The original version of this post appeared on Lip Gloss and Laptops – you can read it here
While I was completing my undergraduate degree in chemical engineering, my parents helped me decide which cologne would be my ‘trademark’ fragrance, the one aroma that everyone would associate with me. I remember clearly that as I transitioned from the core courses in chemistry, physics and math that everyone doing a B.Sc. would need as a basis for their individual undergraduate degrees, I started taking more chemical engineering-specific courses. These would include Separation Processes I, which was taught by a female professor who (like me) loved perfumes. That semester, I transitioned as well to the next in a series of colognes created by Calvin Klein. I had already tested C.K. and Obsession for Men, and so it was the turn for Eternity for Men. I fell in love with it.
I’ve continued to use Eternity for Men (Eau de Toilette) after graduating, on select occasions. And now that Calvin Klein has released Eternity for Men Summer, I decided to try it out. In contrast to the other CK fragrance I tried, the scent in Eternity for Men Summer does not fix as well on my skin as CK One Summer does. This is kind of sad, as the top notes of ginger and grapefruit (as well as a bit of passion fruit and a slight hint of melon) are easily detectable, but the lower notes of driftwood, amber and musks (creamy) tend to fade after a few hours (which wouldn’t happen with CK One Summer).
I have consistently tried Eternity for Men Summer every day I’ve been teaching, and the fragrance seems to be a hit. It’s a fresh, breezy, sweet and summery cologne and one I can easily recommend, hands down. I just wish it didn’t fade as much after 4-5 hours! Retails for around $ 75.00 CND plus tax.
This is a republished version of my Lipgloss and Laptops review. For the original post, click here.
Everyone who has read my blog recently or my Twitter feed knows that I’m currently obsessed with Broken Social Scene. I just listened to “Forced to Love” on TV and I want to keep a record of this awesome song. Video from YouTube.
My good friend Nicole McLuckie alerted me to a great event that Rednyne Productions and BC Cancer Foundation’s The Underwear Affair are putting together: An Affair to Remember, a fundraising concert for The Underwear Affair and its participants, featuring a number of top local rock bands, including Waiting for Sunday, current Top 20 99.3 The Fox Seeds finalists Louder Than Love, Floodlight, and Silent Spring.
A number of my friends, including Greg and Phaedra, are running The Underwear Affair this year (UA is a cancer-related fundraising event). I myself have Blogathoned 3 years in a row, 2 of those years I have been raising funds for BC Cancer Foundation. Thus, I am always happy to highlight cancer-focused charities.
This fundraising concert for The Underwear Affair will take place at The Red Room (398 Richards Street) on Saturday, July 3, 2010. Doors open at 8 pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. For tickets or more information about this concert you can visit Rednyne’s website.
My friends Shane Birley and Allyson McGrane (Left Right Minds) are collaborating with UpInTheAir Theatre to present the Neanderthal Arts Festival. From their website:
From July 21 to August 1, 2010 at the Cultch, you can see new and innovative theatrical works. In 2010, we are bringing you four local shows, two national shows and the Walking Fish Showcase of Emerging Artists.
And if you attend the Vancouver Blogger Meetup on Wednesday June 30th, you’ll have a chance to win a pair of tickets to the festival. See you there!
On July 1st, the 1200 block of Hamilton Street will host a block party for Canada Day. In the afternoon, Erin Ireland, John Chow, Richard Wolak and myself will be the celebrity judges for a fantastic event, “Yaletown’s Best Burger” – although for bacon lovers like me, it’s a bit sad to know that there will be no pork in any of the burgers. That said, I am pretty sure it will be a fun event and I look forward to it. It’s always fun to attend these events.
I also look forward to hanging out with Erin, John and Richard, seeing many of you there. This will take place from 4:00-5:30pm at the 1200 block of Hamilton Street, and the participant restaurants include some of my own favorites.
A friendly reminder that our monthly Vancouver Blogger Meetup is this Wednesday at 6:30pm at the St. Augustine’s bar (on Commercial and Grandview). Conveniently located near a Skytrain station, St. Augustine’s has good beer, pub food and more importantly, gives you a chance to hang out with your fellow Vancouver bloggers. There will be a draw for tickets to the Neanderthal Arts Festival and mostly, it’s just a chance for you to hang out with friends. RSVP on Meetup here.
I had dinner tonight with my good friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber tonight as I wanted them my Mom to meet them, and they invited us over for food, wine, salad, sorbetto and gelatto. We had a number of great conversations, but one of the ones that stood out the most for me was the conversation about the very close bond that exists between parents (especially mothers) and their children.
When I broke up with my ex, I called my Mom that fateful night. My call didn’t come through at an unreasonable hour (it was about 11pm Mexico City time). There would be no reason for my mother to worry. As soon as she picked up, and said “hi sweetheart, how are you?” I burst into tears. I cried on the phone for a solid 30 minutes. I couldn’t articulate a single word. The first thing she said was “you broke up with B, didn’t you?” I could not bring myself to stop and answer her question. But she KNEW. She just KNEW.
If there is someone in this world who knows the very rare occasions when my mood swings, who knows what could hurt me and what makes me stronger, who can calm me when nothing else does, is my Mom. As we were making the trek back from North Vancouver, I rested my head on her shoulder and grabbed her arm. And I felt SO CALM.
I told Mom “isn’t it amazing how, despite how old I am, I still feel so safe and protected when I’m sitting right by your side, just knowing that you are here? She recalled the conversation that we had earlier with Arieanna and Ianiv, where Arieanna commented that out of a room full of little children, she can easily pick up when Aiden cries or fusses. It’s amazing, that bond between mothers and children. I simply can’t comprehend it.
My schedule is sometimes stupidly overbooked. On top of my research/teaching/consulting work, I get invited to all sorts of media (both traditional and new media) events all the time. Meetups, tweetups and events fill my calendar. I sometimes struggle to make time for my close friends who are not immersed in the online world. So, I often say to people “I have time for ONE drink“. Many times, I have pondered whether my friends understand what the meaning of “I have only time for ONE drink” is, and whether they feel offended. I recently had a chance to put my question to the test.
Mom and I decided to join Jason Sanders, Erica Hargreave and Liz Kearsley for ONE drink. I told Erica over the phone “we are coming down for just ONE drink, and ONE drink only“. She not only agreed, she also said “that’s exactly what our plan is too“. None of us really wanted to have a late night, but we wanted to spend time together, so we made time for one drink.
I find that if I make it clear for people that I have a limited amount of time, and that I wouldn’t be able to stay late or follow along (or “go with the flow“, as people often do, “where the night takes me“), most of my friends understand quite well and they don’t seem taken aback. It was a lovely, quick drink (except The Alibi Room is extremely noisy so it made conversation next to impossible).
I always find that having time for one drink with friends is better than not giving them any of my time at all. It’s the best possible solution to my continuous overbooking (and double/triple/quadruple-booking).
Gastown has an amazing variety of restaurants and bars, and having my office at The Network Hub for the past three years has given me the opportunity to experience some of the nicest restaurants in the Gastown area. One that I had been trying to visit is The Black Frog. Having celebrated my birthday so many times at the Water Street Cafe, you may wonder why I never stopped by The Black Frog. Well, honestly, it’s tucked away close to the tracks (admittedly, very close to the
Having celebrated my birthday so many times at the Water Street Cafe, you may wonder why I never stopped by The Black Frog. Well, honestly, it’s tucked away close to the tracks (admittedly, very close to the Steam Clock). But I had already been here once or twice, for events. I just didn’t really pay much attention. But the other night, Nathan, Vivian and I went there for dinner, and we had a really good time.
The Black Frog Eatery is a nice spot with pretty good food. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with fries (roasted chicken tossed in BBQ sauce and served with coleslaw on a multigrain kaiser bun,
$11). The burger is (as traditional), topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion and their own special sun-dried tomato mayo, and come with choice of either fries, soup, house or caesar salad.
I wanted to try the pulled pork sandwich with fries, as I had recently tried sandwich and a soup at another restaurant. I really loved the sandwich, and it was hard to finish it because I was really full by the time I had eaten about 50%. The fries were also very good. I will definitely be coming back to The Black Frog for lunch and/or dinner.
I organized last year’s VanTechKaraoke, as many of you may remember – yes it was EPIC, it was right after a Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. Well, this time I am writing as a Board Advisor to The Social Media Club Vancouver – they are organizing Tech Karaoke Vancouver 2010 and I will be attending (with Mom in tow) right after judging the best burger in Yaletown.
So, get ready to sing and have a plain fun time! Please RSVP on Facebook (I hate RSVP’ing on Facebook but heck it’s the most widely used social media platform out there).
A few days ago, I asked on Twitter whether people expected me to cover Vancouver Pride 2010. I absolutely loved Pride 2007, when I was joined by some of my best and closest friends. I missed Pride 2008 as I was in Mexico for the summer, and last year was fun (I joined the celebrations with Gus and Russ for a few hours and had brunch at Karen Parker’s). But I wasn’t sure whether I’d be doing much coverage of Pride this year. I have been overwhelmed all year (teaching 4 courses from January to April 2010 was exhausting, and keeping on top of my research and my social media, and my consulting). But I was also privileged to be able to do some of the unique coverage of Pride and GLBT events, including Pride House in Vancouver for the Vancouver 2010.
I now have a much larger and broader readership than I had in 2008 and 2009. I am substantially more connected to the online community that covers GLBT issues (including Sean Horlor for Xtra West, Gay Vancouver, V-Rag Magazine, Qmunity, PINQ and Homorazzi, etc.) I don’t see my blog as much as an “all-things Vancouver” blog, but I can see how people would appreciate that coverage. So, I will have to contact some of the people who do the PR for Vancouver Pride to get media access to the events.
The first event that kicks off the 2010 celebration of Vancouver Pride is East Side Pride tomorrow June 26th starting at 11am. I will probably drop by with my Mom, who is visiting town. To check the full listing you can check the Pride website events listing.
For the first time in about four or five years, my Mom is back in Vancouver. She used to come visit me every summer for a full month (my brother used to live in Vancouver too, although he now lives in Calgary, so she used to visit the both of us for a few years). My Auntie (her sister) passed away in 2008 so I went to Mexico instead, 2007 and 2009 she went to Calgary. She is finally back in Vancouver for a full month. We will be visiting my brother and his family for a few days too.
However, most of this time it will be just Mom and I. We are both academics and have co-authored a number of research papers and are working on a book manuscript as well, so we’ll be doing a bit of a writing retreat.
It is the first time my Mom has had a chance to experience the “OMG you’re Hummingbird604” treatment. Back in Mexico, I was popular in my high school, in my undergraduate and I’m known for my research. But in Canada, I’m sort of internet-popular, so it’s the first time she has witnessed people stopping me on the street and recognizing me. It’s been fun.
My Mom has been my best friend always (I adore both my Mom and my Dad, but I’ve always been very close to my Mom). Dad always has said that I’m exactly 50% him and 50% my Mom, and when I went to pick up my Mom to the airport, I noticed how similar our behavior is (we were both dressy, wearing blazers and using Calvin Klein Eternity fragrances).
I took Mom yesterday to the Yelp Carnival and Minna took us all for dinner to Steamworks Pub to say goodbye to Monica and to welcome my mom. It has been an all-around fun couple of days. I’ll be taking my Mom around to every event I’m invited, just so that everyone knows 🙂
This post was contributed by Nathan Tippe, a good friend of mine and BComm student at UBC
When I goes out to a venue with live music, I expect one of two things:
1) Recognizable, sing-along-able songs, or
2) High quality, well performed original music.
The Werewolves of Creston have both. That may seem odd, because previously recorded music is not original, but they manage to pull it off. Let me explain.
They are a trio from Vancouver that perform various live gigs around the city. After seeing them at The Libra Room a few weeks ago and most recently at the Fairview Pub (opening for The Deep End), I can’t get enough of their performances. They are energetic, upbeat, and most of all, brilliant.
The Werewolves play their own versions of popular music from every generation imaginable. From Sound of Music to Britney Spears, they can play anything, but they are able to make it their own. They alter the tracks to bring about a more reggae/ska sound. At first you might not recognize the song, but before long, they’ll have the whole place dancing and singing along. In fact, their genre is so unique that they have invented an entirely new name for it: “Skunk-Mashed”
Good cover bands are rare. It is tough to replicate a song perfectly or alter it to make it better than the original. The Werewolves of Creston take a different approach – they take classic songs and their successful elements, and jazz them up to a level that is perfect for the live music scene in Vancouver!
Their next show is yet to be announced, but check out their Facebook page here and follow this great Vancouver act!
I pondered whether this should be a longer post on my research blog or a quick-and-dirty one on my personal one, but what really struck me is how powerful graphical comparisons can be. I often use comparative data in my teaching, not only in my research. Also, when Darren Barefoot (Capulet) emailed me about this graph, it really struck a chord with me, because while most people seem to be unaware of the fact that I am a specialist in North American environmental policy, Darren’s email was perfectly targeted. He knew that I am a scholar of environmental policy, and he knew that I’m a comparativist by training. Yes, while much of my fieldwork has been done in Canada and Mexico (for somewhat obvious reasons), I specialize in comparative environmental policy in Canada, US and Mexico. I sit on a number of advisory tri-national committees. I *love* analyzing data that compares all three countries. And the graph provided by The Big Wild is actually quite powerful. You can check it out here.
Thanks to Darren for pointing this infographic to me, it’s amazing how powerful it is. Please pay particular attention to the ecological footprint of Mexico (the smallest) vis-a-vis the US and Canada, and in particular, the fact that a country with the city that has more than 5 times the population of Canada has a 6 times smaller ecological footprint. Amazing, eh? First-world-country problems…
My good friend Crystal Henrickson informed me about their upcoming Yelp party, to which I will be bringing my Mom (it’s today June 24th). From 8pm to 10pm at 88 West Pender, 2nd Floor, you will have a chance to partake in one of the most fun parties of the month! Yelp does know how to throw a party, let me tell you. From the invite, I can tell you that this will be one fun party:
On Thursday, June 24th, from 8-10pm, the Ayden Gallery will be transformed into a sight to behold, Yelp Vancouver’s SUMMER OPEN PARTY!
Step right up for a night of live painting, spiked snow cones, chocolate coated carnival games, face painting, and more. And guess what? It’s FREE when you RSVP!
+ Spiked Snow Cones by UV Vodka http://www.uvvodka.com/
+ Carney food from the Wallflower Modern Diner
+ Frozen Custard by Milwaukee Market Creamery
+ CocoaNymph’s Carnival Game (with chocolate prizes)
+ Skeet + Ikes popping corns
+ Live Painting by Kristian Adam and Mandy Tsung
+ Face Painting by Kristal Yee’s Faceaballonza Fresh Out Fish Pond by Fresh Out
+ Music stylings by DJ Waxkilla!
+ Jeremy Lim’s photo stylings at the Garden Party Flowers
+ Photo booth!
Isabella and Raul Credit: Karen Hamilton (Tiny Bites) on Flickr
I’m privileged to have a friend like Isabella Mori. An indefatigable mental health activist, counsellor, psychotherapist and above all, an amazing friend, Isabella has been the co-organizer of Mental Health Camp Vancouver. We decided to organize Mental Health Camp because we wanted to work in a project together, and what a wonderful journey it has been.
Isabella is one of very few people who has the magical ability to make me feel good even without purposefully trying to shift my mood. My confidante, my “partner-in-bettering-the-world”, and above all, one of my role models, I am always in awe of Isabella’s kindness, strength of soul and character. I am privileged to be your friend, to call you a friend and to be working with you to help erase stigma around mental illnesses.
Thank you for being you, Isabella, and many happy returns! Much love always.
My good friend Andrea Loewen recently told me about a production she’s helping put together: Skin, An Interactive Live Party. From the Xua Xua Productions and co-sponsored by OCW Magazine, this sounds like a fantastic event:
The centerpiece of SKIN is a projected live art installment made up of images of the partygoer’s own skin. Everyone is invited to enter our corner photobooth and photograph their skin – they can capture any part of their skin in any way they choose. Throughout the night these skin images will be used to create a projected image of a composite body by graphic artist Noel Planet. Each time a partygoer gives an image of their skin, the composite body will transform, change, and grow, creating an ever-changing reflection of the party community.
Other party features include live fantasy make up art by Fiona Kennedy, storytelling massage by Leonora Grande, and live body poetry. DJ Labour of Love will keep the party atmosphere alive while photographic art by Matthew Wormald, Ryan Walter Wagner, and David Roth adorn the walls.
SKIN is on one night only – Thursday June 24th at 8:30pm at One Two One Studios (121 Heatley Street). Tickets $10 at the door.
It is a gorgeous sunny day in Vancouver and this song is on repeat in my iPhone’s iTunes playlist. While I am indoors doing some work that accumulated now that I’ve been a bit sick, I’m still enjoying the tune. Hope you like it as much as I do. This is the Oakenfold Mix version of “Colour My Life” by M People.
Via Marina Antunes, I got hold of the trailer for The Green Hornet, this time spearheaded by Seth Rogen (who despite being sweet and all, is not my absolute adoration)and a newcomer that apparently is from Vancouver too. The trailer looks funny and I can’t wait to see the movie.
I met my good friend MJ Ankenman (aka @Urbanista) through Twitter and through the Vancouver Blogger Meetup. I am very grateful to the online world because it has brought me amazing friends, and MJ is one of the very first people I ever met through Vancouver Bloggers Meetup. We have grown close through time and I had a chance to spend time with her and the J-Man after one of my Blogathons a couple of years ago.
MJ, I am very grateful to have a friend like you, and I am so glad that despite the fact that we don’t have much time to spend with each other, I always manage to score some time with you whenever we see each other at tech/social media events. And when we just hang out and watch figure skating, as we did during the Olympics. Much love and enjoy your day!
Even though I was still pretty sick over the weekend (I’m getting better now), I went to the Car Free Day (Main Street) for a bit with Minna (The Network Hub) and Erica (The Style Spy). We had a good time (even though I had to wrap myself in a good jacket, and the sun came out mid-afternoon). I was pretty impressed with the excellent organization of the festival, and the abundance of options for everything from Greek food to Jamaican to even a taste of Ethiopian.
There were plenty of bands providing excellent entertainment for the crowd.
The Vancouver People Summit also took place between 30th and 33rd Avenue, on Main Street. It almost felt like “Sustainability Row”. Very cool, lots of booths associated with non-profits who do work on sustainability, social justice, equity and international development.
New forms of transportation were also showcased, including the Spider Car.
Friendship is a most serendipitous thing. I always have believed in my ability to surround myself with great friends (I once told my Dad and Mom I felt as though I was a “professional friend” – not because I made money out of being a friend, but because I felt very competent at being a good friend). But I think that having Jason Sanders become a good friend of mine was definitely most serendipitous.
A lover of game theory (like me) and inquisitive (like me), Jason is also a very sweet and smart guy who has been a good Plus One of mine on several occasions in recent months. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and look forward to celebrating your reaching yet another milestone! Be well, my friend, and enjoy your day.
June 21st marks officially the beginning of summer solstice. Seven years ago on this day, I received an incredibly sweet letter from my ex-fiance, one that made me believe that we were in for the long run. I was wrong. We broke up less than six months later. I have had mixed feelings about summer solstice day (June 21st) ever since. It’s a day that celebrates me (in the Catholic tradition, Saint Raoul of Turenne‘s feast is today).
It’s the beginning of one of the seasons when I am usually most productive and successful. And it’s also two days before my Mom arrives to town, so I guess I should be happy and celebrate. So, happy summer solstice! Let’s hope Vancouver decides to actually start showing decent weather from now on!
I had heard good things about Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar (@RogueWetBar on Twitter) from my friend Trevor Boudreau, who had recently had lunch there. Despite the fact that I do love Steamworks Pub, I have been skeptical of the other incarnation of Steamworks that was where Rogue Kitchen and Wet Bar sits right now (the TransContinental). But my friend J. Karen Parker and I wanted to try a new restaurant so we dropped by Rogue.
Our lunch was served promptly (Karen ordered a nicoise Salad and I ordered a chicken capellini with arugula, $14.99). The portions were good size (I hadn’t had breakfast so this was about enough food, but probably for someone who ate a healthy breakfast it would be a bit big). Flavors were good, but not something that I would call my Mom for. That is, it’s very good lunch, but not something that totally blew my senses. All in all, I would definitely come back for a lunch meeting. They had martinis on special today ($4.99) but I am still not feeling 100% well so I declined.
One great advantage of Rogue is that the food is good and it’s close to just about everything near the Waterfront. And it’s not pretentious.
At Car Free Day (on Main Street) I listened to a band (trio) called “Sonicus” (or something like that). They don’t have, sadly, a website so I can’t link to them, but they did a wonderful cover of this song that I absolutely love: Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire, by Jimi Hendrix. Here is for your listening pleasure.
I’ve continued to use Eternity for Men (Eau de Toilette) after graduating, on select occasions. And now that Calvin Klein has released Eternity for Men Summer, I decided to try it out. In contrast to the other CK fragrance I tried, the scent in Eternity for Men Summer does not fix as well on my skin as CK One Summer does. This is kind of sad, as the top notes of ginger and grapefruit (as well as a bit of passion fruit and a slight hint of melon) are easily detectable, but the lower notes of driftwood, amber and musks (creamy) tend to fade after a few hours (which wouldn’t happen with CK One Summer). 
