Natasha Netschay Davies (Moonraker and Peak), a friend and colleague of mine invited me to guest lecture to 3 groups of students in the Simon Fraser University’s Public Relations certificate programme. These are the slides from where I based my talk. You may recognize some of these slides as I have modified them slightly throughout the years. Obviously, my slides don’t fully represent my talk as I always use them just to provide me with talking points, but they should give you an idea of what I talked about in my pitching bloggers talk. I also refer people to my Pitch Me page quite frequently.
My friend and colleague Dr. Kate Milberry invited me a few months ago to give a guest lecture at the University of Alberta’s Masters of Arts in Communications and Technology. Except for the fact that I was in an echo-generating room and that I forgot to wear a microphone (key whenever you give a Skype talk), I think it went well. I am my worst critic and I often times wonder if my talks were any solid or not. Call it academic skepticism. There’s always something I can improve. I have to admit, though, that the feedback I’ve received for all of 2012 in terms of keynotes and guest lectures has been fantastic, so maybe there’s that to account for.
I don’t have time right now to Storify the wonderful tweets of feedback generated from my talk, but here are the slides that I used to guide me throughout. You may recognize some of those slides as I used them as the basis for my Social Media Camp Victoria 2011 talk on Reputation Management and Digital Identity. They’re not exactly identical as I added some context on digital branding, online footprints and professional/personal selves.
As you know, I’ve always been a big supporter of fundraisers and charitable causes. Even more so, when those causes involve arts. Arts Umbrella is a fantastic local organization that aims to encourage and provide young kids with training in the arts. In Mexico, we had the locally-funded Casas de la Cultura (Houses of Culture), but here in Vancouver there is Arts Umbrella and I’m really happy that they are doing all sorts of fundraisers to raise money for their wonderful programs. This time, they’ve organized an event on May 15th (which I can’t attend because I am speaking at Science Online Vancouver): Indulge: The Art of Beauty.
More glamour, more pampering, more options! Spoil yourself with a luxurious experience in Holt Renfrew to support an inspiring cause. On this special night, indulge yourself as you choose from five exclusive services, tailored to you!
Details on the event:
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
6:00 to 9:30pm
Holt Renfrew, 777 Dunsmuir Street
Ticket: $200 Purchase Now! Attire: casually stylish Hosted by: Traci Myles and Catherine Van Alstine Emcee: Jonny Staub of The Beat 94.5FM (Jonny is a dear friend of mine, and I’m glad he supports Arts Umbrella)
Includes:
– Valet parking, compliments of Metro Vancouver BMW Retailers
– Bubbles, cocktails, wine, hors d’oeuvres
– Holt Renfrew fashion presentation
– Live entertainment
– A great silent auction and raffle
– A tax receipt for the applicable portion of the ticket price
– And of course, an exclusive service of your choice (options below)
Service Options
Your Heavenly Hair – This deluxe package is fully customized for your hair – starting with a personal style consultation and followed by an ultimate luxury treatment tailored to your hair type and particular concerns. Your locks will continually thank you for the next month for the moisture rich masque, which seals in all hydration and fortifies your hair. To stimulate your hair and scalp, you will be treated to a relaxing massage followed by a voluminous blowout, leaving you feeling gorgeous and runway ready!
Luxury Mini Mani – Do your hands need a little extra love? Plan to spoil yourself with a sensational mini manicure featuring a polish change, nail shaping and cuticle refreshment. To top it all off, your palms and digits will thank you for the revitalizing hand massage.
Fashion & Photo Shoot – Looking for fresh spring style ideas tailored to you? Need some new ideas to accent your body type? Your one-on-one professional style consultation can be as personalized as you need it to be, complete with industry tips, tricks and new fashion trends. Then pick your favourite outfit from your appointment for a mini Glamour Session photo shoot with Klik Photographic – perfect to update your Facebook profile photo after the event!
Just for Men: Wardrobe & Whisky – This year, the men don’t have to miss out! With the help of a Holt Renfrew style guru, plan to refresh your business or leisure wardrobe with industry tips, trends and personal advice. Or, if your partner is the one to please, be sure to go home prepped with ideas for the next gift giving season! Exclusively for the men, plan to sip and savour some smooth whiskies with expert Dave Mason, President of the West Coast Whisky Society.
The Final Look & Taste – Find your perfect look with a sophisticated and personalized make up application. The Holt Renfrew professional make up artists will create a stunning evening look and leave you equipped with the right tools and tricks designed to turn heads in your direction using current trends and the hottest styles. BUT before you go, you’re invited to meet Hodie Rondeau, “Chief Chocolate Officer” of Canada’s largest importer of fine chocolate, Xoxolat, for an enticing and exclusive chocolate tasting.
I hope you will be able to support the wonderful work of Arts Umbrella by participating in Indulge. More on Arts Umbrella below:
Arts Umbrella is a not-for-profit arts education centre for children and youth ages 2 to 19. Arts Umbrella is committed to delivering the highest quality visual and performing arts education to young people, regardless of their socio-economic circumstances.
Arts Umbrella caters to children of all artistic interests and skill levels— from pre-school to advanced pre-professional training. More than 270 tuition-based classes and numerous outreach classes occur each week, with innovative and high-quality instruction provided by almost 200 dedicated artists and arts educators.
The array of topics is exceptionally diverse and includes, architecture, cartooning, computer and classical animation, dance, film making, media arts, painting and drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, theatre and video game design. Using the best-quality instruction and materials, classes balance fun and creative expression with rigor and discipline.
I haven’t been able to keep up with the Vancouver theatre scene because I’ve dedicated most of my time to my academic life. I don’t regret it. It’s a trade-off I’ve had to make, and while I feel awful by missing so many amazing productions in this town, there’s very little I can do about it. But when I have the opportunity to enjoy a theatre show, it’s always nice to come back to old friends’ plays and in particular, to a theatre troupe I have admired for years, Fighting Chance Productions. I have had the privilege of seeing almost all of their plays, and I thoroughly enjoyed their latest one, Grey Gardens (at the Jericho Arts Centre until May 19th).
Bringing back two of my most favorite Vancouver actors, Cathy Wilmott (whom I saw most recently in Sweeney Todd) and Lucas Blaney (whom I also saw in The Wiz and Bare, two of my most favorite shows of recent), Ryan Mooney does it again with Grey Gardens: he manages to capture the audience even when the production is complex, nuanced and emotional. And Fighting Chance Productions’ troupe does this emotion-capturing seamlessly all the while bringing us two acts filled with conflicting emotions. I really hope they succeed in their fundraising efforts because the musical theatre that Fighting Chance Productions does deserves to come back to stages again, and again, and again. They are a young, talented company who are fighting with all their might to flourish (financially) and to bring to Vancouver stages some of the best theatre.
Grey Gardens is the musical based on the 1975 documentary about the lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, who were the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. The documentary found them living as eccentric recluses in their shockingly decrepit mansion in the Hamptons. The Tony Award winning musical, which ran on Broadway from 2006-2007, follows the mother/daughter due from their days as glamorous aristocrats to their later days living in squalor. At it’s core, Grey Gardens is about the complicated mother/daughter relationship between “Big Edie” and “Little Edie”.
I found the first act (which is pretty much guessing how things went down, more of an imagination of what happened before 1973) a little bit complicated in that it’s not clear why the relationship between Big Edie and Little Edie was so complicated. While there is much love (and it shines throughout both acts and all three actresses at two different temporal scales), there is also a lot of conflict and contempt for one another. Fighting Chance Productions tells a story of a mother/daughter duo who are all the same fighting for their own place in the world and attempting to severe their bond, all the while making every effort to piece together their somewhat shattered and often times broken again relationship.
I love the fact that Fighting Chance Productions doesn’t only go the easy route, that they don’t only put together fun, mindless musical shows but they delve into deeper story lines, stories that need and deserve to be told and that enrich our thinking. I had a hard time processing Big Edie and Little Edie’s relationship as I am incredibly close to my own mother, and she has never been an obstacle for my success (much to the contrary, she was the first one to tell me to come to Canada for my graduate degree). But at the same time, I saw some of the reasons behind the complex relationship mother/daughter had. And yes, I did shed some tears, particularly in the second act (where there is a lot more assemble-singing, which I found refreshing – most of the first act I found it was centered around the story line development and thus much of the singing was taken by individual actors, though a couple of duets were lovely). Overall, I’d recommend Grey Gardens, in particular because it’s a good historical analysis told through the lenses of musical theatre. Complex relationships, drama, intrigue but at the core, a story of mother/daughter love, mother and daughter both incredibly unable to grow up on their own but always there for each other as though they were one.
Fighting Chance Productions’ Grey Gardens will run Wednesdays to Saturdays at 8pm at the Jericho Arts Centre from 5-19 May. (Please note, they have an added 3pm matinee on Sunday, 13 May and NO SHOW on Friday 4 May, as that they just had a special fundraising event that evening). Tickets are extremely affordable at sliding scale $15-$25 and are available now through the Jericho Arts Centre website.
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (1895–1977), known as “Big Edie”, and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (1917–2002), known as “Little Edie”, were the aunt and the first cousin, respectively, of former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The two women lived together at Grey Gardens for decades with limited funds in increasing squalor and isolation.
The house was designed in 1897 by Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe and purchased in 1923 by “Big Edie” and her husband Phelan Beale. After Phelan left his wife, “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” lived there for decades more, over 50 years in total for each woman. The house was called Grey Gardens because of the color of the dunes, the cement garden walls, and the sea mist.
In the fall of 1971 and throughout 1972, their living conditions—their house was infested by fleas, inhabited by numerous cats and raccoons, deprived of running water, and filled with garbage and decay—were exposed as the result of an article in the National Enquirer and a cover story in New York Magazine[3] after a series of inspections (which the Beales called “raids”) by the Suffolk County Health Department. With the Beale women facing eviction and the razing of their home, in the summer of 1972 Jacqueline Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill provided the necessary funds to stabilize and repair the dilapidated house so that it would meet village codes.
Disclosure: I attended Grey Gardens on media tickets, but as always I retain full editorial control on whatever I publish on my site. All companies know that all opinions expressed here are mine, and neither a review is expected, nor a favorable one is either.
I am always keen to promote charitable events, even more so if they are organized by companies and organizations that have an environmental focus and clear interest in preserving the environment, particularly when it comes to vulnerable regions (those where First Nations are involved are of most interest to me). I was informed about Cooking For A Cause recently, and thought this was a great event.
Come join leading environmentalist David Suzuki, radio and television personality Vicki Gabereau, Canadian rock icon Matthew Good, and the Gitga’at First Nation to officially launch Guarding the Gifts – The Liiga K’yilama Fund and to draw attention to the dangers and risks to the Gitga’at people and the Great Bear Rainforest proposed by the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. Cooking for a Cause will provide a forum for expressing a shared concern while highlighting Guarding the Gifts’ interconnectedness and the vulnerability of the eco system in a tangible way.
The reception will feature an intimate evening of entertainment including a solo acoustic performance by Matthew Good, engaging dialogue, and a culinary adventure of wine and cuisine featuring ingredients from the Great Bear Rainforest prepared by renowned Canadian chefs, all set in the historical Gulf of Georgia Cannery in the beautiful Steveston harbour.
Guarding the Gifts is a charitable fund, founded in 2010 by members of the Gitga’at First Nation and King Pacific Lodge (a resort operating in Gitga’at territory) and proceeds from Cooking for a Cause will go towards raising awareness and supporting Gitga’at community empowerment and environmental conservation.
Cooking for a Cause
Date: Friday, May 11, 2012 Time: 7:00 to 10:00 PM Location: Gulf of Georgia Cannery
(12138 Fourth Ave, Richmond, BC)
Since I live in Mount Pleasant, it is often likely that I will want to promote charitable stuff organized by those who work in the area. I found out that staff at Mount Saint Joseph’s Rapid Access Breast Clinic (RABC) are hosting Gala for Hope on May 12, 2012 in Richmond to raise funds for a much needed mammography machine.
With an additional mammography machine patient wait times will be significantly reduced. Cancer is a disease that impacts all Canadians and faster diagnosis is needed.
Gala for Hope will consist of an Indian buffet dinner and multicultural performances for all ages. Former television host, Sukhi Ghuman will be hosting the evening. Special performances by the Vancouver Academy of Music faculty string quartet, Kohinoor Folk Arts Club and The Balladeers will highlight the evening.
Time: 5:30pm-12am Place: Riverside Grand Ballroom, 1231 Burdette Street, Richmond, BC. Date: Saturday May 12, 2012 Tickets: $75.00, Please purchase tickets online at Gala of Hope
About Rapid Access Breast Clinic:
The Rapid Access Breast Clinic (RABC) at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (MSJ) in Vancouver, British Columbia, is on the front line of efforts to improve outcomes for women with breast cancer. We offer you quick access to all the tests that you would need to expedite the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
May 5th is an international day of action and awareness for two events – 350.org’s Connect the Dots and International Stop the Tar Sands Day!
In the true spirit of solving problems, these events are joining forces in Vancouver.
There are two ways to mark the occasions with us:
1) Come down to English Bay Beach (roughly where Denman meets Beach) any time between noon and 3:00, and bring any questions you have about the tar sands, oil tankers, pipelines, or Vancouver oil issues. You can talk to people who have answers to your questions, or you can get literature from one of our volunteers that helps connect all the dots! Look for all the ‘dots’ running around, or, if you like, stand somewhere remotely near us, and we’ll find you! Bring something to eat and a frisbee or an instrument to play and join us for a picnic from 2:00 to 3:00.
2) Volunteer to help distribute information to passersby in the English Bay area from noon to 2:00 on the afternoon of Saturday May 5th. This will be done in pairs, in a fun, creative way, that emphasizes the importance of community, big-picture understanding of the environmental problems we’re facing, and the real-world solutions we can all employ to make an impact. You don’t need to have a ton of experience with these issues to help. Bring something to eat and a frisbee or an instrument to play and join us for a picnic from 2:00 to 3:00.
(Please contact oneajklein@gmail.com, if you’re interested in helping out!)
So put on your polka dots and head down to the beach where we’ll help you get big-picture with a lot of issues that, let’s face it, can be pretty tough to piece together. Whether you’re helping out on the day, or doing your part by getting informed about these issues, please join us as we mark these international days of action and awareness.
May 3rd marks exactly 365 days since my dear friend Derek K. Miller (@penmachine) died. His last post touched the lives of over 16 million people within the first few days after his death, and many more millions after. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year.
I clearly recall where I was exactly 365 days ago, and it’s only fitting that I spent the same evening with the same person: I was sitting at UBC, on JT’s car, sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulders while he hugged me as hard as he could. He said nothing, he only held me in his arms, ran his fingers through my hair and tried to console me and comfort me. My friend was gone, and cancer had yet again triumphed over me.
I wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination Derek’s closest friend. That privilege was bestowed upon several others, whom I was privileged to meet and work with afterwards in the preparation of Derek’s memorial. Those closest friends of Derek (along with my dear friend Airdrie, Derek’s widow), made me feel part of something incredibly special.
In this past year, I have tried as hard as I have been able to, to follow Derek’s and Airdrie’s advice: to take care of myself and to stop pushing myself to the limit. I have taken days off. I have gone away for entire weekends. I have taken blogging hiatus more than once. I hired interns. I’ve let blogging pitches go unanswered.
I wish Derek were here. But that’s an impossibility. But his memory lives in mine, and his digital legacy lives on to teach me (to teach us, anybody who chooses to read this incredibly wise man’s online heritage) how you live to the fullest while loving to the fullest. My dear friend Airdrie, I think of you everyday, but even more so, I think of you and your girls on this difficult day. I think of Derek’s parents and of his extended family. And Air, your strength in the face of pain has taught me many a lesson and I’m proud of you. So proud of you.
Today, I’m thinking of you, Derek. And I love you, my friend.
There’s a new Mexican restaurant in town, and it’s here to stay. The most authentic Mexican food (and the least expensive, on top of that) this side of Dona Cata (which is far and a bit inaccessible, as it’s on Victoria and 35th Avenue), Sal y Limon has a very small staff (only 4 people, including the owner), but it has an incredibly broad variety of Mexican dishes.
As authentic as the ones I ate in Mexico, and some about as equally tasty as my Mom’s own cooking, Sal y Limon is definitely my favorite Mexican restaurant in town now.
Sal y Limon has been open only for 2 weeks, but I have seen them already make a big splash. I went there for lunch today and ordered a Spicy Hawaiian Torta and Menudo Soup (a combo for $9.75). Modestly decorated, but super clean and really friendly staff, the food was extraordinary. The Hawaiian torta was pretty big, filled with beans, ham, pineapple, sauce and purple onion, as well as condiments and spices. Extremely tasty and definitely as I remembered the Torta Hawaiiana.
The owner was super sweet in that he fixed my menudo soup the way I liked it (a spicy broth that was almost a mix of pozole and menudo). I loved the menudo (though it could have been a little bit spicier) and overall, it would have been enough food for me to keel over and sleep. Equipped with Mexican drinks (Jarritos, Sidral Mundet and Mexican Coca-Cola), Sal y Limon has a small space but it’s warm and full of Mexican food goodness.
I came back for dinner and had a Huarache con Pollo Pibil (Pibil-style chicken huarache). Extremely big, with pollo pibil that was perfectly made, tender and flavourful, with just the right amount of spice. Very much made as the huaraches I used to eat in Mexico, I washed it off with a tutti-frutti Jarritos. And I paid $12 for dinner. Incredible, eh?
Overall, an amazing restaurant and I wish them all the success that they deserve. One note: please be patient as they have only 2 staff during lunch and 4 for dinner, so if you crowd them, bear in mind that they’re in the early stages. But you should run, not walk, and try them out. Sal y Limon is the real deal.
Disclosure: I paid for both of my meals on my own dime.
Because of the work I’ve been doing in the past few years advocating mental health causes, I always keep Mental Health Week on my radar. Organized by the Canadian Mental Health Association, Mental Health Week 2012 takes place next week, May 7 to 13th. As I have noted in previous blog posts, 1 in 5 Canadians will face a mental health issue in their life. Thus it is important to (a) be informed, (b) be generous and kind and (c) participate in events that de-stigmatize mental health.
We’re celebrating 61 years of improving people’s understanding of mental health through our annual Mental Health Week, May 7-13, 2012!
CMHA’s Mental Health Week is an annual national event that takes place during the first week in May to encourage people from all walks of life to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on all issues relating to mental health. This year’s Mental Health Week theme is Mental Health for All. Mental Health Week 2012 will focus on key topics that will help the public have a broader understanding of mental health, including: Kids Have Stress Too!; Resiliency: at Home, at School, and at Work; and Mental Health is Everyone’s Concern. Take a look at the fact sheets in our Understand Mental Health section. Local events and activities are planned in communities across Canada. Find an event near you, or plan your own!
A few weeks ago, I posted on my personal Facebook account that I just wasn’t feeling myself that day (one day after having felt on top of the world). Mood swings are not a rarity in any human, and I’m not immune to them either. In fact, this past weekend I disconnected for 2 days completely, and just read and did work (and chores). This prompted a very close friend of mine to call me and check up on me (which was very nice, and reassuring). But I’ve always been open about when I don’t feel myself. I think social media has great potential to enable people to engage in the conversation about mental health (note that I use mental health, rather than mental illness – I am used to talking about mental health, as I translate it mentally from Spanish “salud mental”).
A couple of months ago, via Ferg Devins from Coors/Molson Canada, and more recently via Tod Maffin (both Tod and Ferg are friends of mine) I found out about the website Not Myself Today Canada. Coincidentally, today (April 30th) is the National Day of Action.
The Not Myself Today campaign launched on April 2, 2012 and will continue through May 14th. Throughout the campaign, we’re asking people to take the ‘Not Myself Today’ pledge, share their mood on a mood map of Canada, share their personal stories about mental health and learn about the issue. A highlight of the ‘Not Myself Today’ campaign is the Day of Action on April 30 when an all-out blitz of events will be happening in schools and workplaces across the country.
The campaign is promoted by Partners For Mental Health, a national organization working on galvanizing social action towards mental health (and speaking positively about it).
Partners for Mental Health, an independent registered charity, is a national organization dedicated to “supercharging” a social movement that will transform the way Canadians think and act towards their own mental health, and towards people living with a mental health problem or illness.
In partnership with others, we will empower and mobilize Canadians to take action that will:
– Encourage people to pay more attention to their own mental health and well-being.
– Positively change attitudes and behaviours towards those living with mental health problems or illnesses.
– Help change policies to improve the mental health system.
– Increase funding for programs, services and research.
You can follow Not Myself Today Canada on Twitter (@NMTCanada). The website encourages you to (a) Pin your mood to a national map (a great visualization, in fact – with surprising results I might add) and (b) take the pledge to support and encourage the conversation around mental health. There are many reasons why it’s important to talk about mental health and I’m glad that Not Myself Today discusses them at length. Overall, a wonderful campaign. I pinned my mood today (where I’m feeling stressed about the end of the school year), and I found it liberating. Maybe you will too.
The work of Ballet BC never ceases to amaze me, and I have been waiting with baited breath for their next performance. This coming month of May, Ballet BC presents Bliss at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from May 10-12, 2012 with three evening performances at 8:00 pm, featuring a reprisal of José Navas’ acclaimed ballet The bliss that from their limbs all movement takes, first presented in the fall of 2010 and his response to that work.
Artists of Ballet BC. Photo credit: Chris Randle
In Bliss, the first full-length work for Ballet BC since its renewal in July 2009, resident choreographer José Navas expands on the initial concept with two new sections: the first set to the music of Mozart and the second set to Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Song. The third section of this full company work is a reprisal of The bliss that from their limbs all movement takes, set to a musical collaboration by Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar.
José Navas, Founder and Artistic Director of José Navas/Compagnie Flak since 1991, quickly became internationally recognized as a talented and charismatic soloist. His first group creations were characterized by their assertive sensuality, bold statements and unexpected universes. These pieces included an element of theatricality that is reflected today in his solo work.
Fascinated by the resonance of the body in space and by the calligraphy of formal movement, Navas is an architect of group dynamics, constructing abstract pieces geometrically and having them delivered by virtuoso performers. His choreography, created in a similar way to a musical composition, fascinate with their hypnotic beauty and their meditative character.
Tickets for Bliss can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS) or online at ticketmaster.ca and range in price from $70.00 to $22.50 (excluding service charges). And I’m partnering again with Ballet BC to give away a pair of tickets to Bliss. All you need to enter is tell me what is your definition of bliss. For me, bliss is a number of things: waking up on the coast of Parksville/Qualicum Beach at 5 in the morning and have a coffee on the balcony of say, The Beach Club Resort, or the Tigh-Na-Mara. Or bliss is also spending 6 hours with my nephews walking around the seawall in Stanley Park and showing them the beauty of our city. Bliss is also a nice dinner with JT and catching a movie or a theatre performance. So, how do YOU define bliss? What is blissful to you?
I will draw a winner on May 6th at 2pm. You can add an entry to your comment below (a total of two entries) by posting the following on Twitter:
Shared my definition of bliss with @hummingbird604 to enter to win tickets to @BalletBC ‘s BLISS http://is.gd/cyIB5b
More on Ballet BC
Ballet BC, a company of 16 talented dancers from around the world, is committed to the ballet of today. Solidly grounded in the classical ballet lexicon but with more immediacy and connection to the 21st century, the company presents a diverse repertoire of Canadian and international contemporary ballet. Now in its 25th anniversary year, Ballet BC continues its commitment to perform on multiple regional, national and international tours in addition to its regular performance season at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. For more information, visit balletbc.com or follow us on Twitter @balletbc
I have been entrusted with not one, not two, but THREE pairs of tickets to the following films, and thus my giveaway will have 3 winners.
Love MEATender Wednesday May 9 | 1:00 PM | Pacific Cinémathèque
What’s the price of the pleasure most of us take for granted every day? This documentary gives us a clear answer, and it’s not pretty. Meat consumption is one of the major factors in climate change: behind every sticky cold cut, every juicy steak, every McDonald’s hamburger is a small contribution to a big problem. LoveMEATender is an engaging and surprisingly upbeat look at an industry out of whack. Tracing the history of our culinary habits, outlining the disastrous rise of corn-fed cattle, and breaking down the science of our meat addiction, the movie lays out a sober case with surprising cheer. The facts here are so damning that there’s no need to preach: in a situation as dire as this, simple education is activism. The film is chock full of statistics, tables, and graphics, but this is no square screed—it’s a fun, optimistic call for change. –MA
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday till Friday, each and every morning, good morning boss…” croons Steven in Meanwhile in Mamelodi, a wistful, colourfully cinematic portrait of the lovable Mtsweni family. Set against the 2010 World Cup—plastic horn vuvuzelas blare all around and radios broadcast up-to-the-minute highlights—life, for the most part, carries on as usual. Steven managing a small, idiosyncratic kiosk in the “Shack Side” of Extension 11—one of the countless districts in the township of Mamelodi, South Africa—devoting tireless hours in order to support his two children and wife. Intimate voice-over from him, as well his spunky seventeen-year-old, Moskito, divulge their life’s ambitions and dreams with startling candour: “I have to make a difference,” explains Steven, as if it were matter-of-fact, busying himself with store renovations. Mixing the Mtsweni family’s daily stoicism with the ebullience of sport and sweet song, Meanwhile in Mamelodi is an artful window into a community overwhelming in spirit. –JM
In the words of environmental justice advocate Bob Bullard: “There’s no Hispanic air. There’s no African-American air. There’s air! And if you breathe air—and most people I know do breathe air… then I would consider you an environmentalist.” Director Mark Kitchell (Berkeley in the Sixties) takes an equally expansive approach in his survey of the environmental movement. Inspired by Philip Shabecoff’s book of the same title, A Fierce Green Fire examines the greatest battles fought and won over the last century—from David Brower and the Sierra Club, to the Love Canal residents’ struggle against toxic dumping, to Greenpeace activists putting their bodies between whaling harpoons and their prey. Interviews with Paul Watson, Bill McKibben, and just about every rabblerouser, activist, and firebrand on the planet lends a magisterial heft. This glorious stretch of a film is a celebration, a cri de coeur, and a call to arms. Many battles have been fought and won, but the war rages on. –DW
All you need to do to enter my giveaway is tell me which show you’re most interested in checking in the wonderful DOXA Festival (it can be one of these three, or it can be any other). I’ll draw 3 winners on May 3rd at 2pm. This is a short giveaway so enter fast! I will add another entry for a maximum of two if you post the following on Twitter:
Shared which @doxafestival movie I want to check out with @hummingbird604 http://is.gd/Y3fxiB to enter to win tickets to DOXA Festival
As you know, since a couple of years ago I’ve been writing about Eva Markvoort (a very popular Vancouver/New Westminster blogger who passed away from cystic fibrosis at a very young age). So, cystic fibrosis is one of the causes that I hold near and dear to my heart. Thus, I hope that you will join many other folks who are interested in these causes on May 5th at Denman Cinemas to kick of CF Awareness Month with the Vancouver debut of two award-winning CF-related films: The Power of Two and Foreverland at Cinema For A Cure!
6:30 pm – The Power of Two is the incredible true story of twin sisters, their battle with cystic fibrosis and their successful double-lung transplants. Academy Award nominated director, Marc Smolowitz, will be joining us for a Q & A after the film.
9:00 pm – Foreverland is a Canadian feature film written and directed by Max McGuire, a Canadian living with cystic fibrosis. Foreverland features American actor Max Thieriot and memorable performances by Academy Award nominees Juliette Lewis and Demián Bichir. Max McGuire will be joining for a Q & A after the film.
I have a special fondness for cystic fibrosis, so I would ask my readers to please help me spread the word! Invite your friends, family and co-workers to come and share this evening of film and philanthropy benefiting Cystic Fibrosis Canada. Purchase tickets online here or visit CinemaforaCure.com for more information.
Some of the things a few people don’t know about me include the fact that when I was much younger, my parents made every single effort to enable me to explore different career options, including criminology, forensic science and police-related work. So that’s one of the reasons why I feel a very profound fondness for the work of the Odd Squad Productions. In fact, this coming Saturday, April 28, 2012, forty Grade 10 students nominated across the Lower Mainland will engage in this one-day interactive workshop with volunteer officers from the Vancouver Police Department and Odd Squad Productions Society. For those of you don’t know what the Odd Squad Productions Society do, they are a a non-profit organization dedicated to prevention education for youth.
This learning program is called ON TRACK and exposes participants to the harsh realities of drug use, addiction, and criminal lifestyle through interactions with police officers and street-entrenched people. Youth walk away educated with take-away lessons that will enable them to mentor their peers through school presentations about the realities of life they have learned. I find this kind of workshop extremely education and positive. I do believe that our future generations need mentoring from a young age, and the work of Odd Squad Productions Society helps shape the way in which Vancouver youth can evolve.
Agenda
· Saturday, April 28th 2012 from 10 AM – 10 PM: Interactive workshop at the new
VPD Tactical Training Centre in downtown Vancouver
o Welcome by VPD Chief Jim Chu
o Morning presentations dedicated to gang and drug awareness by expert squad members
o Afternoon interaction with emergency response (ERT), dog squad training, and Marine Squad boat rides
o Late afternoon participation in a VPD Judo Club class
o Evening walk-about escorted by beat officers on the DTES
· May 2012: Students are required to make a presentation to fellow students in association with a mentor (school counsellor/teacher or School Liaison Officer)
· Thursday, June 7th, 2012: Participants will be honoured as Youth Ambassadors and awarded medals at the 2012 Odd Squad Gala Fundraiser at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This year’s gala celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Odd Squad.
More about the Odd Squad Productions Society:
With disturbing statistics, such as “60% of illicit drug users are between 15 to 24 years old”, there is a critical need to be proactive and protect youth. Odd Squad Productions Society educates young adults through documentaries, educational presentations and peer mentoring workshops. In 2010/2011 Odd Squad reached 38,000+ people with 372 presentations. Independently funded, OSP relies on corporate and private funding to sustain their mission.
In my most recent media trip to the Sunshine Coast, we drove right by the Holy Crap Foods Inc. factory, and I couldn’t help but laugh. After all, “holy crap” is a phrase most used to note surprise. But I’ll have to admit, pricey as I might find it (and I do find it kind of pricey), Holy Crap is actually a pretty good cereal, and one that I hadn’t found taste for until I mixed it with non-fat peach yogurt (yes, I’m lactose intolerant but I eat yogurt). Overall, would I buy Holy Crap on a regular basis? Probably not. I’m not vegan, nor am I celiac, nor do I have problems with salt (yet) or sugar (yet). But it was pretty good when I ate a couple of spoonfuls with my yogurt, and I felt really satisfied.
I had to let the cereal soak a bit and get soggy with the yogurt (otherwise it feels like you’re chewing tiny micro-rocks), but other than that I actually quite liked it.
Holy Crap breakfast cereal contains all natural ingredients (no GMO): organic chia, organic hulled hemp hearts, organic buckwheat, organic cranberries, organic raisins, organic apple bits, organic cinnamon. Our three main ingredients are some of the oldest perfect foods known to humans. Our key ingredient, chia or salvia hispanica. This is a recently revived oil seed crop from the Americas that was once more valuable than gold to the Aztecs. The Tarahumara, the greatest long distance runners on the planet, have had a long history of using this slow burning rocket fuel for both athletes and warriors alike.
Allergy alert: seed oil. Each bag is 225 grams and contains 8 full servings. From the package, I found out that it’s kosher, gluten free, lactose free, sugar free, salt free, wheat free, nut free, all-natural, vegan, high in fibre and iron, source of calcium, source of omega -3 and -6, no cooking required.
And given the health benefits associated, I can totally see myself buying it on occasion. But if your diet requires gluten-free, or salt-free products, you probably do want to buy Holy Crap cereal on a more regular basis.
Disclosure:I received a sample bag of Holy Crap Cereal in a media bag for when I wrote about The Wellness Show, but I did not receive any compensation to review it, either from Holy Crap Foods Inc., nor from the organizers of The Wellness Show. I just love the fact that it’s a Mom-and-Pop kind of operation on the Sunshine Coast. As always, I retain full editorial control over anything I post on my site.
How do I know it’s almost May? Well, because The 2012 DOXA Documentary Film Festival launches May 4–13, 2012 with an amazing collection of films from Canada and around the planet, that’s how. It looks like it will be another fantastic year of wonderful films. In their own words, “DOXA is presented by The Documentary Media Society, a Vancouver based non-profit, charitable society (incorporated in 1998) devoted to presenting independent and innovative documentaries to Vancouver audiences”. I love how DOXA innovates year after year by looking to highlight new, awesome filmmakers and films.
The Documentary Media Society focuses on educating the public about documentary film as an art form through DOXA Documentary Film Festival, a curated and juried festival comprised of public screenings, panel discussions, public forums and educational programs.
DOXA 2012 breaks new ground with our opening live presentation of the National Film Board’s Bear71. An interactive and immersive experience that blurs the boundaries between wild and wired life, Bear 71 will feature musical performances from Tim Hecker, Loscil, and cellist Heather McIntosh in the stunning setting of Saint Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.
DOXA celebrates Canadian women documentary filmmakers, past, present and future with Making Waves: Spotlight on Canadian Women in Documentary. Making Waves will feature a full-day celebration with panels, interactive features and talks, followed by a galas creening of Brishkay Ahmed’s new film Story of Burqa: Case of a Confused Afghan.
DOXA is exceptionally thrilledto close out the festival with Alison Klayman’s Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. A remarkable look at the struggle for democracy in China through the incendiary work of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Never Sorry captures Ai in action as he launches broadside attacks on government corruption and censorship.
I have an ambivalent feeling, not towards Nelson The Seagull‘s staff, location and food (which I absolutely loved, so much so that I blurted out quite loudly that I was annoyed by the six or seven hipsters who were hogging tables AT LUNCH TIME), but towards the price of their food. Admittedly, sandwiches in this part of town (Gastown) are now going up to $10-15 per sandwich for lunch, but I think that is a little bit on the excessive side (particularly when you can have a fantastic lunch at MoMo Sushi for $7. I am not kidding).
Prices aside, the staff at Nelson The Seagull are amazing, the ambiance is really nice, the room is spacious and comfortable. All ingredients to make your sandwiches are made in house. I ordered a roast beef sandwich (which was big and I wasn’t really hungry afterwards) with hummus and pesto. The roast beef was great, and the hummus had the perfect blend of spices. At a $10 price point, and with a very small portion of salad to go, it was a bit on the expensive side of things (and I just realized that Nelson The Seagull does brunch, which is much cheaper).
Overall, I have to say it was a pretty good, sizable sandwich for lunch. But I wish the prices of sandwiches in Gastown hadn’t gone up that much, because you can certainly tell that they are going up fast. That happened with the sandwich shop at Social Le Magasin and it seems to be an upwardly trend. This notwithstanding, I’ll definitely come back to Nelson The Seagull, particularly because I want to try their brunch.
Bread and coffee. That pretty much sums up what we are all about. At least it should, if you have the same romantic visions of how bread and coffee should be done as we do. Nothing instant, no flavour shots, no anonymous frozen ingredients, nothing wrapped in suffocating plastic and no destroyed, decaf, coffee. Just fresh bread, along with local organic fare, great company, sun stained afternoons and the best espresso we can pull.
You may wonder why, if The Bomb-itty of Errors (produced by Temporary Thing and Twenty Something Theatre) closed already I’m reviewing it? Well, because I think it deserves a special blog post (I wrote about it when I previewed it with a tickets giveaway, but it is definitely worth talking about). I wish I had attended The Bomb-itty of Errors MUCH earlier in their run (my life is hectic, and people probably get bored of me telling them that it is crazy, but that’s a sad reality of living two lives at the same time). But I’m glad I did attend, before the run was over.
Photo credit: Candice Albach
JT and I arrived to Studio 16, which is an intimate studio/auditorium right in the building of Café Salade de Fruits, a wonderful French bistro in the South Granville area. When we got into the building, we realized that the format of The Bomb-itty of Errors was going to be unique and different. In this project, produced by my friend Sabrina Evertt of Twenty-Something Theatre fame, the audience was encouraged to purchase drinks, sit down and enjoy the show (as though it was a musical show that you would watch at say, The Commodore).
I now understand why this strategy worked so well (the night I attended The Bomb-itty of Errors the studio was a completely sold-out, full house). Going against my usual perception of the projects that both of them tackle, Director Catriona Legler (whose work I love) and Producer Sabrina Evertt offer us an incredibly fast-paced, absolutely hilarious and never-a-dull-moment, entertaining production where the Shakesperian Comedy of Errors is reinvented as a showcase of dexterity, costumes wizardry, agility and hip-hop/rap singing.
The Bomb-itty of Errors is a fast-paced, energetic, musical “ad-rap-tation” of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Elizabethan times get pumped up with live hip-hop flavour, as the actors sing, rap and rhyme fun, catchy, and laugh-out-loud songs that retain much of the bard’s original text – all with a live DJ on stage and original music by Anami Vice. Starring Brian Cochrane, David A. Kaye, Niko Koupantsis and Jameson Parker.
All four actors deserve kudos, although I’ll admit I have always been partial to the work of Jameson Parker. Brian Cochrane and Jameson Parker are, from what I heard on the day of the performance, the crazy kids who decided to approach Sabrina with this project, and I’m glad they did. Catriona does, as she usually does, her thing and is able to extract like-ability, powerful energy and a fascinating mimetic ability from each of her actors. Kudos as well for the multiplicity of costumes and the ability to hold each persona separate from each other. AND… the live music was phenomenal. And how could I forget the fact that each and every act was sung in rap?!
Overall, I really hope that Theatre Twenty-Something and Temporary Thing produce another play like this. As I commented on Twitter, we have some of the most amazing theatrical talent in Vancouver, and I hope audiences in this city reward them. And I’m excited for what this city’s theatre can produce. Fighting Chance Productions are now doing some serious stuff and Theatre Twenty-Something is producing musicals. WHAT NEXT? I can’t wait to find out!
Disclosure:JT and I attended on media tickets generously provided by the theatre company. However, I would completely have paid for my own admission as the show was fantastic. As always I retain full editorial control over what I publish on my site.
You know those hidden gems that I’ve been writing about lately? I don’t know how but I always happen to come upon those. The Marquis in South Granville (between 10th and 11th Avenue on Granville) is one of those hidden gems. I think it’s because it’s kind of hidden, and people don’t seem to realize it’s there. But yes, it is actually classy as it portrays itself (although I am not sure why they added the TV screens)
Quite frankly, I wouldn’t have added the TV screens, I like the room nice as it is without them! My good friend Jana and I arrived there right after the Live At Squamish launch party at the Commodore (it was a tad too noisy for me, thus we decided to head to The Marquis, a place I had been wanting to check for YEARS. Yes, you heard me. In my decade(s) of living in Vancouver, I had NOT checked The Marquis. I am glad we did, not only because we had a fantastic time, but because I got the Assistant Manager (Jenna) to create a sweet drink on my name (The Hummingbird, so if you like sweet martinis, you should totally ask Jenna to make you one).
That is, you should ask her to make you a Hummingbird; she will know what that means.
Nowhere else will you get the opportunity to enjoy the superb variety of authentic dishes presented in such elegant style and ambience. Truly a celebrated marriage of old and new, served to you in the tradition of European graciousness. Our menu offerings are prepared by accomplished chefs who are equally at home with native dishes and international haute cuisine, with this blend of preparation and style of service European gastronomie comes into its own and takes its rightful place. The Marquis offers a totally new way of casual dining, a place where traditional rises to new levels of continental elegance, yet remains very much at home. An experience that is at once European and cosmopolitan Canadian. Sooner or later a restaurant like this had to be created.
I think both Jana and I agree that The Marquis is everything it promises to be and more. While we only had an appetizer and a few martinis, I think the experience overall was fantastic. Rarely have I felt more at home than at The Marquis. And the martinis aren’t out of your range ($10-12 is a bit on the higher end for a martini, but these are VERY strong and VERY well made). Overall, I will definitely return.
Disclosure:Both Jana and I paid for our own drinks on our own dime. Nobody expected us to write a review, and as usual I retain full editorial control over anything I post on my site.
You all know I love sweeter wines, and you also know that I get headaches from red wines. So I have given myself on to the task of finding fantastic white wines that are palatable, tasty, not breaking your budget and enable me to enjoy a glass or three. At a recent event, the Spring Menu Tasting of The Lazy Gourmet, we were offered a fantastic white wine that was so sweet I almost thought I was having Riesling or Gewürztraminer. It was neither. It was Le Vieux Pin Petit Blanc vintage 2010. And I absolutely loved it. At a $24.99 price point for the 750mL bottle, it’s not super inexpensive, but it’s a good mid-range. From the tasting notes:
In life, one should always have a clear objective or goal. In the case of Petit Blanc, the goal was to make a wine that was light, fun, and free of heavy handed winemaking. The sum is truly greater than the parts with a unique blend of chardonnay, petit blanc viognier, sauvignon blanc and roussanne. Tropical notes are everywhere, mango, peach, passion fruit, and melon, but the most attractive part of the 2009 Petit Blanc is the rich mouth feel. The palate is lively, refreshing, and balanced with a nice weight showing apple pie, white peach, and lemon. Perfect for any occasion, which was our intention in creating this wine.
With a 13.9% alcohol content, and very little acidity, this is the kind of white wine I want to have not only with a delicious fish dish, but basically on its very own. I’m a little bit shocked that the tasting notes say that it’s dry, when I totally felt that it wasn’t dry at all, on the contrary, I felt it was very sweet. And kudos to The Lazy Gourmet because their choice of wine was perfectly complimented with the totally delicious canapes and samplers we were served throughout the evening. I also definitely felt the peach notes shine through, and because I love fruity wines, I think that’s part of why I enjoyed this one so much.
Great choice for our (hopefully soon to arrive) summer. Can’t recommend this BC (Okanagan) wine enough!
I had the pleasure of visiting The Union Bar with my good friend Jason Sanders a few weeks back. As you know, I’m not very much of a fan of some types of fusion food/drinks/cocktails, but the Filipino-South-East-Asian cocktails that The Union Bar serves are definitely some of the best cocktails I have had in this town, and while they are on the medium-to-higher end of prices, I can safely tell you that they are some of the best cocktails that I have had in a long while. I also loved how spacious the room is, how friendly the staff is, and how (despite not having reservation), it was full without being insanely crowded.
Close to the Skytrain station Main Street/Science World, in the heart of Chinatown, The Union Bar is proving once more than you can have a successful business in Strathcona without destroying the nice vibe of the neighbourhood. I will not comment on the actual food, even though from where I was standing, the food was just as equally delicious, and the prices weren’t to break the bank. I will definitely come back to The Union Bar. I visited a second time when my friend Lorraine Murphy bought me a drink there and it was just spectacular. I also had the chance to meet the lovely Deb Williams (of Mom is The Word fame). Amazing, what the people in Strathcona have in their neighbourhood. There’s a number of interesting hangouts to check out.
Disclosure: I was a guest of Jason’s for the evening so drinks were on his tab. We did not receive any special treatment at The Union Bar, nor did we expect it. As always I retain full editorial control over anything published on my site.
Promoting charitable causes on my blog is one of the things that I am most inclined to do and most proud of. Because of the fact that my office at The Network Hub is in the heart of the downtown Vancouver Financial District, almost bordering with Gastown and the Downtown East Side, I feel a very strong familiarity with the issues that DTES folks face. I am keen to help alleviate poverty and end homelessness, and at the core of these issues is the DTES. Whenever I walk by a Megaphone Magazine vendor, I ALWAYS make the point to buy the issue, and if I can, I always pay much more than the suggested donation (a measly $2 of which $1.25 go directly to support the vendor).
I was reading the last issue of Megaphone Magazine and found out that they need to raise $10,000 to continue providing writing workshops for DTES folks. From the Megaphone Magazine Director’s Corner:
For the past three years, Megaphone has been running weekly writing workshops in treatment centres, social housing buildings and community centres in the Downtown Eastside and downtown Vancouver. Our facilitators work with individuals who are dealing with issues such as homelessness, addiction and mental illness. By giving people the opportunity to tell their story, and then have it published in Megaphone, the rest of the city can learn what it’s like to live with these issues./ It’s had a powerful impact on those writers.
I would want to encourage you to donate to Megaphone Magazine (you can donate online, or mailing a cheque using the form provided in the latest issue of Megaphone). Your donation would have a great impact in helping provide a voice to those who are most marginalized and disempowered in the downtown East Side of Vancouver.
I love athletic demonstrations of artistic wizardry, and circus acrobatics is one of those amazing abilities I still don’t have (and I don’t foresee that I will any time soon, even though I’m physically fit and was trained as a dancer, so acrobatics could, potentially, flow from there. The problem is, I never did acrobatics per se as a youth. But the wonderful organization CircusWest does exactly that: train young folks to perform circus acrobatics. CircusWest is Vancouver’s non-profit circus performing arts organization and this year they are partnering with me to give away a set of tickets to their annual circus show. This year’s show, Blue Sky Circus, has a space theme that showcases the talents of young circus artists along with many special effects.
From May 10-13, 2012 CircusWest will use circus artistry to transport an audience through space during Blue Sky Circus. A circus show featuring youth performers from CircusWest’s programs, Blue Sky Circus features various circus acts that will entrance an audience of all ages. Follow the story of a group of stargazers through the galaxies guided by mystical Zodiac characters while witnessing aerial artistry, juggling, acrobatics, trapeze, acrobalance, unicyclists, stilts, dance, tissu and trampoline.
What: Blue Sky Circus – A Stellar Circus Spectacle performed by youth performers from CircusWest’s Performance and Centre Stage programs Time: 12:30pm & 7pm daily Date: May 10-13, 2012 Location: PNE Gardens, 2901 East Hastings St., Vancouver BC
To enter my giveaway just drop a comment on this post letting me know about the last time you visited a circus. I think the last time I did was last year, although I know for a fact that JT loved Othello, and I have always wondered what it would be like to see Cirque Du Soleil. I will draw a winner on May 6th, 2pm.
An additional entry (for a total of 2) can be earned by posting the following on Twitter:
Told @hummingbird604 about my latest visit to the circus to enter to win tix to @circuswest Blue Sky Circus http://is.gd/789iJY
