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AHA MEDIA is very honored to be featured in “With Glowing Hearts” the movie directed by Andrew Lavigne and produced by Jon Ornoy of Animal Mother Films
A Social Media revolution has been brewing for the past five years on websites from FaceBook, to Wikipedia, to Flickr, and as it spreads throughout the Internet and into popular culture through an increasing number of portals, it is creating a new sense of community and empowerment amongst those who have embraced it.
History has shown that poor and marginalized communities stand to gain the most from leaps forward in the democratization of information, so the excitement in areas like Vancouver’s maligned Downtown Eastside about the possibilities of Web 2.0 and beyond is palpable.
With the Winter Olympics less than a year away, billions have been spent in preparations and many poverty advocates are concerned about how the city’s several thousand homeless and working poor will fit into the equation as Vancouver puts on its best face for the world.
Against this background the film examines Social Media in action as a group named Fearless City embarks on a campaign to empower and protect its neighbours with cellphones, video-streaming, and the World Wide Web.
With great thanks to both our mentors, Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy for a wonderful movie trailer! 🙂
Thanks to all our friends and our colleagues in the film ” With Glowing Hearts” 🙂
AHA MEDIA is extremely honored to be mentioned in Derek Moscato’s article of Vancouver ASAHI baseball team in today’s Metro Vancouver News on page 8 ( Monday June 15, 2009)
Hendrik Beune and April Smith of AHA MEDIA are extremely honored to be mentioned in Derek Moscato’s article of Vancouver ASAHI baseball diamond demolition in Oppenheimer Park in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside today ( Monday June 15th) on page 8 of Metro Vancouver News 🙂
We at AHA MEDIA are very thankful to Derek Moscato for reading our original post about the Vancouver ASAHI and THEN writing his own article in the Metro Vancouver News. Thanks to Derek for mentioning us! We appreciate it very much! 🙂
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Below is Derek Moscato’s article in Metro Vancouver News today!
http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/comment/article/245796–sad-end-for-japantown-s-field-of-memories
Sad end for Japantown’s field of memories
In Transit by Derek Moscato
METRO VANCOUVER
June 15, 2009 5:27 a.m.
Later this week, the Vancouver Canadians baseball team will play its much-anticipated season opener at Nat Bailey Stadium.
Expect the scene to be an upbeat one — from the singing of Take Me Out To The Ball Game to Little Leaguers cheerfully chasing foul balls in the bleachers.
But not far away, in the Downtown Eastside, a far less happy baseball story is being played out.
At Oppenheimer Park, in Vancouver’s old Japantown neighbourhood, the historic playing field of the Asahi baseball team is being demolished. The City of Vancouver is removing the ball diamond as part of its renovation of the park.
The Asahi team, formed in 1914 and comprised of Japanese-Canadian players, was a premier baseball team in the Pacific Northwest, having won numerous championships. In contrast to the home-run heroes of the modern era, their winning style was marked by stolen bases, bunts and deft fielding — all of it steroid-free.
Tragically, with the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War — and players forced to scatter across the province and the country — the team disbanded.
Forever, it turned out.
But the Asahi baseball legend lived on. The team, after all, was the touchstone for a community that had been ravaged by racism and, ultimately, forced relocation.
All of this made their home turf on Powell Street less a field of dreams, and more a field of memories — memories steeped in glory and melancholy.
Which is why the demolition of the diamond has some folks, including Downtown Eastside activists and citizen journalists Hendrick Beune and April Smith, fuming.
They note that in recent years, the Japantown community had resumed a baseball tournament on the grounds to honour the team.
But Beune tells me his pleas to save the diamond have been met with silence or even resistance. Which is a shame, since there is no turning back now.
The news isn’t all bad. According to the Vancouver Park Board, the team will be remembered at Oppenheimer, and a reference to the team will be interwoven in the mesh of a commemorative backstop.
But the diamond, the bleachers and the original backstop will all be gone.
In the city’s defence, it is dealing with numerous stakeholders at a site that has been under siege for decades. This is the Downtown Eastside we are talking about.
But that doesn’t make the demise of the historic Asahi grounds any less tragic.
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AHA MEDIA’s original post is here 🙂
AHA MEDIA meets Colorado Church volunteers giving away Free hot dogs in Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver Downtown Eastside on June 9, 2009
AHA MEDIA was strolling by Oppenheimer Park when they noticed a food lineup gathering near the Clubhouse
In the photo below, AHA MEDIA spoke with Julie Ann DeBoer and found out that they were all the way from Colorado! They were visiting our area for a few days and were here to provide food and drink for Park residents today 🙂
In this video, kind Church volunteers give out grilled hot dogs, potato salad and beverages to hungry and happy area residents at Oppenheimer Park in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside ( DTES). Julie Ann Deboer identifies that they are from Colorado when asked by a hungry person in the food lineup.
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter.
In this video, kind Church volunteers from Colorado give out grilled hot dogs, potato salad and beverages to hungry and happy area residents at Oppenheimer Park in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside ( DTES). A very polite young man identifies that some of his fellow volunteers are from Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in North Western Colorado. Ken Glofcheskie of AHA MEDIA speaks about how it’s a good thing that people are trying to help the less fortunate.
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter.
To see 31 photos, please see our Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahamedia/sets/72157619646159576/
Information session on Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
An infomation session on Oppenheimer Park will be held at Lifeskills Centre on Friday May 29th, 2009
Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA’s thoughts on the renovation of ASAHI Baseball Diamond in Oppenheimer Park
The beloved Oppenheimer Park in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside is undergoing renovations. In the following video, Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA mourns the loss of the historic ASAHI Baseball Diamond.
The Asahi BaseballClub, a group of Japanese Canadian baseball playerswho were interned during the Second World War, is remembered today for victories on thebaseball diamond in the face of discrimination and racist attitudes.
Asahi in Japanese means “morning sun.” Five young Japanese men, fourIssei and one Nisei, formed the first Asahi baseball team in Vancouver,B.C., in 1914. The Nisei loved the game because it was such a big part of North American culture and it was affordable for working-class families. Some parents had even played the game inJapan. The Asahi Club drew their players mostly from Little Tokyo in Vancouver, and played at thletic Park and Powell Grounds. (Oppenheimer Park)
In general the Asahi were not power-houses or heavy hitters, but they were heroes to the Japanese Canadian community. They dominated senior baseball in the 1930s and 1940s by playing what became known as “brainball” because they relied on bunts, stolen bases, speedand precision fielding. The champion-ship-winning Asahi Baseball Club was popular with both Japanese Canadiansand non-Japanese Canadians. During a time when Japanese Canadians were frequently targets of racism—not being allowed to vote, to teach, nor to work in the civil service or other professions—the barriers of race came down whent he ball was in play. These players taught their fans baseball strategy as well as the true meaning of fair playand sportsmanship. The Asahi remain asymbol of pride not only for Canada’sJapanese Canadian community but also fans of baseball everywhere.
To read more about the Asahi: http://tinyurl.com/nqgx5e
For historical photos and more: http://tinyurl.com/llcaqq
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This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter.
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