-year-old to foil their pursuit and slip back over the church’s threshold.“It was a bit of a mystery why [border officials] were there at that particular time, almost waiting, it seemed,” said a church official.The episode is one of the starkest examples yet of Canadian border agents being stopped by the “sanctity” of a church — a practice they claim not to recognize. (Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News files)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/394fdc874feb60420709760f632f6d1a/tumblr_mhhtelYaCI1qze0z6o1_1280.jpg)
U.S. Army deserter escapes capture outside Vancouver church ‘sanctuary’ when elderly friend fights off police
For more than three years, U.S. Army deserter Rodney Watson has staved off deportation using nothing more than the brick walls of Downtown Vancouver’s First United Church — and the unwritten biblical code of “sanctuary.”
Thus, when border officials spotted Mr. Watson “off property” during a routine check of the building Tuesday, they saw fit to make their move.
Seeing the officers approach, an elderly friend of Mr. Watson rushed in to fight them off, allowing the 35-year-old to foil their pursuit and slip back over the church’s threshold.
“It was a bit of a mystery why [border officials] were there at that particular time, almost waiting, it seemed,” said a church official.
The episode is one of the starkest examples yet of Canadian border agents being stopped by the “sanctity” of a church — a practice they claim not to recognize. (Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News files)
Miss Congeniality beauty queen pleads guilty to breaking and entering in Stanley Cup riot
A former beauty queen whose crowning as Miss Congeniality made her one of the highest-profile suspects in Vancouver’s Stanley Cup riot has pleaded guilty, and her lawyer has suggested the woman’s international notoriety has gone far beyond what her case deserves.
Sophie Laboissonniere, who was 20 at the time of the June 2011 riot, was not in court when her lawyer entered the plea on her behalf.
The Richmond, B.C., resident was among the first batch of suspects charged after the riot. Media reports quickly identified her as the winner of Miss Congeniality at a local beauty pageant, sending her name and photo across the country and farther afield.
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Ryan Kesler traded in his stick for a referee’s whistle in Vancouver on Wednesday, but not to worry — it was just for one night during the NHL lockout.
About fifty road hockey players laced up their skates under the Cambie Bridge on Wednesday in a game organized by the Canucks star, featuring an appearance by the fan-favourite “Green Men” and anthem singer Mark Donnelly. Kevin Bieksa played on one of the teams, and defenceman Jason Garrison joined Kesler as another referee.
“It’s just something we wanted to do to have some fun,” Bieksa said to the Vancouver Sun. “Every time we’ve been talking hockey lately it’s been serious and [about] the CBA and all that, so we’re just going back to our roots for a fun road hockey game. In the pouring rain.” (Photo: Ian Lindsay/Postmedia News)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_memclq83pA1r1thtao1_1280.jpg)
Ryan Kesler traded in his stick for a referee’s whistle in Vancouver on Wednesday, but not to worry — it was just for one night during the NHL lockout.
About fifty road hockey players laced up their skates under the Cambie Bridge on Wednesday in a game organized by the Canucks star, featuring an appearance by the fan-favourite “Green Men” and anthem singer Mark Donnelly. Kevin Bieksa played on one of the teams, and defenceman Jason Garrison joined Kesler as another referee.
“It’s just something we wanted to do to have some fun,” Bieksa said to the Vancouver Sun. “Every time we’ve been talking hockey lately it’s been serious and [about] the CBA and all that, so we’re just going back to our roots for a fun road hockey game. In the pouring rain.” (Photo: Ian Lindsay/Postmedia News)
Brian Hutchinson: ‘Vansterdam’ can learn from U.S. legalized marijuana experiment
So long, Vansterdam. Thanks to surprising initiatives taken south of the border, this city’s dubious reputation as North America’s marijuana capital is coming to an end. On Tuesday, voters in Colorado and Washington State embraced measures to allow any individual aged 21 and up to possess marijuana, as much as one ounce. That’s quite a lot, really; enough to make about 28 joints.
In B.C., five former attorneys-general have called for marijuana legalization. So have some mayors. But they have also chosen to ignore or downplay potential health risks associated with pot. They haven’t acknowledged every reasonably likely outcome.
But here’s a great opportunity: Our neighbours are about to experience legal, recreational marijuana use. We should watch their bold social experiment unfold, and take lessons from it before doing anything else. (Rick Wilking/Reuters files)
Weeks after posting haunting Youtube video on her years of torment at classmates’ hands, 15-year-old B.C. girl commits suicide
VANCOUVER — There was an outpouring of condolences following the suspected suicide of a British Columbia teenager who last month posted a gut-wrenching video to YouTube of her treatment at the hands of relentless bullies.
Coroner Barb McLintock said Thursday night that preliminary indications suggest Amanda Todd, 15, took her own life one day earlier.
Todd posted a haunting, black-and-white, nine-minute video on Sept. 7 in which she doesn’t speak, but holds up a series of white pieces of paper with brief sentences in black marker.
Vancouver animal hospital worker to plead guilty in Rottweiler sex case
A Vancouver man accused of having sex with one of his dogs is expected to enter a guilty plea, a judge was told Monday.
Brian Anthony Cutteridge, 37, will plead guilty to one charge of bestiality on Oct. 2 and be sentenced on that day, Crown counsel David Simpkin told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Arne Silverman.
Outside court, Cutteridge’s lawyer declined to comment on why his client, who has been a vocal opponent of laws that condemn sex between humans and animals, decided to enter the guilty plea.
In online writings, Cutteridge has expressed the view that laws that oppose zoophilia, or sex between humans and animals, are logically incoherent and therefore inherently unjust and that it doesn’t cause harm to animals.
Cycle chic in Vancouver
Coco Chanel once said, “there is never a bad time to look pretty.” Generally, cycling spandex isn’t all that pretty but Vancouverite David Phu believes that cycling is simply another opportunity to look your best, and that a cyclist’s wardrobe should not be limited to things that are tight and stretchy. Promoting cycling as a regular daily activity is important to Phu (an avid cyclist himself) and taking it beyond athletic wear has been an integral part of that.
Why are you laughing? $1.5M secures Vancouver’s beloved smiling statues, but what do they really mean?
They are crowd pleasers, to be sure. Fourteen figures, larger-than-life self-portraits by a renowned Chinese artist who conceived and crafted them from bronze. Grinning from ear to ear, every one. That’s Yue Minjun’s trademark, after all. He applies it to all of his work.
Known collectively as “A-maze-ing Laughter,” the 14 pieces were installed beside Vancouver’s scenic English Bay three years ago, as part of a public sculpture initiative. They became an instant hit. Children love them. Grown-ups, too.
But they were always intended as a temporary installation. All 14 pieces — each weighing 250 kilograms — were to be returned to artist Yue last year. The deadline for their removal was extended to the end of this month. They would have to go, unless someone could meet Mr. Yue’s $5-million asking price, buy the work, and keep it in town. (Photos: Vancouver Sun; The Province; PNG)
Matt Gurney: Vancouver rioter deserved more than the ‘crazy’ sentence he got
On Monday, a Vancouver judge sentenced Emmanuel Alviar, 20, to one month behind bars for his role in the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. Alviar had no prior criminal record, turned himself in and pleaded guilty to the charge of rioting. His lawyer had urged that he accordingly be spared jail time and given a conditional sentence. The judge, however, agreed with the Crown that time behind bars was necessary as a deterrent to future acts of mayhem, especially in a city that has known two Stanley Cup riots in recent memory.
As he was being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, to begin his month-long sentence (likely to be closer to three weeks, if Alviar behaves well), the young man was observed to say, “This is crazy.” Clearly, Alviar agreed with his lawyer that no time behind bars was called for. He’s right about one thing — it is crazy. But not in the way he thinks. Alviar is crazily lucky to have escaped with such a tame slap on the wrist.
Douglas Coupland-created ‘V-Pole’ may take high tech to the streets in Vancouver
To clear its streets of cellphone towers, parking meters, Wi-Fi terminals, streetlights and even community message boards, the city of Vancouver is pushing forward with a scheme to compress all the technologies together into specialized “Vancouver poles” planted throughout the city.
“Meet your inevitable future,” wrote novelist Douglas Coupland, the technology’s creator, in an introductory Tweet.
The device, no larger than a telephone pole, would manage cell signals for multiple carriers, as well as wireless Internet for the surrounding neighbourhood. In-ground pads plugged into the pole would provide inductive charging for parked electric cars. An integrated touch screen would display maps, ads or payment interfaces, and an LED street light would be perched at the top of the pole. (Photo: Martin Tessler/Mathew Bulford; Illustration: Andrew Barr)
Miss Universe Canada disqualifies transsexual beauty queen Jenna Talackova
Vancouver’s Jenna Talackova was everything Miss Universe Canada was looking for when she was selected among 65 finalists for the 2012 competition, to be held in Toronto in May.
But the Donald Trump–owned beauty pageant confirmed Friday that the 23-year-old has been disqualified from the competition. (Photo: ModelMayhem.com)
The reason, Talackova claims, is she was born male.
“She did not meet the requirements to compete despite having stated otherwise on her entry form,” stated a Miss Universe Canada release.
DougieDog to sell $100 cognac-infused Kobe-beef hotdog on the streets of Vancouver
Hotdogs! Hotdogs! Get your hotdogs! Only a hundred bucks!
The average price of a hotdog on Vancouver’s Granville Street is set to increase dramatically, thanks to the introduction of a certain cognac-infused hotdog that will sell for $100.
DougieDog Hot Dogs, known for its creative all-natural hotdogs, has just added the Dragon Dog to its menu.
The hotdog features a foot-long bratwurst infused with hundred-year-old Louis XIII cognac, which costs more than $2,000 a bottle.
The Dragon Dog also comes with Kobe beef, seared in olive and truffle oil and fresh lobster. (Photo: Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News)
Shad reviews Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne stop in Vancouver
Canadian rapper Shad, born Shad Kabango in 1983, is a hip-hop artist based in Vancouver who has been twice nominated for the Polaris Prize: in 2008 for his sophomore recording, The Old Prince, and in 2011 for TSOL. Since then he has earned a master’s degree in liberal studies from Simon Fraser, and lost his mind watching Kanye West and Jay-Z (a.k.a. The Throne) perform at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena
Vancouver police task force referred to missing and murdered women as ‘whores,’ inquiry hears
Vancouver police officers and staff referred to the missing and murdered women as “hookers” or “whores,” made sexist remarks about female bosses and even disparaged grieving families, but the Vancouver Police Department does not suffer from “systemic bias,” an inquiry heard Tuesday.
Vancouver police Deputy Chief Doug LePard, author of a 400-page report critical of the Vancouver police and RCMP handling of the murdered women files, stuck to his guns after eight days of testimony at the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.
Questioned by Vancouver lawyer Jason Gratl, who read out remarks he called “racist” and “homophobic” plucked from a mountain of Vancouver police documents, LePard insisted most police officers are “disgusted” by overt racism or bias.
LePard admitted some terms were “unfortunate” but argued that some pejorative words such as “hooker” were in common usage. LePard said he doesn’t believe the Vancouver Police Department is riddled with “systemic bias” or racism, and that officers who used extremely offensive language were reviled by their peers. (Photo: Wayne Leidenfrost/Postmedia News)
