[ Requisite tourist shot ]

A requisite tourist shot of Emma.


[ Requisite dumbass parking ticket ]

A requisite tourist parking-ticket shot. I can't tell you how annoyed this made me - the violation, if you can read it, is 'parked in multiple stalls' which in this case meant sticking a few feet over the line in a set of enormous parallel-parking stalls. Of course, what the parking-ticket guy couldn't see was that when we arrived, headrest guy and the car behind us had left really only one viable position for our car. When we got back, parking ticket guy was still in the process of leaving us the ticket and the other two cars were gone - naturally.


Parking-ticket guy's only response to our explanation was to suggest we go to court - gee, thanks. While I admit guilt on the letter of the law (we were crossing the line of the stall), I still dispute it on the intent of the law, in that we were in no way obstructing anyone from using the spot ahead of us. (We grudgingly paid the ticket. Welcome to Vancouver.)


[ Anthropology museum ]

The second 'official' stop on our itinerary for Day One was the Museum of Anthropology on the UBC grounds. It is pretty much entirely about native culture in British Columbia, which we appreciated, and the collection is almost completely undocumented, which we did not. As a venue to showcase native cultural symbols and artifacts, it really needs to make more of an effort to explain what things are and what they mean -- a vast majority of the collection on display is shown with nothing more than an item number.


Anyone visiting B.C. will immediately notice how prevalent the influence of native design and art is in everyday life and popular culture, but if they want to learn more about it, I'm sorry to say the museum is a letdown. Still, it's better than not even acknowledging native art and history, which seems to be the way the rest of the country treats the subject.


[ Bill Reid sculpture ]

The most recognizable native piece in the museum's collection is this one, by Bill Reid. His influence and contributions seem to be the foundation of the museum.


[ Mindtrap game ]

Mindtrap It's really hard to explain how a gift shop in a museum dedicated entirely to native art could also feature the party game Mindtrap.




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