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Almost done with this batch.

Ian, Vic and myself finally made it out to Stanley Park to see the devastation from the windstorms that hit town a few weeks back. Despite all the news reports it was still a shock to see so many trees down. And Prospect Point was almost unrecognizable. I hope that family of raccoons we saw there last summer were still okay.

The view down the stairs was even creepier with the absence of trees and brush. You can see all the way down to the still closed seawall, the parts that weren't covered in debris anyway. The fog was pretty, the air was chilly and we were all goofy.

After our little drive we headed over to the VAG for a look at the Fred Herzog exhibit of photos of Vancouver from the 1950's to the present. One particularly eerie picture was of a man wearing a short-sleeve shirt with a cheesy print of the Manhattan landscape complete with WTC buildings on it. He was standing with his back to the camera somewhere on the midway of the PNE. The photo was dated September 1st 2001.

It was interesting seeing Vancouver from earlier times, we're so used to seeing old photos of other large cities like New York or Chicago, and here were frozen moments of normal people going about their lives, drinking a coke, sitting on their porches, working on boats or watching a Chinese New Year's parade from their windows all in places that are surprisingly familiar. These were Herzog's neighbourhoods, rough and worn yet still brightly coloured and alive. There's a comfortable satisfaction in these pictures, knowing life does and always will continue on. As Ian put it, "In 50 years an old woman will walk out of a store with an ice cream cone."