Cross-Canada Shenanigans - Edmonton to Regina

As Edmonton recedes in the rear view mirror of our fully loaded Ford Escape (luggage, not leather and sunroof) I can’t help but smell a whiff of regret.  No…wait…that’s the cat litter from the litterbox at the back of the car.  Never mind.  No regret.

Anyway, the first leg of our cross-country journey is complete.  Greetings from the homicide capital of Canada!  Just a tip…you might not want to stay at the Howard-Johnson’s in Regina.

Thoughts so far:

- I’m pretty sure that the Yellowhead Highway makes the surrounding part of every city it goes through look like a post-apocalyptic nightmare of concrete and big-boxes.  Edmonton, Lloydminster, Saskatoon - none come out looking pretty from the Yellowhead.

- I’m bummed we didn’t stop at the Historic Telephone Museum in Manville, AB.  That is something I’ll have wished I did when I’m on my death bed.

- Our cat stopped meowing somewhere outside of Lloydminster, thank the lord.

- Saskatchewan is kind of boring at night.  I mean, it’s not a thrill a minute in the light, but at least we could see the fields.

What’s next?  Manitoba and beyond!

BONUS GAME:  First person who can tell me where this picture is wins a prize!

Cross-Canada Shenanigans - YEG to YYZ

As some of you know, Ben Co. HQ is relocating to Toronto, ON. Now, I’ve written all sorts of fun things about Edmonton, AB over the past year and a half that we’ve been there, but it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

What does this mean?  Why, another cross-country road trip.  Yep, nothing but me, my wife, our cat, and kilometer upon kilometer of prairie.  So, to share my pain fun, we’re gonna be blogging all across Canada.  Keep your eye out, as we’ll update when wireless access permits!

See you in 3,419 kilometers!

Top 10 Things I Hated About Edmonton

Now that I’m safely ensconced in my friends condo in Toronto happily suckling from the teat of urbanism, density and an efficient public transit system, I think I can safely reflect on the 10 things I hated most from my time in Edmonton.

I know, I know…how could I possibly narrow it down to 10?  I’m that good.  So, here it is, the top 10 things I hated about Edmonton.

Top 10 Things I Hated About Edmonton

 1.  Apparent Lack of Any Urban Planning…At All

Now, I know no city is perfect.  All major urban centres have gone through periods of rampant growth which throws any sort of coherent planning out the window, but Edmonton has really done it with style.  At various times during my stay in Edmonton I had asked long time Edmontonians why the city seemed to grow as an amporphous blob, and most times I recieved vauge answers around “the landscape promotes this sort of growth.”

Oh really…the landscape dictates that you build a sea of big box stores on your main entry to your downtown core, or that you allow parking lots and Walmarts to surround apartment complexes without any thought to walkability?  I didn’t realized that those wide open spaces erased any concept of historical preservation, density, or urban planning.   I mean, Edmonton covers 680 some sq. km., larger than Chicago, Phillie, Montreal, or…yes, Toronto.  And the actual City of Edmonton population is around 730,000.  Obnoxious.

Top 10 Things I Liked About Edmonton

That’s right, folks, we are pulling up stakes, loading of the Red River cart and heading back to the bright lights of Toronto.

Yessir, we’ve had enough of this oil loving, profit at all costs province and decided to make our fortunes in a less heady economic environment.

“But Ben,” you say, “surely there must be something you liked during your stay in the Wild Rose province?”  And you’re right…so here’s my top 10 things I liked about my time in Edmonton and Alberta.  While these are kind of in order of preference, they’re not really.

 Top 10 Things I Liked About Edmonton

1.  William Eddins

The conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is a transplant from Minneapolis, so he gets bonus points right there.  He had a terrific way of connecting with the audience and creating a relaxed atmosphere.  Plus, the exuberance with which he conducted was contagious and you couldn’t help but be engaged - and he gets major bonus points for the “bum wiggling” incident.

Pulitzer here I come

 

I think I used up my 15 minutes of fame, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I thought it would be.

After many passionate letters to the Edmonton Journal on topics ranging from homelessness to municipal infrastructure issues, this is what gets published:

At least now I have a good barometer of what type of writing they are looking for in the Edmonton Journal.  Passionate and informed - no; Snarky and vacuous - YES, PLEASE!

Sigh.

Oh, and I was censored.  I wrote “good old grand theft auto.”  Much  more poetic.

2007 Photoaramamontage

Since I only have the power to look backwards in time, I’d like to share with you a montage of my photography from 2007. Two things:

1) I help run this website UrbanOhio. I’ll give it a proper introductions later, gotta space out my material.

2) I have never thought myself to be a “good” photographer (and no I’m not fishing for “woe is me” compliments.) I like photography because I do. The pictures included in the link below represent places I’ve been, memories, city’s, stories or just a laugh.

A few snippets:

I’ve got pacman fever!

Ben’s hangout

Giggity

See The Full Set

Edmonton Municipal Election Wrap-Up

Well, Edmonton had one of the lowest voter turnouts in years - 26.8%.  Despite the lack of significant challenges to the incumbent mayor, however, this elections still served up some surprises.

Overall Edmonton city council experiences a fairly significant shift to the left last night, perhaps registering some of the underlying dissatisfaction of newer Albertans who are unable to impact politics at the provincial level.

While all incumbents (with the exception of one, see below) were re-elected, the retirement of some council members has allowed for a partial rejuvenation of council.  What changes this will bring will, as always, remain to be seen.

Some highlights:

- 28 year old first timer Don Iveson sticks it to incumbent Mike Nichols.  Nichols was well known for his opposition to a range of important projects in the city, sometimes on the grounds of fiscal conservatism, others because he seemed (ha, past tense!) to enjoy being difficult.  Iveson brings in some good ideas and fresh thinking on transit and controlling urban sprawl, so he will be one to watch.

- Ben Henderson, another social activist in the same vein as Iveson, finally broke through in Ward 4.  Henderson should bring some meaningful debate regarding issues of affordable housing and homelessness as he represents the downtown core and surrounding areas.  Alas, incumbent Jane Batty was also re-elected, despite her failure to actually take a position on anything during her campaign.  Chalk it up to name recognition and voter laziness.

- Stephen Mandel is re-elected with 65.8% of the 26.8% of voters choosing him over a field of un-heard-ofs and crack-pots. (If my calculations are correct - a big if, mind you, approx. 123,432 Edmontonians, out of 730,372, voted for Mandel - not sure if that counts as a resounding victory, but a victory nonetheless.)

- And finally, I am deeply saddened to see that the hyper-conservative, hyper-homophobic, hyper-idiotic Bill Whatcott only received 1.11% of the vote.  A sad day for discriminatory idiots across Edmonton, but a validation for everyone else that we haven’t slipped into lunacy here yet.

Full results here.

Vote, Edmonton!

Don’t forget to vote today, all you Edmontonians!

Here’s all the information you need.

Now you have no excuse except apathy.