Save save save!

first started in Germany in 1915, daylight saving (no s) time was first conceived as an energy saving measure. the rationale was to make better use of the sunlight, thereby reducing the public's demand for energy to heat and light their homes. in all honesty, i never even thought of that consideration!

nonetheless, i do love this time of year. i mean sure you feel cheated the following days after daylight saving day, but it feels great to have sunlight till late in the evening. i definitely get more done when it's light outside and you don't feel anywhere near as depressed when it's light out. to check out more information on the rationale and history behind it all check out the cbc site.

did you say street meat?

i love to cook and often take food magazines out of the library to try new recipes. one of the recent magazines i took out had an article about street food around the world. kebabs in turkey and north africa, tacos and burritos in mexico and parts of latin america, crepes in france and other unbelievable delights. having traveled a fair bit, i know that it's in the streets where a city thrives. indeed i've had some of my most memorable meals standing at a roadside noodle stand in calcutta or at a curbside creperie. thinking about this led me to ask, what does vancouver or canada in general have to contribute?

don't get me wrong, i love a good poutine or sausage as much as the next guy. nothing (and i do mean nothing) gets me going like a good poutine. and maybe that's just it, maybe i need to celebrate that a bit more. but even then, poutine is pretty much a quebecois thing. even sausage stands are only in really wide appeal in toronto short of the couple on robson st. is .99 cent pizza vancouver's equivalent to a roadside creperie, or even a good ol' fashioned tube steak? and the idea of street sushi is just wrong.

vancouver has a lot to be proud of in terms of culinary delights. choice is plentiful and prices reasonable. whether it's la nostalgie or not, i can't help but wish we had something we could call our own.

vancouver graffiti

good motto to live by.

mexican police track suspect to vancouver

not really, but wouldn't that have been crazy? it pays to keep your camera with you and this photo is proof of that. while walking through gastown on the way to a few meetings i came upon (suprise, surprise...)a movie being filmed. rare occurrence in the city i know. nonetheless they had a couple of squad cars and some other random props about. you never really know what you might find.

le printemps est arrive

"i love spring" is a sentence i have said many times. generally, i follow it up with "i do love autumn though, and well i love summer too ...". each of the seasons is so distinct and special, but spring is such a great time. the days seem to be magically longer, colours are everywhere and people are just in better moods. there is something special about those first few days when you realise that winter's bite is subsiding and you can relax for a few months. this spring i hope to get out and enjoy this great city.

30 days of sustainability.

today's screening of "the end of suburbia" at ubc robson square is just one of the events taking place around town as part of the 30 days of sustainabilty festival. the events are aimed at opening peoples eyes to what sustainability in an urban context means. from film screenings, design showings, marketplaces and cafes, all the events focus on education and application.

today's film dealt with the issue of peak oil consumption. most experts agree that the peak is coming, and NO alternative form of energy can meet our present demand or provide enough for growth. reduced demand is the sole agreed upon alternative. check out more info on the events here

vancouver cherry blosoom festival



the first ever vancouver cherry blossom festival kicked off thursday this year. created to honour and celebrate some of the cities 36,000 cherry blossom trees, the festival is a series of coordinated events and picnics in prime viewing areas. being from toronto, i definitely am inspired by the beauty of these trees. what an incredible effect they have. check out more info on the festival vcbf

the city by night part 1?.




i'm just learning to post pictures and getting more familiar with html. the first of many photos i'd like to add to the blog. hope you enjoy.

granville mall street redesign

to better meet the needs of the community, the city of vancouver is asking for feedback on the proposed improvements to the downtown portion of granville st. there are 4 different models under consideration, each with their own positives and negatives. it is extremely easy to review the different models and give feedback. take the time and make your voice heard. granville mall street redesign

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the city @ night.

one of the great pleasures of being in the city is walking at night. the quiet of certain streets juxtaposed with the bright lights and busy intersections of others. shadows that you don't normally see and lights in places where none previously existed. in particular, one thing i truly enjoy is the feeling of transition one gets while walking from one part of the city to another. the tall glass buildings of the central core followed by mid-range stone and brick buildings. it's nice to look at things in a different light, correction; lack thereof.

pandora

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i've been hitting pandora.com in a big way lately. a great live music site that creates a station for you based on your musical interests. w/ every song it plays you can say whether you enjoyed/disliked it. good for getting exposed to new sounds. i believe you need an american zip code to sign up, but just look online for one.

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blokus-boardgame of the elite

recently introduced to me by a close friend this game is infectious. though simple to play, my explanation will undoubtedly be more confusing than necessary. this is my best attempt; each of either 2 or 4 players get 21 different shaped pieces. each piece is a tetris like piece composed of 5 or less squares. each player starts in one corner of the board and places one piece at a time onto the board. your pieces be connected, but only via the corners, no faces can touch. from there the objective is to get rid of all your pieces, but as the name name implies, you can block players, making it more difficult for them to get rid of their pieces. check out more info or play online. blokus

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vancouver opera-don giovanni

for my first opera experience i quite enjoyed it. beautiful costumes, fantastic voices and well hell it's the opera. in particular, don giovanni is a comedic opera and therefore is potentially more entertaining than most. something special about taking part in a tradition centures old. interested? check here

brian jungen exhibit @ the VAG

the current brian jungen exhibit at the VAG was my first exposure to his works. unbelievable sculptures and images. at times i felt like i was in a museum and had to remind myself that i was in fact in an art gallery. he uses the everyday objects so well and it is mind-blowing to think of the effort that went into these sculptures. to have a concept like that in your head and see it realized is truly an unbelievable skill. takao tanabe's work was also beautiful. large canvases of canadian landscapes as well as some abstract paintings. overall a great exhibit and well worth it.

happy international women's day

first celebrated in germany, austria and denmark (as well as a few other european countries) in 1911, the day has grown immensely. it is celbrated around the world and is a national holiday in some countries. events were held all over the world today to mark the occasion. personally, i love women in every way and don't know where i'd be without the women in my life. check out more info here

the first multilingual blog?

what if this blog had contributors from cities across canada and the world. being fortunate enought to know people in most of canada's major cities and other major cities around the world, i think it would be an incredible experiment to have contributors from different cites and in different languages. dare i say we are one of the first to do this?

stereolab march 7th, 2006 vancouver

1960's surf music in 2050. having just returned from the my first stereolab concert that is the only thing i can think of. having been to many an incredible rock, electronic and hip hop show, i can safely say that concert made me move. so many things to say and so many photos to post. more to come. i now turn it over to sean.

sean:

- must get live show
- we don't understand what just happened
- it was something out of the future
- i think we just got a glimpse ... speechless
- i don't know, crazy shit.

more to come.

my love affair with the city.

today's globe and mail contained an excellent article about a new business program offered through the university of montreal. the program, one of the first trilingual program offered in canada, will be taught in english, french and spanish. this is definitely something i think more schools should be doing and the way more of our society should be moving especially in a "bilingual" country like canada. check out the article
here

welcome to my blog. after much debate and yearning to get involved in the "blogosphere" i have now taken the plunge and started my own blog. a lot of my reasoning is get some of my ideas out there and to engage in the community more. it's very easy to sit back and let things happen without engaging, but taking the plunge is much more rewarding.

i hope to post on a variety of topics including the arts, the environment, pop culture and anything else that pertains to life in the city, my main focus. i love cities and everything that goes into them and comes out of them. their unique identitites and the uniqueness they breed. having recently moved to vancouver from the GTA, i am constantly discovering little nuances about this new city and culture. it's inspiring frustrating and everything else in between. mostly exciting.

to anyone who reads this: please let me know what you think about my posts and ideas. i would love to hear about yours.