“We need two eyes: one focused on what is, the other on what could be.” 

― Myles Horton (via Viva!)

Finishing off a roll of film outside Kowloon Photo Service in Hong Kong, corner of Woosung St. and Kansu St. May, 2016

“Everyone who encounters racial and cultural difference is obliged to relate in some way to the dual truth of cultural identity, that each of us is part of one or more groups with shared history and shared social position, both of which influence our interactions; and at the same time, each of us has unique individual character and identity which cannot be adequately described by listing labels and categories.” 

- Arlene Goldbard, New Creative Community

The night before leaving for Haida Gwaii, Claud and I stopped in to my parents’ place to pick up a tarp, an old coleman stove, cooler and an axe (more on the axe later). If you drop by my house around dinner time, you will always be invited to stay. We stayed. Claud and my dad got to talking about Chinese philosophy and how it is common in our culture to not talk about grievances so as not to inconvenience or burden others. Dad shared a character in Chinese that consists of symbols depicting a knife over a heart. Mom was cooking up a pile of vegetables alongside the conversation and we’d both chime in, mostly in agreement. My brother, Kyle, who has been wrestling with health issues, joined us, rounding out the family dinner.

 [Nikon F2, Fuji 400]

Memories of my childhood and home renovation are consistently interwoven. Repair and degradation, care and regeneration, are threads that I would love to draw out. In this photo, taken this past summer, Dad was showing me the repairs that he had done on the roof and the scaffolding that he had put together in order to do the work safely — not being quite as daring or nimble as in his younger days. You can just see Mom peeking out over the back stair railing to see how we were doing.

[Nikon F2, Fuji 35mm]

Emergency prep kits (finally) in the making! thx to @emily_jubenvill for kickstarting the day! More details of what went in them to come…

In the meantime, some handy links compiled by Emily:

• BC’s Zombie Preparedness Week
  
• Emergency Management BC: Earthquake Prep Guide
  
• Shared Services BC: Emergency Preparedness Kits for the Home
  
• Earthquake & Tsunami Smart Manual
  
• The City of Vancouver also offers workshops on how to prepare for emergencies, how to help when there is an emergency and of course how to put together a kit.