As an academic, before I started writing a blog, all I thought about was how to conduct my research in a rigorous, theoretically-sound, empirically-testable way. My writing was intended to explain phenomena and describe my research methodology in an accurate and precise way. Then I entered the world of tech (via blogging)
While I began hanging out with tech types, reading tech blogs and engaging on social networking sites, I sometimes continued to write in “academiquese”. My writing was jargon-laden and often abstruse. Then I realized that there was a world out there of things I had never thought about, until I started creating my own website and writing for a broader audience. I designed my research website from scratch and personalized Hummingbird604.com as it is right now.
I began to think about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I learned to write keyword-rich text and found about the meaning of “content strategy“. Copywriting, DNS-propagation and clean URLs all became part of my vocabulary. And as I was having beers with my good friend Susie Gardner (co-author of Blogging for Dummies, in case you were wondering) the other day, I realized that to be successful online, you need to know a bit about how to build websites (thinking for the web) and about how to write compelling content that will be crawled by search engines and found and engage your reader (writing for the web). Susie agreed with my viewpoint, adding that you may not need to be a website builder, but know enough about how to make websites to make your writing shine in said website.
It seems to me as though the most successful people online are those who are able to master, to some solid degree, both sets of complementary skills. What do you think?
I left the Tinseltown theatre last night enraged with The Butch Factor (showing at the Vancouver Queer Film Fest). When I entered the theatre, I was expecting a documentary exploring the question of masculinity. I was hoping that the eternal myth of “gay men are all effeminate” would be dispelled (in keeping in line with the theme of the film, the ‘butch’ factor). And as the movie went on, I got more and more confused. Sure, there is a series of (somewhat un-threaded and at times, convoluted) conversations with men who could be identified (again, through the lenses of stereotypes) as “butch”. But there is no actual encompassing analytical thread. I wasn’t really sure what the message of the movie was.
A rugby player who plays in both straight and gay leagues, an African-American baseball player, a rodeo man, a couple of cowboys who have their ranch, you name it. They all appear in the movie, and they all talk about their experiences. But in the end, there is no real in-depth examination – while trying to interweave expert subject interviews with scholars who study masculinity with the physical demonstrations of “macho” attitude by the “butch” interviewees leaves us with an un-stitched, loosely threaded film. Did it hit all the stereotypes? Yes. Did it explain WHY we continue to hold those stereotypes? Um, no. Definitely not.
In the end, as I walked out of the theatre, I noted to my friends David, Mark and Nicolas, that I thought that whatever the message of that movie was, it was all contained in the last 60 seconds of the film, and that those were 1.5 hours of my life that I would appreciate having back. And then I learned on Twitter that VQFF was planning on having an extra screening of The Butch Factor. Seeing as I missed Pornography: The Thriller and The People I’ve Slept With, I would definitely want to make a case to VQFF to show an extra screening of these two movies instead of The Butch Factor.
All due respect to the film director, crew and interviewees, but I really didn’t like this movie. At all. It didn’t answer any questions and it showcased the stereotype of “being butch” without actually debunking the myths around what masculinity means.
The VQFF official description for The Butch Factor is below:
Is there a gay man out there who hasn’t pondered the meaning of masculinity?
Director Christopher Hines asks this poignant question. The result: eighty-seven minutes of hard bodies and hard answers. Heralded as a must-see movie for all gay men, this documentary gets up-close and personal with a strapping slate of interviewees. Bears, jocks, sissy boys and muscle queens tackle loaded topics from internalized homophobia to metrosexuality—each revealing what it means to be a gay man today in their own personal, unique way. Hines’ ambitious and broadly comprehensive documentary also introduces us to the men who are rarely seen at the forefront of gay masculine culture, including a newly out rodeo rider, a rugged female-to-male transsexual and a self-identified sissy who embraces effeminacy. The forthright commentary is aptly mixed with humour, sex appeal and undeniable heart—making it an audience favourite at queer film festivals around the world.
My schedule in August has been nothing short of insane, thus despite having media accreditation for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, I really hadn’t had the opportunity to view any of the VQFF films. Until this past Sunday, when I watched “Mr. Right”, a British dramedy that focuses on the eternal quest for “Mr. Right”. The VQFF description below summarizes part, but not all of what Mr. Right is.
Mr Right features a cast of the “usual suspects” seen in gay romantic films: the perfect boyfriend, the artsy queen, the hunky and arrogant slut, etc. Similarly, the central plotline is familiar: boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy wins boy back. While this classic rom com is easy to sit back and enjoy, there are also many things that set it apart. The actors are an attractive bunch (with adorable Brit accents to boot), however, Mr Right does not rely on glistening abs and bubble butts to win over audiences. Instead, the brother/sister filmmaking team—Jacqueline and David Morris—have made a refreshingly authentic script and a cast of talented actors the film’s strengths. The quintessential question “Is Mr Right really out there?” is explored in depth without sugar-coating or cheesy happy endings. Set in London’s gay SoHo neighbourhood, Mr Right is a real slice of gay life.
While I enjoyed the film, and it made me laugh in so many ways, it left me with a weird mouth aftertaste. The movie does a good job of exploring a number of gay clichés and stereotypes, from women being fag hags who fear that their boyfriend will end up being gay to the perceived apparent belief that gay men can’t be monogamous. And that stereotype, I find in particular quite annoying. But what left me quite saddened was the losses that just about everyone experienced throughout the movie.
The thick London accents were really hard on me as far as the dialogue goes, and many of the jokes flew (not surprisingly) well over my head. Despite having lived in England, I don’t get British humour, let alone gay British humour. The acting is really solid, and in particular, the actor who plays Lawrence (Leon Ockenden) was incredibly charming in his role of a relatively famous actor who is in love with an antique dealer (Rocky Marshall) who is struggling to raise a disapproving 9 year old daughter.
The first half of the movie felt to me slow, and at times I felt as though story lines resolved themselves over and over and over again. The ending is surprising, in some ways! I won’t reveal what happens, though. I would recommend you go and see it, it’s playing again on August 19th.
The first time I asked a Canadian friend of mine to take me to an “utterly Canadian family restaurant” (this was more than a decade ago, as I was starting my MBA coursework), she brought me to White Spot. And for some of my good friends from my offline life , it’s become a good spot to meet. Plus, there’s always a location that is near to me (in this case, the Broadway and 13th Avenue one). I recently found out that on August 18, White Spot is celebrating the legendary Pirate Pak meal during its third annual Pirate Pak Day and for the first time ever, guests of any age will have the opportunity to be a kid for a day and order a special edition ‘Adult Pak.’ I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to come down to your nearest White Spot on Pirate Pak Day and enjoy one of their tasty meals.
If you are a parent, please note so in your comment on this post and I’ll track down two coupons for Kids Paks to treat the little ones in your life.
The one thing that completely sold me on Pirate Pak Day was that White Spot is raising money to send kids with serious medical conditions to Zajac Ranch for Children for summer camp experience. On August 18, $2 from the sale of each Pirate Pak will help fund White Spot Week at Zajac Ranch. So, it’s a worthy cause to support and an excuse to have a tasty meal and be a kid for a day.
To enter this giveaway, simply send me a tweet as follows (that way, we avoid cluttering everyone’s Twitter stream):
@hummingbird604 I want to win the GC giveaway in support of @ZajacRanch through @White_Spot’s Pirate Pak Day on Aug 18th
If you are NOT on Twitter (which may be the case), you can just simply drop a comment on this post. Since Pirate Pak Day is on Wednesday, and I need to pick up a winner soon, you have until 11:59pm of Monday August 16th to enter the contest. The gift card will be waiting for you at the front desk of The Network Hub (422 Richards Street) on the first floor, between the hours of 9:00am through 5:00pm on Tuesday August 17th. If I am in the office, I will personally hand the card to you.
Hopefully regardless of whether you win or not the gift card, some of my readers will be able to visit their nearest White Spot for a Pirate Pak Day, it is definitely in support of a very worthy cause!
This past weekend, my good friend Dave Thorvald Olson celebrated the big 4-0 (aka, #UW40). He had (by the looks of the #UW40 Twitter stream that our common friends who attended his birthday party generated), an epic celebration, worthy of a human being of the quality of Dave. When I first entered the Vancouver tech community (in early 2008), I was warmly welcomed by Dave, and he immediately involved me in several projects of his, including my first-ever liveblogging of EPIC (the sustainable expo).
I was really disappointed that having to submit a grant proposal on deadline precluded me from attending his epic 40 year all party, but if what I saw on Twitter, Flickr and Facebook is any indication, DaveO’s #UW41 will be just as or even more epic. He was surrounded by many of his (and my) friends, and missed by many (including myself, but I did celebrate from afar!). Dearest Dave, you know how much I love you and appreciate your friendship. I look forward to sharing a cold beer with you sometime soon and give you a hug in celebration of your birthday.
Given that my office is near West Hastings and Richards (at The Network Hub) I often bump into vendors of Megaphone Magazine. I had never made the time, quite honestly, to chat with any of them, although I did know a little bit of what the purpose of Megaphone was. I recently talked with the vendor who sells them outside Harbour Centre (Jim, if my memory doesn’t fail me).
Megaphone is a magazine sold on the streets of Vancouver by homeless and low-income vendors. The magazine comes out every two weeks. Vendors buy the paper for 50 cents and sell the magazine to customers by donation. All money from the transaction goes into the pocket of the vendor.
Selling the paper gives our vendors a sense of pride and has helped some overcome homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, and their mental of physical illnesses. By giving them a place and a voice in their community it helps raise their self-esteem.
I have previously profiled the Hope in ShadowsCalendar, and I am a big supporter of initiatives that help people in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, one of the most impoverished areas in Canada.
I bought two of the Megaphone magazines ($2 suggested donation) and always try to get one when I see a vendor on Broadway and Main. You can donate to Megaphone Magazine (this link goes to their donations page).
It would be a sin on my part, as a Hispanic myself, to neglect to mention the 10th annual Latin Summer Festival which is happening tomorrow (Sunday August 15th). One of Vancouver’s longest running Hispanic cultural festivals, the LSF celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. The festival is an inclusive community celebration promoting Hispanic heritage through art, dance, food and music.
Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010 Time: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Location: Trout Lake (John Hendry Park), Victoria Drive and East 15th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C.
Organized by Latinos in Action, the festival was established in 2001 after the devastating El Salvador earthquakes to enhance awareness of Hispanic culture in Canada and establish a sense of community among local Latinos. The festival features musical and dance performances from salsa, flamenco, reggae and other genres. Food pavilions offer traditional dishes from countries like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Peru, with food items that are difficult to find in Vancouver any other time of the year. There is also an artisan market with goods from South America and a children’s play area.
Metro Vancouver’s growing Hispanic community of more than 65,000 (according to Statistics Canada’s 2006 census) does face challenges and opportunities, and its numbers may be varying as well in the near future (with Canada’s decision to slap visas on Mexican visitors). While admittedly I don’t maintain very strong linkages to the Latino/Hispanic community in Metro Vancouver, I do try to support events like the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival, and I hope to cover the upcoming Bicentennial Mexican Independence celebration.
I hold a very particular position in social media: I happen to do some consulting work in the field of social media (I work only with projects, teams and causes that I really strongly believe in). I give talks on social media, teach courses, etc. Thus you would think I would or should be all over LinkedIn (I am, after all, in just about every other social networking site). The honest truth is that my LinkedIn profile needs work.
My LinkedIn profile is perhaps the one that I have paid the least attention to. For the most part, I define myself as an academic, educator and a professional of policy analysis (with a specific focus in cross-national and global environmental politics), not as a social media expert or even specialist.
There are legitimate reasons why I dislike LinkedIn, and why it does a bad service to me, in particular:
1) If I have a connection request from someone I know as a friend, but whose work I actually have NEVER hired, I feel uncomfortable.
2) If I have a request either for a connection or for a recommendation from someone whose work I have observed from the outside and know is sloppy or questionable quality, I feel uncomfortable.
3) Sometimes it feels like some people use LinkedIn to see what they can get. And thus, when those people approach me, I feel uncomfortable (and used, of course).
4) In my case, the folks that use LinkedIn the most (social media/PR/tech) are the ones that have seen my work in social media, for the most part, peripherally (either by reading my blog, seeing the projects I have executed from relatively afar, or attending the conferences I have organized, or sitting on any of the many talks I have given on social media), and pretty much none of my environmental and policy work. So, it’s hard for me to get any benefit from LinkedIn, if you think about it, because social media to me is a secondary field of consulting, rather than my primary activity.
I am in the middle of writing a few recommendations on LinkedIn for people whose work I have hired, sub-contracted or requested on a volunteer basis. And therefore, I have LinkedIn on the top of my mind. That’s why I am requesting feedback. I received a lot of responses on Twitter, but please do feel free to chime in on my blog entry.
My LinkedIn is currently very much in its beginning stages. But I do recognize that right now, some folks could use the recommendations and they have provided me with a service, so that’s why I am doing it. But only when I do know their work and can vouch for it.
Wine and I agree, very much. I’m a big fan of good wine, and I’m a supporter of local, BC wineries every step along the way. While much debate has been had on the merits and demerits of buying locally, I am just a fan of some of our BC wineries, and Painted Rock Estate Winery has won me over, particularly with their Chardonnay (which they launched this past Wednesday, at the same time celebrating their first year anniversary).
Accolades that their wines have won include two Lieutenant Governor Awards and the Best New Winery at the 2009 Okanagan Fall Wine Festival. Knowing that Painted Rock had just released their second vintage of Chardonnay, I stayed on the Chardonnay (which I found fresh and summery). I think we all loved it.
John and Trish Skinner were on hand for the celebration, and I had a chance to see several foodie and wine friends of mine, including Dawn Chubai, Thor Diakow, Kyle, Genevieve and Catherine (all from Breakfast Television – you will notice that my photos have a lot of BT folks!), Heather Watson (Hez), Sarah Rowland, Sarah Blyth, Kim Bowie, Melody Fury, Richard Wolak, Cassandra Anderton, Raj Taneja (Urban Mixer) and Erin Ireland.
It was a great event all around, particularly because of the setting (Monk McQueen’s patio view was a fabulous setting).
And I made new friends, including the girls from If He Only Knew Magazine, as well as getting to hang out with old friends. Side note – that photo makes me look like I am pregnant! Urgh.
You can see the Flickr photo set here. Thanks to Danica Jeffery for extending the invite, and congratulations to John and Trish Skinner. Here’s a toast to many more years of great wines!
After Susanne Conrad’s excellent workshop (imagine1day), a group of friends (and friends of friends) and I went for a much-deserved drink. I got a chance to meet Jocelyn Ling, organizer of the workshop, and hang out with a good friend of mine, André Malan, and a few of his friends too. Good times all around. As for the place, Room Eighteen, I had already been here before with my group of non-online friends, but I never wrote about it.
The food is good, I ordered a burger with a Caesar salad ($11). Not impressed with the salad, particularly because they wouldn’t give me a 50/50 split on salad and fries (which normally EVERY restaurant does), and also, the balsamic vinegar on a Caesar salad doesn’t really jive. There weren’t any capers either. But the one thing that made my night was the excellent service. Our waitress was really speedy, and attentive. We ordered 2 pitchers of sangria ($26 each), which while feeling slightly watery, was good enough.
While my friends ordered wings (some covered with mole, which was pretty authentic if I say so myself), and they were really good, wings aren’t really my thing (I know, I’m weird in what I eat). But they loved them, and the one I tried was good too. That’s also traditional pub fare, I might add. The rest of my Flickr photo set is here.
Would I come back to Room Eighteen? Yeah, I would. It’s not super expensive, and it’s a decent enough alternative to many pretentious bars. This is pretty much a sports bar, where you come, eat your burger and fries and watch the hockey game and have a beer. Simple works.
I am back to teaching undergraduates in the next couple of weeks (argh! is it really THAT soon? help!) so pretty much all I have on top of my mind is preparing lecture slides, shaping the contents of my syllabus and deciding on the topics I want to cover. So, when the PR folks for Best Buy approached me to inform me about the offerings they had for back-to-school season (which is starting now and up until possibly the first week of September, when we are all back to university), I inquired whether they’d sponsor a giveaway for my readers.
Create an automatic, continuous backup of all the Windows-based and Mac computers in your home. Included backup software allows you to seamlessly access data from up to five computers, so you can store and share your family’s digital media in one central location.
· Access files anytime, anywhere using MioNet remote access technology
· 1TB of networked storage
· Built-in media server
· Windows and Mac compatible
To enter this giveaway, tell me your lost data nightmare story in the comments section. Let me tell you mine, rather quickly. My laptop died as I was completing my PhD dissertation and I didn’t use to back up often enough. So I had to email myself early drafts of my PhD dissertation – and one day, I emailed myself the wrong one and had to rewrite about 20 pages (of 200 at the time). Ouch. Yes, ouch is right. I learned my lesson and now backup regularly.
You have until Monday August 23rd at 2pm to enter my giveaway. Drop a comment on this post for one entry, and gain an additional one by tweeting the text below:
I entered the external hard drive giveaway from @hummingbird604 and @bbycanada http://bit.ly/aOaL1J. Share your backup nightmare stories!
The external hard drive I’m giving away to my readers is sponsored by Best Buy Canada and has a retail value of $169.99. I do not receive any monetary compensation, nor do I receive a free item either. I just thought it would be great for my readers to learn more about what Best Buy is offering for Back-To-School season. Should you have any questions about this contest, feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I love this song by the Mexican band Café Tacuba. It’s such a beautiful song, and so positive. It begins saying “I want to see your smile all day long – I want to listen to the melody of your voice – … – I ask you to heal this wound of mine, I know very well it’s not your duty, but if you dampen my fall that’s all I really could ask for. The video is intermingled with a movie (I think it’s on the soundtrack of some Mexican movie), but regardless, it’s beautiful. For your listening pleasure.
Delilah’s (in the West End) has owned my heart for a long time. I have had the best martinis in town. Admittedly, also the most lethal. Really enjoyable, they go down well and the service is impeccable. You may recall my earlier post on Conviction Kitchen and the project that Biana Zorich and Chef Marc Thuet launched last year, bringing the second season to filming on location in Vancouver.
I was invited to a VIP reception that included local TV, film and theatre stars, as well as a very small and select number of media folks, thanks to my good friends Alex Lee-Behan and Janis Behan (Alex’s company was handling Conviction Kitchen’s PR project).
This wrap-up reception celebrated the conclusion of the 8 grueling weeks of training for the reformed ex-convicts that staffed Delilah’s. Honestly, having eaten there and talked with the staff, I am very heartened and optimistic that more restaurants might consider doing this kind of project.
Kudos to Chef Thuet and Biana Zorich and their team for such a worthy project. It’s people like them that make a difference in this world. My respects too to Daniel Hospitality Group who participated in the project and believed in it. And the food and service are amazing.
I had the pleasure of chatting with many of our excellent Vancouver-based TV and movie actors, including Sonja Bennett, Stephen Lobo, Mark Ecklund, Sebastian Spence and other local personalities (my friends Dawn Chubai, Erin Ireland and Riaz Megjhi were there too). I made some new friends, including Zahf Paroo and his lovely partner. Really great evening.
About two-and-a-half years ago, my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604) helped me secure my domain name (e.g. Hummingbird604.com) and move from just having a WordPress.com blog to having clean URLs (that map directly without the .wordpress.com). I was so proud of myself that I blogged about how I did it. It became one of my most popular blog posts. In November of 2008, I decided to host my sites in an external server outside of WordPress.com. My good friend J. Karen Parker moved all my three websites to the server where they are currently hosted and customized the WordPress theme Deviant Art to make it look and do what I wanted it to do.
My professional activity is NOT building websites. I am primarily an academic and researcher who dabbles occasionally in the field of social media consulting, given that I am a power user and love applying the tools of social networking and this kind of consulting project. BUT, I also love doing my own stunts (to quote my beloved Jennifer Garner).
So, in the past week, I decided that I needed to rebuild my consultancy website. So I bought the new domain, created the WordPress database I needed to install WordPress 3.0.1, FTP’d WordPress on to my server and installed it. All by myself. Of course, I did ask Twitter a few questions and my good friend Catherine Winters was very helpful (thanks also to everyone who answered on Twitter). But for the most part (I’d say 99%), I did it all by myself. Suffering through the sometimes horrendously complicated documentation both for my host and for WordPress (I love you Matt, Andy, Lloyd, but the Codex needs some serious rewriting).
Once I saw the “WordPress has been installed” sign and got on to my login and entered my credentials and launched the Dashboard, I almost wanted to shed a tear. I did it. I am able to install my own WordPress and create a website should I ever need to do it again. I am self-reliant.
You could say “well, you *could* hire someone to do this“. And yes, I could (theoretically, if money wasn’t a constraint, which in my case, IS very much a constraint). But the most rewarding feeling to me was to know that, come hell or high water, and even though my hosting company is pretty raw in what it offers (e.g. it doesn’t have a very non-geek-friendly CPanel), I can, if I need to, build another website from scratch and generate everything I need on my own.
I’m a big supporter of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and as you may know, I have a press pass to attend and cover the Festival. I am also lucky that I will be able to offer a lucky reader a pair of tickets to Off World, the winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2010 ReelWorld International Film Festival. Summary of the movie plot below:
Lucky, a Filipino adoptee, makes the emotionally laden journey from his home in Toronto to the Philippines to discover his birthplace: Smokey Mountain. Once known as the Kingdom of Tondo, Smokey Mountain is now a vast urban slum surrounding a mountain of garbage, named for the methane gases that visibly leak from refuse accumulated over the course of more than half a century. Guided by Julia, a worker at a local NGO, Lucky discovers he has a gay, genderqueer brother and grapples not only with the glaring poverty, but with the ramifications of queer life in the Phillippines. In order to define himself and connect with his roots, Lucky immerses himself in the culture of Smokey Mountain and his brother’s life, uncovering still more tangible links to his past.
To enter this contest, drop a comment on this blog post and tell me what your impression of the recent Vancouver Pride Parade was. Which float did you like the most? You have until August 19th at 3pm to tell me. You can gain an additional entry by tweeting the following:
I entered to win tickets to @queerfilmfest from @hummingbird604. Learn more about VQFF http://is.gd/ecD5T
So, to recap – you can enter the contest by dropping a comment on this post mentioning the float you liked the most at the recent Vancouver Pride 2010, and you can gain an additional entry into the contest by tweeting the above (you can just cut and paste). Good luck!
I guess I should call this post the “keep a home-office anyways” vs. “you already have two offices, why do you keep one at home too” debate. Hear me out. I have a desktop at home, as well as internet which broadcasts wireless. On occasion, I work from home. Also on occasion, I bring my laptop home to do some work (but mostly, I keep my laptop at my office at The Network Hub).
Since I am keeping my laptop more and more at the office, I have pondered whether I really need two computers and whether I should just bring my desktop to my office downtown. I feel more comfortable writing blog entries, journal articles, draft manuscripts, etc. in my desktop than the laptop.
On the other hand, I need my laptop for mobility. To give talks and teach. To liveblog events. To bring to client meetings. I do need to keep a laptop, I think. But I’m torn. Do I get rid of the home office altogether? What to do, what to do?
Having already had a taste of the excellent productions that Theatre Under the Stars put together this summer (I saw Singin’ in the Rain earlier last week), I was expecting a fantastic production for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. I took my friend Trevor Boudreau as my Plus One to Joseph this past weekend, as I know he loves musicals and we love attending together this type of theatre productions.
I found Joseph extremely fast-paced and dynamic, which was really good. Different to Singin’ because in Joseph, I didn’t see much of a story being told, as much as a series of fantastic musical numbers. The lead in Joseph was absolutely outstanding. Hard to believe he is 17! Director Shel Piercy and Choreographer Keri Minty as well as Music Director Kevin Michael Cripps do a fantastic job of producing Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical.
I definitely loved Joseph, and I would strongly encourage my readers to attend TUTS, as it is a very unique experience.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend Joseph for myself and my Plus One were sponsored very generously by Theatre Under The Stars. They have made it explicit that I have no obligation nor commitment to write a review at all (although, in this case, I choose to do so). I am not paid to write the review either. In any review I write, 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.
In an ironic twist of fate, I happen to love dairy even though I am lactose-intolerant. I drink milk and eat yogurt (although, as my long-time readers may know, I *hate* cheese). Of course I have to take specific measures to counter my lactose intolerance, because I do love dairy. So, when BC Dairy Foundation approached me to run a contest on my site to let my readers know that BC Dairy is running a fun Bungee Race at events across BC all summer, and to raise awareness about their campaign “Must Drink More Milk“, I said yes.
The Must Drink More Milk Bungee Jump will be set up in Whistler (started this past August 7th and runs all the way until August 15th) during the mountain biking expo Crankworx Whistler, so to create more of an incentive for my readers to check it out, I have a pair of two-day lift tickets to the Crankworx Bike Park to give away. More about Crankworx Whistler from their page:
When it comes to gravity-fueled mountain biking, no 9 days stand so authoritative as Whistler BC’s Kokanee Crankworx. On par with the clout of X-Games, Pipeline Masters, and the Hannenkahm, Crankworx is the definitive event when it comes to off-road bicycles going big, fast and down.
From air-infused downhills to dirt dominatrix dual slaloms, massive slopestyle stunts to epic enduros, for seven years running the venues at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park have served as a supercharged magnet for the world’s best gravity fueled mountain bike athletes. This year, Kokanee Crankworx promises to do what it’s become so famous for: blowing the past away with the future.
(side note – I really liked the video they generated of the Bungee Jump).
To enter this contest (and since this is a dairy-sponsored giveaway), just drop a comment on this post indicating which dairy product do you enjoy the most (although, by the looks of it, most of my readers will probably say cheese, apparently I’m the only weird person on this planet who hates cheese!). You can also gain an additional entry by retweeting the tweet that accompanies this blog entry, retweet from the TweetMeme button (the green button at the end of this post).
You have until Thursday August 12th at 5pm to enter the giveaway. That’s when I will draw a winner. You can go up to Whistler for your Crankworx experience any time from August 13th through the 15th.
You can check the BC Dairy Foundation Must Drink More Milk page on Facebook by clicking here. Note: You’ll have to get your own transportation to get to Whistler, but once there, the tickets are 2-day lift tickets.
If you have read my blog for long enough, you’ll know that I used to be a night owl. I used to be the guy who could sleep during the day for a few hours (just a few) and work for 15-20 hours, mostly at night because that’s when I got less interruptions.
I can’t, unfortunately, work at night anymore. It is actually quite rare that I will be able to work late at night. I mostly start work early (6 am or so) and then work through until around midnight (on a day when I am overwhelmed with work). I do try to schedule workouts early in the morning as that’s something that works for my weight-loss program.
But lately I haven’t had as much time to work out (because I’ve been super busy – and before you scold me, yes, I know I need to go back to my super rigorous training regime). Though, I’ll admit, something that is working for me is to schedule the most work in the mornings (early) so that I can get the project work out of the way and then focus on other stuff.
When do you schedule your heaviest workload? Mornings? Afternoons? Evenings?
I had written about Steveston (in southern Richmond, BC) earlier as JT and I went there one evening and I wanted to explore the little fishing village. We wanted to see Dinner with Schmucks and spend more time in Steveston before we headed to the movie, so we chose The Cannery Cafe for lunch.
My chicken burger was well made, the seasoning was right but the one thing I didn’t totally like was the salad. As far as decor goes, The Cannery Cafe is pretty much a family-run cafeteria, for all purposes. Very clean, it was packed to the gills when we visited (and it was just lunch time!) so I’m pretty sure it’s well attended most of the time. I’d be curious to come back and have
I had been looking for a sushi spot in the downtown core (the financial district, more than anything) for a long while. I do know more or less where to get sushi around The Network Hub (where I have my office). The other day I had to meet up with JT for lunch downtown within the financial district, and we only had 45 minutes so I risked it and suggested Miyako Sushi.
Honestly, I had never even tried the sushi here. But since I walk around downtown Vancouver quite a lot, I often pass by places that look interesting (there goes my economic geography lecture on location theory – foot traffic is quite important for restaurants!). So, JT and I went here for lunch. The bento boxes were priced in the range of $10, which is normal for a bento box these days.
Miyako Sushi has free wifi and it’s actually quite cozy and nicely decorated. I would totally come back if I ever had to have meetings around that side of town, close to Burrard and Pender. The sushi was good, the miso soup was good, it was definitely authentic, and of all the sushi places I’ve reviewed, it’s one of the nicest.
All the amazing festivals are coming up and the good thing is, most of them are totally right up my alley and the audience that reads my blog.
I am (as many of you know) Latin American, and for that reason, I feel very strongly about promoting my own cultural heritage. Last year, the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (in its 8th incarnation this year) was incredibly generous to me and gave me a number of tickets to give away. This year, it looks like I’ll be able to give tickets again.
VLAFF is a registered non-profit charitable organization with the mission to provide a forum for the promotion and exhibition of Latin American cinema. This annual, non-competitive festival promotes dialogue between cultures and explores historical and social issues through the eyes of filmmakers. Since 2003, VLAFF has continued to provide audiences with the unique opportunity of experiencing Latin American cinema in Vancouver.
I am really looking forward to seeing some of the films at VLAFF, particularly excited to see if Viaje Redondo (Round Trip, Mexico, 2009, Spanish with English Subtitles) makes it to the selection , which will be a special presentation on August 17th at Pacific Cinematheque at 8pm.
Out of the different styles of dancing I have done competitively, the one I have never tried is tap dance. And it’s not because I don’t have an interest in it, it’s because for some reason, I never took the interest in this style. But there’s one thing I can tell you, the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival 2010 is going to be a lot of fun!
The 11th annual Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival will once again be celebrating the art of tap dance September 3 – 5. Everyone from newcomers to professionals, youngsters and adults, have a chance to learn how to tap from an incredible group of professional tap dancers sharing their knowledge and artistry. The festival will also feature performances and presentations, along with some of the most glorious moments in tap dance, and has the world’s top tap dancers playing a major role.
Presented by the Vancouver Tap Dance Society, the Festival is proud of the exciting line up of inspired and expert teachers from the past, present and future of tap, who will take your dancing to a new level of excellence. The talent includes New York’s legendary Harold Cromer, making his inaugural visit to Vancouver showcasing his masterpiece, Opus One, created by Harold in 1943.
Also returning is tap star, Jason Samuels Smith, whose choreography and performance credits include So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars, offering a 3 day course with his intricate rhythms and original style. And returning is Boston based, Dianne “Lady Di” Walker who has a 30 year career spanning Broadway, TV, film and concerts.
Other artists who are part of the faculty are; Sarah Reich from Los Angeles, Terry Brock from Portland who has performed with Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and the Nicholas Brothers; performers and teachers Cheryl Johnson and Jessie Sawyers from Seattle, Jason Janas, a charter member of the New Jersey Tap Ensemble, to name a few, as well as local talents Jeff Hyslop and Brock Jellison, the solo dancer in the spotlight at the Olympic opening.
The organizers of the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival have been generous to give me a pair of tickets to the Tap Grace show on September 4, 2010 at 8:00 at the Norman Rothstein Theatre (near Oak and 41st) and 2 tickets to the Hot Feet event September 5, 2010 at 8:30pm at the Grandview Ballroom. I will draw two separate winners on September 1st, 2010 at 3pm. You can check the events lineup here.
To enter this draw, all you need to do is tell me about the one style of dancing you would want to learn if given the chance.
I wouldn’t be me, and Hummingbird604.com wouldn’t be what it is, if I didn’t profile the indie theatre scene in Vancouver. After all, I do write quite a lot about theatre, and I am relentlessly promoting our local theatre scene. But I have to say that the Vancouver International Fringe Festival is MUCH more than just a bunch of local theatre productions.
As indicated by their About The Festival page,
The Vancouver International Fringe Festival, produced annually by the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society, is BC’s largest theatre festival and North America’s most international Fringe Fest. This year’s Fringe Festival will feature over 600 performances by more than 80 groups over 11 days, and is expected to attract nearly 30,000 attendees. The Vancouver International Fringe Festival was voted Vancouver’s Best Arts Festival for five years in a row by Georgia Straight readers.
I have already been contacted by several of the individual theatre companies and will be lucky to have a number of tickets to give away for my readers. There are a number of things I love about the Fringe festival. First of all, it’s very eclectic. By its very nature, the Fringe delivers un-juried, uncensored theatrical offerings. I love the fact that the live theatre presented by the Fringe is performed in an informal, accessible and inexpensive environment, thus striving to break down traditional boundaries between audiences and artists and encouraging open dialogue between theatre-goers and theatre-creators.
The Vancouver International Fringe Festival runs from September 9th through the 19th (and yes, the closing of the Fringe is on the day of my birthday). I will try my damnedest to attend several of the Fringe offerings (which might be difficult as it’s the beginning of the term for UBC, and I always end up working a lot preparing lectures and stuff). But regardless of whether I attend, you totally should. You can check the full program here.
And stay tuned for my individual theatre show profiles and giveaways!
