Lil' Rhody Lounge | Off-topic posting

[Cotuit]

Well I'm glad you're alright.

[Gusterfell]

That is scary! I'm glad you're OK. That's the sort of thing I worry about when I photograph in an unfamiliar area.

Edited January 5, 2007 by Gusterfell

[Jerry2]

Glad you're OK too....It's a shame that had to happen to you, but hopefully you will learn from this experience. Things and places aren't always what they appear to be.

[JimmyGreaves]

I'm glad you're OK Garris.

[Cotuit]

Providence added to fed anti-terror grant program [The Boston Globe]

Oddly, I got a fax at work today saying that all of RIs 2005 money hadn't been allocated yet and encouraging us to apply for some.

[Frankie811]

Just a friendly reminder to all here that as of January 23rd, you will need a passport to enter/leave the US/Canadian border. This is a result of Homeland Security measures.

[dgreco]

I noticed all the flags have been halfstaff for a few days, I am going to assume that is because of gerald ford, if I am wrong let me know, because I am just guessing... But my main question is how do you find out to put flags halfstaff? Does someone tell you are do you just do it if you know?

[brick]

Glad to hear you are ok, Garris.

One big problem especially in that area of town is if you don't speak French. I love Quebec more than most other places, but the Quebecois provincialism can be really awful if you run into the right group of people. And one of the unfortunate problems for Montreal is that a lot of the provincialists hate that it is a bilingual city. I don't typically have much trouble but my experience has been that this attitude is more prevalent in Montreal itself than it is in Quebec City or any of the other towns. I think they feel English and America are shoved down their throat. I have been to Quebec for their St. Jean Baptiste celebration and most of the negative comments I heard were from people that were up from Montreal. (Of course, this is all anecdotal evidence, although I also gave a ride to two girls after that festival from QC to Drummondville [they were on their way back to Montreal] and they said the same things). Well, you know how it is, and I don't have to explain to you why they shouldn't feel that way, but sometimes things are just that way. And a lot of the provincialists end up in the police force. I can honestly say that of the 8 strangers in the area, at least 4 of them probably tagged you as an American and decided you deserved a beating just for that. It is sad that noone came to help though.

Even speaking French (Quebecois) you would probably have had a problem being a somewhat obvious tourist what with setting up the camera. Hopefully between this and your Federal Hill experience and your experience with crazy ladies on Thayer St. you don't get turned off from your wonderful work.

[Frankie811]

Glad to hear you are ok, Garris.

One big problem especially in that area of town is if you don't speak French.

My experiences in Montreal has been that almost all people there are bilingual. But they apparently misunderstood me when I called down to room service and ordered a full American breakfast, which came with the room, and sent up four American breakfasts. St Catherine's St is wild @ 3am. Glad Garris is ok, of course. You be more careful my friend.

[dgreco]

is there anything like this in the state?

http://www.adn.com/static/includes/maps/homicide_map.html

[Frankie811]

is there anything like this in the state?

http://www.adn.com/static/includes/maps/homicide_map.html

Please be more specific.

[dgreco]

Please be more specific.

A map of where murders happened, and the stories about them.

[Frankie811]

A map of where murders happened, and the stories about them.

I'm assuming your interested in where in the city of Providence murders are occuring, and not interested in comparing murders in Anchorage, AK and Providence, RI

[eltron]

Overall (see below), my experience has been a positive one. It has some achingly beautiful neighborhoods...

Unfortunately, though, I had a downright scary experience this evening that abrupted ended any photography for this visit, as I was physically assaulted by a man while photographing. This was on the riverwalk area in the Old Port/Old Montreal section right across from the History Museum, essentially their Waterplace park.

That really sucks - I was mugged in Barcelona awhile ago, and it was a pretty shocking experience, as I'm sure this was.

As great as Montreal is, it most definitely has some peculiar urban problems that I can only vaguely compare to San Francisco, with wildly divergent neighborhoods (the wealthiest of the wealthy and poorest of the poor) butting right up next to each other. There was an inordinate number of drunks and homeless/mentally people pretty much all over the city, even in the bitter cold, which was a bit depressing.

anyway, sorry to hear. glad you are alright...

[Frankie811]

That really sucks - I was mugged in Barcelona awhile ago, and it was a pretty shocking experience, as I'm sure this was.

What was your experience like? I believe Cotuit and his lover was there last year. What is the attitude towards Americans when attacks like this happen?

[Cotuit]

I was pick-pocketed in Sitges which is just south of Barcelona, they didn't really get much, I canceled my credit card, and had to get a new drivers license, but my cash was separate. It was just annoying for me. Happily, I was not assaulted.

I can't really say what the attitude towards Americans is in Barcelona as I only spent a day there and didn't interact with the locals too much, but in Sitges people were nothing but friendly and really happy we were there. Of course this is a resort area so they wanted us to be happy and spend money, and a lot of the people I talked to weren't even from there, there were lots of Germans living there actually.

I don't know what it is exactly, but there seems to be a sort of 'these things happen' attitude about these things in other countries, even Canada. People in the US don't put up with this stuff.

The attitude of the police in Garris' situation was annoying to say the least, though I can't imagine that PPD would have been too much more helpful here, they may have been slightly more polite about their lack of help. These things happen all the time right here in Providence too, there's been about a dozen reported muggings on College Hill in the last few months, there's not too much the police can really do about it, it's not like they can put an officer on every corner. Though here in Providence if you report right away and have a good description, the police will make an effort to try to find the perp. The police actually really like catching bad guys, contrary to their donut eating reputation.

I didn't even report what happened to me in Sitges because I knew the police probably wouldn't do much of anything, and I didn't really lose anything of any value and I wasn't assaulted.

[gregw]

Unfortunately, though, I had a downright scary experience this evening that abrupted ended any photography for this visit, as I was physically assaulted by a man while photographing. This was on the riverwalk area in the Old Port/Old Montreal section right across from the History Museum, essentially their Waterplace park.

Yikes! What an awful experience. Glad to hear you're ok though.

[runawayjim]

Does anyone here have access to the internet via their laptop computer, through either Verizon or Cingular? Which is better? I'm looking at some laptops to buy before the dreaded Microsoft VISTA comes out, 'cause I want internet access in the field.

buy something vista ready. other than that, those internet access things via the wireless companies depends on how good their service is. cingular claims fewest dropped calls, but i believe that only includes where they have coverage. i would still venture to say that verizon has the best/most overall coverage. if your field work is in a certain location, i would suggest trying your own cell phone there (assuming you have one and assuming it's one of those 2 companies) and if it works, i'd go with that because you're probably more likely to get a deal on the service.

[MikeR]

Unfortunately, though, I had a downright scary experience this evening that abrupted ended any photography for this visit, as I was physically assaulted by a man while photographing. This was on the riverwalk area in the Old Port/Old Montreal section right across from the History Museum, essentially their Waterplace park.

- Garris

Damn. Next time you go on a trip bring along some UP bodyguards. We'll watch your back!

Seriously...glad to hear you're OK.

[Garris]

Thanks to everyone on their well wishes. I'm happily quite fine .

I have my first of two batches of Montreal shots online on my website. The link directly to the gallery is here. Doing the slideshow option will miss the commentary for the photos.

Two sample shots are below:

Skyline at sunset:

One of the blocks in Old Montreal:

Enjoy!

- Garris

Edited January 9, 2007 by Garris

[Frankie811]

Do you have a pic of that thug who mugged you? Hopefully no. OR ELSE!!!!!! I still remember my way around Montreal. Your an indivisual of higher intelligence and learning, hopefully devoid of all negativity and revenge. I'm sure of two things. First, you seek no revegence or retaliation, and second, you seek peace and remorse for the perpatrator of this crime. Your lack of anger in your past post tells me that your a man of conceince.

[Garris]

Do you have a pic of that thug who mugged you? Hopefully no. OR ELSE!!!!!! I still remember my way around Montreal. Your an indivisual of higher intelligence and learning, hopefully devoid of all negativity and revenge. I'm sure of two things. First, you seek no revegence or retaliation, and second, you seek peace and remorse for the perpatrator of this crime. Your lack of anger in your past post tells me that your a man of conceince.

Um, wow, thanks!

I'm actually not upset at all. I certainly harbor no ill will against the city. This was a random act of violence that could have happened anywhere, including here (like, oh, in say, Kennedy Plaza ). I'm actually amazed that in my roughly 3 and 1/2 years of doing photography in all parts of cities, at all hours of the night and day, and carrying around lots of expensive equipment that this hasn't happened before. I may need to rethink some of the risks I take to do this little hobby (although I don't know what I could have done differently here... I was in a first world nation in a first rate city in one of the most bustling areas of that city during peak pedestrian flow hours...).

It was fascinating, though, that I was walking through the city only hours before with a friend of mine who lives there and we were talking about how US cities like Providence and Boston have moved their homeless shelters and social service agencies out of the core downtowns to more of the margins of their commercial centers, while Montreal has kept their institutions right in the center of everything, even expanded the presence of them lately. I asked my friend why they do this, and she said that Montreal chooses not to hide their social problems from their citizenry.

As a result, there are homeless, people begging, people drunk/high, etc everywhere downtown. On virtually every street, from the most downtrodden to the most ritzy. I've never seen anything like it in a US city. It was amazing.

So while I applauded Montreal's progressiveness to my friend, I also mentioned that their had to be some quality of life and/or criminal cost to keeping those agencies right in the center of town, and she admitted there was, but the tradeoff was worth it and some people would knowing pay that tradeoff.

I guess I did .

- Garris

[dgreco]

Homeless by state, any of the numbers surprise you?

[runawayjim]

Homeless by state, any of the numbers surprise you?

i'm a little surprised that RI's numbers are so high compared to MA and CT, but the population density in RI is a lot higher than those 2 states as well.

[Cotuit]

Homeless by state, any of the numbers surprise you?

I'm surprised the numbers are so low. Probably a lot of under-reporting of this population.