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Hermano at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival 2011 (review)

Anabelle — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:59 +0000

The story of Hermano has been told again and again, yet retains its poignancy and freshness with the right actors and masterful direction. A touching tale of family, loyalty, brotherhood, justice, revenge, redemption and sacrifice describes what I saw on Sunday afternoon at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival.

Daniel is an exceptional footballer, a phenomenal striker. Julio is the team’s captain, a born leader. As brothers they grew up playing football together in a Caracas slum called “La Ceniza.” While Daniel dreams of playing professional football, Julio supports the family with “dirty” money; he has little time to dream. The opportunity of their lives arrives when a football scout invites them to tryout with the city’s best team: the Caracas Football Club. But tragedy looms nearby. They must choose, on a dusty football pitch, what is most important: family unity, revenge or the chance of a lifetime. On this pitch, life is on the line.

As I said, the story of Hermano is one you’ll be familiar with and that you’ll recognize in the first half hour. But knowing the plot takes nothing away from the quality of the two main actors, the beautiful “shoulder camera” videography and the bittersweet feeling of the finale. It sometimes felt like a more tragic South American version of Slumdog Millionaire, but I don’t hold that against it.

Hermano is a hopeful “from rags to riches” movie but it doesn’t forget the reality of living in slums controlled by drug lords. Too often, the price to pay to leave the life is unbearably high, and the movie does its best to underline that. There is no easy way out for Julio and Daniel, even through football.

Hermano will be showing again on Friday, September 9th at SFU Woodward at 7PM. You can get more information on the VLAFF website.

Hummingbird604.com is a proud media sponsor for the 2011 edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival. Follow all our coverage here on the VLAF2011 tag or on the Hummingbird604.com Facebook page. Anabelle attended on Hummingbird604.com’s media pass.

Powell Street Festival 2011 (July 30th, 31st, 2011)

Raul — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 04:33:01 +0000

Photo credit: kurisurokku, on Flickr

An amazing celebration of Japanese heritage, the Powell Street Festival 2011 will take place this weekend from 11:30am to 7:00pm and it’s entirely FREE. As you may know, I hold a special place in my heart for Japan and I’m really keen to know more about the Japanese heritage that once was settled on Powell Street.

The Powell Street Society puts together the Powell Street Festival this coming weekend with some amazing displays, great food, booths, etc. Events will take place around Oppenheimer Park (400 Block Powell Street), Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova), Vancouver Japanese Language School & Hall (475 Alexander), Chapel Arts (304 Dunlevy), Japanese Canadian National Museum (6688 Southoaks, Burnaby), Blim (115 East Pender)

From the Powell Street Festival website:

It’s been thirty-five years since the inaugural Powell Street Festival, and in that time we’ve grown from a small community event to a full-blown arts & culture celebration attended by thousands each year. We are grateful to all the participants, volunteers, funders, attendees, and our DTES community for supporting our efforts these past thirty-five years, and we look forward to at least thirty-five more. In the meantime, we look forward to welcoming you to Oppenheimer Park for the 35th Annual Powell Street Festival!

The Powell Street Festival is an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts, culture and heritage that features something for everyone: dance, music, film and video, visual arts, martial arts demos, amateur sumo tournament, craft vendors, traditional displays, and of course, tons of scrumptious Japanese food.

PSF is the largest event of its kind in Canada and the longest running community arts festival in the Lower Mainland. We provide a much-needed venue for emerging and established, professional and amateur, and traditional and contemporary artists in the Japanese Canadian and Asian Canadian communities.

I hope you can check it out. I’ve previously written about the events leading up to the Powell Street Festival 2011 but it wasn’t until today that it’s coming up this weekend alongside Pride Festival and Parade 2011. Hopefully people will check them both out!

DVBIA Busking Series on Granville (audition July 9th)

Raul — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 15:02:18 +0000

A former student of mine is working with the DVBIA helping the City of Vancouver to organize Viva Vancouver. They have made 5 blocks of Granville Street (Hastings to Smithe) pedestrian-only for every weekend this summer. Some very cool activities and events happening on the weekends. Last weekend was Latincouver (which I unfortunately missed).

My student is in charge of this busking series in which they hire professional buskers for $50/hr to busk an hour-long set on Granville Street from 5-6 or 6-7 pm on Granville. She mentions that she’s been meeting some great, talented musicians.

Major points:
- DVBIA is hiring buskers for Friday evenings this summer
- To be a part of the series, you must audition; the DROP-IN audition is at Tom Lee Music 929 Granville on Saturday, July 9th from 2 – 6 pm
- Bring amp + anything else you need for your performance
- Email Kimberly at hughes.i.kim@gmail.com if you have any questions

Whether you are musician, a busker, or both, or know one, can you please pass around? Thanks!

This post hasn’t been paid for by neither the City of Vancouver nor the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association. I’m writing it to support (a) the work of one of my former students and (b) help DVBIA find some great buskers who might find the busking series appealing to showcase their talent. As always, I retain full editorial control of content on my site.

Rocky Mountaineer (Vancouver-Whistler-Vancouver)

Raul — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:00:24 +0000

For years, I had wanted to take the Rocky Mountaineer. Years. You read right. YEARS. Ever since I found out that there was a beautiful train that would take me from Vancouver all the way up to Whistler, or the Rocky Mountains, or to Jasper and Banff, I figured “one day, I will take the Rocky Mountaineer… one day…”.

Well that day was this past weekend. I took 3 days (you read right, 3 full days) off, as it was a long weekend coming up, and JT and I went up to Whistler on the Rocky Mountaineer.

The trip JT and I took was the most wonderful Glass-Top round-trip Vancouver-Whistler-Vancouver ($335), not exclusively the only route that the Rocky Mountaineer offers. We were lucky because the Whistler Sea to Sky Climb season officially begun this past weekend, which means that we were amongst the very first guests to travel on the Rocky Mountaineer for the 2011 season.

Even though I receive invitations to do media travel trips just about everywhere, I had been wanted to cover Whistler as someone who doesn’t ski for a long while, so I was ready to accept the invite from Tourism Whistler. And it was a fortunate coincidence that Brie Mason and Emme Rogers were also guests on the same train!

On the way up (Friday, May 20th), the weather was absolutely glorious, both in Vancouver and in Whistler, throughout our travels parallel to the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

Included with the trip there’s plenty of non-alcoholic beverages and a hot breakfast, which was absolutely delicious.

We saw some familiar sights along the way, like my good ol’ friend the Stawamus Chief, which I have climbed numerous times throughout my life in Vancouver. Located in the quaint town of Squamish, between Vancouver and Whistler, the Chief is a really nice hike and it provides a great workout to those who like to rock climb.

I found one of the most interesting views was the one alongside the route of the train. I am still amazed at how popular trains remain as means of transportation, given that well, their speeds aren’t all that spectacular. But this (the Rocky Mountaineer) is not a quick train, and it’s not intended to be one. It’s intended for leisurely travel. The trip from Vancouver to Whistler takes 3 to 3.5 hours, and they fly by you.

At every point, I was totally blown away by the extraordinary beauty of our province. British Columbia is definitely one absolutely gorgeous province. And I’m a lucky man for living in one of the most amazing cities in Canada, Vancouver, and for having had the opportunity to travel throughout the way I have.

The rivers, the canyons and in general, the view of the mountain, the ocean, Howe Sound and the forests around us were absolutely stunning.

The Rocky Mountaineer is a one-in-a-lifetime, must-do experience. There are two ways to enjoy the Whistler Sea to Sky Climb route: the Whistler Dome Service or the Whistler Classic Service. Both of them have their own qualities (obviously, one of them has more perks, the Whistler Dome Service), but whichever you choose, they are both amazing experiences.

Rocky Mountaineer offers 45 unique Canadian vacation packages and four distinctive rail routes, rich in history and natural wonders, through British Columbia and Alberta. This world renowned, luxurious train travels by daylight through the wild beauty of Canada’s West and is the best way to experience the majestic Canadian Rockies, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the past 20 years, Rocky Mountaineer has grown to become the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and has welcomed more than one million guests onboard from around the world.

Arriving to the Whistler Rocky Mountaineer station, we were greeted with extremely friendly faces and a wonderful service from the staff on site. While there is a Traxx connection with partner hotels (included in your trip), we only connected by bus from downtown Vancouver (at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver) to the North Vancouver train station.

I definitely recommend the Rocky Mountaineer as one experience you MUST do at least once in a lifetime. I’ll absolutely be back, sooner than you think. Perhaps my next trip will have to be to Banff and Jasper. I’m a definite fan of the Rocky Mountaineer, for life. And you should know, the Rocky Mountaineer has a number of fantastic Special Offers that you should take advantage of.

Disclosure: My trip to and from Whistler was compliments of Rocky Mountaineer. I am neither obligated to post a review nor was I paid to write this post. However, I strongly believe that traveling with Rocky Mountaineer is great and wanted to share my experience with my readership. As always, I retain editorial control over any content I post on my website. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via my Contact Form

Jiro Japanese Restaurant (Broadway and Kingsway)

Raul — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:17:38 +0000

Jiro Japanese Restaurant
315 Broadway
(near Kingsway and Broadway)

There’s one thing I’ll never understand: how can some restaurants be closed later than 3pm, for lunch? It’s not like we don’t eat late lunches! This weekend, my good friend Airdrie and I were looking for a restaurant to have late lunch (an Izakaya, preferably), and the ones we were looking to visit were closed until 5pm. Since we were hungy we settled for finding whatever sushi place we could find.

I had heard good things about Jiro, but had never been. The location kind of looks dicey, but as soon as we walked in the restaurant, we found a half-full place at 3pm. Which means, it must be good. Jiro offers all-you-can-eat sushi for $14.95 but neither Air nor I could really eat that much so we decided to just grab a few rolls and some nigiri sushi and sashimi. The fish was fresh, and I particularly liked the salmon nigiri.

It’s not an expensive place for lunch, I don’t think. And more importantly, it is open all day (since April of 2006, apparently, or so it said near the door). I had a really good time and the food was very good, so I’ll have to come back to Jiro at some point. Good bonus? It’s near where I live, just a few blocks off.

Sochi 2014 Russian House at Science World

Raul — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:20:40 +0000

I have a special love for Science World (or the Telus World of Science, as they have called it too). It’s one of my favorite places to visit, and I also quite frequently walk around the False Creek seawall and pass by. You can see many photos of Science World on my Flickr account. So I was delighted to hear that the Sochi 2014 (Russian House) was going to be hosted there. Thanks to my friends Veronica Rivas and Veronica Heringer, I was invited as a media guest.

From their website:

Guests of Sochi World will be able to get to know a new, modern Russia, where innovation is balanced with tradition: exhibition halls and informational booths will introduce everyone to the city and country that will host the innovative Sochi 2014 Games. The cultural program, legendary Russian cuisine, performances by famous Russian and Canadian artists and, of course, the guests themselves will all help to create an unforgettable, truly Russian festive atmosphere.

I was really impressed with the fully equipped media center, the displays and the hard work that the organizers of Sochi 2014 have put into Russky World. Overall, the staff was incredibly friendly, most of them spoke Russian (yes, I can understand a bit of Russian – two of my brothers have competed in international chess competitions, and they both learned Russian, so I have a bit of an ear to recognize the language).

I understand that Russky World is open 12 to 5pm for the general public (it’s free) and for the evening program, you do require accreditation. I did not check the evening program, but I probably will in the next couple of weeks. When/if I do, I’ll report back. You can check the (free) program on the website.

On a summery day in Vancouver, what do YOU do?

Raul — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:40:00 +0000

I am always delighted by the many ways in which I can enjoy the city I live in. It’s a beautiful area for the better part of Spring and Summer (as you can see from the photo below).

So my question to you is … what have you done recently on a beautiful summer day like this?

All’s Well That Ends Well (Bard on the Beach Performance)

Raul — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:42:05 +0000

Credit: Ginalan

I have always been a fan of theatre (as my readers will know – I’ve given away A LOT of tickets on my site for theatrical performances, thanks to the wonderful sponsors that have provided me with opportunities to reward my readers). My main aim is to showcase the local talent in Vancouver (and overall, in British Columbia) with all these contest giveaways and with my reviews of theatre plays. This year, Bard on the Beach has been kind enough to sponsor two contests (one for Othello, for which I’ll be drawing a winner this afternoon, and one for Comedy of Errors).

I knew that JT had wanted to go to Bard on the Beach with me and attend the lecture series as well as do the picnic (i.e. the whole 9 yards), so I met him at his place around 3pm and we took the Aqua Bus towards the Maritime Museum. We went for a nice walk around Kitsilano Beach and then attended the lecture series. I’ll describe the series in more detail in a subsequent post, but suffice it to say that it was an excellent event.

We then picked up our picnics by Emelle, the official caterer of Bard (JT purchased an “All’s Well” picnic, the heartiest/biggest meal of them all). While I liked the food, I was kind of taken aback by the cold picnic in the format they did it (cold rice and cold chicken). For the next time we go there, we’re going to order sandwiches (The Comedy picnic).

After dinner we headed to the stage where All’s Well that Ends Well would take place. Admittedly, I am a Shakespeare fan. Admittedly, I have been a theatre actor and fan for many years. But that doesn’t cloud my judgement. This was a PHENOMENAL performance. The gist of the play (a problem play, as English scholars call it) is that Helena, a poor woman from a lower class, cures the King, she wants his son Bertram as husband. He runs away but Helena, wise and street-smart, has devised a plot with Diana (the woman that Bertram has tried to woo) to win him back. There’s a lot of talk about sex

I was delighted with the performance, and all the actors did a phenomenal job (although of note I should indicate the delightful work of the actress who played Diana). This kind of problem play (where there is no exact measure of comedy or drama) also presents fantastic challenges of interpretation. Is Shakespeare being sexist, anti-feminist or is he empowering women?

Overall, I had a delightful evening with JT and I am ever grateful that he invited me along. This is the kind of stuff that friendships are made of. We walked leisurely over the Burrard bridge towards his apartment so that he could drive me back home and as we strolled around, we had a chance to discuss about how great Bard on the Beach is. If you have a chance to attend a performance, I thoroughly recommend it. All’s Well was entirely sold out the evening we saw it, so you may need to check about ticket availability.

And if you want to see Othello, enter my contest for 2 reserved seats tickets for Thursday’s performance!

Drinking water fountains are needed in Vancouver!

Raul — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:00:45 +0000

It’s not a surprise to anyone who has talked to me about my research that I write a lot both on my research site and on this blog about water. Only 3% of the world’s water supply is freshwater (the rest is salt water). I am keenly aware of the fact that the vast majority of my research focus has been on wastewater management and on groundwater governance.

I am also transparent in disclosing that drinking water has just recently become more of an interest of mine given that I am about to undertake a research project on public perceptions of drinking water in the Lower Mainland area (Vancouver and surrounding municipalities).

As I have mentioned before, while I am interested in issues of privatization and commodification of water, I am gaining an interest in encouraging drinking water from the tap. One of the biggest issues that I see (and I communicated this to Metro Vancouver, particularly in regards to the Tap Water Pledge) is that we need more drinking water fountains (and in good condition) in Vancouver if we want to encourage behavioral changes in society!

I had a chance to walk around the West End and with the heat (I think we got up to the 30 oC mark this weekend) I found myself really thirsty. JT and I are fans of bringing our own water bottles but we thought we were going just for a short walk so we didn’t bring them.

As we walked past Jervis and Burnaby we noticed a water fountain, and I proceeded to make a quick pit stop to quench my thirst. I found the water well-tasting, and I immediately thought about the issue of availability of water fountains. I had already had a quick chat with Greg Valou about the fact but I plan to bring the issue up again to the folks who work on the Tap Water Pledge at Metro Vancouver. Availability of water fountains and water quality (including taste) are very relevant issues that need to be looked at.

This will be a really interesting research project and I am really looking forward to working on understanding the complexities of encouraging more people in Vancouver to consume water from the tap and ditch bottled water.

The launch of Qmunity (@qmunity)

Raul — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:45:30 +0000

Credit: Qmunity on Flickr

I am very lucky in that I always get invited to awesome events. Many a time, these events are in support of the GLBT community. For example, I recently covered the LOUD Awards. On my blog, I’ve previously written at length about the fight against homophobia, the sad upholding of Proposition 8 by California, World AIDS Day, the gay-bashings on Davie Street, the National Coming Out Day and issues of sexual identity. So I was most delighted when Jennifer Breakspears, the Executive Director of (formerly The Centre, now Qmunity) invited me to be a part of the unveiling of the new branding and image for the regional (BC) resource centre for the gay, lesbian, bi, trans community (overall, the queer community). The role of Qmunity cannot be stressed enough. I was pretty impressed with the website itself, the new branding, image, and the fact that Qmunity has embraced social media. I had a chance to speak with Spencer Herbert, the MLA for Vancouver Burrard. He is such a nice guy, and so interested in the well-being of his community. No wonder why people voted for him in the past BC election. I hope he’ll be able to chat with me in the near future in an interview mode (because, really, our chat at the Qmunity launch, was really very much not an interview but more that of two members of the community who were sharing viewpoints and thoughts). Congratulations to Qmunity and to Jennifer Breakspear on the new website and branding! I look forward to hearing more from this great initiative.

Silk Threads (upcoming theatre play)

Raul — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:15:18 +0000

Andrea Loewen has kindly offered two tickets to her upcoming one-woman play titled “Silk Threads”. She’s even so awesome that she is offering the tickets to be valid for opening night (Thursday June 18th). So, I thought that the best way to give away the tickets would be through a quick instant contest. Here’s the rules – to enter the contest, drop a comment speaking about the last time you went to a theatre play. I’ll draw the winner at 6:30pm on Wednesday June 17th and announce it on Twitter and here on my blog.

More information on the play from the media release:

This girl has BIG dreams: she’s going to be a ballerina/actress/writer/ballet
teacher/model/photographer/counselor/interior designer. She’s got a lot to accomplish, and she’s
not going to let her all-too-practical, physics-teaching Grandpa get in the way. Silk Threads,
written and performed by Pacific Theatre apprentice Andrea Loewen (You Still Can’t) tells her
story of figuring out what she really needs to get out of life.

Drop a comment to enter the contest and win tickets for two to this play!

WHEN: June 18th to 20th, 2009, 8pm
WHERE: Pacific Theatre (12th and Hemlock)

LunchBox, the official caterers of Mental Health Camp #mhc09

Raul — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:39:58 +0000

This post is a follow up of Mental Health Camp, but it wasn’t until recently that LunchBox had launched their website. So, that’s why it’s so late here. Thanks to Darren Barefoot, we were able to meet up with the BC Mental Health Foundation Executive Director, Dee Dee Sung, to discuss the possibility of sponsorship for lunch. For both Isabella and myself, it was very important to provide lunch at Mental Health Camp.

Sharing a meal is such a bonding experience, and we knew that people would be tired if we didn’t have a break (and their glucose level would drop to dangerous levels without food). So we searched around for the best catering company in town. We wanted someone who sourced local ingredients, who might potentially employed sustainable practices and a small local entrepreneurial shop. After a recommendation of Bradley Schende (M2O) we settled on LunchBox.

When I contacted LunchBox about catering to our event and informed them that we had a certain limit to the budget we were able to spend, they were very generous to sponsor the remainder through a generous discount. This gift was very substantive and we were extremely grateful that combined the generous support of the BCMHF and LunchBox, we were able to provide a free, delicious and nutritious lunch to every participant at Mental Health Camp.

I wanted to thank again the BC Mental Health Foundation for sponsoring lunch, and to LunchBox for so generously giving us a great discount that allowed us to cover food costs with the support of BCMHF. From the feedback we received at MHC’09, 56% of the participants absolutely loved it, and 22% liked it a lot, so with over a 75% rate of ‘Excellent’ I would feel strongly about recommending LunchBox if you have any local catering needs. They were also extremely well located for our needs as their office and small restaurant is located right on Railtown (across from the offices of Invoke Media).

Cedar Cottage Greenway (East Vancouver)

Raul — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:29:18 +0000

I take Sunday afternoons and evenings off almost as a ritual. JT and I enjoy spending time together on the last day of the weekend and have an opportunity to relax. Given that today I was dog-sitting, we went for a rather long stroll towards Trout Lake, and we ended up walking along 20th Avenue, going down to 19th and finally, crossing the Cedar Cottage Greenway around 19th and Fleming.

I was perplexed by the beauty of this project, and found out that this had been a long-time standing project. From the City of Vancouver Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood page:

The Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood Greenway transformed the unopened 19th Avenue road allowance into a park-like connection between the neighbourhood and Tyne Elementary School. The greenway follows west from Fleming Street to the adjacent lane. Its design features a winding red brick path, a gazebo with seating, donated perennial flowers and pedestrian lighting. Public art in the form of pebble mosaics are set into the garden area along the path.

This greenway was initiated and built by the community, which continues to maintain it with assistance from the City. Since it was completed in 1994, a community notice board has been added and other improvements to the landscape have been made by residents. This greenway was funded in part by a Parks Board grant and the Public Art Program.

I was pretty marvelled by the greenway. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am always in search of something that will amaze me, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I wish more of these projects were taking place in Vancouver. I wonder how many greenways do we have in other parts of Vancouver. I remember there’s one around 14th and Prince Albert, near Kingsway and Fraser (though I don’t have photos of that one). Hopefully I’ll get to explore more of my beautiful neighbourhood of East Vancouver and will report back.

Flightseeing with West Coast Air

Raul — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:42:39 +0000

A few of my fellow blogger friends (including Rebecca, Sean, Duane, Erica and Grace) were invited by Tourism Vancouver to participate in a scenic flightseeing a couple of weeks ago, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it then. Lucky for me, the folks of West Coast Air offered Tourism Vancouver to give me a chance to participate in one of these flightseeing tours last Saturday and I said “of course”.

My eldest brother has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, but for the longest time, he wanted to be a commercial airline pilot. So, even though I’ve flown enough times in my life (more often than not, commercial flights for academic conferences), I figured I had to try this at least once in my lifetime, on my brother’s behalf.

And am I ever glad I did. If I may say so, doing a scenic flight tour of the Metro Vancouver, part of Whistler and Bowen Island (in general, the islands) was one of the highlights of my time living in Vancouver. I took video of the whole thing, but since it took me HOURS to upload it on to YouTube (strangely enough – I might have made a mistake with the compression settings) – so you have here just a peek at the period when we were descending. Thanks to West Coast Air and Tourism Vancouver for making my flightseeing tour possible!

Bombay Sapphire Mixology Lessons in Vancouver with Merlin Griffiths and Murray Bancroft

Raul — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:29:59 +0000

Credit: Emme Rogers

One of my favorite drinks is gin and tonic, and I’ve always enjoyed Bombay Sapphire, so when Lorraine suggested that I’d be interested in participate in the event, I was thrilled that the team behind Bombay Sapphire’s event invited me to come to a wonderful evening where Merlin Griffiths (Global Brand Ambassador for Bombay Sapphire) and Murray Bancroft (a Vancouver-based chef, food stylist and entertaining guru) gave a number of bloggers and several entertaining specialists (including bartenders) a few lessons on how to entertain guests and what kind of food you can pair with certain gin-based drinks. Merlin shared with us a few recipes, including the lethal Sapphire Ginger Mint (ginger ale, fresh mint leaves and Bombay Sapphire). I’ll admit that I absolutely loved this particular drink, particularly because it’s sweet and light. I’m not a real fan of traditional gin-based martinis (even though Merlin does mix a really great martini), but I can totally appreciate when a good one is prepared.

Credit: Emme Rogers

Throughout the night, I had a chance to mingle and enjoy a number of Bombay Sapphire-based drinks. Luckily for me, Murray shared with us a few recipes for food pairings with each drinks, and we were able to enjoy samples of these finger-food items. I was really impressed by Murray’s expertise and how easy to make were the recipes he shared. I was also delighted that Bombay Sapphire decided to invite along someone to share the stage with Merlin who was based out of Vancouver. I think it’s important to tie-in a local element to any successful campaign, and in this case, Bombay Sapphire and their PR team (I think mostly Convergence folks) were right on the ball. The location choice was another winning factor, as we shared a suite in the 58th floor of the recently-opened Shangri-La (arguably, the tallest building in Vancouver if I recall correctly). And the swag bag… *swoon* what can I say about the swag bag? Just two words: Sapphire Collins. Those of you who attended the party will understand what I mean (in other words, I walked away with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, and a few other items that will make my entertaining all the much more fun).

Credit: Emme Rogers

I was really pleased with having the chance to attend the party, and particularly grateful to Lorraine for linking me with Victoria Taylor, and to Gus and Russ for joining me as my entourage. Russ is a gin connoisseur so I was thrilled that he came along, and I always have a great time with the both of them as well as Colleen, Tanya, Emme (whom I thoroughly thank for giving me a chance to use her photos to make my post prettier!), Shallom, Terri, Richard (whom I was delighted to meet for the first time), and a number of folks whom I didn’t know in person before (like Craig). Thanks to Emme also for driving me home. At the end of the night, I was really exhausted. But as I mentioned above, Merlin was delightful and charming, Murray was awesome too, and everyone had a fantastic time. I have to say that this was possibly one of the best social media outreach events I’ve seen since the epic Molson Brew 2.0. I am hoping Bombay Sapphire will do another of these Mixology 2.0 events soon! I do, of course, expect my newly-made friends from both the PR team and from Bombay Sapphire to stay connected. Staying connected has been crucial in the success of post-Brew 2.0 events for Molson.

Happy first day of Spring!

Raul — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:11:40 +0000

Thanks Vancouver for reminding me how beautiful you are when it’s sunny and dry.

Dining Out for Life Vancouver 2009 – Mark your calendars

Raul — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:25:00 +0000

In 2007 I Blogathoned for A Loving Spoonful, a local charity focused on delivering warm and nutritious meals to people afflicted with HIV/AIDS. As many of you know, I am a big supporter of A Loving Spoonful and all causes associated with prevention/treatment and essential services for those who are affected by the deadly disease.

On Thursday March 12th, 2009, hundreds of local and BC restaurants will be participating in Dining Out for Life. Twenty five percent (25%) of all meal costs will be donated to A Loving Spoonful in order to help them continue with their awesome work.

I’ve Dined Out for Life other years, and I will be organizing a Dining Out for Life Tweetup on the same day, and I am also aware that my friend Karen Hamilton is an Ambassador for DOFL at Tomato. Karen’s blog post on Dining Out for Life is linked here, go check it out. She also mentioned Eagranie and her commitment to the cause (I knew that Eagranie of The Well Tempered Chocolatier was a foodie, but didn’t know she did stuff like this for DOFL. Awesome!

If you are interested in joining me (or are a participating restaurant) drop me a line on my contact form or leave a comment on this post. Please consider participating in Dining Out for Life. It’s for a good cause. Thank you!

Carol Sill launches Tea Vancouver

Raul — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:43:56 +0000

My friend Carol Sillseems to have infinite amounts of energy, so she took it upon herself to launch a new tea-focused site. I know my friend Phaedra will love the site, as we both enjoy tea very much (having spent many awesome afternoons at Shaktea).

In this site, I’ll point to some terrific teas to try, suggest some elegant and beautiful tea sites, offer reviews of tea and tea shops in Vancouver, and play as many versions of Tea for Two as I can stand![Cha cha cha Tea Vancouver]

In case you didn’t remember, I quit caffeine for a long while last year but then I needed to get back. While I was off caffeine, rooibos tea was what saved me. I look forward to hearing from Carol what she thinks of most places that do tea!

Toni & Guy Fashion Event Feb 5th for Beauty Night

Raul — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:30:58 +0000

Mark your calendars – Tony & Guy (one of Vancouver’s most recognized hair salons) will be celebrating their anniversary on February 5th, and it will be a fully charitable event with 100% of the proceeds going to Beauty Night. Furthermore, ticket holders will receive a bag of products valued at $ 35. I’m really happy that Toni & Guy are supporting Beauty Night, as it is a really awesome charity! The event will take place at a Vancouver landmark – The Penthouse.

The Vancouver Blogger Meetup of January 2009 recap is up!

Raul — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:00:58 +0000

And following tradition, Jan Karlsbjerg (who also has a PhD, but his is in computer science) has written an excellent recap of the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup January meeting at The End Cafe. In my opinion, it was very well attended and I am quite pleased with the end result.

I did notice that it was slightly noisy but they (The End Cafe) did everything they could to accomodate us and they gave us the best location, so all in all, no reason to complain. Hope you all had as much fun as I did. Thanks to The End Cafe owners and staff for being so accomodating and to Barbara Doduk for recommending it!

Thanks to Mandy Gratton and Pete Quily for speak to the various types of blogging that there is out there (mommy blogging in the case of Mandy and ADHD in the case of Pete)

Vancouver Bloggers Meetup January 2009 Liveblog

Raul — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:55:24 +0000

It’s been a year since I last live-blogged a Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. This year, I’m actually the Organizer of the Meetup, and I’m quite honored to be hosting it. The End Cafe actually has been pretty good to us, and I am glad that the turn out is very good.

I’ll try to have updates as the night goes by. Obviously, as I know it’s tradition, I do expect that Dr. Jan Karlsbjerg will have a recap on his blog, to which I will duly link.

UPDATE – 6:54pm – I’m going to start the Meetup now with introductions all around. I might miss some people so just drop me your name if I miss you when I do the linkage.

UPDATE – 7:10pm – Pete Quily (ADDCoach) describes in 3 minutes what ADHD is. For more information and a really great in-depth analysis of ADHD, I’d suggest his blog.

UPDATE – 7:15pm – Mandy Gratton gives an overview of what mommy blogging is and how she got into it. Mandy’s excellent (and funny) blog is here.

UPDATE – I can see many people that are coming in, and having a hard time recognizing everyone so I decided not to continue live-blogging. I am sure there will be posts up about the meetup!

The Vancouver Bloggers Meetup for January 2009 is on Wednesday Jan 21st

Raul — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:07:45 +0000

I am pretty sure everyone knows now that I’m the organizer of the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. You didn’t know? Well, now you do. We are a pretty diverse group, all ages, all kinds of bloggers. We have foodie bloggers, theatre bloggers, podcasters, tekkies, social media and PR people, mommy bloggers (e.g. parenting bloggers), personal bloggers, professional bloggers, political bloggers, journalists, etc.

It was my goal to make the VBM more open so I have asked a few of my fellow bloggers to speak for about 2-3 minutes about the kind of blogging they do. I am extremely fortunate in that VBM and social networking have helped me create solid friendships with the bloggers I know through VBM. And my hope is that you, too, will find our meetings interesting and conducive to fostering new friendships.

We will spend the first few minutes speaking about the general feel for the coming months of VBM and a sample of what our bloggers are currently writing about. My hope is that you’ll spend the rest of the time socializing and networking in a safe, comfortable environment. I’ve chosen The End Cafe on Commercial and Broadway because it is a rather large space. We’ll have to test if it is loud or not.

Looking forward to seeing you all. Please RSVP here!

Announcing the January 2009 Vancouver Bloggers Meetup!

Raul — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:29:48 +0000

You can read the details on the Meetup.com website, but long story made short – I’m attempting to establish the meetup for the third Wednesday. I am fully aware that Green Drinks is the same night, and I’ll have to deal with that aspect some time (since, well, I am an environmental specialist so technically, Green Drinks *should* be one of the events I *should* attend).

Please RSVP on the Meetup.com site. Thanks!

Martini’s delight at Delilah’s (West End, Denman and Comox)

Raul — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:39:20 +0000

Credit: Beth Snow on Flickr

[Disclaimer - These martinis weren't made at Delilah's - I just needed a photo of a martini to go with it ]

There is, admittedly, a certain degree of correlation between hanging out with awesome friends and wonderful places. Or maybe it is that I have great taste in friends. And I think I have the same great taste in restaurants and bars. This is the case with Delilah’s. What a wonderful place to hang out and have a strong martini (or two, or three) with a good friend. In this case, said great friend was Erica Hargreave.

Erica and I had been planning for a while to get together and enjoy a couple of drinks and as we were driving into the downtown core of Vancouver, Erica suggested Delilah’s. Her suggestion was met with my enthusiastic “ABSOLUTELY! I *LOVE* DELILAH’S“. We headed into the West End and were warmly greeted by D.J. (whom, we learned, is the bartender – he just happened to see us coming in and decided to take it upon himself to greet us, take our coats and lead us into the bar area).

Delilah’s has (as some other writers have indicated) a sort of Victorian decor. The lighting is warm, the carpets and furniture are sophisticated, but more than anything, the dining room is inviting and cozy. It does make one feel at home. We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of martinis. Full disclosure – I love sweet martinis. I know – some people would say I’m not drinking real martinis.

I chose a Clockwork Orange (vodka infused with orange with a second or two of Orancio Cinzano) and Erica started with an Impaired (Absolute Pear with pineapple and apple juice). My opinion of the Clockwork Orange in four words = VERY STRONG, VERY GOOD. For my second and third martinis, I chose a Pearl Necklace (a creamy concoction of vanilla vodka, crème de cacao and Godiva liqueur) and Erica decided (since she was driving) to just have a Caramel Apple (vodka with Sour Puss Apple, caramel toffee liqueur & cranberry juice) and then a Shirley Temple (with no alcohol).

I frankly enjoyed the Caramel Apple and the Pearl Necklace much better than the Clockwork Orange. But the best part of the evening, in addition to having a chance to spend time with Erica catching up, was that we got to meet the original owner, Fran. She told us the story of her vision of Delilah’s (a homey, welcoming environment with class and sophistication) and how she is now back to help the owner a few nights every week. It’s awesome to see that that she is back to strengthen what she built initially (because let’s face it, almost everyone recognizes that Delilah’s has some of the best martinis in town).

Both Erica and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Fran, and we definitely will come back to Delilah’s at some point. More importantly, it was a wonderful opportunity to just spend time and talk about stuff. We shut down Delilah’s! We did! I had not shut down a place in a long time. You can imagine how much fun I had chatting with Erica over a few drinks at Delilah’s. As Larry puts it, I always manage to have a wonderful time everywhere I go, but I can’t take full credit for this. I LOVE spending time with my friends, and Erica is someone I am very grateful that the Vancouver tech community has given me the chance to get to know and become good friends.

I’d recommend Delilah’s for a great martini, for sure!

The electronics, tech and gaming cluster in Vancouver

Raul — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:51:49 +0000

One of the topics I will never get tired of reading about or studying is the geographical agglomeration of industries (also called industrial district or cluster). While I was writing my PhD dissertation, I had to write about clusters ALL THE TIME. The funny thing is – I never even thought about writing about Vancouver’s own industrial clusters. Now that I am more than ever immersed in the tech community, I thought I should write about Vancouver’s very own clusters.

The trigger for this post came from a recent article in Business in Vancouver about the electronic games cluster in Vancouver. In the article, the author mentioned that not even the gaming industry was invulnerable to recession.

“Some bright spots remain in the video game industry, but year-end job cuts at Electronic Arts and more recently at smaller video game development shops are revealing that the video game industry may not be recession proof.”[Business in Vancouver]

My interest in cooperation started long ago, however, when I did my Masters. My thesis was a game-theoretic model of cooperation between small biotech firms and large pharmaceuticals. Since then (almost 10 years ago) I’ve been fascinated by cooperation and geographical agglomeration.

The concept of clusters (or industrial districts) is predicated on the benefits (mostly intangible) from having numerous firms co-located within short geographical distance. Agglomeration yields “localization economies” and it is argued that it also leads to knowledge spillovers (thus cities where there are many of the same industry enjoy a shared pool of well-trained human capital).

Credit: Kris Krug on Flickr

I actually do think that there is a high-tech cluster in Vancouver (particularly in Gastown and less so perhaps in Yaletown). Dr. Tom Hutton (with the Centre for Human Settlements at UBC) has conducted much research about this cluster, and you can read some of his results in his most recent book on The New Economy of the Inner City, or a paper he published in 2006 called “Spatiality, built form, and creative industry development in the inner city” in the journal Environment and Planning.

I am planning to write some journal articles out of my PhD thesis which will touch upon the literature on industrial districts, but with all the work I’ve got accumulated with the wastewater project and the environmental mobilizations project, I am just asking myself when will I be able to write that many papers! *sigh* Perhaps I’ll just have to write more blog posts about the topic and then summarize them in a more academic format!

For an overview of a project undertaken by CPROST a few years back on clusters in Vancouver, click here.

Is Fraser really the new Main? The transformation of Mount Pleasant

Raul — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:57:58 +0000

Anybody who knows me a bit, knows that I love my neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant). I’ve extensively written about it, both on my blog and as a guest blogger on Rebecca’s when she has kindly invited me to contribute some stuff on her Vancouver History series. During my time living here (I used to be a Point Grey/Kitsilano boy in my earlier years) I have learned not only to love but also to try and learn about the historical development of my East Vancouver neighbourhood.

I remember a couple of years back, reading an article in The Georgia Straight about how Fraser is quickly becoming the new Main (quoted in this article in Mountain View).

Fraser Street is considered one of the main North-South corridors (although once you reach Broadway, you really can’t go North anymore). When I first moved to the Mount Pleasant area, I noticed a bit of a divide between Main (which, some people tell me, about 10-20 years was plagued with prostitution, drug dealing, etc) and Fraser. Both streets are parallel but despite being only divided by 6 blocks, you could tell the difference in the flavor of the neighbourhood. Fraser still does (at some point) feel somewhat sketchy. But I have not feel in danger, myself, whenever I walk around at night.

Heck, this difference was even showcased in the movie Mount Pleasant (excellent Canadian/Vancouver-based movie, you should watch it). Nevertheless, recent developments have begun a gentrification process between Kingsway and King Edward. Whether this is positive or negative, we’ll see.

People who diss the areas around Broadway and Fraser (which had in the past, admittedly, been dangerous – and maybe it still continues to be) and Kingsway and Fraser (which may also be perceived as somewhat sketchy) do forget that some of Vancouver’s great restaurants are located there. The Red Sea Cafe (best Ethiopian food in town) is near Fraser and Broadway, as is Fassil (probably second best Ethiopian food in town) and Seb’s Market Cafe (great brunch).

The addition of “Les Faux Burgeois” (a new upscale, French restaurant, although not nearly as pricey as other French restaurants in Vancouver) to the 15th and Fraser area (almost next door to The Lion’s Den) is also a signal of this transformative process. At any rate, while I am glad to see a transformation of the neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant), I am slightly worried about it losing its character. I hope it doesn’t.

And for those of you who didn’t know … there is a world beyond Cambie, you know? (this comment comes from a line in the movie Mount Pleasant, and something some of my former undergraduate students told me “I never go as far east as Cambie!“)

[SIDE NOTE -I always find it interesting when I search for content online that refers to the topic I'm discussing and I find forums where commentators are so passionate. Just look at the discussions on whether Fraser is the new Main on this forum. Interesting...]

Restaurant review – The Alibi Room (Gastown)

Raul — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:31:03 +0000

It would be unfair for me to judge The Alibi Room in their dinner mode having not had dinner there for a long, long time. The last time I actually consumed anything there at night, I attended Global Metal with Rebecca, Trevor, Andy and Beth. We only had drinks so that doesn’t really count.

But I did have brunch there very recently with MJ and Dale, for the AIDS Benedict brunch. While I absolutely hate eggs Benedict, I wanted to participate in the event and so I sent out a Twitter invitation. I was very pleased and touched that both MJ and Dale accepted, as we had a really good time. Neither of them had met each other before, and I’m always happy when I help build connections amongst my friends from the Vancouver tech scene.

Both MJ and Dale ordered eggs Benedict while I ordered scrambled eggs with chorizo and toast. As far as the quality of food goes, it was really, really good. I did remember The Alibi Room being this good. The service was a mixed bag. Both our servers were incredibly sweet and nice and they went out of their way in keeping our coffee cups refilled. Both of those elements were highlights.

The very small downside? The servers seemed to struggle to keep up with everyone, and our food took a while to get to our table, but we didn’t mind as we were having a really good time.

My verdict? I will come back to The Alibi Room many, many times. It’s spacious, it’s well designed, it has good food (brunch is good and I remember dinner being good too. I’ll have to come back for that). Service is ok, and more than anything, it’s pretty strategically located. The Vancouver tech community visits The Alibi Room with frequency, and it’s close to my downtown office and to my home (well, if I take the bus anyways).

I’d definitely recommend The Alibi Room for brunch, although frankly, I still do love my Nice Cafe and Crave on Main. In my humble opinion, two of the best brunch places in town.

Have brunch for charity! AIDS Benedict brunch weekend

Raul — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:02:30 +0000

Vancouver’s 3rd Annual AIDS Benedict brunch weekend is happening this weekend (November 29th and 30th). Participating restaurants include the following (I would have done all the linking but I’m exhausted and have a ton of work to do). Hat tips to Raincoaster who informed me of this event.

I am a very big supporter of HIV/AIDS-related charities (as I demonstrated by doing a 24 hour Blogathon in 2007 to raise funds for A Loving Spoonful). Now I’d like to draw your attention to another charitable event: The AIDS Benedict brunch weekend.

YouthCO AIDS Society and Camp Moomba, two non-profit organizations that support and empower children and youth impacted by HIV and AIDS, have teamed up for Vancouver’s 3rd Annual AIDS Benedict brunch weekend. Collectively sponsored by local restaurants, this “eggsellent” event blends scrumptious eggs benedict with public education to help raise awareness about children and youth in BC impacted by HIV and AIDS.

Donations from participating restaurants will give children and youth impacted by HIV and AIDS access to year-long programs and supports that they might not otherwise have access to. Participation in the two-day eggs-travaganza is eggstremely simple: fill your belly with eggs benedict or other promotional items at one (or more!) of the participating establishments on November 29th and November 30th.

Abigail’s Party 1685 Yew Street www.abigailsparty.ca
Alibi Room 157 Alexander Street www.alibi.ca
Bayside Lounge 1755 Davie Street www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com
Checker’s 1755 Davie Street www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com
Chopper’s 3298 East 1st Avenue no website
Elixir 350 Davie Street www.elixirvancouver.ca
Fish House 8901 Stanley Park Drive www.fishhousestanleypark.com
Fountainhead 1025 Davie Street .www.thefountainheadpub.com
Hell’s Kitchen 2041 4th Avenue www.hells-kitchen.ca
Main Cafe 4210 Main Street www.themainonmain.com
Marmalade 3-1010 Beach Avenue www.marmaladekb.com
Nu 1661 Granville Street www.whatisnu.com
Ocean’s 6 Seventeen 617 Stamps Landing www.oceans617.com
Provence Marinaside 1177 Marinaside Crescent www.provencevancouver.com
Provence Mediterranean Grill 4473 West 10th Avenue www.provencevancouver.com
Raincity Grill 1193 Denman Street www.raincitygrill.com
Seb’s Market cafe 592 East Broadway www.hotstuffcatering.com
Slickity Jim’s 2513 Main Street www.findmycraving.com/icrave/slickity
So.cial at Le Magasin 332 Water Street www.socialatlemagasin.com
Subeez 891 Homer Street www.subeez.com
Twisted Fork 1147 Granville Street no website
WaaZuBee 1622 Commercial Drive www.waazubee.com/main.php
The Whip 209 East 6th Avenue www.thewhiprestaurant.com

I’ve decided that I haven’t tried The Alibi Room for brunch in like, forever. So, if you want to participate, drop me a comment, send me an email or a tweet and let me know so that I can make reservations. PLEASE NOTE I CHANGED THE DATE TO SUNDAY!

WHAT – AIDS Benedict brunch
WHY - Because I am a firm supporter of AIDS/HIV charities.
WHERE - The Alibi Room (157 Alexander)
WHEN - Sunday November 30th, 11:00am

Be there or be square. Even if you can’t attend brunch at The Alibi Room on Saturday (for example, if you’re doing DotComPho or some other event), I’d encourage you to do brunch at any other of the participating restaurants. It’s for a good cause.

Theatre review – “The 21st Floor” at PAL Theatre (Coal Harbour)

Raul — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:01:14 +0000

Photo by Wendy D. (c) Lyrics Stage

If you only see a play this season, “The 21st Floor” should be the one. Trust me on that one. Being a former stage actor myself, I have a very deep appreciation for well-created, solidly-developed, non-formulaic theatrical experiences.

The 21st Floor, a masterpiece created by Michèle Lonsdale Smith in a harmonious and skillfully coordinated effort with the rest of the cast as an ensemble, is an examination of the lives of 11 residents of a Coal Harbour apartment building. These apparent strangers have their lives intertwine (and at times, collide) by virtue of being neighbours in the 21st floor.

Lonsdale Smith and the Lyrics Stage Project have made sure that the play is consistent with their core objective: to tell stories that are relevant to the people in the time and the place where the play is being shown. This six-month project saw the light just recently (November 11th) but you should totally run and see before November 22nd.

“The 21st Floor” is an in-depth examination of the behavioral patterns of Vancouverites through the lenses of their domestic lives. What goes on in 2107 every night? Who is that blogger who broadcasts our daily comings-and-goings to the world? And the most important question, have we lost the opportunity to create a sense of community by choosing to isolate ourselves within the confines of our apartments? Are the doors to enter our souls closed, as demonstrated by our choosing to close the door behind us and ignore what else is going on in the 21st floor? All of these are questions that I believe the cast was exploring throughout the play.

The stage design was phenomenal, as the stage manager recreated a full floor with different apartments (although we could very easily see through). I was deeply moved and strongly connected with the themes of the play. As you may remember, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, I’ve previously written about the sense of aloofness in Vancouverites and asked the question whether Vancouver is a toxic city.

“The 21st Floor” will definitely resonate with long-time Vancouver residents, and I strongly suggest you to take an opportunity to go and enjoy the performance. The actors are simply phenomenal. I can’t single out any particular one of them, as all did a wonderful job of portraying the characters they were assigned to play. At no point does the play feel cartoonish. On the contrary, it’s such a strong, lived performance, that I really, really want to go and see it again.

I had the opportunity to enjoy “The 21st Floor” thanks to an invitation by Simon Ogden, of The Next Stage Magazine and the Marketing Director of Lyrics Stage Project. Amongst a gazillion other things he does, Simon blogs about theatre in Vancouver and is very passionate about helping raise awareness on the world-class theatre we have in our beautiful city.

One thing you should know is that the show is rated around PG 13 as it contains strong language, scenes of violence, nudity, and sexuality, with some occasional loud noises. The show’s length is 90 minutes with no intermission. But you won’t even notice. The play flows so nicely that you won’t need the intermission.

Performances of The 21st Floor run Tuesday through Saturday, November 11th to 22nd at the PAL Theatre, 581 Cardero Street, Vancouver. You can reserve tickets online at www.ticketstonight.ca

If you’re not making a lot of $$$, you can go on Tuesday November 18th, as it’s “Pay What You Can” night. You REALLY, REALLY should go and see it. I strongly recommend it. And I do hope to have a chance to hang out with the actors after one of the performances, as I didn’t have a chance to do so when I saw the show. Everyone involved with The 21st Floor should be proud of their work. Maybe at some point, I might be able to participate in one of their plays (not in the near future, though! — too much stuff going on in my life)

UPDATE – You can check details on the UQ Events page!

Events this weekend (Oct 24-25, 2008)

Raul — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:28:40 +0000

I am like, five-times-booked this weekend, but I’m going to have to say no to everything. While I am sorry to miss the company of many good friends (and a chance to see important and relevant stuff), I *have* to finish something (I’m on a deadline). So instead of feeling socially guilt-ridden, I’m going to take a shot at saying no. And I know that my friends will understand.

So here is a really quick roundup of the things that are happening this weekend:

- The Vancouver Health and Wellness Show at Canada Place. My loved friends at HappyFrog are doing a lot of media coverage for the show. Tris Hussey already has a post up, and there’ll be more coverage I am sure (DaveO is podcasting live).

- Gus kindly invited me to Sustainability 2008 (which is totally up my alley) but unfortunately, I’ve been ultra busy so I can’t make it either. But they have a totally wicked geo-thermal exchange exhibit today.

- The Parade of Lost Souls. Takes place in Grandview Park, procession starts at 7pm. I think that Lorraine (Raincoaster) and Heather (Hez) will be there, my understanding is that Lorraine will be liveblogging, most likely in the FearlessCity website and Hez will be interviewing participants/covering the event. It’s a wonderful event, check it out. And don’t forget about the Digital Shrine project.

- And of course, today is Media Democracy Day. I know that Ianiv and Arieanna are going, Tris will also attend so check his blog for a post on the topic. If you’re going and are covering the event, ping me and I’ll link you.

On the topic of Media Democracy Day, here is some info on the panel on new media [Info is from the Media Democracy Day website]

3:15 to 4:30 (Alice MacKay)
Panel 3: The Battle for New Media and Open Communication

We stand at a crossroads in the history of communications technology, a moment when traditional media are in disarray, and a new form of communications and organizing — more grassroots and decentralized — is on the rise. The Internet is upsetting conventional wisdom about “mass media” and changing media power in ways never before imagined. But change also raises new threats. Will an open Internet succumb to the same companies that control traditional media? The new challenge for us is to organize around and develop new sets of policies, projects, and tools that will finally give us an advantage in the decades-long struggle against the gatekeepers.
Panelists will discuss the fight for an open Internet, prospects for online/social media, and future challenges.
Panel Chair: Kate Milberry – Media and Technology Commentator
Panelists:
-Leslie Regan Shade – Associate Professor Concordia University, editor of “For Sale to the Highest Bidder: Telecom Policy in Canada.”
-Jeff Davis – Vancouver Open Network Initiative Cooperative (VONIC)
-Mike Tippet – Co-founder of NowPublic
-Robert Scales – CEO of Raincity Studios

UPDATE – Interesting Vancouver happened last night. You can read Rebecca’s liveblog here. Presenters included Tom Williams, Darren Barefoot, James Sherrett, Irwin from FearlessCity. Darren is staying over the weekend as he is also presenting at the Surrey International Writers Festival.

So… sorry for missing all these great events, but if there’s a time when I need to buckle down, this would be it.

Restaurant review – Zipang Sushi (Main Street – Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:10:49 +0000

I know that I had promised a professor who is a really good friend of mine that I wouldn’t review Zipang Sushi to ensure that the place didn’t get even more crowded (lately, I’ve been lucky to find out that people have started to flock to the places I’ve recommended for dinner or brunch, when I come for a return visit, and I am slightly afraid this will be the case with Zipang – but at the same time, it’s crowded already, so I guess I am just going to add a bit more crowding to the system, hehe)

Some people may argue that this is technically Riley Park/Little Mountain. We arrived at 5.20pm on a Saturday evening and the place was packed already. We had a garden fruit sushi roll and a California roll (we weren’t all that hungry, but it was more than plenty for the both of us). The rolls are very flavorful and as somebody mentioned, real works of art (I would’ve taken photos, but I was out and about shopping with my very good friend AF, so I didn’t have a camera with me).

Specialty rolls are slightly more expensive ($6.75-8.75) but very much worth it. The rest of the rolls are priced reasonably (like the majority of Vancouver sushi restaurants, around $3.00). Admittedly, the service can be quite slow (and if you’re hungry, that’s not a good idea) but the sushi is simply amazing.

I would definitely come back, but (a) I’ll make sure I’m hungrier so I can try more types of sushi (b) will bring a camera with me and (c) will arrive exactly at 5:00pm to ensure I’m not waiting forever! Closes on Mondays, just so that you know.

Canadian elections results 2008 and poverty – Blog Action Day 2008

Raul — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:30:26 +0000

By now, I think everyone knows that Canada has a (now relatively stronger) minority Conservative government. Despite the abismal voter turnout (40% of Canadians who are eligible to vote chose not to) the Conservative party gained MP seats and the Liberals lost them. Once the dust settles, my biggest question to the new Conservative government remains. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT POVERTY ALLEVIATION?

I mean, let’s be honest. With regards to homelessness and poverty, a tendency to pass the buck seems common… “it’s not MY responsibility, it’s the responsibility of the other level of government“. Since today is Blog Action Day and the focus is on poverty, will the new Conservative government say that their platform is actually working towards economic recovery or will they say that it’s going to alleviate poverty? Because, really, what progress have we achieved in regards to a national homelessness policy and/or a national poverty alleviation strategy? I’m curious to hear…

Canucks game: Calgary vs. Vancouver

Raul — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:00:55 +0000

Ultra-quickie post as I’m on a strict deadline. Once upon a time, I moved to Canada and discover that the national sport here is hockey. Admittedly, I’m not a die-hard fan of the sport, but I have grown to appreciate it. I had a chance to capture very few short glimpses of the most recent game, the Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames (Canucks won 6-0).

Luc Bourdon was honoured, the tribute was very heartwarming and I enjoyed the very little that I could catch. I often listen to The Crazy Canucks podcast and as I have told Rebecca, it’s been very educational.

I really think that in my Canadianization, I’m going to start having to go crazy about hockey. Lucky for me, I’ve got lots of friends both on the blogging/PR/tech community and my offline friends who love hockey, so I’ve got myself covered. Congrats to the Canucks on a well-deserved win!

Ideas on Tap at the Yaletown Brewing Company – October 16th, 2008

Raul — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:45:03 +0000

I know that I had promised to do less events and stuff, but I really want to attend this one, and I’m hoping that by then, one of my biggest projects will be over and thus I’ll have time to participate. Rebecca (Sixty4Media) provided me with some background on what Ideas on Tap is, and quite honestly, I don’t think I should miss it, since I am now part of Vancouver’s tech community (or so I’ve heard!)

ideasONTAP became a mecca for startups and on the third Thursday of each month hundreds of tech entrepreneurs gathered to network and compete in the elevator pitch contest – 60 seconds standing on a milk crate trying to convince the crowd that theirs was the best company concept. Those were the days. With the dot-bust, ideasONTAP went in to hibernation. But no good idea ever dies.[Ideas on Tap]

This should be a very fun event, and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve already registered, and should let you know that registration is free

Restaurant review – The Crime Lab (Vancouver, Coal Harbour)

Raul — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:44:26 +0000

As many of you know (both my offline and online friends), I absolutely adored The Crime Lab in its previous incarnation. The restaurant was sophisticated, had great food, an amazing list of martinis and everything in the restaurant was crime-themed (but with a very posh flavor, if you can believe that!). The decor and ambience were those of a Paris night bar, yet the food and drinks had a crime theme. Apparently, or so does MartiniBoys say, the former location had previously housed a police crime lab.

One day, someone woke up with the great idea that the spot where the Crime Lab was sitting (the strange convergence of Pender and Georgia, which normally run parallel) was prime spot for condos and thus my beloved Crime Lab disappeared.

There is also a story behind my love for this spot, as my very close friend JT and I had a really important conversation there, and I asked what has become now “The Crime Lab question” (it’s a synonym with tough questions now).

So when I learned from Jeffery Simpson that The Crime Lab was coming back, I knew where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner. The new location is in Coal Harbour, at 100-550 Denman St. The place is very much like I remembered it, great decoration, affordable food, amazing list of martinis (also dangerously sweet) and most definitely, the same flavor they had before, with the crime theme.

The food is definitely affordable, with a range between $17 and $25 for a main course (abundant portions, and very tasty). I chose the risotto with chicken and we all shared a vegetarian platter (for 7 people, nobody really left hungry). There were varied choices for dinner – from burgers with fries AND salad to ravioli to salad with salmon. Very nice menu. The dessert menu is also amazing, in my humble opinion.

There were many details that made my experience very good. While at some points our server struggled a bit with too many tables (I think they were understaffed for a couple of hours), I never felt that we were left down. The service was excellent, and at the end, a very classy gesture by our server: since it was my birthday, she offered to comp my dessert. While I was afraid that if I chose one that could be shared amongst 8 people (the chocolate fondue) they might not see me with good eyes, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that she didn’t even blink. She smiled and proceeded to bring me a “Happy Birthday” chocolate fondue. Now, THAT is classy

Admittedly, we did consume abundant alcohol, but the martinis are also in good price range $ 8.00, actually slightly less expensive than other Coal Harbour spots. But don’t raise the prices! Keep them there! I have to say that I had a fantastic experience at The Crime Lab, and if it sounds as though I’m gushing, I actually am.

If I had to rate my experience at The Crime Lab, I’d say it was pretty much a 9.5 out of 10. I can’t wait to come back!

The Mr. Gay Canada pageant is this week

Raul — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:09:45 +0000

Credit: Junn on Flickr.

I used to be a fan of pageants. If you wanted to test my photographic memory, you could have asked me the names and countries of each Miss Universe winner since the late 1980s up to about 1997. Right after the Mexican contestants lost very close races (with Laura Elizondo being a very worthy winner when Canada’s Natalie Glebova took the title) I decided to stop watching pageants.

But there’s a couple of pageants I still follow, and one I will be following closely will be the Mr. Gay Canada pageant.

The primary purpose of the Mr. Gay Canada (MGC) is to identify leaders who will take responsibility not only in his own community but on a global stage speaking out for equal rights. MGC is a positive role model and will work on humanizing being gay in the media both queer and mainstream.
PLEASE NOTE: The Mr Gay Canada Competition is a 3-day, indoor/outdoor series of events to help our judges identify a strong spokesman or Ambassador to tell the world about our mission. The Competition includes physical tests and interviews with a panel of international judges. Only 15% of the judging points are assigned to appearance, which means 85% of the points are for qualities other than appearance. [Mr. Gay Canada website]

There are some very relevant and note-worthy elements to discuss here, but there are two that I will just highlight here. First, the fact that 85% of the points are for other qualities. This is an important element for a competition amongst a stereotyped community. Queers, and particularly Vancouver queers are more often than not perceived (even by their peers) as being shallow and just focus on the appearance (six pack abs and perfectly manicured hands). So, this element is perhaps being brought as a way of legitimizing the contest.

The second element is the fact that the contest serves as a way to showcase the diversity of Vancouver and Canada. Why is this relevant? Well, because as you may recall if you’ve read my other posts about queer events and milestones, in other countries, being gay is a crime. In Vancouver, having a gay friend is almost as common as wearing an umbrella (given our rainy weather!).

The Vancouver delegate, Aaron Ursacki, won the 2008 Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model. And you may ask yourself, how did I end up covering the event? Well, at Third Tuesday on a Monday, one of the promoters pitched the attendees and ended up giving the tickets away to the first person who raised his hand. Even though my dance card is full, and I’ve got events every single night of the week, this was too good a chance to pass, so I’ll be going there on Thursday. I am slightly shocked that they didn’t invite me to the Whistler thingy (given that I *do* indeed cover some queer events), but whatever But trust me, if they don’t link to my posts in their Media page, I’m definitely going to be very unhappy

Third Tuesday on a Monday, Vancouver, David Jones, September 2008

Raul — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:43:55 +0000

It is a rare occurrence that Third Tuesday does not happen on the actual third tuesday of the month, but since David Jones from Hill and Knowlton (Who by the way are running the bloggers campaign for Molson, with Brew 2.0 Vancouver, an event to which I’m invited too) was organizing the Tuesday night event, Tanya and Monica decided that it would be better for him to speak on the Monday. So we had a Third Tuesday on a Monday.

I will let Rebecca’s excellent liveblog give you the 411 of the talk, but just wanted to stress one particular element that I think is key. The bi-directionality of Web 2.0, which should transpire to any PR firm that is doing blogger relations. I think that this is an under-estimated, and often assumed element of social media – the bi-directionality.

I also tweeted this : “Dave Jones is saying almost “darn if we do, if we don’t” re: not being able to pitch EVERY single one of the bloggers.” Well, that’s a problem that probably needs to be addressed in the campaign design. For example, I know that not everybody got an invite to Brew 2.0 (and yes, I’m one of the lucky ones who did). I think that it would be probably a good idea to make it sorta kinda explicit why we were chosen. For example, my blog does do a substantial amount of Vancouver-centric posts, particularly restaurant and bar reviews. I am known for knowing “the local scene”.

Thus, it makes sense for a company that manufactures beer to have me attend an event where social media and beer intersect, even if I’m not a big beer drinker, but I do hang out where beer is served. Probably not the same if your blog is techie (I somehow don’t expect to get invites to EE Road Show). In speaking of transparency, I think it would do wonders for some marketing campaigns to be more explicit about the way in which participants in promotions are chosen.

You can read some of my notes on the Cossette Convergence talk that Darren, Kate and Rebecca gave, although I already had a PR post queued for later this week precisely on the bloggers relations issue. Anyhow, it was lovely to see many of my peeps and I look forward to catching up *slowly* with each and every one of you

Mexican Independence Day in Vancouver 2008

Raul — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:45:50 +0000

Ever since I moved to Canada, I have rarely hung out with the Mexican community, not for lack of interest but simply because I am used to having an international, global friendship circle, and thus I don’t *just* hang out with any particular community. However, every year I get the same question and I figured I’d find out some scoop before I get asked “so do Mexicans celebrate the Independence Day while they are away?”. Last year I found some information (see my posts here and here) and this year, I remembered that “September is the month of the homeland”

The answer is yes, and many events are being organized in Vancouver. I used to attend the official “Grito de la Independencia” ceremony that the Mexican consulate organized, but lately these have become more social parties and less of a patriotic celebration, so I’ve stopped going since 2002. But that should not stop any of my readers! Here’s what I could find as far as scoop goes.

- The Mexican Consulate in Vancouver (who by the way entirely dissed my efforts to harness the power of my blog in helping victims of the floods in Tabasco last year) organized a “Mexico Week” from Sep 11th to 16th. They are calling it “Mexico Fest”. Sadly, even though they organized a lot of really fun individual events, I couldn’t make it to pretty much any. However, if you can make it to the following two, you should:

Tuesday, Sept 16 th “Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan” – 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Place: Orpheum Theatre
884 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
Tickests: www.ticketmaster.ca

Wednesday, Sept 17 th Tequila y Mezcal Tasting – 5:30 – 7:30PM
Place: Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant
More info: Veronica Tietzsch at vtietzsch@shaw.ca
1999 4th Avenue West, Vancouver, BC Vancouver, BC
By invitation [Mexico Fest Contacts Page]

There was even a Callejoneada on Granville Island last Saturday! (my parents live in the state of Guanajuato, whose capital Guanajuato is also the host to lots of Callejoneadas). Sometimes I do regret not being more involved with the Mexican community and the consulate, if for nothing else, because these events are really fun and more importantly, they showcase a Mexico that is different from all the negative press that it’s been getting lately, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world. Maybe next year I’ll be an official media sponsor.

The official dish for Mexican Independence Day is “chiles en nogada”, which my cousin prepared last Saturday (and my Mom prepares them every year). Here is a photo for your viewing pleasure.

I’m back in Vancouver

Raul — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:33:19 +0000

I never thought I’d be so happy to be back in Vancouver. I loved my time in Mexico with my Mom and my cousins and uncle, as well as a chance to hang out with three of my brothers. However, I did miss my apartment, my life here, my friends and now that I am back, I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to be back. See you all soon

Upcoming environmental events in Vancouver – September 2008

Raul — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:00:12 +0000

Two upcoming events are rather relevant to me and both fall on the same day.

Green Drinks Vancouver happens again on the third wednesday of the month (Sep 17th, 2008) at Steamworks.
The Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfasts series continues, and this time, they will focus on the discussions we’ve been having on bottled water. I am SO definitely there!

About the Community Sustainability Breakfast [Metro Vancouver's website]:

Sustainability Community Breakfasts – Nature’s Health Drink – Always on Tap
Wednesday, 17 September, 2008
from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
British Columbia Institute of Technology
555 Seymour Street, Vancouver

About Green Drinks Vancouver Sep 2008 [Green Drinks Website]

WHEN the next regular Green Drinks is: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month (except in Dec and July) Our next event is on Sept 17th, 2008
WHERE: Steamworks pub at 375 Water Street on the edge of Gastown near Waterfront Station.
Please be aware that due to changing space availability we cannot guarantee we’ll be in the same room each month – if you can’t find us just ask Steamworks staff which room we are in.
TIME:5:45pm-until?

It’s lucky that both of these events fall on the same day, and that I’ll be back in Vancouver by then! And again, I’ve got a full week booked (Brew 2.0, Green Drinks, Launch Party AND a special day!). Can someone please clone me? Thanks.