Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Quarterly Review #1, Part 2: July 2010

July started off with a bang, with my epic Canada Day adventure followed by the largest indoor show in the world, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. The Tattoo, in case you missed the post, contains marching bands and other performers from around the world, in a 3.5 hourperformstraveganza that is most likely better than anything you've ever seen in your life (if you've seen Cirque du Soleil you're excused from that last generalization).

As everyone will have no doubt noticed by now there are a lot of monuments and statues around Halifax. In July I started featuring them in the new HRM Monument series. My favourite monument of July, although it had a close challenger in the SS Mont-Blanc Anchor Shaftmonument, was Le Grand Derangement located on the Waterfront. While the deportations and the Halifax Explosion were both tragic events, I feel the forced removal of thousands of Acadiancitizens has had the most lasting social effects on the people of Nova Scotia today. Even as I write this there are Acadians living in Nova Scotia with the effects of that decision by the British - the America of its time - affecting their daily lives.

At the Canada Day celebrations I ran into what appears to be everyone in Halifax's favourite person, Alexa McDonough. She invited me to attend the peace conference she was organizing, and later extended an opportunity for me to get into more sessions for free by volunteering.

While attending the conference I met my favourite Interesting Person of July, LoganMacgillivray. Logan, as you probably remember, is the twelve year old boy (possibly thirteen now) who organized the transport of two 40 foot shipping containers full of sporting goods and school supplies to needy children in Sierra Leone. He is currently overseeing the construction of a community education and recreation centre in Sierra Leone, when he's not busy practising to be an NBA basketball star. Logan, I'm proud to say, is also a friend of the blog.

Of course, no review of July would be complete without mention of my first EP Bike Trip toCrystal Crescent Beach. HG Wells once said, "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." I could not agree more, and so it was with great pride that I completed this journey and earned, in my own mind, the honour of being able to call myself a cyclist. Incidentally, the post for this trip is by far my most popular blog post to date, with 72 page visits -more than 3 times the views of my next most popular post.

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