Prostitution in Vancouver

I have long been an advocate for legalized prostitution; I think that it's important to acknowledge that the ignorance by police departments locally equate to a sanctioned activity that generates a significant amount of untaxed income. It's not just that prostitution can be passively ignored in Vancouver; it can only be true that it is actively avoided. You can't actually believe that the back of every newspaper in the city is littered with the ads of legitimate massage parlors and prude escort agencies. A quick trip down Cordova Street between Campbell and Main Street after 9 PM is not paraded by girls who just really like chatting to passing men. You can't quite say the same about Hastings Street's broad assortment of the drug riddled, mentally ill, and poverty stricken. East Cordova is loitered only by the prostitutes here.

Even those with the most strict morals, in terms of what these girls do, should be able to agree on a few things. I hope that any good person can believe that people have the right to the protections of the police. I believe that even the most hardened of them should be allowed to wake in the morning without a looming threat of death lingering about them. I believe that what we do in our sexual lives should be a choice. I believe firmly that even those opposed to what some of these people do, would still believe that all sexual acts should be of mutual consent.

In the world that we've fostered for prostitution to live in, this is not the case. Prostitutes are so wildly more vulnerable than any other occupation I can imagine. Picture a job more dangerous than one in which you are very likely a woman, work with strangers in the nude in (very) close quarters, and your customer base wants a fairly accessible product that, for one reason or another, they can't acquire for free. They want something that someone else in their life will not commit to doing uncompensated. Imagine working undocumented, with no regards as to where you are, or who you are with, at any given moment. No list of staff, no time clock. Imagine working an areas that are intentionally as private as possible. In the same sense that a failure to defend one's trademark equates to abandoning it, I believe that a consistent failure to defend the laws set equates to an annulment of those laws.

The limbo that prostitution lives in has allowed some atrocious consequences to those who reside in it. It has allowed gangs to profit from these operations and allowed them to funnel an untaxed and undocumented revenue into their coffers. It has allowed pimps, essentially bosses, to charge their workers with violence, rape, and unimaginable stress. It has prevented Canadian Revenue Services from collecting considerable sums of money in exchange for the rights and freedoms guaranteed (in writing) to every Canadian. It has given gangs an incentive to target young girls and lead them into drug habits. It has allowed anyone the possibility to murder without consequence. It has also come to light that it has allowed Vancouver Police to exchange their duty to arrest these girls for free sexual favours. 

Wherever people stand morally (and legally) on prostitution, it's worth noting that this state of purgatory is the most damaging to society. The police don't act on arresting the prostitutes because they are well aware of a few things; they know that (like marijuana) they would not receive overwhelming support from the general public. They know that prostitution is a massive industry and would require an incredible amount of resources not available to them and an attempt to cease the industry would likely only result in the workforce being pushed further underground. Shutting down Craigslist's "personal services" section only pushed somewhat more discreet ads to the personals section. They also know they like freebies. Prostitution's illegal status is absolutely as unwieldy as prohibition was, and as it can't be ceased, it should be legalized. We can take these girls off the streets and offer them the protections (and taxes) provided to every citizen of the United Nations. We can take gangs and drugs out of the equation. We can take underage girls out of the equation. We can save families. We can save lives.

New Music Friday - Shimmering Stars

So, it wasn't long before I learned in the studio that almost anything sounds pretty good if you drench it in reverb. This has never been truer than with Shimmering Stars - which is essentially a full album of echoes. They cite a lot of old artists such as The Everly Brothers and Del Shannon as influences, which lends to the lo-fi recording style, but I don't even think the cited Bo Diddley's early recordings sound this poor. Not even live, not even when they're ripped to Youtube.

The reverb can be a bit frustrating when the songwriting is as good as it is here, and when these guys are on, it's spectacular. It's the kind of 1950s throwback that makes me want a letter jacket, a malt, and to go for pinks. Whatever that means.

A few of their tunes are up as free downloads on Bandcamp, and they're worth picking up.

Bandcamp Friday

I've been spending a good bit of time on Bandcamp - it's a great opportunity for an artist to throw up some tunes for free and get noticed nearly immediately. Weekly, I sift through dozens of bands that sound like they've been booked at 1067 Granville to find the best freebies the city has to offer. 


Currently, I've slipped a little for Honey Larochelle. This pop-R&B sensation has just returned from a European tour on the success of Clean Lust and Dirty Laundry; an album produced by Sleep Deez (Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas), Lions Share (Anthony Hamilton, Pharoahe Monch), Caviar (T.I), Danish Reggae producer, Pharfar (Beenie Man), and a bevy of others. 


I recommend picking this whole album up before she needs to buy some bread and butter.

An Expulsion from Lions Bay

Lions Bay, courtesy of Stv via CC BY-NC-SA license.

The beach in Lions Bay is in relatively pristine condition, and overlooks the nearby Howe Sound. It is commonly visited in the summers as an escape for people who wish to swim and scuba in the area, and is overseen by Lions Bay itself, outside the scope of the Vancouver Parks Board.

Some residents have recently raised concern about the volume of traffic by outsiders, and the apparent lack of respect that non-residents seem to carry for the area. Their concerns range from full and unregulated parking areas to water conditions, and this group of residents wishes to ban access to non-residents by utilizing a gate system.

This raises a lot of concern for me as a Vancouver citizen. They already have a potentially unlawful restriction on non-resident scuba divers in the area, and what entitles a city exclusive access for it's residents? Though ownership of the beach lies with Lions Bay, anything below the high tide line, that is, the beach itself; resides on Crown land. From a legal standpoint, I doubt that Lions Bay will have any real property rights to the beach, and I hope that Crown pursues this argument aggressively, or other municipalities may follow suit in preventing access to their properties by non-locals. There is a slippery slope argument to this as well. If we allow Lions Bay to ban access to their beach, what is to stop other neighbourhoods from banning access to their beaches, ultimately increasing traffic at smaller beaches until they choose to cut off access themselves due to the increased volume?

From a moral standpoint, shouldn't Canadian, crown-owned beaches be for the enjoyment of all Canadians, local and non-local? I think it will be noted by the general public that the affluence of Lions Bay residents will not go unrecognized by the general public and it's hard not to perceive this movement as elitist and ignorant. Diversity has long been a cornerstone of our culture, and I take pity on those who do not believe that Canada is for the enjoyment of all.

Capture the Flag

Photo courtesy of eych-you-bee-ee-ahr-tee via CC BY-NC license.

When I was a kid, the high school thought it'd be a great idea to add Capture the Flag to part of P.E. While most of us hid and took our free hour in what was, at the time, a relatively dense and lush forest immediately behind the high school, some bit and decided to actually play the game in a hinterland of stinging nettles.While I usually hid in the bushes, I'm considerably more interested now in the strategy element of the game that was wildly neglected in high school.

Capture the Flag is currently finding a resurgence in urban areas among adults; there are currently organized games in many large cities including Toronto, Washington DC, and San Francisco. Vancouver's game is about to be merged with Vancouver Improv Everywhere to host a monthly event in the heart of the downtown core. Judging from their blog, they seem to be a fun group of people with nicknames like The Major, Statsman, Klopp, and a bevy of sexual innuendos unfit for publication.

The event is free and is to begin at Yaletown Skytrain Station between 3:30 - 4 PM on Saturday, June 4th. Please expect to arrive early, as I doubt they'll be waiting for you, soldier.

Brewery Creek Beer Festival

Beatty Street Drill Hall, 1901

Yesterday I attended the inaugural Brewery Creek Beer festival at the Beatty Street Drill Hall. It was the first time I'd ever been inside the beautiful brick building, which is celebrating it's 110th birthday this year. Vancouver has never truly been known for it's need for military might, but I'm often fascinated by the few reminders that war was once a tangible threat in Vancouver. Designed by David Ewart, the architect behind Victoria's magestic Museum of Nature, this limestone armoury is as impressive as it's three foot walls imply.

Museum of Nature, Victoria

Inside, the event was home to nearly 20 American craft brews, notably including Deschutes and Rogue, and the thirty dollars paid in advance yielded a 5 oz taster glass and three tokens, which were redeemable for the liquid I crave most. My friend and I quickly moved to buy up more tokens and took a liking to Deschutes, Shipyard, and Elysian, but were disappointed by the offerings of Buckbean. Their Orange Blossom Ale was a massive disappointment, and honestly tasted like someone had dropped orange zest into your standard pale ale. Blech.

The whole event was overseen by new Vancouver band The King Rails, who provided some awesome rock and roll throwback for the 850 beer aficionados in the hall. There is a growing microbrewing scene in Vancouver and neighbouring coastal cities. I personally recommend The Alibi Room and St. Augustine's for their incredible variety, or Steamworks and the under-promoted Granville Island Brewing Taproom for brews produced hyper-locally.

Musician Mike Taylor Assaulted Outside Surrey Bus Station

I met Mike Taylor in 2005, when I started working for a local boat tour company as a caterer. His band, Acoustic Groove, was a delightful escape on Sunset Dinner Cruises. As the years have passed, I've been blessed to know him as a friend, as we exchange stories about the music industry and our lives. He defines the word gentleman, with his softly spoken tones and gentle demeanour.

Mike intervened when a fellow bus patron was being harassed by a few youth late Friday night. Having just completed a gig with Acoustic Groove at the Shangri-La Lounge, he was en route home to his daughter and his very pregnant wife when he stood his ground against five youth, who were tormenting an unknown rider while taking pictures. Mike held his ground against the youth, who in turn, shouted racial epithets at him.

Waiting at Scott Road Station for a transfer, he was attacked by the group of kids, between the ages of 14 and 18. They punched and kicked him unconscious outside the station, where he was later found by police.

Mike has been released from the hospital suffering from abrasions and kicks to the head, and the five youth have since been arrested. His guitar has been recovered and is being held as evidence.

As Mike has been left unable to work and is soon expecting a second child, an account has been set up for him at Vancity. Account 427245, Branch 18, Coquitlam.