Last night we attended a sold-out rock show. The Foo Fighters blew the roof off the Pacific Coliseum for two hours for what frontman Dave Grohl dubbed “Vancouverpalooza” for the 3-band evening kicked off by two opening acts.
I’ve been to a lot of concerts now and this one was clearly one of the best. A great advantage was in having excellent seats — and as Dave pointed out, even the “cheap ticketsss” were a good deal as about halfway through the show a small, circular stage descended from the rafters to provide an intimate setting for a semi-acoustic set. It began with red lights and eight musicians spread out around the perimeter, facing the audience. A female violinist, in heels and an elegant black dress, danced one way while a guest guitarist danced another. A guest pianist switched to an accordion at one point from the keyboards. It was magical, like a theatrical performance.
Continue reading A night with the Foo Fighters »
CBC reported today that the “board of Metro Vancouver has voted for a plan to send the region’s garbage to Washington state, if the provincial government authorizes the shipments.”
The long-time dump in Cache Creek is expected to reach capacity by 2010, so they’ve been looking at other locations and settled on WA.
“Sending the garbage to Washington is a short-term solution, said [Metro Vancouver waste committee vice-chairman Peter] Ladner. Eventually, the city hopes to burn the garbage to generate power.”
The article doesn’t offer the most sensible, sustainable solution (of many), which is to reduce waste.
Continue reading Waste issues swept under the 49th Parallel rug »
Not what you expected to see with that headline, is it? These are the most naturally-gorgeous eggs I’ve ever seen. I brought them over to the family party for decorating yesterday, and I don’t think I even got the chance to show them off. We ran out of time for decorating but admired the eggs that were already there from over a decade of tradition.
White eggs never offer such a variety of tones, speckles or spots. It makes buying brown ones that much more gratifying. I’ve only ever decorated white eggs, although in later years I ended up with ones stamped with “BORN 3” in either pink or blue. Not exactly the blank canvas I had in mind. 😉
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!
Last week, I headed over to my parents’ house before my mom had come home. The house was so quiet… a very serene quiet. Not lonely, but comforting, nostalgic. As soon as I walked in the door it had that certain scent. You know, how every house smells like the people and things who live in it but you can never smell the one you live in. The entry is like a combination of my parents, the wood, the things they keep and the numerous and often fragrant plants that make the entry solarium a jungle when everything’s sprawling.
I helped myself to lunch just as Mom arrived with some fresh groceries. We caught up over hot soup and newspapers, and later headed out for a walk to our favourite park. She remarked emotionally that it really is her park (or their’s, including my dad), and I feel the same way. It’s rare that just the two of us go for a walk; perhaps the last time was Mother’s Day maybe a decade ago, during high tide when the ocean threatened to soak our shoes. (Burrard Inlet is tame anytime compared to the ruthless force of the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach during a storm.)
Continue reading Lichen »
This lunch blog is a little later than lunch hour because I keep getting distracted by articles.
While scoping out design firms I’d be interested in working for, I thought about the kind of design I want to be doing and who I want to do it for. To that end, here’s a collection of websites (I’ll probably add some more later) that speak to the kinds of visual languages — and variety of visual languages — that influence me or that I would like to pursue in my work where appropriate. It’s also the kind of high calibre design I want to see out of myself sooner rather than later. If I can find myself in a studio that designs with this modern aesthetic, I’d be most happy. I’ve already identified a few. So without further ado…
Continue reading Eye candy for a “total design geek” »
The Monday lunch blog addresses food… again!
A paradox, you say? How can a restricted diet be at the same time diverse? I reckon I might have asked myself the same question almost a year ago when I embarked on the very thing.
I have what you might call a self-imposed restriction on my diet in two ways: one, I have a tidy list of food sensitivities that were determined last March/April by a naturopath; and two, I’m on the 100-Mile Diet as far as veggies go — and you’d be surprised at how much of a challenge just that creates.
My food sensitivities are: soy, sugar, dairy (the proteins, not lactose), cashews, and some food additives. Corn was on the list for about 3 months so I just take it easy with that one. Yeast was also on the list, but when told to cut out all grains and refined foods including oats and quinoa for 2 weeks, I did what I normally do when trying to cut back: I ate more. And it went away, so whatever.
The personalised 100-Mile Diet I adhere fervently to is such that I don’t eat what ain’t in season. In other words, if it grows here in the summer, I don’t buy it from California in the winter. I haven’t applied this so much to dining out, but I can say that if I were strict, I’d have gone hungry at the Northern Voice conference because between the cheese, the unknown, spiced meat and the dismal tomatoes and iceberg lettuce curiously provided at lunch in the form of very unseasonal burritos, there wouldn’t have been much for me to eat. Suffice to say I had an apple with me and had forgotten my packed lunch at home.
But I digress.
Continue reading A diverse restricted diet »
