Comments for Cycle Write Blog

Comment on Escaping Slavery into Ontario: Underground Railroad Spawned Afro-Canadian Communities by Jean

Jean — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:01:44 +0000

Very cool. The house must have been at least early 1800′s. Was it located within a small town?

Comment on Escaping Slavery into Ontario: Underground Railroad Spawned Afro-Canadian Communities by Mark Armstrong

Mark Armstrong — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:30:53 +0000

Fascinating post, Jean, and extremely well-written. I once lived for a year in a house in upstate New York that was part of the Underground Railroad. One of those truly thrilling chapters in history that somehow gets consistently overlooked. Thanks for sharing.

Comment on Cherry Blossom Ballet in Vancouver: Nature and New Mural Art by Jean

Jean — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:18:32 +0000

I was never clear what happened to the Japanese-Americans in Hawai’i. So thanks for this info. When we were in Hawai’i I did see visible signage and houses of historic value that indicated Japanese-American presence. Vancouver BC had a Japantown section beside what else, Chinatown but Japantown shrank considerably during and after WWII. However the community hosts a very large Japanese-Canadian cultural festival downtown annually. It is well attended. In the suburb of Vancouver, Burnaby has the national museum for Japanese-Canadian history.

Comment on Asia in My Dreams: Romanticizing the East by Jean

Jean — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:14:50 +0000

Guess I’ll have to get to Asia one day, Starlight!

Comment on Cherry Blossom Ballet in Vancouver: Nature and New Mural Art by Seas Reflecting Starlight

Seas Reflecting Starlight — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:52:58 +0000

Beautiful mural and cherry trees! Very sad that Canada shared America’s horrible decision to intern Japanese immigrants during WWII. The Japanese population of Hawai’i was too high to intern everyone, but they still interned important members of the community including leaders and Buddhist ministers.

Comment on Asia in My Dreams: Romanticizing the East by Seas Reflecting Starlight

Seas Reflecting Starlight — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:39:48 +0000

Well said. Many aspects of the different cultures of Asia are very much alive and inseparable from daily life. Sure there are lots of “ancient towns” sprinkled throughout Asia full of traditional crafts and architecture, but even in the big cities life is full of that culture, especially around the holidays. Modernization hasn’t changed that, and globalization just adds to the ever changing mix. Even cultural elements thought to be traditional, such as spicy ma-la cuisine in Sichuan, or tempura in Japan, have really only been around a few hundred years. Cultures take in elements from other cultures and make them their own. If you’ve ever had things like a very-Chinese take on Indian food, you’ve seen that that process is still ongoing.

Comment on Escaping Slavery into Ontario: Underground Railroad Spawned Afro-Canadian Communities by Jean

Jean — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:45:58 +0000

When I first visited the area when I saw my good friend over 25 years ago, only locals seem to know the history and they tended to take it for granted. Plus the U.S. visitors. In the past few years the provincial govn’t has provided some small grant funding to restore some areas, support the local sites and museum. It’s also for the purposes of tourism too, a 2nd reason for the economy in addition to a primarily agricultural local economy. Nothing wrong with that!

Comment on Cycling Greenways – Umbilical Cord to My Past Neighbourhoods: Prairies, West Coast and Ontario by Grace

Grace — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:28:43 +0000

I would love to have a little tinkle on that piano! What a view!

Comment on Cycling Greenways – Umbilical Cord to My Past Neighbourhoods: Prairies, West Coast and Ontario by Jean

Jean — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:22:28 +0000

Yesterday it was nearly 85 degrees F (I tend to think metric, I guess that’s over 22 degree C or so. I need a converter.), hot and very bright. Lots of cyclists. It’s weather like this that one revels in cycling away.

Comment on Cycling Greenways – Umbilical Cord to My Past Neighbourhoods: Prairies, West Coast and Ontario by Jane Thorne

Jane Thorne — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:51:01 +0000

Hello Jean

The weather is glorious now and I am loving being out on my bike…I hope you are too? :-)