Photo credit: Stefan Lins on Flickr

This blog still exists, in case you are wondering. Maybe you are a regular who is surprised to hear from me again after so long. Or you’re here for the first time because I gave you a business card or you clicked my link on Facebook, or you Googled me for some reason.

Whoever you may be – here you are at mainwriter.com – so welcome. Perhaps you’ve already noticed this blog has gone without new content for several months before this post. It’s because I’ve been pouring most of my blogging vim into Speaking of Safety – where I write about safety and danger in the workplace. It makes me mad to think of people exposed to danger so others can make a profit from them, and I spend a lot of time soliciting personal stories.

Lately I’ve been thinking about this blog again because I want to share some of the many smart, creative ideas from different people, “crowds,” and communities I mingle with. New videos are on the way, including comedy sketches, skate vids, commentaries, and other madness. Collaborators are always welcome, especially if you aren’t shy, don’t take yourself too seriously, like attention, and have an outrageous streak! Until then, thanks for visiting, and let me know if you have event info to share. xo

Bike Polo demonstration at Grandview Park today

Bike polo. It’s popular in many big cities and now my neighbourhood is home to the first bike polo court in the world.

“After years of playing in the old tennis courts, the bike polo players worked with park board in the redesign of Grandview Park on Commercial drive and came up with this spankin’ new multi use court,” reads the Vancouver Is Awesome blog.

At the demo today, I enjoyed a piece of cake the Parks Board offered for this celebratory event. I had a good chat with Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Sarah Blyth, who seemed happy to be part of this collaboration between the city and park users. I told her I’d like to see a memorial for Curtis Brick in the renovated park, and she said I should write to the parks board about it. Curtis died in the park on July 29, 2009 on the hottest day on record in Vancouver, after he lay there in the sun for more than eight hours.

What’s up with the park?

According to the City of Vancouver website: “The .89 hectare (2.2 acre) Grandview Park, the site of the sport court, is receiving $2 million in upgrades including playground, water spray park, benches, picnic tables, field house and cenotaph plaza. The park is still under construction, but the Park Board has committed to the community to providing a phased opening for the park as its various components are completed. The cenotaph plaza along Commercial Drive will open in June and the playground and field house in July.”

“A grand opening for the entire park will be held this summer.” Cool!

Imp is also a graffiti artist - photo credit: Break of Dawn/Dustin Ames on Flickr

This is the name used by a woman I follow on Twitter. The Imp. It’s what she calls her son online to protect his privacy.

I am taking a challenge to write a post titled “Imp” – and so I will discuss this situation I’ve encountered online. This same lady also refers to her “very private” husband as HWSNBN – he who shall not be named.

Kudos to this lady for keeping the privacy of her family and still being able to speak prolifically on Twitter about her family life. Many other parents speak openly about their kids, using names, myself included. But I am careful about what I share, keeping mostly to “us as social events” or “out in public.” Quite a few share details on their feelings about their ex/father of their children, but personally I wouldn’t go there (til years later, with identities protected).

It’s a tough call. How much should I share about my kid online? Some folks did a talk on this at Northern Voice last year, and there may be something similar this year, I’ve heard.

Thanks to The Imp for inspiring me on this topic that I got from a writing prompt exercise. Best wishes to the cute little dude, who I met only once, in his baby buggy as I passed his cool mom downtown.

My kid friend loves to "drop in" with moves like this caveman, which he landed, on Sunday afternoon on Commercial Drive in Vancouver

The kid in this picture has a big cast on his arm, but this doesn’t stop him from doing risky things. We met at Leeside Park, near Hastings and Cassiar, in an underpass and had seen him around at other parks.

I drove Toby down to Leeside to meet up with his friends and they were definitely the youngest there. I was what I called their “adult chaperone” and when I arrived there were two police cars parked outside.

I went up to one cop and asked: “How’s it going here?” and he told me the property next door had called them to check out the event. Organizers brought in fencing on a rented flatbed and a generator for powering the sound system that played death metal. But aside from a little drinking in public, it was safe, and the cop asked me to call if anything got out of hand.

His request made me feel like such a responsible mom! haha

The event was hosted by Deer Man of Dark Woods of the Barrier Kult, a.k.a the BA.KU. movement. I learned about it from our friend Max, 12, who was thrilled to win a limited edition Deer Man of Dark Woods board by SKULL SKATES at the skate comp.

“Vancouver is a place of ritual and awe,” Deer Man told the VancouverIsAwesome blog on Halloween.

The boys were definitely in awe and I’m thankful to the organizers (including PD of SKULL SKATES, who I said hi to and thanked). They put a lot of work into the event and were really supportive towards the younger kids like my son and his friends.

Deer Man told my son he could get a t-shirt “if he tried anything” on the barrier. So he gave it a go, amongst all the bigger guys, and won his t-shirt, which he was so pleased with. He also got another one for his friend, along with a big handfull of stickers (now on my car).

I made this video below using the camera on my MacBook, so it’s pretty rough, but I put it on YouTube to show the mood of the event. I wish it captured the swoosh of skateboard wheels and the growling voice of the death metal singer on the recorded music powered by a generator.

Photo credit: Greg Livaudais on Flickr

It’s been a busy time at the mainwriter headquarters. The “new year” isn’t even that new any more; in fact, the first month of it seems to be whipping by pretty quickly.

My safety blog – SpeakingOfSafety – has been a big focus for me. Story ideas seem to leap out at me from all directions, since most people have stories about safety/injuries at work. Let me know if you have one to share.

Another huge focus is my son’s education, which is evolving in new directions now that we are hooked in with BrainBoost Education. He’s having one-on-one sessions in tech/math and is also studying hands-on science in a small group. I’ve also been doing some great learning after meeting for a couple of sessions with BrainBoost director Matt Giammarino, who coached me on managing time and setting up a great atmosphere for learning.

Stay tuned for a new mom and son blog – coming soon! Actually we might do some posts together for this blog, since he is the “vice president” of mainwriter, after all.

Peaceful games FTW! Skate 2 and Skate 3 were among our Boxing Day purchases at EB Games in Vancouver at Pacific Centre

I am officially on vacation – and enjoying lots of offline family time. This year Santa brought my son a PlayStation 3 and we cleared out a spot in our little townhouse now known as “The PS3 Lounge.”

It’s so great to have this new area set up for my son to entertain his young guests and I look forward to hosting them more often. I’ll be ready with juice boxes and snacks, but I’m being a real stickler about the violent games – especially ones that include degrading treatment of women.

I took away Red Dead Redemption, which allows players to hire prostitutes and includes a rape scene in a saloon. He had it for a while on Christmas Day and took it to my parents’ to play after dinner. One of the other guests Googled the game and told me how harsh it is. Holy crap! Whatever happened to Asteroids and PacMan!?

I’m not sure if the gift-giver realized the content was so extreme, and I haven’t said anything about it yet – but for now the game will stay on the shelf in my office. As open-minded as I may be, it’s not something I want a 10-year-old playing!

My plan is to encourage my son and his guests towards fun, harmless games like Skate 2, Skate 3, Shaun White Snowboarding, Gran Turismo, and Little Big Planet.

I just don’t know what to make of all the violence and exploitation in today’s games. What effects does it have on a growing person’s view of the world? Does it de-sensitize? Or am I just being uptight, over-protective and behind-the-times?

I’m interested in all opinions – so please do tell me what you think. In the meantime, here’s a little photo essay of our trip to Pacific Centre on Boxing Day. We got in and out of there as quickly as possible!

Boxing Day madness! We took the Skytrain downtown, got off at Granville Station, and entered Pacific Centre through The Bay

How's consumer spending in 2010? Looks like they're out in full force at Pacific Centre on Boxing Day - with line-ups outside some clothing stores.

At EB Games, there are deals to be had - but it's a bit embarrassing when mom starts taking pictures with her iPhone.

The sign says it all "Must have games" .

Photo credit: Urban Mixer on Flickr

A contact asked me to support an online publication in Vancouver called Granville Online. I checked it out, to see if it was something I’d want to recommend to my readers – and indeed it is very cool, featuring many Vancouver restaurants that I love.

“From Japanese and Indian to Chinese and West Coast fusion, the Vancouver food scene boasts the best of international cuisines in Canada, offering plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options as well,” reads GO’s food/dining section.

It’s true. We have so many great restaurants here, and I love going out to them during the holiday season. And at any time of year, even when I’m trying to be frugal and eat at home every day!

We’ve entered a time of food. I have two big food-related house parties coming up on Saturday. I love food at restaurants and food at house parties – mmm! I’m feeling festive and excited for treats. Then, in the New Year, I’ll start doing all those healthy things like riding my spinning bike in my home office while watching documentaries and listening to podcasts. I will lift weights, eat less treats, drink more water and less coffee… oh my!

So please take a moment and vote now to help the little children of my neighbourhood.

A group of dedicated parents are garnering community support at supportourplayground.org. As I write, they need about 600 more votes in the next eight days. Below is more info about it, from the website created by the Laura Secord Parent Advisory Committee.

Background on the school

Laura Secord students are working in portables in the school field while their buildings are seismically upgraded, in case of earthquakes

Laura Secord Elementary is a large inner city school running at full capacity with 640 students from Kindergarten up to Grade 7. We currently have a very small play structure that is full when a single class of 25 students is outside; when all 27 classes are outside our playground is grossly inadequate. The school is home to a number of community outreach programs, including Strong Start, Neighbourhoods of Learning and afterschool care.

Vancouver has very few wheelchair-accessible play areas and Laura Secord would like to be the first school in our area to offer an inclusive play area for kids with disabilities, including physical handicaps and autism. Our goal is to create an inclusive play environment made from safe and sustainable materials that will greatly contribute to the quality of life in our community; a play environment that will attract families outside of school hours and be safeguarded by our neighbours.

Our French Immersion catchment area includes approximately 9,000 kids who would be served by the new playground, including an estimated 350 children with disabilities.