Celebration of Boredom

I like the westender but really that blurb was lame last year it didn't get any better in a years time. The author so dying to be cooler than all those "sheep" ughh petty and boorish.

Were the fireworks always that loud?

I chose to go see the fireworks last night, walk 10 mins from my West End home to sit on the grass, hang out with my husband and friend and catch a really neat show.

Last time I checked my name wasn't Stephen Harper, Kurt Cobain or J-Lo. I pretty much used my own free will and own two legs to walk down to those fireworks and ya know, I'll probably do it again :p

Once in a while I go to the fireworks. I have never really understood why people like them.

i went to Kits beach last night to read my book, and then realized that the fworks were happening. Stuck around for part of it, which was entertaining enough for hte 1st 5 minutes. i left shortly afterwards. Note these points. 1) The vibe is way more chill and down-home (aka not Surrey) on the other side of the water. 2) The sea of square lights from people's phones and cameras looked cooler than the fireworks. 3) People sitting on curbs and on double parked cars, or just standing around all up Maple, Arbutus, etc right up to Broadway: pretty cool, i thought.

Seems to me the author is confusing the fireworks themselves with one particular group of people who watch them, which is silly because many people do actually go to just enjoy the spectacle rather than making a spectacle of themselves.

In addition, comments like "we are endorsing the bombing of Lebanese civilians while we flock to see some gunpowder explode and make pretty colours" are petulant and immature. I disagree with Israel's campaign but not looking at fireworks isn't going to help the Lebanese any.

The fireworks don't actually cost all that much money and they bring enjoyment to many. Lighten up.

West Van is a sweet spot from which to watch. So is Grouse. I'll be avoiding downtown like the plague for the next two Saturday nights (plus next Wednesday), and shudder to think what it must be like to work in an English Bay restaurant on one of these nights...

Talk about missing the point. Do you people even read?

Now, don't get me wrong. Its not that I hate fireworks, or hate that they're in my back yard, its that they don't happen enough. Or other things like it. These kids take in so many stimuli: from Internet, to TV, to video games, to magazines, to just walking down the bloody street; that they need to be entertained. Kurt Cobain said it, and its true. Downtown should be a party every weekend, and not just in the clubs.

I said I DON'T hate the fireworks and I said that they should happen more often. And it should be failry obvious to any discerning reader that I was indeed talking about a particular group of people and NOT everyone who goes to the fireworks. It is because we have convinced a generation that it will be happy if it buys fancy gadgets and useless plastic crap. We have replaced parks with malls. There is nothing to do, I know because I grew up in Surrey. When the fireworks happen, shit goes down. Its simple. Did you really think I was talking about the type of people who would go and read a book and take in a nice family event?

Sean,



I'm afraid this article presents a false correlation between firework shows and warfare. Granted, gunpowder is used for both entertaining displays of pyrotechnics and for attrocious military "shock and awe" tactics, but to suggest that a link between a fireworks festival and a systematic bombing campaign of a city presents a logical fallacy of emotional appeal (ie: the connection between the two is purely emphatic, not factually connected).



Also, is this article about the fireworks, bored teenagers, social cliques, friends "selling out", Western materialism, or the bombing of Lebanon? It jumps all over the place, and there doesn't seem to be a coherrent connection between the observations.



However, I will agree with you on the concept that Vancouver needs to greatly improve on it's social scene. Why is it that we almost never have public festivals? Must the public of Vancouver forever suffer the consequences of the '94 Stanley Cup Riot? Will we ever be allowed to have fun outdoors again, or will we forever be treated like infants by the police, unable to enjoy a simple beer on the beach while socializing with others? This is a topic that definitely needs serious dicussions, especially with the Olympics on the way. How will visitors from other countries react to strict public laws of Vancouver, especially when you compare them to the outdoor life of, say, Montreal?



Sorry to sound like such a grammar teacher in this post. I thourghly enjoy your postings on Beyond Robson and continue looking forward to them, but this one needs a lot more focus and definition on the topic.

A false correlation between firework shows and warfare! Yes, I was trying to equate the two! You got me! Debunked! Drat!

Come on. Give me some credit. This is a rant in its most pure and vitrolic essence. There is no logical fallacy because I'm not using any logic.

The only connection is the visceral sound of explosions in the sky, and empathizing both with bored kids attending the fireworks, and kids who for the fireworks are real and not very much fun. I mean, Lebanon was in brackets for Christ's sake.

I must say however that you have an eloquent way of critique. Thanks for reading.

But Sean, aren't they all just Zombies?

Damn! I forgot about zombies! I should have used zombies instead of sheep. Thanks!

Yay zombies!

Hey, writer dude, no need to get QUITE so outraged at the responses to your post. The reason why so many people missed the point is that it was very hard to find it, probably because you were recycling an old article and trying to put a new spin on it, which is never a good idea. The overall effect is just a muddle.

If people didn't get it, that's your fault, not theirs.

Yeah I know, I'm just really defensive.

Hahah, this comment roll just made me love Beyond Robson. I mean it. Cheers!

We can create it, we just have to interact.

If you build it they will come!