Archive for September, 2009

Lee Saunders has one of those infectious personalities. He’s a good dude to hang with, and he’s also a talented/sponsored Vancouver skateboarder. I chose to do a web-piece with a loose focus on Lee’s other skate-influenced interests, and interesting skate (and Windsor/Detroit/grim reaper) related tattoos from his youth. He explains ‘em right here.

Vancouver MMA fighter DENIS KANG (pictured on the right) was announced a few weeks back to be taking on UK fighter and the Ultimate Fighter 3 champion, MICHAEL the Count BISPING at UFC 105, Nov. 14 in Bisping’s home turf of Manchester, England. Kang, who’s from North Van, evened up his UFC record to 1-1 (and career record to 32-11-1) after winning a decision over French striker Xavier Foupa-Pokam in UFC 97 back in April. Though Bisping is coming off a distasterious loss to Dan Henderson, he is still a big profile opponent that will propel Kang back in contention for the middleweight title.
Whether humbled by his recent loss or just keeping it real, Bisping had some positive things to say about his Vancouver opponent:
“‘I’ve watched Kang’s fights over the years and he is very dangerous on the ground with his submissions and is also a powerful striker on his feet,’ he said. ‘Plus, he’s an explosive fighter. He can explode into a huge strike or takedown from nowhere, which makes him very unpredictable.’” – Scottish Daily Record
As for the big show coming to Vancouver, UFC reps met with Vancouver council members to discuss the possibility of an event in town next year – ARTICLE LINK

Remember that show that started in the 90′s where that guy and that girl went around “The USA” (read: Vancouver) investigating paranormal cases for the FBI? Well, last season Fox launched a show similar to that show that I’ve become a fan of. In case you’re not aware, the show is called Fringe, it’s another product of the television genius mind of JJ Abrams (the dude behind Lost) and it stars Vancouver’s very own Joshua Jackson.

Last season was filmed in Toronto but the ones that are airing this season (the season opener was last week) are filmed here.

It’s like the X-Files all over again! But it’s not; I think it might be even better.

Thursdays (tonight) at 9 on CTV. Sorry Fox, I crossed out your logo because it’s on CTV up here and I like seeing Canadian commercials in the breaks a little more than American commercials.

Oh, and speaking of commercials, this rules:
“Fringe is part of a new Fox initiative known as Remote-Free TV. Episodes of Fringe are longer than standard dramas on current network television. The show airs with half the commercials, adding about six minutes to the show’s run time.”

A little while back I put a call out for you to send in photos of your awesome old cars that you’re rolling around Vancouver’s streets. Rob Rickaby answered the call with this fantastic Beetle and a few words about it…

“She’s a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, Originally from Seattle. I bought it off a guy in Chiliwack about 2 years ago, daily drove it for a year (yes, even in winter!), and have been working on a complete restoration since last October. Now Im going to be starting to put her back together and will hopefully be …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

If you’ve lived in Vancouver for at least a year (or your whole life), then you’re likely familiar with the Georgia Straight‘s totally awesome Best of Vancouver issue that they do every year highlighting the best of the best that this city has to offer. Hell, you may have even voted in it before… wait… no… you MUST have voted in it because we’ve been awarded third place in the Best Local Blog category in the Reader’s Choice awards for 2009!!!

I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO EXTEND A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO VOTED FOR US AND TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS HELPED MAKE V.I.A. WHAT IT IS OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF! OUR SUPPORTERS ARE A LARGE PART OF WHAT MAKES VANCOUVER AWESOME!!!

Pick up a copy of the Straight today before they’re all gone, to see who won what. Thank you also to the Straight for not only producing an amazing paper week after week but for putting out this yearly issue showcasing Vancouver at it’s best. We are sincerely honoured to be listed.

Who tends to notice when an establishment has a stylin washroom? A while back I posted on the Zakkushi on Main & King Ed and got pics of the eats but forgot to get one of the can. This weekend, I checked out the ZAKKUSHI on 4th (off Burrard) and forgot to take pics of the food but did manage to get one of the restroom. Yeah, Id say the King Ed one tops this one but its still worth a view, eh? Watch out, there could be Can Wars coming on?
ZAKKUSHI on 4th
1833 West 4th Avenue,
Vancouver,B.C. V6J1M4
Tel/Fax: 604-730-9844

The 2nd annual Walk Now for Autism BC will be held this Saturday at Nat Bailey Stadium. It is a family event put on to raise money for an amazing cause; there will be lots activities for kids and an Autism Resource Fair for more information.

I had the honor of participating in Walk Now’s first annual walk last year with Team Carter and will be there with them again this Saturday.

There is still time to donate or sign up for the walk, just click on the photo below for more information!

You might remember a couple of days ago I told you about the Polaris Music Prize gala that Vancouver’s own Grant Lawrence hosted. Maybe you even voted in our little unofficial poll on who should win (which Chad VanGaalen won by a few of your votes, Metric took second place).

Well, the actual winner of the Polaris Music Prize for 2009 is (drumroll)…

A band we can’t even properly shout out on the site! Because we no longer use the F word here. We’ve always been focused on just the good news, and it is great news that a gnarly punk rock band can win the honor of the independent Canadian album of the year, so I would like to offer a super cute, happy fun, clean, V.I.A. toast to F’d Up! Way to go, F’d Up dudes!

If you like kittens better than puppy dogs, then here’s a version of this toast for you… …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>