Archive for March, 2011

A new kitty twice a week! Yup, we want YOUR cat photos and stories! Click here to find out how your cat can appear on Van City Kitty.

Meet Pongo, submitted by VIA reader Landon Dix. I can’t figure out if the grad photo is supposed to be ironic or not, which might speak to my advanced age? Anyway, without further adieu, Pongo!

Name: Pongo Breed/Colouring: Persian/beige Hood: West Vancouver Habits: Looking completely amazed by everything around him. His eyes popping out at every movement and sound. He has a tendency to run into things around corners, and has a flat face to prove it. Hangouts: On the floor beside the cat basket, or behind the fish tank. Other info: This cat is a well-known face at Artona for his Grad 2011 photo shoot.

Are you looking for a (or another) little furry beast to love? Please check out Happy Tails, our weekly segment featuring the BC SPCA and one of the animals they currently have available for adoption. (You may have noticed that many of the Van City Kitties came from the SPCA!) Check back every Saturday for a new Happy Tails segment!

And if you adopted your pet from the SPCA and would like to share your awesome story on Happy Tails, send an email to vancitykitty@vancouverisawesome.com or Rory.Blanchard@novusnow.ca.

By Michelle Siobhan Reid
Photos by Brice Ferré

As Jonathan Franzen nailed the American zeitgeist of late 90s with The Corrections, our counterpart is Timothy Taylor’s debut novel Stanley Park, which captures perfectly Vancouver at the close of the 20th century. My favourite parts were the descriptions of mouth-watering cuisine, which are seamlessly woven into the murder-mystery plot, demonstrating Taylor’s equal prowess with plot and fine detail. His new novel, The Blue Light Project, debuted earlier in March, and the glowing reviews are already proclaiming an equally rich and suspenseful work. If you lack the time to tackle a long book, check out his short fiction, which is at least as rewarding and acclaimed as his novels. I am delighted to say he took time from his busy work (and cooking) schedule to share memories of a West Vancouver childhood and recommend his favourite bookstores to fellow Vancouver bibliophiles.

What makes Vancouver awesome?

The smell of it on returning from travels. I step off the plane and as soon as I exit the airport I take a big breath, and there it is. The sea, the forests. A vibrant, earthy, alive smell. Awesome.

What was it like growing up in Horseshoe Bay? I feel like the only part I’ve seen is around the ferry terminal.

I actually lived over the hill from “the bay” as we called the actual neighborhood around the terminal. My neighborhood was called Copper Cliff. It was idyllic for a kid. We lived on a street with a lot families with children so we all pal around during the summer especially. We’d leave the house in the morning and pretty much not return until supper time. The area is heavily forested, with things to climb (like the water tower or Telegraph Hill), places to explore (forests, beaches, plus the tunnel they were then digging through Black Mountain for the railway), and lots of great ways to get into trouble (like the time we found the keys in a big tracked back hoe a road crew had left near Wellington Avenue).
But the place also had a really distinct culture. I recall it wasn’t considered a fancy neighborhood back then, and that there was a discernable flakey vibe in the air. We had hippie teachers who taught us macramé and didn’t wear bras. We had a substitute teacher once who told us how to make hash brownies. We had a draft dodger living on our street, an artist, of course. As well as people who did pottery or who built full sized airplanes in their basements or designed yachts. It was a kind of charming, off-center place as I recall. And I was very …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Tonight is the night! It’s finally here.  Please join us tonight for a free, all ages, video screening at W2 Storyeum here in Vancouver. Doors are at 8pm, and all are most definitely welcome to attend.

We’re really excited to be working with our friends Vancouver Is Awesome, 100.5 The Peak FM, Music BC, W2 Storyeum & West Coast Pop to bring you this free event.

Huge thanks goes out to Francois Marchand with the Vancouver Sun for the article he wrote about this video series, and the amazing 5 star review he gave We Are The City’s album “High School.”

Click here for the Facebook event link
And feel free to email us at amazingfactory@gmail.com if you have any questions.

And once again, here’s the official trailer for Amazing Factory Productions proudly presents We Are The City’s “HIGH SCHOOL” (a video series)

Make sure to check out We Are The City & Aidan Knight with Analog Bell Service at West Coast Pop! this Saturday April 2nd, 2011 at the Red Room. Click here for more info!

It’s a new dog twice a week! Click here to find out how to get your dog posted if you haven’t sent in your photos yet!

Today’s dog featured in Dogtown Vancouver is Boomer, Ryan G’s pup. Here’s what he had to say about him…

NAME: Boomer. BREED: Boxer. HOOD: Main and 41st. FAVOURITE SNACK: Peanut Butter. OTHER INFO: Boomer was rescued about a year ago thru Without Borders Boxer Rescue, he flew up from L.A. He is the life of the party, who loves everything and everybody! As big and goofy as he is, Boomer is very cuddly and loves to chill on the couch and watch TV. We love him very much and love to share his amazing personality with all dog lovers. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our Happy Tails feature. If you adopted your pet from the SPCA and would like to share your awesome story on Happy Tails, send an email to dogtown@vancouverisawesome.com or Rory.Blanchard@novusnow.ca.

I decided to take advantage of the 25 dollar promo and attend the East Van Wine Academy put on by the Waldorf.  What I expected to be a bunch of people sitting in a circle talking about tanins and lignins was quite the opposite.  We walked in and we were immediately greeted with a glass of proseco, four drink tickets and a wine zine.  We had a seat in the back of a full room where slides of Spain where illuminated on the side walls and our host stood in front of his Powerpoint slideshow talking about Spanish wines.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

SCENE AND HEARD showcases the independent music scene here in Vancouver. We interview some of our favourite local artists, post weekly guest playlists comprised of Vancouver artists and ‘Last Week in Music’ highlights some of the concerts happening around the city…

I’m baaaaaaaack! First week back from tour and I made it to two shows after catching up on life. First up was West Coast Pop! at the Red Room ft. Birthday Boys, Treelines, and The Dudes (which was QUITE a party) and then over to the Biltmore last night for Teen Daze and Braids (the latter of which I shot for VBS.tv!). It’s wonderful to be back and the next few weeks are shaping up to be EXCELLENT music wise!

THIS WEEK IN MUSIC: starts with a VERY busy Wednesday night… We Are The City and Amazing Factory are having a screening of the videos made for High School (WATC’s new EP) at W2. Meanwhile down the road, Rain City Chronicals ‘Family Matters’ is at the Waldorf, and Oh No Yoko (and friends) at The Cobalt! (FYI: I’ll be at Rain City and then am booking it over to W2!). Friday I’ll be heading to Guilt & Company to see John Sponarski, Colin Cowan, and Daniel Ruiz perform and play some board games. Saturday is going to be another HUGE party for West Coast Pop! – Aidan Knight, We Are The City, and Analog Bell Service at Red Room (get tickets here). Oh and on Monday (4th) Nimbus School of Recording Arts is having a showcase at the Biltmore!

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!).

I try to deconstruct things. It’s just what I do, I’m not quite sure why. Music, art, photography; if it interests me for more than a minute, I want to understand it better. Sometimes, in trying to figure something out, the magic and mystery that first appealed to me is destroyed. In these cases, it can be better to just appreciate whatever-it-is for whatever-it-is, and just enjoy the mystery.

Such is the case with today’s photo, Untitled by Robert Fougere. If I try to figure it out, I might lose my appreciation for it. As it is now, it almost appears like a silk-screened print or lithograph. The limited visibility coupled with the monochromatic palette results in a very surreal, very graphic photograph.

Nope, I don’t want to deconstruct this image too much. As soon as I figured out the guitar riff to my favourite song, it ceased to be my favourite song. The magic, sadly, was gone.

Gary

Here’s the deal: Kim’s brain never stops. Ever. She is a walking, talking, poor-dancing idea machine. She is a creative addict who never stops conceptualizing. If you think your idea is great, ask Kim for her two cents. She can turn a neat idea into an enterprising possibility in a pinch. It’s really cool. She loves to write, design, and give back. Her vision has always been simple and she has no apologies for it: to do good work for good people. No jerks. That good work comes in the form of identities, sales materials, websites, tshirt designs, brochures, annual reports, tradeshow booths, and a whack of other stuff. Plus she donates a load of time and talent to charity. Because she believes that she should. She fired the last accountant who told her that charitable work would get her nowhere fast. “He has no balls,” she said. “And no heart.”

Kim definitely has heart. She also has an unstoppable need to stop civilians from leaving the grocery store with plastic bags. If she’s behind you in line, she’s going to force her eco-bag on you and buy another for herself. She can’t be stopped – in this, or in any other cause or creative conviction. Don’t even try. Your best efforts are futile.

The Proof
01 Chocolate chip cookies from Finches Cafe in Gastown. They are the size of a fist. And they taste like Grandma made them.
Screw the calories; I have one a week. Okay, maybe two.

02 A beta version of an idea mapped out on the kitchen floor. Messy. Organic. Wrinkled. Insane. Bliss.

03 This is me leaving on a jet plane. Leaving on a jet plane somewhere, anywhere is my favourite thing.

04 The love of my life. The heartbeat of our office. The stink behind the silent farts.

05 I’m not gonna lie: I have a thing for typography. Like a BIG thing. It makes my heart pitter patter.

06 I grow stuff. Then I eat it. It should be the way of the world.

07 Baking = therapy. Baking cakes that look like stuff – like this lop-sided treasure chest attempt – make my brain buzz, my friends oooh and aaaah, and my tummy growl. So I pretty much love it.

08 Shoo-in cure for a bad day? Nephew playing Bon Jovi on the fly swatter air guitar.

The Questions
What neighbourhood do you live in?
Kits, baby.

What do you do and where?
I run a small graphic design and writing studio with heart in Gastown. So I design. I direct. I write. I strategize. I build marketing plans. I draw. I scribble. Basically, I use my right brain with the goal of producing killer creative for companies with a conscience.

When I need a break from all that, I design and write greeting cards for my charitable greeting card company, Uncle Phil.
It’s warm and fuzzy. The proceeds go to the Starlight Foundation. You should buy some for the holidays.

What are you working on?
Other than being able to do at least one chin up in my lifetime (a work in progress), I am working on some kick-ass creative for cool clients. Some brand identity for some up-and-coming local entrepreneurs, a full-fledged international marketing campaign and roll-out for a client we adore, some tv spot creative, some web writing. My fingers are in a lot of pies at the moment.

Where can we find your work?
Check out my corporate marketing work
Check out my charitable greeting card line
Check out my garden at Davie and Burrard.