I always have a soft spot for boutique hotels. For the most part, they don’t pretend to be the high-end, upscale resorts, yet they are always equipped nicely for a comfortable stay. I have nothing but words of praise for The Dorchester Hotel (member of the Best Western chain of hotels).
I arrived there tired from almost 2 weeks of writing and travelling and I found a really clean room, very, very spacious (actually I think substantially more spacious than the Grand Pacific Hotel I stayed in for JT’s birthday in November 2010).
I was particularly impressed with the distribution and separation of rooms (the living room could very well hold a small meeting if you were on a business trip) and the very spacious separate bedroom in within the suite. While the Dorchester Hotel doesn’t have in-suite kitchen, they do have a small fridge, kettle for tea and a coffee maker.
And lots of space to work, as well as a separate desk area with lots of power plugs. The internet is free and rather strong, so it’s very good to spend a full day writing, as I did.
Overall, it was a fantastic hotel to stay in, and I have nothing but words of praise for the staff. While I didn’t get to check the restaurant on site, I’ve been told it’s pretty good. And the great thing about the Dorchester Hotel is that it is very close to the Nanaimo Old Quarter and downtown core and harbour areas. I will definitely recommend it.
Disclosure: My stay at the Best Western Dorchester Hotel in Nanaimo was sponsored very generously by the hotel as part of my recent Vancouver Island writing retreat (which included stops in Victoria, Courtenay/Comox, Nanaimo and Parksville/Qualicum Beach). I covered every other single expense I incurred during this travel, including (but not limited to) breakfast, lunch, dinner and transportation (except when explicitly indicated). I wasn’t paid to write this review, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this blog entry is just to describe my experience at the hotel. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
Several of my friends in Vancouver are South African and I have always had a soft spot for African culture. So when I was contacted by the first-ever Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF) to give away passes to their films/gala, I could not resist.
Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF) is coming to Empire Granville 7 on Jan. 22 and 23. VSAFF is proud to present four feature films and four documentaries that explore the culture, history and politics of South Africa. The VSAFF is a non-profit event organized entirely by volunteers, and all proceeds will go to support the important educational work local charity Education without Borders (EwB) has been doing in the township of Gugulethu, South Africa since 2002. EwB is also 100% volunteer run.
I asked Marc Weber if they were planning the festival will support environmental programs. He told me:
Specifically, we work with a South African non-profit, SEED, and have started a food garden at Fezeka Secondary School. It serves two main purposes: It helps the kids to feed themselves, and has also been incorporated into their curriculum in order to teach them about the environment.
We believe the VSAFF is the first significant festival of South African films held anywhere outside of South Africa. The Lower Mainland is home to more than 60,000 South African expatriates.
A complete list of VSAFF films is at their website.
I have been given 3 pairs of tickets to the opening gala (Saturday, Jan. 22, “Skin” followed by South African food and drinks). To enter my giveaway, all you have to do is drop a comment on this site after checking their website and tell me which film are you looking forward to seeing during the film festival. I will draw 3 winners from all comments entered, and I will be doing the draw on January 20th at 5:00pm.
I am really looking forward to checking some of their films. It’s going to be a great festival.
I seriously have no clue how did that happen. I now not only bring along my laptop bag with my laptop, books and papers but I have begun to bring what I have started calling “the bag of additional stuff”. The one I am carrying today has my lunch box (I now make my lunches and take them with me to my office or the university), an umbrella, a set of dress shoes (I change my shoes with the weather, leather-soled shoes tend to not behave well in slippery surfaces), the bag for my digital camera, my travel mug (coffee), and 2 cinnamon buns I just bought, as well as my toque and my ear muffs. Seriously, when did commuting lightly stop?
We are both academics, we both have PhDs, we both write blogs, we both have crushing debts, and we care deeply about the environment. AND we both love teaching. On your birthday, Dr. Beth, I wish you all the very best!
January 11th, 2011 in
birthdays,
friends |
2 Comments
As it’s become my tradition since this past year in 2010, I will be covering Parksville Uncorked Wine and Food Festival 2011, a most fantastic event that you should totally check out. Parksville Uncorked 2011 Wine & Food Festival has a few innovations, most notably Parksville Untapped (which, as you may imagine, has to do with beer and food pairings).
Self-appointed foodies will definitely want definitely to make the trek to Vancouver Island, to one of the most relaxing locations (the twin towns of Parksville and Qualicum Beach). I have been to Parksville in total 3 times and this being my fourth, it promises to be one of the best.
Together in the common cause of fine wines, decadent edibles, and great company, Parksville’s finest beach resorts are proud to sponsor the 3rd annual Parksville Uncorked Wine & Food Festival
Parksville Uncorked Wine & Food Festival 2011 begins on February 24th with Parksville Untapped:
Parksville Untapped will showcase local breweries and feature beers paired with delicious regional cuisine including features from Tigh-Na-Mara and The Beach Club Resort. In addition; Greg Evens, Beer Historian, will offer a casual 30 minute presentation on the history of brewing on Vancouver Island and the many pioneers who contributed to the tradition. Take home an exclusive Parksville Untapped Beer Glass and enjoy instrumental jazz performed by local artist Melissa Hill. Shuttle Service from The Beach Club resort to Tigh-Na-Mara is available and is complimentary for Beach Club Resort guests.
Then goes on to Swirl (last year’s Swirl was to-die-for):
Festival goers will enjoy the best BC has to offer from fine wines to gourmet cuisine at Swirl. Whether you are discovering BC wines for the very first time, or reveling in selections to tempt a sophisticated palate, this festival of taste excites all the senses. The Beach Club Resort is proud to host this year’s Parksville Uncorked Swirl Event and attendees will receive an exclusive 2011 Parksville Uncorked wine glass.
Then 2 fantastic Winemaker Dinners (both at Tigh-Na-Mara and The Beach Club Resort)
The Beach Club Resort is proud to host the Burrowing Owl Winery for a spectacular night of premier wines and experience great food! Come out and enjoy a variety of Burrowing Owl wines paired with delicious west coast inspired dinner prepared by Chef Sean Norris. Sommelier Stuart Bruce from Appellation Wine will be on hand to share more information about each pairing and the history of Burrowing Owl Winery; one of British Columbia’s foremost wineries.
And at The Tigh-Na-Mara sumptuous six course dinner created by Chef Eric Edwards, will be a true culinary experience. Road 13’s Pam & Mick Luckhurst will be on hand to explain the five unique wine selections paired with this exclusive Winemakers Dinner.
Finally, on February 27th, you MUST have Bubbles and Brunch at the Tigh-Na-Mara
Tigh-Na-Mara’s legendary Sunday Brunch is a sumptuous feast for the eyes and the palate. Join us to wrap up the Parksville Uncorked Weekend for Bubbles & Brunch; featuring a selection of BC Sparkling Wines! Advance reservations are required.
Check the Parksville Uncorked 2011 events page for costs (vary between $30 and $99, but for what you get, it’s a fantastic deal – and each one of the host resorts has actual packages that you can combine with the events, you can book for one of the events or for all of Parksville Uncorked). I strongly suggest that you come celebrate in style and taste the bounty of BC and Vancouver Island’s best as you learn from pinnacle vintners, master chefs, sommeliers and restauranteurs at this year’s Parksville Uncorked Food and Wine Festival, February 24 – 27, 2011. For contact details, The Beach Club 1-888-760-2008 and and Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort 1-800-663-7373 and reserve your tickets and festival packages at one of British Columbia’s best culinary event of the year!
In my coverage of theatre and performing arts in general, I often don’t get the opportunity to interview up-and-coming or established actors/directors/producers. Most of the time, I am so strapped for time (as much as they are) and we never get to spend any time talking. But I had an opportunity to have an interview with Bob Frazer, a fantastic actor, family man and wonderful individual who is the director of The Pavilion, now in previews at the Firehall Arts Centre.
I sat down with Bob accompanied by his two children at the JJ Bean on 14th and Main where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and a wonderful chat. Below is my conversation with Bob. As with any unstructured interviews, our conversation ended up taking different turns than I expected, which was great.
1. Why theatre? Why did you get into this business, Bob?
Really got more into acting than theatre itself. I grew up in Penticton so theatre was the natural thing to do, and from there I fell in love with theatre. It’s 2 hours of interaction with actors and the audience. There’s nothing like it.
2. How do you gauge the audience?
Everyone comes into the theatre creating their own persona. So I think what we do as actors, what I do is to open my heart – you open your heart, you let yourself feel whatever they, the audience, feels. There’s a connection that happens between audience and actor. If that connection isn’t there, the show becomes mediocre, but when it is there, the show is magical
3. Why ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ and ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’?
I grew up watching the movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, and I loved the main character – here’s this guy who goes out to do good and doesn’t work for him, but in the end, things get better. For me it was easy to play the character, because as an actor, you have things that you can access to allow you to strengthen the character you are playing. As for the stage readings for ‘The Last Days’, it was a fun show to do, and it may *possibly* come back.
4. What do you think of social media for the arts?
Well, let me confess something to you – I didn’t know much but I had to get on Facebook and learn about it – it’s great and necessary, and social media is doing things for theatre we couldn’t get to do before. But not having a smart phone and a cell phone with me, focuses me on the conversation with the person that I am sitting with.
5. So, now – tell me about The Pavilion, give me a bit of background about this play
It’s a beautiful play. It’s put together by the company I started with a great group of people. We are going to create the theatre we want. We work together again and again. Our relationships as actors originally are rather fleeting, but with this company, we want to work as an ensemble. I want to be a better actor, and Iw ant people to be better actors, like me. It’s a rather invigorating and fascinating approach.
The Pavilion presents the question “if I hadn’t made that mistake would my life be better/could it have been better”.
At this point I realized that The Pavilion has a striking resemblance with a conversation I had with my brother about a friend and our relationship a few years ago. The conversation touched me deeply.
6. Where is Bob Frazer in 2011
Death of a Salesman at the Playhouse, Richard III at Bard on the Beach and I will be directing one or two shows
7. How different is acting from directing?
I really love both but there are some plays I want to be involved in, some I want to direct. It’s different
8. What are the most challenging plays/characters you’ve done?
Well, Hamlet, Equus are two that come to mind
Thanks Bob for a most insightful interview, and to Andrea Loewen for facilitating it. I strongly suggest you check The Pavilion at the Firehall Arts Centre, which is directed by Bob Frazer. Promises to be a great show.
January 10th, 2011 in
theatre |
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Every time I’ve been to a music cycle, I’ve noticed the most memorable performances always happen to be the opening and closing nights. This Mozart in the City Festival in Calgary was not the exception, with the closing performance by Karen Gomyo and the CPO providing an amazing finale to the entire cycle.
The performance started on a high note, with the announcement that Maestro Minczuk had his contract renewed for another 4 years. I think it was a good decision by the Board of the CPO.
The performance started with Herr Mozart’s First Symphony (No. 1 in E flat Major). It was interesting, although to tell the truth, it lacked the depth and richness of his later works (with the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor being my all-time favourite, forecasting the upcoming Romantic period). Considering he composed this Symphony at the tender age of 11 or something like that, one should be impressed with the end result. The performance was ok.
Then came the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, so called “Turkish”. I have to say I was tremendously impressed with the beautiful and talented Ms. Gomyo. Of course the Concerto was an excellent selection to showcase her talents, but she definitely delivered on the performance, both from a technical as well as an interpretive viewpoint. Both the orchestra and the soloist came together with a high degree of coordination, crispness and emotional intensity.
After the intermission, Ms. Gomyo humbly sat in the middle of the orchestra with a dark sweater, just like one of the rest, and proceeded to deliver together with the other musicians a first-class rendition of the Jupiter. This grand Symphony has all the emotional depth and musical colour that would permeate Mozart’s late works.
Sometimes less is more, so I’ll make my final statement short: this performance was definitely a delight to hear, and a fantastic way to end the Festival.
This guest review was contributed by my brother Sigfrido Pacheco covering Mozart in the City (Classical Calgary) for Hummingbird604.com. Read all posts on Classical Calgary here. To purchase tickets to any of the event series, visit the Classical Calgary website.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend the concert for my guest blogger and his Plus One were sponsored very generously by Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Philarmonic Orchestra. This post hasn’t been paid for, and I am not required to post a review either. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times, and producers and publicists are well aware of this. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I’m a big admirer of Bob Frazer, whom you may remember in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Othello and It’s a Wonderful Life. He is, in my opinion, one of our best actors out there. And he is now presenting the first play that his new company is putting together, The Pavilion. I will publish a great interview I did in December with Bob Frazer in the next couple of days. But I wanted to write about this production as the previews end tomorrow January 11th and they open on Wednesday January 11th. Featuring Dawn Petten, Craig Erickson, and Parnelli Parnes. Directed by Bob Frazer. This promises to be a great play.
All Peter wants to do is make up for the worst mistake of his life -that’s why he brought the flowers. They should fix things, right? In Osimous Theatre’s production of The Pavilion by Craig Wright (Six Feet Under, Grace), nostalgia is the (prom) king that brings everyone together, telling the story of a yearning for the past strong enough that it will drive someone to attend their 20th high school reunion.
Playing January 8-23 at The Firehall Arts Centre. Performances Tues-Sat at 8pm and Sun at 2pm. 2-for-1 previews January 8, 9, 11th. Pay-what-you-can Wednesday January 19 at 1pm. For tickets ($25) call 604.689.0926 or visit The Firehall Arts Centre website.
January 10th, 2011 in
theatre |
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As you may all know, my consulting studio has a home at The Network Hub (1st and 3rd Floors, 422 Richards Street in downtown Vancouver). A pioneer in the coworking movement, The Network Hub has been in operation since 2006 and I’ve been a resident since almost 2.5 years ago. My experience having space at The Network Hub has been fantastic. I now sit on their Advisory Board as well.
I found out through Annalea Krebs (ethicalDeal) and Minna Van (cofounder of The Network Hub) that there is an Ethical Deal for coworking at our offices, and wanted to share that with you all. It’s an AMAZING deal ($5 for $35 worth of coworking value), at a superb low price (86% discount), you should totally take advantage of it. You can follow the link for the ethicalDeal for The Network Hub here.
You should probably check it out and get the deal because you probably won’t get a chance like this to test-drive coworking in such an amazing coworking space as The Network Hub. It’s definitely worth checking it out. For another testimonial on The Network Hub, you should check Nancy Zimmerman’s blog.
Disclosure: I sit on the Advisory Board of The Network Hub and I have a desk on their 3rd floor. However, this post has neither been paid for nor is it an obligation. I just thought it would be important to tell my readers about a great opportunity to test coworking in the most inexpensive way possible.
If you followed my Twitter stream, I semi-announced I was disconnecting for a few days in order to complete a major project. You’ll see, publications are the currency of academic life. You are not assessed by how many blog posts you publish or how many unique hits your popular blog gets on an every day basis. You are valued by how many high-quality, academic-style pieces you have and what impact you’ve had in the body of knowledge you are supposed to be contributing to.
In my case, one of the areas of research where I have had a major interest has been the governance of water, and in particular, of wastewater. I’ve been puzzled by why we are so focused on water scarcity in the social sciences literature yet we seem to be so keen to forget contaminated effluents. I have already completed 2 years of field research and didn’t want to let it go to waste. I hadn’t published my research on wastewater policy in the English language market, so I decided to take my data and write a book on water governance in Mexico. More specifically, wastewater governance in Mexico.
So thanks to the amazing PR skills and resourcefulness of my friend Luba Plotnikoff, I was invited as a guest in several Vancouver Island properties, including the following: Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa (Victoria), Coast Bastion Inn (Nanaimo), Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa (Courtney), and The Beach Club Resort (Parksville). And also thanks to the collaboration of Chelsea Barr (Destination Nanaimo) I also got to stay not only at the Coast Bastion but also at the Dorchester Best Western Hotel (Nanaimo) on my way back. These were all amazing properties in locations that allowed me to complete a major project (I successfully completed the first rough draft of my book), while still travelling all the same.
I did feel so much at peace and at ease as I spent countless hours writing the first draft of my water governance book. You’ll be reading my posts throughout the next couple of weeks interspersed with the rest of my blog writing. I would strongly recommend all the destinations I visited to spend time away and complete a major project.
Disclosure: My stay at various properties that will be mentioned in my post series was sponsored very generously by the hotel as part of my recent Vancouver Island book writing retreat (which included stops in Victoria, Courtenay/Comox, Nanaimo and Parksville/Qualicum Beach). I covered every single expense I incurred during this travel, including (but not limited to) breakfast, lunch, dinner and transportation (except only when explicitly indicated). I wasn’t paid to write this series of blog posts, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this and subsequent blog entries about my writing retreat is just to describe my experience at various hotel properties and my breakfast/lunch/dinner experiences. As with any review or complimentary post I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
It’s rare that I trek down to Kitsilano these days (even though I teach at UBC, I mostly commute directly from either home or my office, and back). So when my good friend Erica Hargreave told me whether I’d like to join her to check out something in the neighbourhood after a lovely walk, I said “but, of course!” We found ourselves around 3:45pm not having had a proper lunch and we thought “we might need a snack or something before we head down to our respective social engagements” so we ended up stopping at Café Vergnano 1882 (on West Broadway and a couple of blocks east of Macdonald). We were impressed by the cute decor.
We also found that Café Vergnano 1882 had a very relaxing atmosphere. A bit too relaxing, perhaps.
We were greeted by a friendly attendant who mentioned we could share a sandwich and each have a bowl of soup, which we did and it was rather inexpensive ($18 for the combo). We ordered a turkey with pesto sandwich and a curry ginger and carrot butternut squash soup. Delicious, to be quite honest. I’ll definitely come here more often for lunch. Apparently it’s a great place for coffee too!
Disclosure: Both Erica and I paid for our lunch out of our own pocket.
January 9th, 2011 in
Kitsilano,
lunch |
No Comments
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr
January is a good month for birthdays of good friends of mine. A few years ago, almost 5, I started blogging and around a year later, I started reading the local blog Miss604.com, written by who now has become a close friend of mine, Rebecca Bollwitt. While we are both incredibly busy and both of our blogs are pretty popular, we’ve made an effort to maintain our friendship outside of the whole social media world. As I once told Rebecca, I couldn’t care less that she is Miss604, the popular Vancouver blogger and the WordPress site-building guru. To me, she’s my friend and that’s what is important. Because after all is said and done, all we have to speak for ourselves is our actions and the people we care for and we love. I’m glad I got to celebrate your birthday, Rebecca, and I look forward to many years of birthday celebrations, both yours and mine! Have a wonderful day.
January 9th, 2011 in
friends |
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A number of friends asked me if I had written a “Goals for 2011” blog post the same way I did for 2010 with my “in 2010 I want to focus on my personal growth” manifesto. You could say that my 2011 manifesto is “to take care of myself before I take care of others“. Differently from how I felt about my 2010 major goal, in 2011 I am not 100% sure of the actual pathway. Particularly as I start 2011 helping organize a charitable event (you’ll hear more at the beginning of the coming week). And I still work the 7 day work week.
Those of you who have read Tim Ferriss’ book “the 4 hour work week” may find some resonance with both our titles (full disclosure, I have NEVER read anything of Tim Ferriss, other than a ONE-time glimpse at his Twitter feed). But the truth is, the reason why I thought of the fact that I continue to have a 7 day work week is that, much as I have begun to say NO to a lot of things and try to cut down on commitments, I still work 7 days a week.
I thought of staying at my office late last night (I did end up leaving after 8pm) so I could finish all the work I had pending and my body just couldn’t take it. I had to go home and eat dinner and go to bed. And despite the fact that people seem to continue to think that blogging is an activity that does not take time, maintaining this blog DOES take a lot of time, and should be considered work.
Liaising with PR folks, theatre producers, restaurant managers and other people who approach me to blog about them DOES take time (I wrote a lengthy post on the value of time a while ago that I need to polish and publish). Running contests, contacting winners, mailing prizes DOES take time. So, while I still blog for myself and I love it, it’s still work. I still have to think about an editorial calendar (thanks to my friend Kate Trgovac for the idea). I still have to write blog posts, find photos to go with my posts (or upload my own). All these activities take time!
So I end up working 7 days a week. My goal for 2011 is to go down from working 7 days a week to a maximum of 6 and hopefully to a maybe longer work week (I work easily 9-14 hour days sometimes) but hopefully, full weekends and more holidays this year. That’s one of my goals in 2011 – to move slowly away from the 7 day work week.
Calories consumed with good friends don’t count. At least, that’s what I tell myself. And that’s what I told my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604) in order to convince her to join me for some ice cream (originally we were going to go for a very healthy frozen yogurt at Qoola, but they were closed) after I took her for lunch to Miko Sushi (for her pre-birthday lunch). So, we headed almost next door to Marble Slab.
I ordered a small size cup of cotton candy flavor ice cream with blackberries (pictured above). The beautiful thing about Marble Slab is that you get to see them mix the ice cream and add-ons right there, on a marble slab (hence the name). Rebecca ordered double chocolate ice cream with some almonds which looked absolutely delicious too. I am totally hooked on Marble Slab, and I’ll definitely come back sometime soon!
Once your desired flavor has been selected, the magic begins. We scoop the ice cream onto a frozen marble slab, where your choice of fruits, nuts and candies, known as Marble Slab Creamery “mixins,” will be skillfully blended in with the ice cream, then finally piled high on the delectable waffle cone of your choosing. The result is your very own, one-of-a-kind dessert. From there, repeat as desired, which will probably be often.
I am totally addicted now to Marble Slab. This is not going to be helpful for any weight loss. But it’s SO yummy.
Disclosure: I paid for both of our ice creams out of my own pocket.
January 7th, 2011 in
dessert,
friends |
3 Comments
I had never heard of Miko Sushi (on Robson Street, right besides Don Guacamole), but as it turns out, my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (whom I took there to celebrate her birthday early) has been there, and she enjoyed the idea of having sushi.
You may (or may not) know this, but back in the day Rebecca and I used to do lunch almost every Friday in 2008 and part of 2009, so it was nice to go back to our tradition (and to celebrate her birthday a couple of days earlier, as she took me for brunch to Twisted Fork Bistro a few months ago for mine).
We just ordered a traditional sushi box for each one of us ($11) with 4 pieces of nigiri sushi, salad, a couple of small sushi rolls (California and salmon), tempura and a couple of skewers. Overall, really filling (Rebecca couldn’t even finish her own!) and very, very tasty sushi. If we were in a quest for best sushi, Miko Sushi would definitely be in the running (although I definitely love my Momo Sushi).
Disclosure: I paid for both Rebecca and my dinner on my own dime.
January 7th, 2011 in
dining out,
sushi |
No Comments
I try hard to make it to my good friends’ birthdays, but sometimes for one reason or another, that doesn’t work. So I always make at least a serious attempt at spending quality time with them on a one-on-one basis. This is the case with my friend Chris Walts, whom as you know, celebrated his birthday recently.
I was away on Vancouver Island on a writing retreat so I didn’t celebrate him on the actual day of his birthday. But we did end up going to Romer’s Burger this week because I had heard a lot about it and I wanted to try it. While I arrived a bit late and thus have no idea how good the service was before I got there, once I was there, we did get our food fairly promptly.
I ordered a SoCal Turkey Burger (Fraser Valley turkey, fresh-sliced avocado, Soleggiati tomatoes, organic watercress, red onion, orange mayo, $10) and Chris ordered a Green Chili Chicken Cheddar Burger (Lemon griddled free-run chicken breast, house-made green chili sauce, fresh avocado, minced red onion, plenty of cheddar, Habanero Pepper Verdelait, $12). To share, we ordered a basket of fries with 2 dips (aioli mayo and chipotle mayo).
I loved the fact that our fries seemed to have been dipped in garlic oil and freshly cut garlic. Chris is a bit more of a fries snob so he wasn’t all that impressed.
Overall, the food at Romer’s Burger is definitely delicious. I would totally come back for a burger any time (in fact, I am SO taking JT there for dinner next time we are supposed to be going out).
Disclosure: I paid for Chris and my dinner at Romer’s Burger on my own dime.
I am a horrible friend. Well, not really, but I am terrible when it comes to scheduling blog posts. So, my good friend André Malan (currently finishing his undergraduate degree in Computer Science at UBC) had a birthday this past January 2nd. And I had in my mind “oh, yes – I will schedule André’s birthday blog post RIGHT after I schedule Chris Walts’ post (as his birthday is January 1st)”. And then I forgot. I totally forgot, despite the fact that I had been corresponding with André via email (he has been instrumental in helping me implement technology tools to my teaching at UBC). And that makes me feel twice as guilty.
So, in lieu of an apologetic email (which you will also get) here is a big, public celebration of your (belated) birthday, my friend. It has been great getting to know you and learning along with you about how I can implement technology, seen through the eyes of one stellar student. You have mentored me in implementing a student-centred view of technological platforms for higher education and I am grateful both for our friendship and for the help you have provided me. And I am sure many of my hundreds of current and past students are grateful too!
Happy belated birthday André!
January 7th, 2011 in
friends |
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2011 is a year for me to reconsider a lot of things. I am hoping it will be the year when either (a) Foursquare finds a way to add value and help build a community or (b) people will manage to make Foursquare work. Or alternatively (and hopefully) people will stop cross-linking their Foursquare to Twitter. Because, seriously, some people I really like on Twitter do it (in my opinion) too frequently. And most of the Foursquare-to-Twitter tweets I see don’t provide any value. Sorry folks, I know that includes several of my friends, but I’ve told you this to your face too, so it’s not like I am saying it behind your back.
In 2011, please reconsider your Foursquare-to-Twitter behaviour. In the little impromptu poll I did on whether people found value from Foursquare tweets, the vast minority were saying “yes, I find value”. And those who do find value, it’s because the tweeter in question provides additional context within the Foursquare check-in.
While I love traveling, I almost always reach a point where I need to go back to my own apartment, my own bed and my own stuff. This happened to me during my recent writing retreat on Vancouver Island, where I stayed in several fantastic hotels in Victoria, Courtenay, Nanaimo and Parksville (you will hear all about it in the next few weeks). It was nothing short of absolutely fabulous. It was peaceful and allowed me to complete a major project (the first draft of my forthcoming book on water governance). But certainly, after living out of a suitcase for two weeks, I was ready to come home and realize that I have way more clothes than what I had packed. And wake up in my own bed. Ah the contradictions! We want to travel, yet we want the perks of a full set-up house.
Photo credit: Gus Fosarolli on Flickr
You probably are thinking “no, really? you never had a data plan with your iPhone?“. Well, up until the middle of December, I hadn’t. I didn’t want to be connected ALL THE TIME. And then I realized that I felt insane amounts of frustration when I wanted to tweet something about a theatre, dance performance or at a restaurant and I couldn’t. I didn’t want to be attached to a 3 year contract. But the one I have doesn’t have these strings attached. And I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that iPhone with data has saved me. In Victoria, Courtenay, Parksville, everywhere I used it to find addresses when I was walking around. And restaurants. I just can’t believe I didn’t have a data plan for so long. My productivity has increased exponentially!
Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr
When I announced on Twitter a few weeks back that I wasn’t going to be speaking at WordCamp Victoria 2011 (which is organized by two of my very, very good friends Paul Holmes and his wife Katharine Holmes along with an amazing group of volunteers), some people looked puzzled. After all, I have spoken at several WordCamps, my websites are all designed and implemented in WordPress (even the UBC ones, as I am using BuddyPress on those). And I even code my own stunts. AND it’s organized by good friends of mine.
There is one key reason that in my brain, made sense for me not to pursue more aggressively proposing a talk at WordCamp Victoria (and now the programme is full). My main activity is NOT in the field of web development. Not even in writing. Heck, not even in blogging. All of these are side gigs of mine. My core activity is academic and consultant, and in 2011 I am presenting academic papers at the very least at 6 different conferences.
It makes more sense for me to speak, for example, at Social Media Camp Victoria 2011 than it does at WordCamp Victoria 2011. Why? Because I *use* social media tools in higher education, politics and public policy. I advise governments, non-profits and academics on how to use social media. This is an area where I am both knowledgeable and I see the immediate benefit.
But my most successful WordCamp talk so far has been Building Your Online Community with WordPress. And that’s literally a Blogging 101 talk. So, I’ll leave it to other WordPress experts (many of whom are dear friends of mine, in fact) to go and impart their wisdom on to you. You should attend, it’s totally worth it. And for the record, organizing a WordCamp doesn’t benefit anyone more than the community. The organizers work a lot to get the conference done for YOU, attendees.
You can RSVP here and you probably want to do that soon, as it’s selling out.
“Del majadero y del patán, cualquiera es su padre”
I clearly remember when my Dad said this to me. He had just told a rather rude and obnoxious individual on one of the Metro trains in Mexico City to give up his seat for an elderly woman (who clearly did need the seat). My Dad (at the time, I was a mere 7 years old) used to tell us, his five boys, that there was a reason why we were being trained the way we were: to be agents of change. To be champions of the disadvantaged, if so required.
The phrase above can be translated loosely from Spanish as “anybody can (and should) be the rude person’s parent”. The meaning of the phrase (as I understood it from my father) is that, should it ever come down to it, you should take it upon yourself to teach manners to rude people, and protect the disenfranchised if they are ever being bullied or attacked in your presence.
I’m happy to put this into practice whenever necessary. Although I’m quite well aware of the potential negative side effects (e.g. that the bully in question may retaliate against me), I think it’s part of my duties. One of the beautiful things about being trained in martial arts is that, even if I get clobbered, my assailant won’t go home clean either.
I may not be perfect, but I was definitely very well raised by my parents.
Oh, 2010, what a good year you have been to me. You gave me professional, academic, consulting, physical health and social media successes. During 2010, I spent a substantial portion of my budget in strengthening my body, reclaiming my health, shedding 35 pounds and reducing 5 waist sizes (you couldn’t see them, but yes, I had extra pounds, quite a few of them actually).
I wrote blog posts about the cost of getting back in shape, and as I review my budget for 2011, I realize that I am now spending a relatively substantial amount of money in gym memberships, equipment (both for my exercising and for my blogging, teaching and research – I had to replace my digital camera, and some of my chargers both for my cameras and my iPhone), etc. I have also added on top a data plan (which deserves a whole write up in and of itself).
While I do have a couple of new projects coming up, and the fact that I teach more classes also increases to some extent my income, I do have to prioritize my travel money (not all conference travel is sponsored, and I’m determined to do the 2011 academic conference circuit, so I’ll have to save money to sponsor my own travelling around to present papers and my research). So, I do think that 2011 will be the year of the budget.
That’s ok. It’s not like I have not learned to live a budgeted, modest life. As mentioned a couple of years ago, the reason why I have lived this modest life is 3 graduate degrees (2 Masters and 1 PhD) and a crushing debt. But I’m on my way out of debt too!
January 1st, 2011 in
personal life |
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I have been invited by Random Acts of Circus to check their upcoming production Sorkaboni & Musorika at The Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island (1412 Cartwright St., Vancouver, BC), and since it combines acrobatics with theatre, I can’t wait to see it live. The show runs from January 5 to the 16th with matinees (12pm): Jan. 6-9, 13-16 and evening shows (8pm): Jan 5-9, 12-15. Tickets are Adults(13+) $25; Youth/Senior $20, although they’ll also be offering group rates. While in the past few years I’ve witnessed a lot of physical theatre (particularly at the Fringe), it’s been a while since I have witnessed acrobatics blended with theatre.
‘Sorkaboni and Musorika’ is a fast-paced fusion of storytelling through physical theatre and acrobatic feats. It follows eight fairy-tale characters: a Prince and his page, a Wizard and his apprentice, two imps, an ogre and a witch. Their fairy-tale begins as many do, but soon becomes twisted out of shape when the characters accidentally end up stuck in the real world. Without a story to follow, they each find different ways of adapting and responding to a new world.
Lighthearted and slap-stick, Sorkaboni & Musorika is still tinged with dark and also touching moments. And — of course — a plethora of circus, dance, live classical music, and theatre.
I’m excited about the very first performance of the year 2011. And hopefully you’ll also be able to check Sorkaboni and Musorika, sounds like an eclectic and innovative show.
January 1st, 2011 in
theatre |
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And so begins my 2011 coverage of theatre, dance, film and arts in general in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and British Columbia. Actually, I had been contacted by the PR folks of PuSh about a month and a half ago, but I was in the throes of grading final research papers so my life was insanely busy.
I feel remiss that I hadn’t written about the upcoming 7th Annual PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. I’m really happy to see that the PuSh Festival has embraced social platforms so much, with a blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube channels.
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is Vancouver’s mid-winter festival presenting acclaimed local, national and international artists. The 7th annual PuSh Festival takes place January 18 – February 6, 2011 at venues in and around Vancouver and offers work from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Poland and Germany.
The PuSh Festival presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts with theatre, dance, music, and various forms of multimedia and hybrid performance. The 2011 Festival boasts 17 Main Series shows, a mapping symposium, and the triumphant return of Club PuSh and the PuSh Assembly networking event.
I can’t wait to check out some of these extraordinary performances. I’ll be starting a new term at the university teaching 2 courses (both courses I’ve taught before, but with definite changes to the syllabus), so I’m not sure how much of the festival I’ll be able to see, but at least I hope I will be able to capture some of it.
You can buy individual tickets and PuSh Passes here. I’m really excited about the PuSh Festival, to be quite honest.
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is one of Vancouver’s signature events. Produced over three weeks each January, the PuSh Festival presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts.
The PuSh Festival expands the horizons of Vancouver artists and audiences with work that is visionary, genre-bending, multi-disciplined, startling and original. The Festival showcases acclaimed international, Canadian and local artists and mixes them together with an alchemy that inspires audiences, rejuvenates artists, stimulates the industry and forges productive relationships around the globe.
January 1st, 2011 in
Uncategorized |
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