Colleen Anderson's Blog, page 36

Foster Homes: Better the Hell You Know

Universal's Despicable Me is a film where fostering goes right

Yet again one of Canada's ministries of children's welfare is in the news because a child in their care died under questionable circumstances. This one's in Alberta and after taking a four-month old baby from the mother the child died within a week of removal. The ministry, or department, seems to keep itself steeped in secrecy and obscuring the facts. These ministries were set up to rescue children from terrible situations in their families lives and give them a chance at a normal and healthy life.

It is even the stuff of movies and books; the child removed from the abuse at home and put into a foster home. The foster home becomes one jumping off point after another, because of neglect or a host of abuses. The child grows to be a teen, often on drugs, into prostitution and on the street. The teen grows to be a criminal adult. Those fictions and tropes are unfortunately built on fact. The movie Despicable Me is about a villain who takes on foster children as a cover. The results are hilarious and fun and with a turnabout that gives the children a good home. It's a fantasy in many ways, but a good foster home is not something all children get.

There are good foster parents who do give a child a loving and stable home in their life. There was a case in Alberta a few years back of a foster mother who lost her right to foster, not because she was bad (in fact she had fostered many children well) but because she was a lesbian. Yet ministries in various provinces have time and again placed children in homes where the people were abusive (physically or sexually), alcoholics or drug users.  And of course the worst cases are where the children lost their lives due to being placed in a home possibly more horrific than the one they were in.

Imagine the nightmare of being a child and thinking you are saved to find the situation worse, or to be torn from the dysfunctional beings that you still love and placed with monsters who care nothing for your well-being. Sad and unfortunately no exaggeration for some. For Alberta last year, six children died and five of those were Aboriginal. Makes you wonder where the ministry is placing these children.

I know of someone whose mother was a foster parent. This woman, an only child, was placed in foster care at times by her own mother, because the mother could make more money raising other people's children than her own. Eye witnesses report that this mother would be quite verbally abusive to a child she was caring for. I also know of a couple who rescued their relation from an abusive sibling. The sibling was unfit for several reasons to be a parent and they are giving that child a stable and loving relationship that he would not have recieved from his own parent.

There are good and bad foster homes but the governments who oversee these services need to screen the foster homes far better than they do, and get their facts straight. They need to charge the people who are killing the children and they need to clean up their own acts so that they can truly rescue children from a dire situation and put them in a safe environment. I guess I'm lucky that I only had my own dysfunctional family to deal with and didn't have to face a foster parent as well.

Filed under: crime, culture, family, health, news, security Tagged: Alberta government, child abuse, children, family services, foster homes, foster parents, fostering, neglected children

Writing Update

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Hello, world. Well two reviews have come out for Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies which has my story "It's Only Words" as the opening story. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but Des Lewis seems to have delivered another intriguing anthology. The reviews are quite favorable to my story so check them out here: Matthew Fryer's  and Karim Ghahwagi's.

I am also now working steadily (finally!) on my novel with the working title of Lyranda. It's the name of the world but will not do for the title at all. It's medieval style on a different world, with three races. I haven't read Game of Thrones yet but after watching the first season I was inspired, thinking yes, my novel could be this good.

I tossed out about half of the first 30,000 words and was working on writing through one of the three story arcs, so I had something like chapters 2, 7, 12, 14, etc. done. But I finally got to a point where I needed to go back and familiarize where one of my other characters is going, since the three are on separate arcs till they all meet up halfway through. So now I'm going back and rewriting some of the original chapters. Procrastination is a powerful thing and I think I beat it down, finally. I'm going to try to keep up the impetus there.

"A Book By Its Cover" has just gone through edits and will soon be going to press in the Mirror Shards anthology, edited by Tom Carpenter. Witches and Pagans #23 should be arriving any day and has my poem "Shadow Realms" in it.

I'm working through slush still for CZP and reading a medieval style fantasy right now. That author has also inspired me to get on with my own story. I won't know whether I'll send that on to Sandra yet but it's reading very well (after I asked for some rewrites) and I'm kept intrigued so we'll see.

A discussion came up recently on our SF Canada list (and seems to be resurfacing): should one comment on a review of their work, especially if the reviewer got something wrong or didn't read through the full story? The overall consensus is not to comment as it could just get ugly. But it's okay to say thank you, or in some cases clarify info, but one must tread carefully. To get embroiled in the merits of a review is just not going to go well no matter what. There are even some infamous cases out there of authors going ballistic all up and down a reviewer (Anne Rice) for one and it just does not help. What do you think?

That's it for now. A bit too busy to write much for the blog but I'm sure that won't stop me.

Filed under: culture, entertainment, fantasy, horror, poetry, publishing, science fiction, Writing Tagged: anthology reviews, Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies, Mirror Shards, novel, publishing, stories, Writing

The Benefits of Courtesy

Creative Commons: Nicole Ellis, Sunshine's Reflections http://sunshinereflections.wordpress.com

It's amazing how self-centered we've become, worrying about our finances, getting the kids here or there, keeping our jobs, getting a better job, finding time for fun, rushing to or from the supermarket, the game, the meeting, the mall, the party. It goes on so that we're caught up in a whirlwind of activity and sometimes barely notice the world around us.

That world isn't all strife, war and trauma as the news likes to focus upon but also full of beauty, ingenuity and intelligence. We get so caught up at times that we forget that there are thinking and caring humans all around us. Their lives are as important as your or mine. And some days, we just have bad days.

So would it hurt any of us to try to be a bit nicer, to try some courtesy? I have found that often this can go farther than being grouchy and boy, do I have my cranky pants days. I've taken to telling random strangers that I like their hair, or dress or shoes if I do. It doesn't hurt me to say it and makes their day a bit shiny. I know when some stranger has paid me a compliment that it gives me a bit of a glow.

I try to think about others when I'm shopping so I don't stop with my cart in the middle of the aisle but pull it over so it's out of the way. I don't stand in front of the mushrooms blocking it for all others to reaching in but try to stand a bit to one side so that others can share. I say thank you when someone holds a door open for me and likewise hold doors for others. I wave when someone lets me change lanes while driving and try to let people in. It's especially hard while driving to stay in a good mood because people feel they're losing a race if they let anyone in. But there is someone always ahead of us.

Don't get me wrong. I have pretty big crankypants and get really irate when I think people aren't being fair. But I try to reciprocate kindness with kindness. Sometimes I've been in line with groceries with two items and someone will let me in, in front of them. Suddenly we'll chat a bit and become human to each other, not just another stranger whose in our way. It makes that waiting in line pass faster and you get to know something about another person.

Just imagine how pleasant we could all be if we did a small kindness for someone else, said something nice? Giving a gift of courtesy could be the biggest reward and put some sunshine in everyone's day. Here's hoping we can all just be nicer to each other and find the world transformed without us trying to transform others or ignore them.

Filed under: culture, life, people, relationships Tagged: attitude, consideration, courtesy, crankypants, humanity, kindness, people, politeness

Why We Need Gods, Queens and Rock Stars

creative commons: by crymz http://crymz.deviantart.com/

Not everyone wants to be famous but of those who would like to be few become famous. Some people, like the tyrants and murderers of the world, become infamous, famed not for the adoration of the masses but reviled. Not everyone wants to lead and not all those who lead want fame and glory but it often comes with the territory.

Many people want their independence, to work well within their expertise and live comfortably but they may not have the knowledge, vision, verve, ability, charisma, want or other traits that it takes to be a leader. We are often content to walk in our grooves, do what we do and hope that a few people (friends, family) might consider us great, or at least special. It is the way of human nature.

Likewise it is the way of humans to follow leaders, as history can attest to again and again. Once, it was not just enough to lead and know your fellow humans cemented you firmly on a pedestal as one worthy. It was even better to marry oneself to a god through belief or in actual ritualized marriages. After all, if you were god blessed or ruled by divine authority, what man or woman could nay-say you? Thus it's been since human beings started congregating into groups and villages until they created cities, fiefdoms, kingdoms and empires.

As the religious fervor has waned over time (in some countries because we see a resurgence time and again) we have needed other beings to admire, adore, raise up on pedestals and idolize. Why? Because they epitomize the best and give us hopes and dreams that we too can be great. Greek mythology is a prime example of this. You had your gods but they tended to have sex with humans from time to time and make demigods. Sometimes a hero, like Herakles, started out as human but then achieved some divine status. Look, you too can become godlike!

So, what is godlike in terms of our modern world: beauty, riches, talent. Oddly we don't tend to raise up the rocket scientists and neurosurgeons the same way that we do the rock stars and movie stars. They get to play act instead of saving the world and yet they shine brighter in our esteem. Because we all want to be beautiful, talented, rich. Oh and what's next to god, above even those rock and movie stars? Royalty.

Perhaps this renewed idolizing of Prince William and Kate has captured the mundane population's heart and sense of romance. But consider this. Any of you can become a surgeon, a politician, a leader, a musician, an actor (whether you're beautiful or not) with the right training and perseverance. You can gain riches and some fame. But very few if any of you will ever be royalty. You can't train for it, you can't be elected to it, you can work your way into the position. Royalty is inherited. You're born to the right parents or you're not. You great granddaddy was the grand poobah so you get to be (but only if you're the eldest and only if you're a boy first; girls still come second). You don't have to be beautiful, smart, talented or a good leader. You just have to have the right blood, which is just like anyone else's. It's one thing to be born to a millionaire and inherit the business; it's another thing altogether to inherit a country and riches paid to the coffers from the pockets of the common person without having to prove your worth.

So consider this the next time you idolize the shallow trappings of beauty and money. There is often far more worth in your neighbor than someone born to a privilege fabricated from beliefs of their blood being better than yours. The other thing about placing people on pedestals; sooner or later someone wants to pull them down, especially if their flaws show. And guess what; we're all flawed.

Filed under: culture, family, history, people, religion Tagged: adoration, fame, gods, greatness, gueens, hereditary privilege, idols, movie stars, riches, rock stars, royalty, stars, talent, wealth

Insensitivity to Living Things Hits a New Low

Creative Commons: http://www.oleeblood.com/freestuff.html

I know that we've had little sun in Vancouver this year and that with the last week finally revealing summerlike temperatures, people were awestruck. But I wonder if the following incidents are because people didn't realize what sun could do or because they're just exhibiting an ignorance and negligence which is, in fact, criminal.

On July 4th an Alberta mother left her four-month-old baby alone in the car in Kelowna. The exterior temperature was 30 degrees Celsisus (86 Fahrenheit), so the interior would have been even hotter. When the RCMP broke the window to get the baby out the mother returned and proclaimed the baby was okay. Seriously, she may as well have left her baby amongst containers of toxic chemicals as well. In a half hour a car sitting in temperatures of 90 degrees F can reach 124F, hotter than most of us could stand. Babies can't regulate their temperature.

Another incident yesterday had a mother leaving her three-year-old child unattended and locked in a hot car while she went into a nearby house. The exterior temperature was 25 degrees Celsius. It's not just that it's dangerous to leave any living thing in a hot car, it's also highly irresponsible and against the law to leave a child that young unattended at all.

Creative Commons: http://www.ibabuzz.com/garybogue/

The third in a week was an RCMP officer leaving his young police dog locked in a car while he went fishing for three hours. Imagine how hot that car would get. And another puppy died because it was left in a car for three hours where the temperatures reached 68 degrees Celsius. That's four incidences in one week, and one death.

I'd like to say that the RCMP officer should have known better, but really, everyone should. Just as we must have a license to drive or to marry I think it would not be a bad idea to have a license to parent or to own a pet. We're dealing with lives here. Granted that half of the population has an intelligence below average (okay, it's a sliding scale with many at the "average" range) but this isn't intelligence; it's common sense.

Besides never leaving a living being locked in a hot metal box for more than a few minutes, parents should not be leaving children alone, period. There are a range of dire events that could affect unattended children in homes or cars. Here are just a few:

heat exposure
cold exposure
suffocation
kidnapping
car being hit or brakes being disengaged
fire
choking
falling

These are not cautionary myths to scare children. These are real, and animals and children die from the negligence. All this while RCMP are still investigating the death of an 18-month-old child left alone in a house while the parents went for a walk at 1:30 am. Their heat had been cut off so they were heating the place by keeping the oven going. Still, the child should not have been left alone. Don't people understand that the word "parent" means that you're in charge and the caregiver? If a living being is left in your care you are responsible for its well being. Use your brains and think about the consequences of leaving them alone, or in a hot car, or in a swimming pool.

Filed under: cars, crime, environment, health, life, news Tagged: car temperatures, child dies in fire, child in hot car, death, dehydration, dog locked in hot car, left alone, overheating

Guest Blogging: Confessions of a Technophobe

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Today, I'm a guest blogger at Steve Lockley's blog: Confessions of a Technophobe.

You will notice that yesterday's post and today's start on similar topics and then veer. That's because as I was writing about busyness yesterday I took off on a tangent. Then I tried to pull it back together for Steve's blog. Steve is a writer of speculative fiction and lives in England. Cross-pollination happens through conventions and of course social media.

I'll be attending Britain's Fantasycon this fall in Brighton and look forward to meeting more compatriots of writing.

Filed under: art, culture, life, Writing Tagged: blogging, busy, conventions, editing, solitary professions, stories, Writing, writing alone

Is Busyness the Beginning of the End of the World?

Creative Commons: by Chris Devers, Flickr

These days everyone is busy busy busy. In fact we become so busy that we don't have time to socialize. Let's think back six hundred years to those good old feudal times. If you weren't some rich noble gathering the tithes then you were either a farmer or a merchant. In either case you worked from sun-up probably near to sundown. Winters meant doing more work inside, mending and preparing for the planting season. Everyone, whether bakers or dyers or smiths, worked long hours. But they stopped in time for dinner and spending time with their families in the evening.

With the advent of industrialized society some aspects eased for a person's life. We no longer had to tend animals, weave our own cloth, sew our own clothes, cook and prepare all of our dinners. Mass production made this easier while at the same time people began to worry about having no way to make a living as machines took over. We became a leisure society. Or did we?

We're two to three hundred years into industrialization and we're probably dealing with as much spare time as medieval Europe had. I'm like many people. I work a day job but I also freelance, to make ends meet, to have extra money. Our society has become so burdened by all those industrialized items that the cost of living has not equaled the everyday person's wage. Houses (here in Vancouver at least) are astronomical in cost and two people have to work, plus have a rental suite just to afford to own one. Hockey tickets are out of the range of the average working family who might want to take the kids to see a game.

All great societies eventually fall, even Rome. In the past they often fell to invaders, but we are looking at a worldwide crisis with economy and culture. Riots happen, and many clashes still of ideologies and beliefs, overcrowding, lack of good water or food… we might be in our fall right now. So what comes next?

Unfortunately, building on a crumbling foundation will create more instability or lead us to the same problems time and again. Having a society based on always selling more, not just selling the same, means that it's unsustainable. Soon we will not have enough space, time, money, land, food, water or merchandise. If we do continue with expanding populations, which give us more money, etc. then we risk and are already at risk of having no resources to support our planet. We will have more disease and more poverty, more pollution and more strife. You can see it happening already. Canada's population is dropping somewhat. I don't think that's a bad thing. If everyone person only produced one child (so a couple could have two) then they would make a stable population that stayed the same.

In the middle ages the bubonic plaque wiped out a third of the known world's population. It's one way Mother Nature controls overpopulation. We've had H1N1, TB, E. Coli, etc. By the fact that there are more people, it will mean that more will die. As China and India,with over a third of the world's population, industrialize and crave on the cars and machines that the world already has, we will see the consuming poison many places.  I'm not sure what we can do about this but we have to change our culture and economy so that it is not built on constant growth. We cannot wait for someone else to do it but each of us must start from the ground up. Maybe's it's impossible and we're doomed to implode, and start over in a smaller and simpler world devoid of much. And maybe it will change no matter what. We know for a fact that there have been civilizations (as in towns and cities) for at least 10,000 years, which is not long is the lifespan of the world or even humans for that matter (2.5 million years). But if we're not careful we could be a small blip in breath of the planet.

Filed under: consumer affairs, culture, environment, history, life Tagged: busy, culture, end of the world, growth, industrialization, industrialized society, keeping busy, overcrowding, overpopulation, pollution, society

How to Bomb Out on Dating Sites

Creative Commons by Motoyen (Flickr)

I'm in a state of singlehood at the moment, which some liken to being a leper while others might see as being a lion amongst a herd of gazelles. People often have different requirements on a dating site. Some want short-term dating, some long-term leading to a permanent relationship. Others want casual companions or to hook up with a bed buddy for the night. In the last situation you might start your online chat with, "Do you like it doggy style?"

But for me, there is no faster turnoff than a guy who doesn't bother to chat about life, the universe and other intriguing things (notice I didn't say "everything") but instead begins with "I'm very physical. I like to cuddle/neck/be oral/snuggle/have a high libido/enjoy holding hands. What do you like?" To me, it's rude and crass. Stick it in your profile, if you must. Often, we haven't exchanged names yet so it's like a guy on the street flashing open his trenchcoat.

If you met someone at a friend's dinner party, would you start out saying, "Do you like it hard and fast or slow and soft?" Perhaps it's suitable in some cases but in most it would be crossing a line way too soon. And without the benefit of alcohol when online (I presume here) it's certainly a rude slap. A guy that starts with the 20 questions about sex may as well stick a picture of his penis up online as well. And if that's all he can really think of to talk about he should just say he's looking for sex. I couldn't lose interest faster.

The other way to bomb in the dating field is to do another twenty questions about the age and ethnicity of guys I've dated. It's one thing to know if I would date someone younger or older than me but another to want me to list their nationalities. In my bomb shelter I will hide from the barrage of such questions and wonder what the reason for asking is. If I'm willing to talk to a person younger or older and of any color it already shows I'll likely date them. Listing every nationality or religion is bizarre.

I'd prefer not to be bombed with a multitude of questions but to trade questions and answers back and forth, even discussions about life and interests. Guys like the top two examples make me think they wouldn't be good dating material because in one way or another they're more hung up on sex than on relationships and on who to date by looks than just who is compatible. I do believe sex is part of a good partnership but it's not all. If it was, I wouldn't worry about being single or not. A great mind is more likely to get me into bed than a sex fiend is.

If you're a guy or a woman and you think you'd like a relationship but all you can think to talk about is sex then I would suggest learning how to carry a conversation. You certainly don't want to arrow in on the genitals in the first few chats online with someone. Unless a relationship is established, to me, it will always be crass. Those intimate questions are better left to discussions in person. If all you want is to have online sex, go for it. Just don't bother chatting with me. Forget about love; let's start with a decent conversation.

Filed under: culture, internet, people, relationships, sex Tagged: chatting, conversations, crass behavior, dating, dating sites, having sex, hooking up, men, relationships, rudeness, sex

Writing Update

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It's time to do another update on the writing front. Right now everything is happening quickly and I'm very busy so I can't even keep up with myself. A new poem, "Sundance," is up at Chizine, actually it went up last week, as part of the mega-issue, which is being done to raise donations to keep the magazine free. Chizine, as a magazine, has been going for ten years and had a sponsor who left the magazine high and dry last year when they didn't pay promised fees. This has meant many of us have continued to work for free or nearly nothing so that the writers could get paid. If you want to read some stellar fiction and poetry there are thirteen weeks' worth with over a dozen pieces in each week. "Darkside" was published about a month ago on  Chizine as well.

Besides Sundance, my poem "Shadow Realms" is coming out soon in Witches & Pagans #23. The poem "Of the Corn: Kore's Innocence" was published last year and is nominated for an Aurora Award. A third poem, "Visitation: Leda's Lament" will be coming out in Bull Spec but I don't know what issue yet. These last two magazines are print only. As well, the reprint of the poem "Obsessions" should be coming out soon in gothic anthology Candle in the Attic Window from Innsmouth Press. While these poems could all be considered speculative, "Kore's Innocence" and "Leda's Lament" are part of a Greek revisioning series.

On the fiction front, my story "It's Only Words" specifically written for The Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies, will be the opening story in the anthology. It's going to print as we speak and is edited Des Lewis. "Tasty Morsels" should be out sometime this summer in Polluto #8. They call themselves a magazine of anti-pop culture. These two publications are out of England. "A Book By Its Cover" was also bought for the Mirror Shards anthology, which is a collection of horror stories about augmented reality.

I'm also on a steampunk kick and sent one story, about blimps, off into the submission world. I've just finished a second, which I wrote specifically for an anthology but no idea if it will be accepted. It would be considered horror or at least dark. The third, "Nightingale," is still in the works as I have to figure out how my protagonist breaks out of the antagonist's trap. It is based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of "The Emperor and the Nightingale" but very different. I still keep meaning to get back to my novel and really need to do so soon. I just have to get the brain to stop churning out other ideas. I think I'll get this last story out of the way and backburner the rest so that I can get back to the novel in July. My goal is to have the novel completed by next year so I do have to get going.

Filed under: culture, entertainment, fantasy, horror, myth, poetry, publishing, science fiction, Writing Tagged: anthologies, Aurora Award, Bull Spec, Chizine, gothic, Greek myth, horror, Horror Anthology of Horror Anthologies, magazines, Mirrorshards, poetry, publishing, revisioning, steampunk, Witches and Pagans, Writing

Play Review: Yippies in Love

Bob Sarti's "Yippies in Love" at the Cultch until July 3rd

The play Yippies in Love had its preview on Wednesday, June 22 at the Cultch, Vancouver's east-side theater and "Culture Lab." On until July 3rd, perhaps it would have been better named "Yippies in Confusion." Done by Theatre in the Raw, this low budget musical had a minimalist set, which didn't bother me as a play is more about the dialogue and the story. With a few black blocks, a tickle trunk of props, two coat racks of costumes and a screen that showed old footage of the Yippie culture, we kept our attention on the actors.

Yippies, it turns out, were revolutionary hippies. They didn't just believe in peace and love but in rabble rousing, provoking and marching on the US embassy and Oakalla prison. They had about a two-year heyday in Vancouver's early 70s culture, which saw police heavy handedly beating and arresting dozens of people. This was something I didn't know about my city's tarnished past and the play was enlightening in this aspect.

The confusion in this play happens on several levels and I confess that sometimes I just don't get musicals. Is it a comedy musical, or a drama musical or perhaps just a venue for songs? I don't think producer/director Jay Hamburger or composer Bill Sample knew themselves. It felt as if the tone of the Yippie values might be too serious or radical for the audience so they softened the views with songs. The songs, with lyrics by playwright Bob Sarti, were derivative, with some being of the 50s, others with tones of "Crocodile Rock" or other hits of the past. But they didn't  have the feel of the ideals of the era being portrayed. How did  a song more suited to Grease fit into provocateurs in the 70s? The music was executed well, and the songs "Reach Out and Touch" and "It's So Hard" were the best, while others like the incredibly goofy dancing marijuana joints singing "Dancin' Doobies" seemed gratuitous without much substance.

Costumes pretty much amounted to someone going through people's closets or thrift stores and getting what sort of, maybe, not always looked like 60s/70s era clothing and a few props like jackets or police hats. Makeup looked like it was left up to the actors, which meant none for the men. Now it's a small venue so you can see their faces but one of the men (possibly Bing Jensen though the actor doesn't match the picture in the program book) was much older than the rest of the cast who are playing people in their 20s. Though he had the deeper voice used in the music (baritone?) he was as white as a sheet, seemed to react to every hat placed on his head with red splotching, and for having such a deep voice he was hardly heard. Some makeup would have made him look like he wasn't half dead. While he seemed animated enough he was also expressionless and a bit wooden for much of the play. The other actors (Emily Rowed,  Rebecca Shoichet) were competent and sung well but the material wasn't something where they could shine. Danielle St. Pierre (Julie) has done a fair amount of theater and she was the strength of the piece. Steve Maddock (Andy) was good though I felt he overacted a bit.

We have to remember that this play is called Yippies in Love but even that was confusing. While Andy seems to love Julie all she wants is a special friend and the play ends with everyone going their separate ways, leaving you with the thought that they raised a little hell but accomplished nothing but living on welfare and tossing bricks through bank windows. Not much love there. Sarti says all the actions are based on true facts, and the play meanders from "be-in" to housemate chatting, to smoking pot,  to a trial, to sort of running for mayor. Perhaps this wandering very well exemplifies the way of the yippie but it only seemed to highlight the overall reactionary and militant actions of this group. This was also a little unfortunate in timing, one week after the riots that happened during the Stanley Cup finals. So, when the Yippies invade Blaine and throw bricks through a bank window it was hard to get into their exhilaration.

After the play concluded and the cast took their bows (Vancouverites will clap for nearly anything) they sang a rap song about doing it from the bottom or some such, encouraging radical protests from the grass-roots perspective. They named a lot of different social protest groups in Vancouver including Black Box. These yahoos were responsible for trying to cause riots during the Olympics and marching down the street, wearing black hoods with their faces covered. Such protests don't actually further a cause but just cause anarchy for anarchy's sake. This romantic romp through Vancouver's past anarchic protesters got across the point of how pointless it all is. Maybe that's the message. If so, it succeeded.

I went with three other friends and two wanted to leave at the intermission. I wanted to stay so I could write a complete review. The other person was hoping for some closure. I'm being generous and would give Yippies in Love two peace signs out of five.

Filed under: art, crime, culture, drugs, entertainment, history, politics Tagged: 70s culture, anarchists, Bill Sample, Bob Sarti, Cultch, hippies, Jay Hamburger, plays, pot smoking, protests, riots, Theatre in the Raw, yippies, Yippies in Love