APRIL 23-29 // 2015
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NEWS // ISSUES
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INSIDE THIS WEEK You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld
13
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ST.PAUL’SNEEDS STABILITY
Re: Moving St.Paul’s Hospital to involve‘extensive consultation’, April 16,2015 Moving a major urban hospital onto a flood plain, which is where they want to move the hospital… Don’t take my word for it; just ask any competent geologist what would happen if a seismic event were to send a tsunami our way.The hospital would be awash if you relocate to the flats. Remember Fukushima? At the very time you need the hospital, it would be compromised. Please reconsider moving St. Paul’s Hospital. –J.C.McElroy
SUZUKIBLOWING SMOKE?
Re:“David Suzuki:China’s disastrous pollution problem is a lesson for all”,April 15,2015 An obstacle to rational decision making in climate policy is the confusion between carbon dioxide (CO2) and air pollution. Real air pollution, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot, is important to control and we have done a good job in most of Canada reducing the concentration of
these substances. But CO2, an odourless, colourless gas that is an essential to plant photosynthesis, is not pollution. The poor air quality in China’s cities has nothing to do with CO2. So why would David Suzuki bring up climate change and Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in his article about air pollution in China? It is because of his concern that GHG emissions, primarily CO2 from human activities, will result in climate problems. After 18 years with no global warming while CO2 levels have risen 10 per cent, GHG-caused climate concerns are becoming an increasingly difficult sell. So Suzuki and many politicians piggyback debatable climate change concerns on top of genuine pollution worries, apparently hoping they can sell the former by associating it with the latter. While this tactic might succeed for a while from a public relations perspective, it makes no sense scientifically. It is akin to promoting the building of an asteroid defense system, an expensive endeavour of highly uncertain value, by associating it with vitally important cancer research.
Suzuki must help society distinguish between unrelated issues, not confuse us with red herrings. –Tom Harris,Executive Director International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC)
SUNRUCKUS
I’m all for people staying fit and participating in the Vancouver Sun Run, but the route chosen for the race is absolutely stupid! Georgia is the busy street downtown that connects to a very busy Lions Gate Bridge.The traffic was a f-ing nightmare everywhere.Why not shut down the GeorgiaViaduct one way. Hell, it was closed for a week when they shot a movie with way less issues than the Sun Run caused.They could start on theViaduct, to Beatty Street, over the Cambie Bridge, south down the ramp, east to Ontario, u-turn back west on Second, over the Cambie Bridge, north to Pacific to ScienceWorld, u-turn, and finish at the Stadium. All the streets I’ve listed were closed anyway with the exception of theViaduct and Beatty. Get it right next year race organizers. –Marshall.S
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S o c ia l Wo rk e r ?
Change is coming to the profession of social work in BC
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YOUR CITY
Parent angry at Yes ads Over the arena scene on VSB school websites Grant Lawrence Vancouver Shakedown
CHERYL ROSSI @cheryl_rossi
Secondary school parent Koula Stoubos is incensed every public school in Vancouver has a message on its website promoting the Yes side in the Metro Vancouver Transit and Transportation Plebiscite. “It’s like that thing about state and religion, how you try to separate it,” she said. “To me, the school website should just be the school website. If you can open it and make it political, then you have to give that space also to the opposing viewpoint.” Stoubos was even more incensed when she learned her teachers were asked to distribute material promoting a Yes vote to their students at the end of March. “The [Vancouver School Board] should be focused on running schools – providing programs and support for students – not running civic political campaigns,” she wrote in an email. Stoubos expressed her indignation about the webbased promotion to Elections BC, the Ministry of Education, the VSB, the BC ombudsman and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which sponsors the No side. Kurt Heinrich, public relations manager for the VSB, said he and other district staff have received complaints from a handful of parents about the websites. The school board has also heard concerns from staff, primarily teachers, about the websites, printed materials, and an email sent on behalf of VSB chairperson Christopher Richardson outlining the board’s reasons for supporting the Yes side. The board sent information from the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation to schools at the end of March for delivery via students to parents. Teachers quizzed their union representatives about handing out the material and the union questioned the board about this plan. Richardson said he and VSB superintendent Scott Robinson decided to cancel distribution after several schools disseminated the material. Richardson said the pamphlets were returned to the Mayors’ Council to be directed elsewhere. Jordan Bateman, BC director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the leader of the No TransLink Tax campaign, told Stoubos that the campaign called upon the VSB on March
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@GrantLawrence
Every Vancouver school website has a message promoting the Yes side in the TransLink funding plebiscite. The VSB officially endorses the Yes side and voted to urge parents to do the same. Dan Toulgoet photo 27 “to cease using school children to send partisan, taxpayer-funded ads home.” It also requested an apology. VSB trustees voted unanimously in February to support the Yes side and to support no- or low-cost actions “to help provide a Yes vote with parents and staff,” the motion reads. “The board, in its decision, didn’t in any way indicate that in expressing our Yes position that it was necessary to acknowledge and justify the No side,” Richardson said. “This is staff taking direction from the unanimous vote of the trustees that this matter was of significant interest to both our staff and our students that depend upon public transit to get to and from both school and their daily lives…” Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy projects the region will grow by one million people by 2041. The Mayors’ Council proposes a 0.5 per cent regional sales tax on the majority of goods and services that are
subject to the provincial sales tax. Information provided by the Mayors’ Council on Elections BC’s website states all revenue collected through the tax would be dedicated to the council and transit plan, and that revenues and expenditures would be subject to annual independent audits and public reporting. Stoubos is voting against the tax and doubts TransLink’s decision-making, management and accountability. She questions population growth projections and how many newcomers will choose to settle in Vancouver, rather than less expensive areas such as Surrey. Stoubos, who lives near 41st Avenue and Main Street, uses the Canada Line once or twice a year. “It’s much faster to go with a car,” she said. “Anybody who’s taking transit, if they had the money, would probably buy a car.” Elections BC is collecting votes until May 29. –Story courtesy of the Vancouver Courier
ACTUALLYDOING THETHINGS I SETOUTTO DO INCREASES MY OVERALL SATISFACTION
Don’t get me wrong. I’m completely thrilled that the Vancouver Canucks are back in the playoffs, and I desperately want them to beat the Calgary Flames. I hope this Canucks team goes on a deep run, and I’ll watch every game I can, hopefully to an ultimately glorious conclusion that I dare not type out for fear of jinxing it. I’ve been a die-hard Canucks fan for many decades, and have spilled my guts in print all about it. My parents were original season ticket holders for many thankless years, and the three times the Canucks made it to the Stanley Cup Finals were the greatest spring seasons of my life (until it ended, of course; unlike the bridge and tunnel crowd, I actually think lighting cars on fire and looting The Bay is stupid). I’m also a goalie on a beer league hockey team called the Vancouver Flying Vees, which is a skating tribute to Canucks lore. And for most of the year, I’m usually wearing some sort of Canucks paraphernalia. But... I don’t want to go to the Canucks game with you. No offence, and I’m not talking about Linden Vey. It’s just that, after many years of dutifully showing up for games at the Pacific Coliseum, GM Place, and now Rogers Arena, I’m done. Let me explain. I don’t want to go to the Canucks game with you because I am so, so over the arena scene, and it has nothing to do with the product on the ice. I know it sounds elitist and negative, but it has everything to do with everything else about going
No, Grant Lawrence will not go to a Canucks game with you. Not anymore, at least. Contributed photo to a Canucks game. I’m done with navigating past the burly scalpers barking in my face. I’m done with the unhealthy, narrow food choices (what the hell are churros anyway?) I’m done with the overpriced and under poured beer. I’m done with lining up with 700 other men in order to urinate. I’m done with making noise when I’m told to as opposed to when I’m inspired to. I’m done with rink seats so small that you have to fold your rib cage inwards while the drunk dude from Port Moody you’re sitting beside is draped over half your body. I’m done with the anticipatory guy, three rows ahead of you, who stands up and blocks your view every time the Canucks even remotely get a scoring chance. I’m done with men in suits who force their kids to leave the rink with seven minutes left in the third period to beat the traffic (it’s sports: it’s not over ‘til it’s over, at least let your kids see every minute). I’m done
with assholes who dump popcorn or worse on anyone wearing the opposing team’s jersey. I’m also -ahem- done with making small talk with you for four hours. At this stage of my life (earliest of early 40s, new dad, East Van, blah, blah), I would much, much rather watch the game in my own controlled environment: my fortress of solitude, at home, on TV, in HD, while spread out on a spacious and comfortable couch. Twitter is on the laptop, while Jim Hughson calls every play in every way on Hockey Night In Canada. I can drink my own craft beer from a nice full, cold bottle. I can pee alone, and at my leisure. I can eat healthy, inexpensive food that includes actual vegetables. And no one from Port Moody can touch me. As a lifelong Canucks fan, this is just how I feel. Don’t get defensive about this. Leave that to Dan Hamhuis. And… GO CANUCKS GO! W
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STYLE // DESIGN
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HOME
Home Is Where The Art Is: Vancouver Candle Company Jennifer Scott A Good Chick to Know
@Jennifer_AGCTK
Left: Artisan candle maker Nick Rabuchin. Right: Vancouver Candle Co.’s Gastown candle. Rob Newell photos
Art tells the story of a home; it offers insight into what a person finds attractive, important and intriguing. Art can involve painting, illustration, sculpture and other forms of traditional creation, but there are many elements of décor that unexpectedly contribute art to a space. Candles, for example, not only offer ambient light and style within their design, but also generate one of the most important elements of experiencing a home: scent. When designing a space, candles are a fundamental ingredient to the final presentation; lately my musthave item is a piece (or a few!) from Vancouver Candle Company. Their designs are minimalistic and chic, which makes their candles approachable for any aesthetic, and the personalized scent story based on the various Vancouver neighbourhoods are a shout out to the importance of hyper local design. The team behind the company is just as sweet as their creations – it’s such a treat as a designer to work with and support local craftsmen who truly put their hearts into their work – so I couldn’t wait to share a bit more with you about Vancouver Candle Co. founder Nick Rabuchin. Tell us a little about yourself: Nick Rabuchin, candle maker. Originally from San Diego, I moved to Vancouver to pursue a degree in art history at UBC. After being unsuccessful at finding a job, I went back to school to get a diploma in event management and I worked for a couple of years as an event designer. I fell in love with and in Vancouver and decided to stay! How did you get started in candle making and what led you to where you are now? We bought an expensive candle from an interior design store that burned poorly. After researching why it burned the way it did, I learned that the candle had a lot of nasty things inside. I didn’t feel comfortable burning it in my home and decided to make my own. The rest is history… Do you have a Vancouver muse? Or a favourite place in or around the city that inspires you? I have a favourite spot on the beach near Lighthouse
6 W April 23 - 29, 2015
What colour best describes your personality? Red. What is your favourite accessory (for home or personal)? Flowers. If you were a type of candy, what would you be? Gummy bear (yum). What is your quirkiest attribute? I have a weird laugh (or so I’ve been told) When it comes to style/design, what is the one thing you treasure the most? I wear this diamond ring; my grandmother found the stone in a mine. Any predictions for the future of the industry? Buying local. Buyers caring about where their goods come from, what’s in them, and how they are made. Some people collect old cameras and typewriters. Do you collect anything? Stamps in my passport. If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? Travelling. Open up an antique store. Finish this sentence: my day is not complete without… Spending time with the people I love. If you could describe your artistic style in one word, what would it be? Clean. What gets your creative juices flowing? Surrounding myself with creative people and bouncing ideas. Is there a song or a musician that inspires you to create? “Me and Mariah Go back like babies and pacifiers.” What do you wish more people knew about artists? I don’t consider myself an artist. I’m just a candle maker making things I love for the people that love it! Do you have a favourite creative space? I work in an artist collective space. My studio inspires me. If you could speak to a room of youth who were considering careers in the arts, what would your advice be? Do what you love, love what you do. Which is more inspiring:
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STYLE // DESIGN
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FASHION Niki Hope Shop Talk
@NikiMHope INDIE VENDORS GET CRAFTY
One of Vancouver’s largest indie craft fairs, Got Craft?, springs back for its 17th event at the Maritime Labour Centre (1880 Triumph) on Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3, between 10am and 5pm. The show features 75 independent local vendors with a variety of curated handmade goods ranging from jewelry, clothing, ceramics, stationary, housewares, toys, art, and more. Food from local trucks, handcrafted baked goods, and artisan chocolates are also on the menu. The first 50 people through the door each day will receive a free swag bag from vendors and sponsors. Admission is $3 at the door. GotCraft.com
ARMY & NAVY SHOE SALE
It’s the shoe event that keeps on kicking. The 66th annual Army & Navy shoe sale starts May 6 at all Army & Navy locations. The sale includes famous fashion names like Steve Madden, Betsey Johnson, Nine West and Calvin Klein, and more. Doors open at 8am sharp at all six locations – including Gastown – of the Canadianowned family company, which has been around for 96 years. ArmyAndNavy.ca
A LUSH-IOUS MOTHER’S DAY
Give your mama a Lush gift for Mother’s Day. The
O Granville Island
Surfers find right balance for Sitka
bath and body company has a tub-load of luxurious at-home spa ideas that will pamper and soothe, including the Rose bubble bar, Yummy Mummy shower gel, and the Secret Garden bath bomb. Lush.ca
Niki Hope Style File
@NikiMHope
J.CREW AND THE BUGLIFE
Like the Sitka spruce that thrives in the damp soil along the West Coast, islanders Rene Gauthier and Andrew Paine were drawn to the ocean. While 21-year-old students at the University of Victoria, the surfers would sneak away to ride waves whenever they could. It was during those excursions they came up with the idea to run a surfboard company, which they simply called Sitka. When Gauthier and Paine started in 2002, they made boards out of a garage.Today, they run a successful company with three locations – Victoria, Vancouver, and New Zealand – and 38 employees. Along with surfboards, Sitka sells clothing for men and women, outdoor gear, fishing supplies, skateboards, and more. This week Sitka opened its newest Vancouver location, moving from Cypress Street and Fourth Avenue to 2127 West Fourth.They also launched a crowdfunding campaign for the recently created Sitka Society for Conservation, a non-profit arm of the company that lends financial and moral support to reputable wildness conservation agencies. The idea for the society came out of a company retreat last year, when they were taking stock of their business values. “We really started looking at what we are doing,” Gauthier
This month J.Crew launched its second campaign to Save the Bees as part of the brand’s overall Garments for Good program. J.Crew introduced Garments for Good as a way to use its creative resources to lend support, designing T-shirts and other items to sell in store and online with proceeds going back to Buglife. J.Crew collaborated with New York-based illustrator Donald Robertson for the collection. Save the Bees products will be available at JCrew.com and in select stores. The women’s T-shirt retails for $54 and the Crewcuts are $33.50. JCrew.com
ARITZIA TAKES OVER HIGH-PROFILE CORNER
Women’s fashion giant Aritzia is expanding its flagship location by taking over the high-profile southwest corner of Robson and Thurlow, according to Retail Insider. The prime spot previously housed a Starbucks for many years, and then a Caffe Artigiano for the last couple. Aritzia started with a single Vancouver location in 1984 and has expanded to include 64 stores throughout North America. Aritzia. com W & )"6'$ *8/5 -(87 +6$% !.,4 18 !'%'(87.04(6,326#
When Sitka founders Rene Gauthier (pictured) and Andrew Paine started in 2002, they made surfboards out of a garage. Today, their outdoor store has three locations. Contributed photo explains during a phone interview while commuting on the ferry. “We declared our vision of the company to be a world in balance, and then we started looking at the company and realizing there are a lot of pieces in here that don’t line up with our vision currently.” Rather than launching another group that would compete with existing environmental organizations, they plan to use their storefronts and customer base to help raise funds and awareness for agencies that align with their values.The initiatives they plan to support include Pacific Wild, Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition and Leadnow.ca, Gauthier says. “We saw that we could have an impact – people aren’t just able to walk in off the street
and talk to somebody from the Sierra Club or whatever organization,” he says. “However, they can come in and have that conversation with us.” They are also thinking politically. “The current government is having a serious effect on the environment right now, essentially disregarding a lot of science out there – removing rules and procedures that have been put in place for good reason over the last number of years,” Gauthier says, adding, “we’re not down with that.” Along with the crowdfunding efforts, the company is working towards having 100 per cent of its production in North America by 2016 (they’re about 60 per cent there) and striving to
use organic fabrics wherever possible. Meanwhile, some of the standouts in the Sitka clothing line, which features earthy-toned active wear, include the ladies Triple Threat pullover with three sleek Sitka trees on the front. (The company’s logo is a tall, simplebut-striking Sitka tree.) A bestseller in the men’s line is the zip sweatshirt with an embroidered Sitka tree on the back. Another menswear stunner is the fitted Oyster zip hooded wool sweater in deep navy blue.The pocketed piece would work in the boardroom or the beach. “It has to be timeless – that’s what we are going for,” Gauthier says about Sitka’s outerwear ethos. W
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LIFESTYLES //
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WHISTLER
Tackling Whistler on two wheels Making an actual
living in the Village
Stephanie Florian Play Outdoors
SABRINA FURMINGER @sabrinarmf
@PlayOutdoorsVan The cat is officially out of the bag. Locals and weekend warriors have tried to keep it on the down low until now but more and more people are discovering that summer months inWhistler are where it’s at. Thanks to the epic single track and the mammothWhistler Bike Park, there is a mountain biking mecca less than a two-hour drive from your front door.This May 15, the park opens for some risky mountain biking business. With endless terrain choices, even the keenest riders can benefit from inside information from the pros on how to conquer this world-class MTB playground. Have no fear… BrettTippie is here. Crowned the ‘Director of GoodTimes’ by peers, fans and industry leaders, this real-life action sports hero is Vancouver-born. Brett and his beautiful mud-bunny wife Sarah Fenton actually met and then got engaged at Crankworx.They enjoyed their first date riding the park and eventually tied the knot on top ofWhistler on his and her mountain bikes. This couple has a marriage agreement that cheating is OK, but only with a two-wheeled toy.Tippie and his bride share tips on how to tackleWhistler’s terrain and prove that an open relationship withWhistler may be the way to have your cake and ride it too.
Talk about married to a sport: Brett Tippie and Sarah Fenton love mountain biking so much, they got married at the top of Whistler on their bikes. Eclipse Photography photo Tippie’s tips: Brett: My number one pointer is to have fun!The second most important tip is to look ahead. Keep your elbows out and slightly bent with your index fingers on the brake levers. Keep your legs bent and have your pedals level. Learn your ready position and your attack position and know when to use each one. Carry a spare tube or two and a pump with some tire levers. Why Whistler? Brett: Whistler has an unbelievable amount of awesome trails, and that doesn’t even include theWhistler Bike Park. There is a strong cycling community inWhistler and great trail builders. It’s simply just
one of the best places in the world to mountain bike. Sarah: Although famous for the Bike Park, there’s more to explore in surrounding areas like the “Zappa” trails.The Bike Park is always an ideal place to do endless gluttonous laps without having to truck-shuttle your bikes back and forth. What Whistler trails can you suggest for beginner riders? Brett: Beginners should take green circle runs like Easy Out and B-Line before advancing to runs like Crank It Up. Sarah: Mountain biking has come a long way so, if you are just starting, I suggest you first take a clinic or course geared to all ages and skill
sets. As for the Park, I’ve taken my 60-year-old aunt and my four-year-old daughter because it caters to everyone.Whistler’s recreationalValleyTrail network stretches over 40km of paved trail and is perfect for the little ones, too. So there you have it: Whistler has everything you need to get your two wheeled fix. Hit up any local bike shop for a bike rental and kit, and pre-book lessons online. From Bike Park tickets to trail maps, Whistler has made navigating your MTB adventure as effortless as possible; the rest is up to you. W ! ExploreWhistler’s mountain bike mecca atWhistler.com.
Many of us would love to make a real go of it inWhistler: skiing and snowboarding for the bulk of each day, maybe picking up a couple of shifts in a restaurant to support our time on the slopes. The reality is that it’s a difficult lifestyle to sustain, and with more ski lovers than Whistler service jobs available, most are forced to cram a love of outdoor sports into the odd Whistler weekend getaway. ButWhistler Adventure School – aWhistler-based educational facility currently celebrating its one-year anniversary – is determined to equip lovers ofVillage life with the tools they need to build lasting careers. They’re offering courses in skill sets thatWhistler employers want to see in job applicants, according to Eric Hughes, operations and marketing manager ofWhistler Adventure School, citing recent shortages in boot fitters and ski tuners. To date, students from Sweden, Chile, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, and Canada have enrolled in short courses and full programs across three disciplines: adventure guiding, marketing and media (featuring courses in photography, videography, and social media), and retail and manufacturing. The latter program includes Whistler Adventure School’s most popular course: ski building.
“That’s the one that isn’t really offered anywhere else in the world that I know of,” says Hughes. “There are lots of places that build custom skis, but they won’t share that knowledge.” Students come to that particular course with “ideas and concepts and custom graphics that they want to put on their skis,” says Hughes. “They build what they want from the ground up: they shape the skis, they add the fiberglass, and they come up with all of their own dimensions and custom topsheets.” Also popular: the bike mechanics course. “We’re a skiing and biking town,” says Hughes. “In the summer, we’ve got all of these people who are breaking their mountains bikes in the bike park, or have a huge fleet of bikes, and bikes are getting more and more complicated to fix.” Classes are taught by specialists – like photographers Dan Carr and PhilTifo, ski builder Greg Funk, and various accredited mountain guides – who take month-long breaks from their day jobs to teach. And the students aren’t expected to spend their days in the school’s Function Junction classrooms. “Our tagline is ‘live, learn, play.’There’s no point spending a year in Whistler and never going up the mountain,” says Hughes. “The concept is that they’re in education, but they’re also enjoying the lifestyle.” W $ (%!/ 16.43,3 5!/ 0.%0%6! %!)6 50'&%30#,4-/+,!0.4,*1&66#216"2
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DINING OUT
Sea-to-Sky dining Anya Levykh Nosh
@FoodgirlFriday “Child-friendly” can often be a dirty word in my book, but an impromptu weekend road trip up to Whistler showed that some restaurants do understand that both kids and adults can be satisfied with quality ingredients and excellent cookery. As you’re heading up the Sea-to-Sky over the next few sunny months, consider stopping at these two spots, with or without the kids in tow.
FERGIE’S CAFE
Part of Sunwolf Resort, a fantastic camping, eaglewatching, fishing and rafting resort owned by Jess and Jake Freese, Fergie’s Cafe (70002 Squamish Valley Rd., Brackendale) has been attracting locals and tourists for more than a handful of years. Located in Brackendale, between Squamish and Whistler, it’s just a few scenic minutes off the Sea-to-Sky and sits right alongside the Cheakamus River. Chef Tom Giblin, who’s been running
the kitchen since last July, turns out stupendous breakfasts and two-fisted sandwiches that will have grownups crying uncle. Ingredients come from the local growers in the Paradise and Pemberton valleys, and the emphasis is on free-range and organic. All-day breakfasts like the house-smoked pulled pork eggs benny on housemade buttermilk biscuits ($14) are decadent and soul-satisfying, as are the daily sausages ($3.50 as a side), like the honey mustard rosemary garlic version the child devoured alongside her Nutella-stuffed French toast ($13) with poached pears, salted peanut butter caramel, and candied toasted almonds. Feeling more savoury? Try the smoked brisket sandwich ($15), loaded up with caramelized onions, mushrooms and housemade horseradish mayo. As you’re leaving, grab one of the gluten-free chocolate brownies. Word of warning: Fergie’s gets jammed on the weekends, so be prepared to wait if you arrive later. It’s not too much of a hardship, as there’s lots of grassy space for kids to run around and
work up an appetite. Open Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm; Saturday-Sunday, 9am-3pm. SunWolf.net.
GRILL AND VINE
Located in the Westin Resort & Spa in Whistler, the Grill & Vine (4090 Whistler Way) belies its lacklustre but accurate moniker by reinterpreting the classic grill menu with local produce and wellraised animals under executive chef Bradley Cumming’s rule. The wine program is excellent, encompassing 16 rotating wines by the glass through the Enomatic system, as well as another couple dozen available as singles or part of flights.There’s lots of local representation here, such as the Joie Noble Blend Riesling and the Tightrope Viognier, but don’t miss the excellent Cali selections, like the “Freakshow” Cab Sauv from Lodi.They’re all designed to pair well with the solid plates. The BC salmon tasting ($16) is one such keeper. Wild, house-cured slices sit alongside a lovely tartare and a spoonful of wild salmon caviar, properly presented with a mother-of-pearl spoon. Layer over the perfect rye crisps and crème fraiche for tiny bites of luxury.The Fred Flintstone-sized pork ($30), roasted on the bone in the
stone oven, is glazed in apple Dijon and sits over a bed of onion puree and Madeira sauce. Speaking of stone ovens, this one also produces what could be the best pizza in the village. Just don’t tell the kids, because the children’s menu here is stellar. Items like Asian-style salmon with soba noodles ($16) and turkey sliders ($12) offer healthy choices, but for little foodies like mine, it was the three ounces of filet mignon, perfectly medium rare, sided with local carrots and broccolini, and a smashyour-own-potato set-up ($20) that won her over. Little pots of milk, crème fraiche, butter and cheese awaited her input, and made me slightly jealous. The restaurant has also just launched a $34 four-course tasting menu that is one of the best deals in Whistler and includes the abovementioned pork in a smaller version. Open daily for breakfast and dinner. GrillAndVineWhistler.com. W % 28:< 40B:AH H<! 9008 @#EGE8" <96DG <== GHE8"! E8"0!GE9=0 $6# ;6#0 GH<8 '( :0<#!, ?0<# H0# 0B0#: 1683<: 68 ./. C<3E6 -80&! -8 GH0 .6<!G <83 F83 H0# 68 >@EGG0# 5$663"E#=$#E3<: <83 +<70966A, 76;*+663)E#=+#E3<:,
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April 23 - 29, 2015 W 9
EAT // DRINK
BEER
The rise of craft means the death of craft Stephen Smysnuik The Growler @StephenSmys
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Wesbrook Village UBC, Vancouver
runforwomen.ca
There’s an advertisement for Bennington House, a new condo development on Cambie Street, that I’ve noticed on my daily bus commute to work. Normally, I watch the storefronts, foliage, and billboards sort of roll along in a multicoloured blur, but this one stood because of how its written. Not what’s written, exactly, but how. It reads: 42 EXQUISITELY CRAFTED RESIDENCES AT KING EDWARD STATION “Crafted”. Given my current professional endeavors, I have “craft” on the brain basically always, so I’m hyperaware of its usage when I encounter it written anywhere. Still, it seemed to me that the word had been ingeniously placed to capture the attention of the sort of people intrigued by craft: craft beer, craft distilleries, the “craft” movement as a whole. A quick scan of the condo’s website showed that there didn’t seem to be anything particularly artisanal about the building. I’ve certainly never heard of a craft building.What would that look like, exactly? Is it any different from luxury? In any case, this development appears to be like every other condo development I’ve looked in to lately as a 30-something home hunter. The usage seems designed to capitalize on the cultural relevance of the word “craft”, propelled largely by the popularity of craft beer, which is now potentially entering the realm of corporate appropriation, like every other influential counter-
cultural movement before it. The world of craft is definitively cool (for now) and every business that can stake a claim on its frontiers will do so. Last year, Business inVancouver reported that developers are drawn to neighbourhoods where craft breweries exist, hoping to capitalize on the trends and potential for growth. It would make sense that they’d use relevant lingo in their marketing. The Independent, a new tower development at Main and Broadway – down the street from 33 Acres, Brassneck and Main Street Brewing – are selling with the slogan “CRAFTED LIVING AT ITS BEST.” Whatever that means. And I doubt it’s a coincidence that quite a few people I know have mistakenThe Oxford showroom on East Hastings as an advertisement for a new bar. Craft beer alone isn’t responsible for all of this, of course.The rise in craft beer coincides with the rising popularity of artisanal coffee, farm-to-table restaurants, locally-sourced clothing – craft stuff – and the “indie” culture that immediately preceded it. All of these movements were borne out of pure and honest creative exploration, the search for solutions, and all have since, to varying degrees, been exposed (or exploited) by big business. West Elm andWest Elm Market’s entire selection seems based around the idea of craft wares. Starbuck’s new baked goods program, La Boulange, is designed to mimic local artisanal bakeries, while Swedish fashion retail giant H&M recently launched a sustainable collection, Conscious, is an obvious response to people’s shifting buying ethics. Is this the death knell of
Whistler’s not-so-secret ‘secrets’ neither is the ambiance, but it’s simple, family-friendly and all around solid with options for all ages.The “Sampler Benny” includes three Benedicts of your choice for $15, and they also have a delicious Pulled Pork FrenchToast for those who enjoy sweet and savoury.
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10 W April 23 - 29, 2015
craft?Well, perhaps…in a way. It’s the same way hippie culture was corrupted the minute record companies started capitalizing.The way grunge culture was obliterated the minute Marc Jacobs unveiled his “grunge” collection in 1992. It happens any time the corporate culture takes hold of a countercultural movement and sells products based around the ideals and aesthetics of it. It kills whatever was pure and honest – whatever was human and heartfelt – about it.This is especially true for craft beer culture, which was borne out of a frustration with corporateowned macro beer, and corporate culture in general. “Craft” isn’t about the beer at all – it’s about independence, and exploration of taste, and freedom, and all that. And we’re going to see these ideals injected more and more into advertising, into products, and into the world at large as craft beer culture takes further root in the mainstream. But it’s not all bad. I’d argue it’s not even remotely bad. It’s a huge success for the craft beer movement, because with corporate buy-in comes marketing muscle and influence that can push the values and aesthetics of craft beer – or any cultural movement – to a much wider audience. Early craft beer devotees might hate this, but if it means more people drinking craft beer, most brewery business owners should welcome it. What it means ultimately for craft beer – and craft anything, really – is that the “craft” won’t matter anymore. It’ll all just be beer. Or whatever.Which is fine, because, as I’ve written before, “craft” doesn’t really mean anything anyway. Craft is dead; long live craft. W
When it comes toWhistler, I have my dining staples, which include the well-known fine dining institutions Araxi and Bearfoot Bistro. Alta Bistro is also a favourite, and while it was once a “hidden gem”, the secret is out and it is going strong into its fourth year. Finding a secret spot in a town as small and popular as Whistler is tricky – all the local favourites should be more or less discovered by now – but here are a few I find underrated or still rather “secret”.
Potato tartlet from Elements.
WILD WOOD PACIFIC BISTRO
It opened in 2002 and has won local awards, but it’s still a bit unknown to outsiders. It’s located inside the Crystal Lodge Hotel and it is catered to locals with a very reasonably-priced menu and portions.The breakfast and brunch is nothing fancy and
AURA AT NITA LAKE LODGE
It’s not inWhistlerVillage, but it’s 500 metres from the Whistler Creekside gondola on the valley trail.They offer a complementary shuttle to and from the village, but to be honest it’s a nice escape.
Continued next page
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EAT // DRINK
@WESTENDERVAN
WINE Continued from page 10 Aura restaurant has undergone a couple of chef changes in recent years, but I’ve always appreciated the stunning view and peaceful surroundings on the patio. From now until June 18 it’s offering a three-course spring menu for $35 for the “Indulge inWhistler” promotion. Also, don’t forget to check out its great little bakery, Fix Café, where they make very good Pumpkin & Coconut Loaf, Zucchini Blueberry Loaf, and brownies.
ELEMENTS URBAN TAPAS
Elements is not-so-secret since it has been awarded as a brunch favourite numerous times by locals, but it flies under the radar inside the Summit Lodge & Spa, a boutique hotel inWhistlerVillage.The portions are too generous to call them “tapas”, but at these prices it’s hard not to overorder anyway.The monster Honey Ham & Brie stuffed FrenchToast with maple syrup is enough to keep most full for the day, and the PotatoTartlets with chive sour cream and corn fritters are also worth trying. It’s actually sister restaurant to WildWood Pacific Bistro, but Elements is more playful and modern in style. W
Wines to wash down oysters Michaela Morris By the Bottle @MichaelaWine
The traditionalist in me avoids oysters in the summer. Perhaps I’m influenced by the old adage which warns against eating them in months that don’t have the letter ‘r’ in their name. I could also be distracted by all the other fresh seafood, like spot prawns, salmon and halibut that grace the season. Whatever my reasons, as April draws to close, I always feel compelled to indulge in a final oyster gorge, alongside a glass of crisp, minerally white. Chablis is my go-to.This cool-climate region in France produces a lean and steely style of Chardonnay and the wines are typically unfettered by oak. Chablis also boasts fossilized oyster shells in its soil and sometimes you even get a whiff of this in the wines.Talk about echoing flavours. Equally classic, Champagne is a truly decadent match. If you are going this splurge route, you might as well invest in an elegant Blanc de Blancs. This type of Champagne refers to the fact that it’s made from pale-skinned grapes, meaning
exclusively Chardonnay. Sauvignon Blanc is another great foil, especially when it’s flinty and restrained.The wines from the regions of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé are the epitome of this. Fruity and more pungent examples of Sauvignon from New Zealand or Chile work well when you’re dressing up oysters with more assertive condiments. Beyond the classics, explore Austria’s Gruner-Veltliner grape as well as the wines of Gavi from Italy, Picpoul de Pinet from France, and dry VinhoVerde from Portugal. I also highly recommend dry Riesling with oysters. All the following wines, however, are guaranteed to refresh you during the warmer months ahead, whether you decide to eat oysters or not. (*Prices are exclusive of taxes.) 2014 Matua, Sauvignon Blanc, SX-/:L &X,H B:- [:X.XQ< ! %WTJ621 ! &# D3NIPM )KPM:L Super vibrant lime and juicy nectarine, with a herbal zing. TZW= AMRXM3Q:H @3>OPI. <: @3Q:K (A#H YMXQ>: ! %WTJ421 ! &# D3NIPM )KPM:L Picpoul is a lesser-known grape from the South of France. Apparently its name
means ‘lip-stinger’, alluding to its lip-smacking acidity. Zippy indeed, but ever so charming. TZW= "PRX3Q: <: .X @:O3EM:H CIL>X<:K )EGM: :K CX3Q: (A# )IM D3:H YMXQ>: ! %T6?=Z ! @M3GXK: $3Q: )KPM:L Muscadet is another triedand-true oyster pairing, and Pepière’s is particularly clean, minerally and fresh.Tons of citrus notes along with a saline tang work seamlessly with any simply-prepared sea creature. TZWT "PRX3Q: ),.GX3Q CPLQ3:MH #5XU.3L (A# '3:3..:L '37Q:LH YMXQ>: ! %T2J921 ! &# D3NIPM )KPM:L Besides green apple and wet stone, you really do get a hint of oyster shells here.This unoaked Chardonnay vibrates with spine-tingling acidity and a persistent finish. TZWZ Y:M75:KK3QXH +C3..:<0* YMXQ>3X>PMKX &MIK "A#VH FKX., ! %;8JZ21 ! &# D3NIPM )KPM:L Franciacorta is Italy’s answer to Champagne. Similarly priced, Ferghettina’s is worth every penny. Its Milledì cuvée is a Blanc de Blancs. Elegant, creamy and complex, it offers Meyer lemon, delicate apple blossom and subtle notes of freshly baked bread. W
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April 23 - 29, 2015 W 11
ARTS // CULTURE
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Saudade with Mas Ysa LOUISE BURNS @_louiseburns_
The elusive presence of Thomas Arsenault, professionally known as MasYsa first appeared in 2013 with the release of “Why”, a single shimmering with fragments of darkness and light. It was part Springsteen, part rave-scene, and brimming with saudade, the Portuguese word for a melancholy nostalgia, a trait that has become his signature. After releasing his debut EP Worth last year, the Montrealborn, Brazilian-raised composer is on the tip of every taste-maker’s tongue, celebrated for his fresh approach to the synth pop/indietronica genre that has him putting the focus back on human experience, rather than the subtle glow of a laptop. We reached Arsenault
somewhere in the deep South as he eases into his first major tour of the year withYoung Fathers, the Mercury Prizewinning trio from Scotland that will bring him to Vancouver next week. MasYsa may just be getting started, but Arsenault has been working behind-thescenes for years. He spent his formative years in Sao Paulo, deeply immersing himself in the rave-scene. “At that age,” he says, “you’re starting to get those romantic feelings [and] you need to learn to dance. In Brazil, it’s not cool not to dance.You gotta dance to talk to your little crush… “I did a lot of dancing at clubs,” he finishes. In his early twenties, Arsenault returned from Brazil to study modern composition at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, a decision that would
REVIEWS // CALEXICO
Edge of the Sun (Anti) Tucson, Arizona’s Calexico is one of those fortunate cult bands that have carved out a niche so specific, that they literally cannot disappoint their fan base, as long as they continue to do what they do best. Edge of the Sun is another dusky album of Texicana sunset music from Joey Burns and John Convertino, the two men responsible for a near-two decade career. It is classic Calexico, nothing more, nothing less. In a press release, the band is described as “straddling that celestial division of light and
12 W April 23 - 29, 2015
dark”.This rings true in tracks like “Coyoacán”, the cinematic Tejano instrumental that plays out like its own narrative, utilizing mariachi trumpets and twangy guitar for added drama. “Bullets & Rocks” features the bourbon soaked voice of Sam Beam (Iron &Wine), one of the album’s many collaborators and plays out like a melancholy sea shanty.
ultimately change his life by linking him up with Shinkoyo Collective, a group of likeminded artists who migrated to NewYork, the state where Arsenault now resides. “I moved to NewYork basically to be near other people from Shinkoyo,” he says. “It is just a group of people who support each other, and collaborate and talk.We watch each other grow as artists and people.” From that relationship, Arsenault found himself in the middle of one of Brooklyn’s most thriving music scenes, one collectively referred to as “Kent Avenue.” His involvement with the Kent Avenue scene is the kind indie musicians dream of: an inherent respect based on hard work and romanticized sleepless nights at his own studio with “no windows, and sound proof
Burns and Convertino are at a wonderful moment in their career where, if they chose to, they could go on auto-pilot, putting out formulaic Americana music for their blindingly dedicated followers. But they respect their fans, which is why collaboration plays such an important role at this point. The likes of Beam, Neko Case, Mexican singersongwriter Carla Morrison and more, help separate Edge of the Sun from the rest of their canon, and prove why Calexico have single handedly staked their claim as the Kings of their own territory. – Louise Burns Rating:
!!!!!
Noah Kalina photo tucked into the belly of this big building.” That same building was connected to the underground venues 285 Kent and Glasslands, two of Brooklyn’s most infamous (now defunct) venues where you were likely to run into anyone from Cass McCombs to Laurel Halo, both of whom have recorded with Arsenault for their own projects. One night in 2013, Arsenault was evicted from his studio/living space in Brooklyn, forcing him to relocate. He chose wisely, heading north to Lake Hill, where he promptly rented a house and set up his studio “with windows and birds and all that around”, a place where he could “feel the ears of the world a little more”. This is where he composed what would become Worth, an EP filled with peaks and
valleys of gut-wrenching emotion, illustrated with carefully programmed beats, cavernous, melodic howls and an array of synthesizers, all of which contain the aforementioned saudade, perhaps an influence of his days in Sao Paulo. “Whether it be loved ones or a place in time, the act of cherishing is in itself an acknowledgment of loss. But I think it is a thankful one.” he says. Arsenault will bring his oneman show to Fortune Sound Club next Thursday, a show guaranteed to have him singing his heart with “a mountain of gear”.There will be joy, there will be sorrow, there will be a history of influences all condensed into his explosive live show that is designed to make you feel things. If history is any indication, it wouldn’t be a MasYsa in-
DADA PLAN
The Madness Hides (Independent) The dystopian nightmare continues with The Madness Hides, the sophomore LP from Vancouver’s Dada Plan, this time with even more saxophone swagger and spoken word wisdom than before. Lead vocalist Malcolm Biddle has proven himself to be a master of melody with his previous efforts in Sun Wizard, Capitol Six and even Dada Plan’s first album, A Dada Plan is Free. With Madness, he veers off the path more into a world of beat poetry, spoken word and free jazz, staying true
to his techno-apocalyptic vision. The opener and title track begins with a rather enlightening passage: “reward yourself by checking your emails/no new messages” overtop Justin Williams’ signature syncopated bongobeats and a healthy dose of spacey synths. “Wanda Greene” and “Into the
terview without an inspiring passage or two.This man is living proof that you can feel saudade, you can love and support your scene, and still be empowered by raw human emotion. “What people respond to, from the outside and from the inside, always, are communities and support. So love your friends and don’t compete with them, work with them, and really just make what makes you feel good, and sleep well. And don’t drink too much. Cause nothing lasts forever.” W
MAS YSA
joins Young Fathers at Fortune Sound Club (147 East Pender) April 30, 9pm. Advance tickets $15 at Beatstreet, Zulu, Red Cat and BPLive.ca.
Violence” could easily be B-sides from Brian Eno’s Another GreenWorld, swimming in dissonant brass and organ instrumentation, and abstract, prophetic lyricism. Dada Plan has found a wonderful, bizarre niche that is so modern and relevant, it remains a mystery to why no one has tapped into it before. While they may be headed further into the abyss, there is no reason not to follow them to where the madness hides. – Louise Burns Rating:
!!!!!
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ARTS // CULTURE
@WESTENDERVAN
ARTS
Comedy supercouple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally bring their singing sex-act variety show to Vancouver for one night only, April 29. Contributed photo Visitors to the Museum of Vancouver’s Happy Show will be asked to rate their happiness on a gumball scale of one to 10 – sure to yield better results than the recent StatsCan census. Contributed photo
Nick Offerman puts Get happy, Vancouver! the ‘come’ in comedy Stefan Sagmeister’s The Happy Show courtsVancouver’s missing emotion SABRINA FURMINGER @sabrinarmf
Vancouver is known for a lot of things – beaches, pot, yoga pants, rain – but happiness isn’t one of them. We’re a thoroughly unhappy population, according to recently released census results from StatsCan that ranked Vancouver last in Canada in terms of life satisfaction. The internet is rife with theories as to why Vancouverites are so unhappy – feel free to send your own to our Rant/Rave section (rantrave@ westender.com) – but the landmark 2012 Connections and Engagement survey from the Vancouver Foundation offered a laundry list of reasons, including cost of living, tenuous neighbourhood connections, and the perception that Vancouver is a difficult city in which to make new friends. We might be an unhappy population, but we’re not without hope. In this case, hope comes in the form of Stefan Sagmeister:The Happy Show, an immersive multimedia exhibition launching this week at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV). Described by Forbes Magazine as “the feel-good exhibition of 2013,” The Happy Show is the brainchild of Sagmeister, a Grammy Award-
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winning graphic designer and typographer who’s designed album covers for Lou Reed, the Rolling Stones, OK Go, David Byrne, and Aerosmith. The Happy Show is the result of a 10-year exploration into Sagmeister’s own happiness, and marks one of the largest exhibitions in MOV’s 120-year history. The show blurs the boundaries between art and design while filling museum galleries, stairwells, hallways, and restrooms with infographics, video projections, and handson installations. “My setup for both the film and the exhibition is, ‘Is it possible to change my mind in the same way that I can change my body?’” says Sagmeister, speaking by phone in Vancouver, having flown in from NewYork for the show. Sagmeister, who has delivered popularTED talks on happiness and design, pursued three different strategies in his search for happiness: meditation; cognitive therapy; and mood-altering pharmaceuticals. “I would say that all of these three strategies were actually effective, meaning I felt changes in all of them. At the same time, [though], I found that the direct pursuit of happiness was overall not successful for me,” he explains. “Overall, it’s an extremely complex issue that is extremely difficult to proceed with a single-minded strategy.” Sagmeister waded through thousands of definitions of happiness over the course of his research, and became keenly interested in those that look at the connection
between happiness and length of time. “You have things that are very short in length of time, that last maybe a few seconds, that would be more in the way of joy or bliss or possibly an orgasm, and then there are medium lengths of experience, like when you spend a Sunday afternoon with a paper at the park. And you have very long experiences, possibly lifelong, like finding the thing that you’re good for in life, fulfilling your potential,” says Sagmeister. “These three things all fall under the giant terminology of happiness, but really have little to do with each other. If you think of an orgasm, it really has nothing to do with finding what you’re good for in life.” Confronted with stories about wellness, mindfulness, and sex, visitors to The Happy Show will be immersed in an experience akin to walking into Sagmeister’s mind. There’s a stationary bike that powers a wall of neon; a giant inflatable monkey; a series of gumball machines that display visitors’ collective level of happiness; and a preview of Sagmeister’s soon-to-bereleased documentary, The Happy Film. Sagmeister will deliver a lecture on happiness on April 23.Throughout the summer, MOV will host a series of Happy Hours exploring happiness in politics, design, bikes and beers, money, and urban life. W $ (&+ #011' *&2) /,!. ,!-%" Sept. 7. For details, visit MuseumofVancouver.ca/programs.
And, with one Q&A, reminds us why he’s the king of subtlety KRISTYN ANTHONY @allovthethings
Hollywood comedic royalty, the hilarious power couple of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, bring their “comedic sex-ed” to town Wednesday on their Summer of 69: No Apostrophe tour. Best known individually as the bacon-and-buffetloving Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation, and the nasal and crass Karen from Will and Grace, this time out, the twosome are treating tour-goers to a highly suggestive ode to their 15-year romance. Westender caught up with Offerman to find out just what we can expect from this travelling sex show. Why do we need to know about your sex life? Nick: Why do we need oxygen? Why do we crave the flesh of the pig with salivating fervor? Why does weed feel so periwinkle? Should we talk about the analogy of your love for all things wood? There is no need for childish punditry. Erections, both full and semi, not to mention flaccidity are discussed with utter candor in our “copulate-TED” talk. Also covered are some de-
lightful new euphemisms for seminal fluid, and let’s not ever forget the clitoris. Is Summer of 69 the funnier, more unabashedly open, weird alter-ego of Annapurna (the Off-Broadway play also co-starring Mullally, also about love, also with charged emotion)? Not precisely. Annapurna is a sincere and exceptionally written two-handed drama by the estimable Sharr White, whilst Summer of 69: No Apostrophe is a litany of explicit biological descriptions of the various forms of fornication and their concomitant assorted effluvia. Also, a good deal of sweet romance topped with just a dollop of blasphemy and bacon mousse. Nothing weird, however, no. The songs are classically American, like if Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote about pussy. What’s it like performing this show in the red states vs. the blue states? And now, in Canada? We had recognized in ourselves an initial trepidation at assaying this material in front of the macho, rifleslinging ladies of the more conservative states, but we seem to have escaped unriddled. Our show is quite harmless and ribald; good, clean fun. We love Canada and she loves us, so far, so I’m hoping to continue that tradition. Canadians seem to appreciate the value of humour without needing to politicize it, which makes for
a peaceful, easy feeling (to make a figure of speech). Would Ron Swanson and Karen Walker have gotten past the first date? It seems unlikely that Karen would ever have found herself in Indiana, and Ron historically refuses to leave the state, so I’d say the first date itself would be the challenge. However, should it occur, Karen does look an awful lot like a more affluent Tammy 2, so that first date might just never end. I guess that’s pretty much our marriage when I think about it, except I’m not as much of a sweetheart as Ron Swanson and Megan has better tits. Whose is the greatest love story of all time? Why? Sweet Lord, that’s tough. Bogart and Bacall? Quasimodo and Esmerelda? Dawson and Joey? No. I can see clearly now, the reign of Parks and Recreation is gone from production (but hopefully not our hearts). The greatest love story of all time is between Ron Swanson and L’il Sebastian, God rest his goddamn cute and magnificent little horseheart. Why? Well, just look at him. W
SUMMER OF 69: NO APOSTROPHE
arrives at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for one night only, Wednesday, April 29 at 8pm.
April 23 - 29, 2015 W 13
ARTS // CULTURE
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MASTODON AND CLUTCH Heavy metal rockers from Atlanta co-headline with the Maryland rock band and special guests Big Business. 7pm at Commodore Ballroom. Tickets $45 at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.ca
THE NAUTICAL MILES 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Ten years ago Corbin Murdoch wrote a letter to Lucas Schuller asking to start a band. Five albums, hundreds of shows and a decade later they’re dusting off old gems and premiering new tunes for this special show with special guest Khari Wendell McClelland. 8pm at Russian Hall. Tickets $15 at EventBrite.ca
SYLVAN ESSO American indie pop duo featuring Amelia Meath of Mountain Men on tour in support of their debut self-titled album with special guests Naytronix. 8pm at Commodore Ballroom. Tickets $20 at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.ca
VAN DJANGO Renowned entertainers deliver their unique mix of nostalgic favourites, jazz standards, pop tunes and classical elements in swinging gypsy jazz style with Vancouver’s Company B Jazz Band. 6pm at St. James Hall. Tickets $30 at RogueFolk.bc.ca
LITURGY Brooklyn-based Metal band brings back their original lineup back to support the release of their latest album, The Ark Work. 9pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $13 at Red Cat, Zulu, Scrape and TicketWeb.ca
JOSE GONZALEZ Swedish indie folk singer/songwriter on tour in support of Vestiges & Claws with special guest Olof Arnalds. 8pm at The Imperial. Tickets $23 at Red Cat, Zulu and Highlife Records.
LILA DOWNS Grammy Awardwinning Mexican-American folk/blues/jazz artist brings her electrifying program to town in support of her new album Balas y Chocolate. 7pm at Chan Centre. Tickets $46 at ChanCentre.com
DIGITOUR All your favourite YouTube musicians live on stage for a return of the largest social media festival that millions of YouTube fans have been asking for featuring headliner Hayes Grier. 6:30pm at Vogue Theatre. Tickets $27.50 at LiveNation.com PROBLEM American rapper, hiphop artist, Snoop Dogg collaborator appears with special guests Vancity Prince, Billionaire B, Juvi Dizzle, Ayetown, Shane Mac, No Regrets, C-Stylez and Rashad Rawkus. 9pm at Venue. Tickets $25 at BPLive.Electrostub.com
COMEDY AL MADRIGAL A fan favourite on The Daily Show and regular co-star on NBC’s About A Boy, hailed as one of the “most brilliant rising comics”. 8:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $15 at TheComedyMix.com
THEATRE/DANCE DISCOVER DANCE! The Dance centre’s popular noon hour series features the exceptional young dancers of the Arts Umbrella Dance Company performing contemporary ballets created by choreographers around the world. 12pm at Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tickets at TicketsTonight.Ticketforce.com PROUD Last season’s runaway hit returns for an election year encore in this sexy, cheeky and surprising play where a different outcome to the last Federal election sees the Tories take Quebec and win a huge majority. 8pm at Firehall Arts Centre. Tickets at Tickets.FireHallArtsCentre.ca
ART STEFAN SAGMEISTER: THE HAPPY SHOW Extensive multimedia exhibition culled from the creator’s 10-year quest to understand happiness. 10am-8pm at the Museum of Vancouver. Runs until Sept. 7.
DEANNA KNIGHT & THE HOT CLUB OF MARS Travel back in time to the early acoustic swing era of the 20s and 30s to experience one of Vancouver’s most eclectic gypsy-jazz ensembles. 7pm at St. James Hall. Tickets $30 at RogueFolk.bc.ca TWIN SHADOW Brooklyn-based pop singer/musician/writer aka George Lewis Jr. on tour to support his upcoming new release Eclipse. 8pm at The Imperial. Tickets $20 at Red Cat, Zulu, Highlife, Beat Street and TicketWeb.ca CLARK AND NOSAJ THING Dance music DJ’s and producers co-headline. 9pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $20 at Red Cat, Zulu, Highlife, Beat Street and TicketWeb.ca
COMEDY KYLE BOTTOM’S COMEDY BUCKET The only show in town where comedians are guaranteed to talk about what’s on your mind as a talented crew of jokers will attempt to perform comedy alchemy right before your very eyes. 9pm at Hot Art Wet City. Tickets $6 at EventBrite.ca or $10 at the door.
THEATRE/DANCE BLASTED Sarah Kane’s highly provocative and overtly shocking play is an incendiary, visceral portrayal of a world where private and public violation collide, forging a potent theatrical vision of destruction, collapse, redemption and love. 8pm at Pi Theatre (Performance Works, Granville Island). Tickets at PiTheatre.com. Runs until April 25.
BIG DATA The paranoid electronic music project helmed by producer Alan Wilkis aims to teach us about humans, technology and the internet featuring The Moth & The Flame. 8pm at Venue. Tickets $21.50 at Red Cat and LiveNation. com MAC DEMARCO Critically acclaimed Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer appears in support of Salad Days with special guests Dinner out of New Jersey. 7pm at Biltmore Cabaret. Tickets at TicketWeb.ca CHRISTINE TASSAN ET LES IMPOSTEURES All female gypsyjazz quartet from Quebec appears with special guests Marc Atkinson Trio with Cam Wilson. 8pm at St. James Hall. Tickets $30 at RogueFolk.bc.ca THE SOFT MOON American neopost-punk band from Oakland on tour in support of Deeper with special guests Girl Tears. 7pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $15 at Red Cat, Zulu and TicketWeb.ca NO ISLAND Finally! Come celebrate the release of the modern vintage rockers long awaited new album Better Days with special guests Best Night Ever and Sister Says. 8pm at Media Club. Tickets $12 at BetterDays.BrownPaperTickets. com or $15 at the door.
COMEDY AL MADRIGAL The unique comedian, expert storyteller and fan favourite on The Daily Show and NBC’s About A Boy. 8 & 10:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $20 at TheComedyMix.com
Sweeney Todd, April 25. Tim Matheson photo Chromeo, Oct. 25
SEAN CULLEN The nimble master of improvisation who delights in the absurd has dominated the Canadian comedy scene as an award-winning comedian, actor and writer for over two decades. 7pm & 9:30pm at Yuk Yuk’s. Tickets $20 at YukYuks.com
THEATRE/DANCE SWEENEY TODD Vancouver Opera presents Stephen Sondheim’s story about lethal obsession on the streets of 19th-century London starring bass-baritone Greer Grimsley and mezzo-soprano Luretta Bybee. 7:30pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets at VancouverOpera.ca. Runs until May 3.
CHEAP & FUN BUDGET BUFFET Come have hangover breakfast in the same spot you got drunk with all you can eat cereal featuring your childhood favourites. Captain Crunch, anyone? Caesars and Mimosas on special. 10:30am2:30pm at Biltmore Cabaret. $5 per person. EASTSIDE ARTS CRAFT FAIR Support local artists at this monthly market, a great shopping alternative for those seeking quality, handmade artisan wares at reasonable prices. 11am-5pm at The Woodward’s Atrium. Admission is free.
TOUCHING A STRING The VSO’s Principal Harpist Elizabeth Volpe-Bligh leads this program featuring Sonata for Harp and Strings by Scott Good and Camera Obscura: Dark Chamber from Edward Top. 7:30pm at Orpheum Annex. Tickets $30 at VancouverSymphony.ca AGENT ORANGE Original Southern California punk/surf/ power trio stop in on their world tour with special guests In The Whale and The Shit Talkers. 8pm at Rickshaw Theatre. Tickets $15 at Highlife, Neptoon, Red Cat and NorthernTickets.com
EVENTS EARTH DAY CELEBRATION The 5th annual parade and festival on Commercial Drive is a familyfriendly event to celebrate the planet featuring guest speakers, live music and more. 11:30am4pm at GranDview Park. Free. SONGS AND DANCES OF OLD RUSSIA Join in for an afternoon of spectacular Russian traditional entertainment featuring the Russian Balalaika Orchestra, soloists, children’s choir, dance and balalaika groups complete with authentic Russian food. 3pm at Russian Community Centre. Tickets $15 at the door.
COMEDY THE LAUGH GALLERY WITH GRAHAM CLARK Legendary weekly stand up show of East Vancouver’s biggest and brightest comics. 9pm at Havana Theatre. Tickets $5 at Eventbrite.ca
THEATRE/DANCE CAPTIVATE TO ATTRACT, BEWITCH AND ENCHANT. Join the celebration of Vancouver’s vibrant dance community as they challenge the visibility of dance and bring it into the mainstream with proceeds benefitting the creation of a short film showcasing the talent and spirit of our city. 7-10pm at Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tickets $20 at EventBrite.ca FAREWELL, MY LOVELY The first theatrical adaptation of the Raymond Chandler favourite has all the crooks, dames, smoking guns and crystal balls with more dead bodies than your average graveyard in the world of LA private eye, Philip Marlowe. 7:30pm at Granville Island Stage. Tickets at ArtsClub.com. Runs until May 2.
ART CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL The annual celebration of photography and lens-based art continues, featuring over 100 exhibitions, public installations, community-based photo workshops, tours, talks and films. Various Vancouver venues, see CapturePhotoFest.com. Runs until April 29.
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LADY LAMB American singer/ songwriter/musician aka Aly Spaltro, on tour in support of her latest release After with special guest Rathborne. 8pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $12 at Red Cat, Zulu and TicketWeb.ca
MESSA DI GLORIA The Oratorio Singers and Strings present Puccini’s work, a mass composed for orchestra and four-part choir with tenor, bass and baritone soloists. 8pm at St. Andrew’s-Wesley Church. Tickets $25 at the door.
COCO LOVE ALCORN Canadian jazz and pop singer, daughter of jazz singer John Alcorn appears in support of her latest project The Spirit Sessions. 7pm at Backspace (1318 Grant St.). Tickets $20 at the door.
COUNTING CROWS American alternative rockers featuring vocalist Adam Duritz, hit the stage with special guests Twin Forks. 8pm at Orpheum Theatre. Tickets $59.50 at Ticketmaster.ca
FAT JOE Latino rapper from the Bronx, appears with guests Billionaire B, Juvi Dizzle, Dkay and Ghost. 8pm at Venue. Tickets $25 at BPLive.ca.
COMEDY
COMEDY SUMMER OF 69: NO APOSTROPHE Hollywood royalty comedy duo Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally bring their ‘comedic sex-ed’ tour to town. 8pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets $39.50 at LiveNation.com
COMEDY
THEATRE/DANCE
COMEDY AT THE BILTMORE Veteran comedian Dan Quinn hosts this all-pro comedy show featuring a different headliner every week, cheaper and funnier than seeing a movie! 8pm at Biltmore Cabaret. Tickets $10 at TicketFly.com
THEATRE/DANCE
MIDSUMMER A piece of musical theatre, for those who don’t like musical theatre is the tale of a lawyer with a penchant for expensive wines and the husband of another woman. 8pm at Studio 16. Tickets at Midsummer-Play. BrownPaperTickets.com. Runs until May 2.
STATIONARY: A RECESSIONERA MUSICAL An indie rock musical about the moment when big dreams meet reality checks, tackling post-recession existence with ukulele in hand. 8pm at Historic Theatre. Tickets at Tickets.TheCultch.com. Runs until May 2.
INTO THE WOODS The Brothers Grimm hit Broadway with an epic fairytale where worlds collide when everyone’s favourite storybook characters meet in this timeless, yet modern classic. 8pm at Jericho Arts Centre. Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca. Runs until May 16.
CHEAP & FUN
CHEAP & FUN
THE SONGS & LIVES OF WEST COAST LOGGERS Folk singers Jon Bartlett and Rika Ruebsaat share B.C. loggers’ songs from 1900 to 1945, along with historical photographs about the work and world of B.C. loggers. 7pm at Alice MacKay Room (VPL). Admission is free.
WISE WEDNESDAYS: LOOPING WORKSHOP Ever wanted to play around with a loop pedal but don’t have one? Singer/looper/ hugger Doug Koyama is setting up his loop rig for a resident workshop in the WISE lounge. Bring your voices, instruments and kind intention for impromptu composition. 9pm at WISE Hall Lounge. Admission by donation.
BRAHM’S TAMS DRUM CIRCLE Come join in every sunny Tuesday evening for a family-friendly drum circle after work until the sun sets. 5:30pm at Third Beach in Stanely Park. Free.
IETROW
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THEATRE/DANCE
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL BURLESQUE FESTIVAL Put on your pasties as the annual burlesque revue kicks off for a weekend of performances across Vancouver featuring headliners Midnight Martini, Iva Handfull, Toni Elling, Mr. Gorgeous alongside local favourites April O’Peel, Burgundy Brixx, Lola Frost and others. Various Vancouver venues. Tickets at NorthernTickets.com. Runs until May 2. DOGFIGHT: THE MUSICAL Based on the movie of the same name starring River Phoenix, the award-winning production follows three young marines on a boys night out who cross paths with an awkward, idealistic waitress who teaches them the power of compassion. 8pm at CBC Studio 700. Tickets at DogFight.BrownPaperTickets. com. Runs until May 3.
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IN THE HEIGHTS The Tony Award winning musical about home, family and finding where you belong set in NYC’s vibrant and tough Washington Heights neighbourhood. 8pm at Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Tickets at ArtsClub.com. Runs until June 7.
ART BLAME IT ON THE RAIN A major solo exhibition by Torontoborn, NYC-based artist Julia Dault reveals the importance of balancing spontaneous gesture with responsiveness to rules, logic and the constraints of materials. 12-6pm at Contemporary Art Gallery. Runs until June 28.
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ZAAC PICK Local singer/ songwriter presents his brand new album Constellations with special guests Boreal Sons from Calgary. 8pm at Fox Cabaret. Tickets $15 at ZaacPick. BandCamp.com
CHAD DANIELS The Minnesota comic whose devilishly naughty nature shines through like comedy gold with his arsenal of incisive, uproarious material. 8:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $15 at TheComedyMix.com
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FILM & TV
Chris Carter’s unfinished business After 17 years, the showrunner brings The X-Files home toVancouver SABRINA FURMINGER @sabrinarmf
Chris Carter doesn’t indulge in social media, but he still managed to spawn a trending topic when it was announced that the iconic series he created – The XFiles, about those equally iconic UFO-chasing FBI agents, Mulder and Scully – would be returning to Fox for a six-part event series. Between 1993 and 2002, The X-Files was a veritable cultural phenomenon. The paranormal drama logged 202 episodes over its nine seasons, five seasons of which were shot right here in the 604 before production moved down to Los Angeles. But the event series means more than just a return to
ardent believer Fox Mulder (portrayed David Duchovny) and resident skeptic Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson); for Carter and co., it also means a return to Vancouver, the city that subbed in for dozens of American cities between 1993 and 1998. “It was weird to leave Vancouver in the first place, because it was like taking your all-star team and saying, okay, now we’re going to start fresh someplace else,” says Carter in a recent phone interview. “The good and the bad of that is that we had to leave Vancouver, and going to Los Angeles and filming the last four years in Los Angeles, it opened up a whole new range of storytelling possibilities for us. That said, coming back to Vancouver, we’re coming back to a place that was so perfectly suited for telling a show that took place, because it was an FBI show, anywhere in America, and Vancouver doubles for almost everywhere in America.”
It’s been eight years since Carter scripted the second X-Files feature film (2008’s The X-Files: IWant to Believe, which was filmed in BC), and Carter says he’s returning to the X-Files characters and universe to take care of unfinished business. “When you’re doing a TV show, if you’re doing it right, or you’re doing it well, you have your head down, and I have to say, for 10 years of my life, I pretty much had my head down, and it’s only really, I think, in retrospect that I’ve had the ability or the opportunity to really appreciate it,” says Carter. “In doing it, there’s things that I realize that I hadn’t completed, I hadn’t finished in my mind, I hadn’t finished as a storyteller, so that’s really exciting.” “It’s not an opportunity to do six episodes of the show,” he adds. “It’s an opportunity to do something that will have an impact on the characters’ lives and all that came before it, and maybe even all
X-Files C9>*4B9 $5937 $*94>9 BD -BC*43BD A293D8 :3-F3D8 :B9 BD> B: 45> 7@3D0B:: FB13>7) $*94>9 H3-'> '*C. 3D 6*DCB21>9 4537 72FF>9 4B 75BB4 73G 5385-E *D43C3@*4>A D>H >@37BA>7 B: 45> 3CBD3C ,!J7 ;6 75BH) $BD493'24>A @5B4B that will come after.” So what should viewers expect as far as story? Fans will have to be patient; Carter isn’t dishing out any spoilers. “You will get a combination of what I think the show did best, which is to mix the mythology stories with the standalone episodes,” says Carter. “The people who are coming back to work on the creative side, meaning the writers and the directors, are people who did some of the best work in both of those respects.” The event series will film in Vancouver over the summer. “I haven’t written these characters in about eight years, so coming back to it requires a lot of thought and care, but that said, we did 202 episodes of the show,
so it’s something that comes naturally,” says Carter. It’s been more than 20 years since the pilot originally aired on Fox, and the series’ fan base has continued to expand, thanks largely to its shelf life on streaming services like Netflix. “The best thing is when you talk to somebody who is a fan of the show who wasn’t even born when the show first aired,” says Carter. “So you’re getting somebody who came to the show completely fresh and not at a time when the show was popular, so that’s exciting because it means the show resonates with people who were not part of that cultural moment.” An airdate has yet to be announced for the event series, but some reports have
it as late 2015 or early 2016. In the meantime, Carter is knee-deep in pre-production, and will appear at VIFF Industry’s celebration of National Canadian Film Day at Vancity Theatre on April 29. “I’ve been coming up there since 1986, so what I appreciate is the spirit with which the Canadians that I’ve worked with approach, not just their work, but their lives,” says Carter. “There were people who worked on the show who had, not that many years before, been loggers. I would say they brought a spirit to the work that you wouldn’t find in a place like Los Angeles.” W % '988 .-<6:8! /1 ,6<:/168 +616.:61 ':85 *64 !0#--1:1"! 061 2- $/91. 6<37''(/#"&<=-6<#-&!-#:-!&0616.:61);85).64(
Iconic local X-Files locations Last year, 173 B.C. workers died. Now, 173 families mourn. Let’s make our workplaces safer. Tuesday, April 28 For information about events in your area, visit dayofmourning.bc.ca
16 W April 23 - 29, 2015
“When I drive around [Vancouver] now, it’s almost like, ‘Where didn’t we film?’” says X-Files creator Chris Carter. Vancouver stood in for dozens of American cities over the five seasons that The X-Files shot here, but for locals, Vancouver was always recognizable as Vancouver. Here’s a rundown of some of our favourite local filming locations from The X-Files’ original run: < $34E ?=2*9> /*--& Mutant serial killer Eugene Victor Tooms was one of the creepiest characters to ever appear on The X-Files. In the stomach-churning episode entitled “Tooms”, the next-level contortionist
builds his nest beneath the escalators at City Square Mall (right next to City Hall). < I"JJ $B294 /B4>-& This kitschy Kingsway mainstay makes regular appearances in Vancouver-shot series and films. We spotted it in the episode entitled “Wetwired”, in which Mulder and Scully investigate death by television signals. < +1*-43D> $*:%& Mulder orders a slice of lemon pie and a coffee while sitting at the counter of this iconic Hastings Street café in the hilarious standalone episode “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.” < ?4*D->E (*9.& Our versatile
urban forest holds a lot of memories for Chris Carter. “When I’m in Stanley Park, I think of the cold nights we spent filming the original pilot episode using the woods there, and doing some special make-up effects there, so whenever I’m [there], I have some fond memories,” says Carter. < #*945>9 *:3>-A& Epic paranormal action also went down at Britannia Mine Museum in Britannia Beach, Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, and Grouse Mountain Skyride in North Vancouver, and we can only wonder what locations will loom out of the fog next. –Sabrina Furminger
Westender.com
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The “Prince of Pot” and his kingdom By Kristyn Anthony
Marc Emery has been in business since he was nine years old. Back then, it was stamps, a mail-order collector’s item business that eventually grew into buying and selling vintage Marvel comic books. So successful was he that by the age of 16, his overhead included room and board in the family home – his income greater than that of his two parents. Ever the entrepreneur, Emery went on to open City Lights Bookshop in London, Ontario. Its mantra “defending the culture” is the same today as it was when the doors opened in 1975. And, the same, too, is Emery’s belief in advocating for the right to literature, education, awareness, and legalization of all things related to and surrounding marijuana. He is, of course, the “Prince of Pot”, having founded Marc Emery’s Cannabis Culture, the world-renowned headquarters for his empire in downtown Vancouver, at 307 West Hastings. Opened in April of 1994, the small shop – then called Hemp BC – was the first and only store in Canada at the time where you could buy bongs, pipes, grow books, marijuana seeds and their in-house publication, Cannabis Culture Magazine. It didn’t take long for controversy to show up in the form of repeated raids in ’96, ’97 and ’98, eventually closing the store for a time. Never one to back down, Emery came back with a bigger and bolder vision after the launch of POT TV in 2000, re-opening as the BC Marijuana Party headquarters and branding the business “Cannabis Culture” in 2006, to more accurately reflect its range of products. Emery has never been the type to sit back and just reap the benefits of his incredibly successful venture. Like any good businessman, he recognizes that
in order to advance the culture he is so passionate about, a certain degree of capitalism is necessary. “The industry surrounding the legalization of marijuana is bigger than anyone ever imagined,” he says between tokes “and it’s being tolerated because of the revenue it’s bringing via tourism, energy consumption, and real estate.” “People of all ages, tourists, races, genders, economics classes – marijuana culture is impacting everyone and it’s a great unifier in a city like Vancouver that is so diverse.” It has been his journey, arrested 28 times, and in and out of prison, that essentially put Cannabis Culture, and Vancouver, on the map when it came to advocating for the legalization of marijuana. Emery is a household name, as evidenced by the legions of fans and followers who drop in daily to visit him or invite him to speak at rallies, events, protests and conferences worldwide which keeps him on the road. Though still very much involved in operations he leaves the bulk of day-to-day responsibilities to his business partner and wife, Jodie Emery. If you swing by the store, he’s getting people high, but he’s also educating them, sharing his wealth of knowledge and his beliefs and goals. He speaks articulately about his experiences and is genuinely interested in everyone who makes the pilgrimage to the store along “Pot Block” in what has become known as “Vansterdam” in Vancouver. “I’m here because my job is to keep the business viable with my presence, I guess I’m the patriarch of sorts” he laughs. Proud of the history of the neighbourhood, and its long lineage of resistance, Emery remembers opening here “because the rent was cheap and the landlord left me alone if I cleaned up the building.” Today, Cannabis Culture is not just
a store, but a community. The business now includes two vapor lounges, the Vancouver Seed Bank, open mic and jam nights, yoga classes and The Urban Shaman, a tiny alcove with legal entheogenic and psychedelic herbs for sale. Emery goes on to point out, “No other shops in Vancouver have a history like us. We started the 4/20 (or April 20) movement, and have watched it grow to crowds of thousands.” And there’s no sign of slowing down. Cannabis Culture opened the doors at a second location on April 15, breaking into the west end neighbourhood at Davie and Bidwell. “The Eden Dispensary invited us to open on site with them and it makes sense with what is essentially a builtin clientele,” Emery says. “And just in time for 4/20!”
307 West Hastings Street, Vancouver 604-682-1172 NOW OPEN at 1674 Davie Street, Vancouver 778-379-2430 ONLINE at cannabisculture.com Westender.com
April 23 - 29, 2015 W 17
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Point and shoot Sabrina Furminger Reel People @Sabrinarmf
Some of the most impactful moments in Songs SheWrote About People She Knows, a locally-produced indie comedy, occur when Carol – the morose and quirky “she” of the title – croons the startling, truth-telling compositions she leaves as voicemails for estranged friends and relatives. The moments are powerful because they’re uncomfortably intimate: staring down the barrel of the camera while recording a song for her boss entitled “Asshole Dave,” Carol (portrayed by Arabella Bushnell) makes the viewer a co-conspirator in her twisted attempt at musical therapy. These moments helped make the Kris Elgstranddirected feature film a critical darling of the 2014Vancouver International Film Festival, and largely exist as they do thanks to the ingenuity of director of photography Amy Belling. In many ways, Belling was Bushnell’s original co-conspir-
ator.Whenever Bushnell’s eyes were boring into the audience, she was actually singing directly into a super 16 camera that Belling was holding mere inches from her face. “If it’s handheld, and you’re working with the cast, it’s like a dance,” says Belling during a recent interview. “It’s so personal, and so organic, and so wonderful.” It’s a type of filmmaking sensibility that Belling – a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s film production program and the American Film Institute – has put to use on several features over the last three years, including Stress Position, Highway of Tears, two 2014 VIFF features (Two 4 One and Songs SheWrote About People She Knows), as well as numerous shorts, series, and MOWs. Belling is a rising star in a segment of the industry in which women are vastly underrepresented. Fewer than 2 per cent of working cinematographers are women. In the States, there are only 11 active women in the American Society of Cinematographers; the stats aren’t any better
art city
DP Amy Belling (right) shoots Arabella Bushnell in Songs She Wrote About People She Knows. north of the border. Still, Belling – who was recently accepted into IATSE Local 669 – says that nearly half of the cold call inquiries she receives come from filmmakers who’re intentionally looking for a female cinematographer. “Sometimes if there’s a female lead and there’s going to be nudity scenarios or intense scenes, maybe the actress would be more comfortable with a female behind the lens versus a male,” says Belling, who divides her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles. “I don’t love when I get an email for a job interview that starts out with, ‘We’re look-
ing for a female cinematographer’,” Belling continues. “How about you’re just looking for a talented cinematographer, and I either fit the bill or I don’t fit the bill?” Belling had one of the most transformative experiences of her career on Highway of Tears, the eye-opening documentary about women who have gone missing or been murdered along a 724-kilometre stretch of highway in northern BC. “The documentary says that 600 women nationally, across Canada, have been declared missing.That was in 2014. By the time we premiered at the
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Friday, May 1 7-9pm Saturday, May 2 10am-4pm Sunday, May 3 11am-4pm
Artist registration on-going, space permitting, at the West End Community Centre.
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18 W April 23 - 29, 2015
Women in Film Festival, that went up to 1200,” says Belling. “I’m so thrilled by how far the film has actually pushed the issue of doing a national inquiry into the murdered and missing. I feel privileged to be a part of [this film], and for people to trust us with their stories, too.” Belling is one of the few DPs in the business who’ll often juggle her DP responsibilities with a producer’s lengthy and ongoing to-do list. “I’m a director of photography, and I’m also a producer, and it’s super unorthodox,” says Belling. She wore both hats on
Songs SheWrote About People She Knows, which was shot over 15 days in 2014. Filming took place in Los Angeles and Vancouver – at 27 different locations. “It blows my mind how much we actually accomplished, because it was fast,” marvels Belling. She shot the film using a handheld camera package she rented from Clairmont Camera – one which staff had to dust off because it had been years since anybody had rented it. “I learned with film, and I was originally inspired by the graininess and the texture of film, so it’s what I’ve endeavored to always create,” says Belling. “It just made so much sense thematically to shoot it [Songs SheWrote] on film, and it also helped with the scope of the project.” W
SONGS SHE WROTE ABOUT PEOPLE SHE KNOWS
screens April 25-30 at Vancity Theatre. On April 29, it will screen in a sixfilm program as part of National Canadian Film Day. Details at VIFF.org/ theatre/films/fc8453songs-she-wrote-aboutpeople-she-knows.
REVIEWS // EX MACHINA
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac Directed by Alex Garland It seems that speculative futures are getting closer all the time. Whereas sci-fi trappings once seemed far-fetched, they now hit extremely close to home. A prime example of this would be this impressive directorial debut from Alex Garland, who previously penned Danny Boyle’s Sunshine and 28 Days Later. In this cautionary tale, we see Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a bright but meek code monkey, whisked away to the remote estate of Nathan (Oscar Isaac), an Oz-level tech wizard who’s already launched a revolutionary search engine and has now moved on to refining artificial intelligence. Caleb is to play guinea pig in an experiment that will put Ava (Alicia Vikander), Nathan’s decidedly seductive AI creation who gets a Lauren Bacall-calibre entrance, to the Turing test and determine whether she can demonstrate humanlike consciousness. While wrestling with his baser instincts (Who amongst us hasn’t salivated over a new iPhone?),
Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina. he begins to suspect that the mercurial Nathan may be dabbling in something more sinister. Wedding a script that explores contemporary concerns – our apathy towards our private information and penchant for blindly agreeing terms of service – with a stripped down aesthetic indebted to ‘70s sci-fi, Garland balances instances of humour with insights concerning power dynamics, be they between the genders or the new breed of billionaire playboys and their servile acolytes. Led by an in-form Isaac – who’s affably bro-ing down one second and brandishing a deity’s sadism the next – the cast powers through the script’s occasionally clunky dialogue, allowing the calibrated-for-maximumtension story mechanics to grip us. Calculated but never contrived, Garland’s film ultimately leaves us with the unsettling sense that we’ve already dug our own dystopian grave. – CurtisWoloschuk
Westender.com
REAL ESTATE //
@WESTENDERVAN
Rob Joyce & Sales Associate Roger Ross
West End Specialists Nobody knows the West End better!
Coming next week .... View! View! Unobstructed views to Lost Lagoon at 2015 Haro #105 West of Denman 931 sq. ft. two bedroom at Arniston Apartments. Windows on three sides, hardwood. Call today for details.
Sales Associate Roger Ross
West End Specialist Rob Joyce
MLS Diamond Master Medallion Award 2014
Coming next week ..... 1816 Haro West
of Denman bright one + den, 689 sq. ft. NE corner with upgrades. Call today for details.
New Listing Your private own 425 sq. ft. rooftop deck! 1705 Nelson #402 Beautifully renovated 713 sq. ft. top floor one bedroom + enclosed solarium
at The Palladium. Rarely offered fenced in deck. Pet friendly strata. $439,900.
L SO West of Denman 1967 Barclay #403 Pet Friendly Renovated West of Denman suite. SW corner & an open kitchen. Roof deck. $348,000.
WEST COAST WEST COAST
View! View! View! 1146 Harwood #1403 Stunning upgrades, water & city views, open balc. at The Lamplighter off Sunset Beach. $349,900.
604.623.5433
(Prime less 0.85%)
Rates subject to change without notice. O.A.C.
DIDYOU KNOW you can make your mortgage interest tax deductible? If you are a homeowner or purchasing a home with at least 20% equity, you may be eligible to set up your mortgage and generate thousands in annual tax benefits and mortgage interest savings. Contact me for details.
Contact me for all your purchase, refinance and renewal options. Other rates and terms available.
CALL 604-805-5888
maureen@maureenyoung.ca | maureenyoung.ca Dominion Lending – Downtown Financial An Independently Owned & Operated Corporation
Westender.com
bdrm El Cid. $319,900.
SOLD 1924 Comox #412 Highest price ever
per sq. ft. $469,900.
robjoyce@telus.net PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
Thanks Clients for Making Me One of the 2014 “Top 100 RE/MAX Realtors in Western Canada”! A Sophisticated Approach to Lifestyle Attainment. Professional Advisement and Marketing of Fine Vancouver Properties.
CURRENT RATES 5 Year Variable
SOLD 1850 Comox #704 West of Denman 1
Certified Senior Agent & Luxury Marketing Specialist
Senior Mortgage Advisor
2.59% 2.00%
renovated front suite at Harcrest Apartments, 705 sq. ft. Red oak hardwood & houselike. $319,900.
www.robjoyce.ca
MAUREEN YOUNG
5 Year Fixed
Heritage Suite 1055 Harwood #212 Large
D LLD O O S S
D
Number One Realtor in Office 2012, 2013 & 2014 2014 RE/MAX Chairman’s Club Award Winner
CURRENT LISTINGS: MACKENZIE HEIGHTS NEW PRICE
More on My Website at: www.MichaelDowling.ca WEST END
KITSILANO
WEST END
SOLD!
NEW PRICE!
OFFER PENDING
OFFER PENDING
506-1720 Barclay Street, $268,000
1001-1250 Burnaby Street, $268,000
1814 W. 11th Avenue, $1,098,000
703-1277 Nelson Street, $578,000
OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM
2905 West 37th Avenue, $4,780,000
• Brand New 5,383 SQFT 7 Bdrm, 8 Bath Home • Stunning Architectural Craftsman-Style Masterpiece • 4 Bdrms Up, 1 Down, Plus 900 SQFT 2 Bed, 2 Bath Legal Suite • Three Car Garage • Beautiful Landscaping, Built-in Water Fountains & BBQ • Stunning Oak Floors, High-End Appliances, Wok Kitchen • Mackenzie Heights/Kerrisdale – Near Best Schools and Right on Bike Route • Completion February 2015
Crest Westside Ltd.
EAST HASTINGS VILLAGE
WEST END
SOLD!
OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM
• Gorgeous Beautiful Renovated 1 Bedroom in Sought After “Lancaster Gate” – One Block to Denman • 644 SQFT, North West Corner With Lovely Tree Views • Lots of Light, Stunning Designer Renovation • Beautiful Laminate Wood Floors Thru-ought • Outdoor Pool • Storage, Parking Rentable • Commercial Leasehold till 2073 • Rentals allowed! Welcome Home!
Prepare to be MOVED™.
• Gorgeous, best unit in building at “The Horizon” • Second From The Top, South West Corner With Protected Ocean Views! • Junior 1 Bedroom With Partition Wall For Bedroom • Stunning Renovation with Beautiful Hardwood and Tile Designer Floors • Built-in Halogens Thru-ought, Quartz Counters, Jacuzzi Tub in Bathroom • Stunning Rooftop Deck, Pool and Rec Area, Parking and Storage Available • Commercial Leasehold till 2073 • Rentals Allowed,Welcome Home!
• Like-New 1270SQFT “Tudor-Style” 4Plex • 3 Beds, 3 Baths & Single Garage • Euro High-End Kitchen W’ Granite Counters • Warm Hardwood Throughout • Large Sunny Private Patio, Balcony Off Master & Covered Porch • Walk to Lord Tennyson School 1 Block • Few Blocks To Broadway UBC Express Bus • Gorgeous Home On Pretty Tree-Lined Street
• Renovated Largest Floorplan in Georgie Award Winner! • Best Building in Central Westend • 2 Bed, 2 bath 950SQFT Lots of Light • Beautiful Bathrooms, Granite Counters • Huge Windows With Great Views of Mountains & City • New Pipes, 1 Parking, 1 Storage, Rentals Yes, Pets No. • Updated Gym, Cedar Saunas • 2-3 Blocks to Robson, Davie, Denman, Parks & Shops • Welcome Home!
Call Us Today for a Confidential Needs Assessment and Market Analysis
210-2320 Trinity Street, $358,000
• Beautiful Partially Reno’d 2 Bedroom 900SQFT WIth Wood Fireplace! • North West Corner Suite – Best Location in Building • Quiet Side of Solid Building With Lions, Stanley Park & Harbour View on Quiet Lovely Street • Building Backs Onto a Park • Parking & Storage Included • Pets & Rentals Allowed! • Hottest Neighbourhood Up and Coming!
604-787-5568
www.MichaelDowling.ca
April 23 - 29, 2015 W 19
20 W April 23 - 29, 2015
Westender.com
REAL ESTATE //
@WESTENDERVAN
STEPHEN BURKE CALL NOW
FOR YOUR
SUTTON GROUP - WEST COAST REALTY 301-1508 W BROADWAY
VIEW 1 + DEN + DECK
604-714-1700
w w w . s t e p h e n b u r k e . c o m COMPLIMENTARY
604-551-4190
MID-TOWN TREE HOUSE
CONSULTATION
RETIRE ON LOST LAGOON
• • • • •
Established building in South False Creek 777 sf 1+den (could be 2nd BR/office) Upgraded kitchen cabinets & appliances Engineered wood floors throughout Custom walk-through dressing room
120 MILROSS
• • • • •
Semi-ensuite bath w/ upgrades Cozy gas Fireplace in living room 10’ x 7’ ft. open air entertainers’ deck Views to Mt. Baker and Burrard Inlet 1 parking/storage. Recently refreshed.
$525,000
G R E AT B U Y S O M A D I S T R I C T
• • • • •
1160sf2BR+den/2bath@WallCentre Nestled in the trees-an urban oasis Dappled sunlight on bright SE corner Formal entry. Full-size laundry Gorgeous fully upgraded kitchen
• • • • •
New island w/ quartz breakfast bar Den converted to formal dining room Entertainment sized living room Bring your house-size furnishings Walk score 100. Bring your pet too
1050 BURRARD
• • • • •
4th floor 1600 sq. ft. 3 BR 2 bath End unit w/opening windows 3 sides Overlookingspectacularpostcardviews Stanley Park, Lost Lagoon & mountains Large sunny open plan granite kitchen
• • • • •
Entertainers’ dining for 8-12 guests Large LR w/oversize ‘picture’ window 2 king-size BR’s, 1 w/granite ensuite 3rd BR for media room, home office Prestigious Chilco Towers on the Park
$798,000 710 CHILCO
• • • • •
Steps to SOMA area, shops, cafes Broadway, skytrain & main areas 1 Bedroom strata with mountain view Updated kitchen/cabinets & backsplash New bathroom vanity & lighting
$1,050,000 440 E. 5TH
• • • • •
Newer pet friendly floors--laminate Cozy gas FP, gas incl. in maint fee Insuite WD permitted w/ approval New roof. Low maint. incl H+HW+gas Parking & storage locker included
$289,900
www.dexterrealty.com 604-689-8226 Yaletown 604-336-3539 Main Street 604-263-1144 Kerrisdale
Layla Kevin Skipworth Managing Broker Bamford
Brad Pacaud
Kris Pope
Jimi Brockett
Nicole Cannon
Michael Chen
Matthew Chow
Jennifer Devlin
Christopher Dohm
Scott Evans
Erica Fremeau
James Hau
Jeff Holmes
Megan King
Johan Leung
Clarence Lowe
Travis Mako
Jocelyn Manlapaz
Bob Moore
Sean Murty
Mateen Qureshi
Nadine Ramos
Tyrone Robinson
Harj (Romi) Rai
Mike Rooney
Michael Shaw
Simmy Sandhu
Sheila Sontz
Melany Sue-Jonhson
Daryl Suarez
Natasha Sully
Larry Traverence
Esther Twerdochlib
Sharon Wayman
Michael Webster
Laurel Wood
Maria Zavaglia
Alice Robinson 604-263-1144
Matt Magee
604-790-6589
matt@mattmagee.ca
101-1250 BURNABY ST.
$195,000
604-649-6546
harrison@dexterrealty.com www.patriciaharrison.ca NEW LISTING
skipworth@ dexterrealty.com
1208-1177 HORNBY ST.
Spacious 2 bed, 2 bath home in LONDON PLACE. South-facing balcony with fabulous views to English Bay. Nothing to do, just move in.
$685,000
Candace Filipponi Reid Dewson 604-263-1144 604-263-1144
cline@ dexterrealty.com
1107-501 PACIFIC ST. $429,000 501 PACIFICOPEN 1 bed and SAT & SUN 12-2PM den! IN the heart of 501 PACIFIC 1 bedfrom and den! Yaletown, a block the In the heart Yaletown, a block seawall and of steps to George from the seawall and steps to Wainborn and David Lam Georgefind Wainborn andplan David parks, this open Lamsq.ft. parks,West-facing find ths open plan 588 588 sq.ft. West-facing apartment apartment that comes with that comes with 1 bed and 1 bed and den with granite den with granite counters, S/S counters, S/S and appliances andappliances laminate floors. laminate floors.
Su-Marie Baird 604-263-1144
32-1425 LAMEY’S MILL RD.
$688,000 $688,000
This is a rare find Custom Penthouse loft space in Yaletown. This amazing corner unit has 16 ft. soaring ceilings, two-level loft and a gas fireplace. Take a soak in your own private hot tub and enjoy the spectacular views that offer a luxury penthouse lifestyle.
Check out our website, www.dexterrealty.com for current market condition updates.
Courtney Otto
www.loftsvancouver.com
NEW LISTING
$549,900
626-610 GRANVILLE ST.
$678,000
Welcome to Electric Avenue. Seldon available floor plan, 2 bedroom plus den and 2 bathroom end unit! Quality Bosa built building, great city and a touch of ocean views. Spacious open floor plan, kitchen with granite countertops, new refinished wood floors and freshly painted rooms. Bedrooms located on opposite side of each other for privacy, master has walk-through closet to en-suite bathroom. Location is the best in hte city everything at your doorstep. Rentals and pets okay.
Marcus Maia Chris Spotzl 604-263-1144 604-263-1144
www.uptownvancouver.com
1108-1205 HOWE ST. Gloria Chamberlain 604-263-1144
713-1333 HORNBY STREET
1406-938 SMITHE ST.
$439,900
OPEN SAT & SUN 2-4PM ALL YOU WANT AND MORE… Gorgeous fully renovated 1 bedroom suite in False Creek. Generous 929 sq.ft., with high-end finishes – bring your house-sized furniture. Open plan perfect for entertaining in or out of doors on your large private patio. Pets, rentals, parking & storage. Prepaid C.O.V. lease to 2040.
Patricia Harrison
2105-1238 SEYMOUR SEYMOUR 2105-1238
Kevin Skipworth Cathie Cline 604-689-8226 604-263-1144
www.alicerobinson.com
INVESTOR ALERT! PRICED TO SELL AND A GREAT LOCATION JUST A FEW BLOCKS TO THE BEACHES AND SEAWALL. Fantastic studio apartment with great income potential. With light renovations and a bit of paint, this suite could be a fantastic revenue property. A great well-run concrete building that has undergone many updates & improvements and a great rooftop pool for summer entertaining. This is a leasehold prepaid non-strata so your maint. fees inc. tax, heat, hot water and all the other mentioned items.
Westender.com
Taking our Listings Global
$256,000
DOWNTOWN WITH A VIEW. Lovely top floor end unit with views to English Bay. Updated kitchen, large bay windows, skylight & outside deck. Great for investor or first time buyers.
Gorgeous unit at ALTO offering a great layout, 10’ ceilings, large balcony, and huge spa-like bathroom! Designer finishes include Electrolux wood-paneled appliances, custome floor to ceiling cabinetry, and polished stone countertops. Practical pluses include: oversized parking stall, storage locker, rooftop garden, party room, and billiards room. Live close to everything in one of the nicest boutique buildings Downtown. Just move in and enjoy the lifestyle!
$481,000
“The Hudson” - Spacious and Airy 962 foot two level corner loft home, complete with two entrances and a balcony overlooking the private courtyard. This ZONED Live/Work space is inspirational and comfortable, you might forget where you are until you walk outside and find all the possible amenities that you could imagine. High ceilings in the living room with a double set of windows that vertically span two stories, a separate dining/office or as it is used for now; a 2nd bedroom, two bathrooms (one up and one down), so functional and creative.
loftsvancouver.com
Commercial Real Estate Needs? Dexter Associates Realty’s
Ed Gramauskas Cell: 604-618-9727
to set up your business or retail store, or are looking to buy an investment property we can help you. Call us at 604-689-8226 today.
Details & Photos of all lofts for sale in Vancouver
commercial team will answer all of your questions and will help with
April 23 - 29, 2015 W 21
LIFESTYLES //
WESTENDER.COM
REAL ESTATE
Vancouver landlords sitting pretty
Real Estate Opens
Cheap mortgages, high rents, low vacancies and soaring property values combine for blue-chip real estate investment
West End
1001-1250 Burnaby St, Jr.1 bdrm, $268,000, Sat & Sun 2:00-4:00
WIP Investment Corp., which specializes in buying, improving and renting some of the half-century-old wood frame apartment buildings that make up 85% of Metro Vancouver’s rental universe. There are 105,000 multifamily rentals in the region, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) and that number hasn’t changed in nearly 20 years, added Jones, part of a five-member landlord panel at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum. CMHC mortgage insurance on rental buildings, meanwhile, allows landlords
to secure 10-year bank financing at rates as low as 1.9%, which is lower than the annual rent increases allowed under B.C. rental legislation. It is also a lower lending rate than that charged to investors in condominiums, which represent the only real rental competition. At the same time, demand for land has driven the price of old apartment buildings to record highs. A day before the Vancouver Real Estate forum opened, a 60-year old, eight-suite apartment building on West 10th in Vancouver sold for $500,000 per
suite and “per-door” prices average more than $230,000 across the Metro region, up 12% in the past year. The rental vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver is a tight 1.4% and the average rental rate, at $1,166, is the highest in the country, confirms a survey by Colliers International, which notes that soaring home prices may push the number of Vancouver renter households above the current 50% level. Despite protests from tenant advocates, “renovictions” – where tenants are evicted as landlords improve aging apartments to achieve higher
rents – are rare in Vancouver, the panel was told, with most landlords opting for incremental improvements. “In reality, the motivation [for renovictions] is not there,” said panelist Hanni Lammam, executive vice-president of Cressey Development Corp. “Notwithstanding the state of the building or the state of repair, we still get top market rent. I don’t think there is a lot of renovictions. It makes a good sound bite, but it doesn’t really happen that often.” –Story courtesy of Business inVancouver
Today’s Drive: Cadillac SRX
rear axle to enhance control during hard cornering. Further aiding handling is the variable-effort, speedsensitive steering system. It is tuned with a sport-sedan style bias and gives good feedback without feeling too heavy. In fact, thanks to the traditional hydraulic steering mechanism, the SRX provides a sportier feel than many of its competitors, which have incorporated electric steering system. The SRX is also available with Cadillac’s advanced safety systems.The most sophisticated of those features is frontal automatic braking. Using radar, camera and ultrasound technology, this system helps prevent low-speed collisions with alerts and the ability to brake completely, if necessary.
bolstered, yet roomy. However, the three-passenger rear seat can be a little tight for taller adults, partly due to the SRX’s low roof.The UltraView power sunroof goes a long way to making the cabin feel bright and airy. The 844-litre volume should be plenty for regular shopping, but the cargo space behind the folding and reclining rear seats is somewhat less than its rivals. The foundation of the SRX’s interior is its infotainment system.The Cadillac User Experience (CUE) is complimented by Bluetooth audio streaming, and USB and SD connection. You interact with the system through a touch-sensitive eight-inch display.The large easy-to-target buttons and Haptic feedback create a comfortable experience, although it is not the most user-friendly unfortunately (like most touch controls lately). To make the driving experience more enjoyable, the SRX offers active noise cancellation. Using microphones to monitor ambient noise, a computer
plays counteracting frequencies through the audio system to quiet the cabin.
19
Yaletown
1107-501 Pacific St, 1 bdrm + den, $429,000, Sat & Sun 12:00-2:00
21
False Creek
32-1425 Lamey’s Mill Rd., 1 bdrm, $439,900, Sat & Sun 2:00-4:00
21
Mackenzie Heights 2905W. 37th Ave., 7 bdrm, $4,780,000, Sat & Sun 2:00-4:00
19
DAVID CHAO westender.com
In recent years, Cadillac has raised its profile with edgy styling and surprisingly good performance.The sporty 2015 SRX enhances that appeal. Despite not seeing significant changes since this generation’s debut back in 2010, the SRX still matches up well against the best in the luxury crossoverSUV segment. Its main competitors are the Lexus RX, the BMW X3, and the Audi Q5 – which are all important rivals. The minor additions GM made this year include new colours and the 4G-LTE with built-inWi-Fi hotspot capability on the OnStar system.
DESIGN
Chiselled and athletic are the best words to describe the distinctive SRX.The angular lines give it a masculine feel. Even though the SRX is one
FRANK O’BRIEN biv.com
Metro Vancouver multi-family landlords are basking in a confluence of factors that make owning old apartment buildings perhaps the best real estate play in Canada, a Vancouver real estate meeting was told April 9. Most buildings are full, few new rentals are being built, landlords pay the lowest mortgage rates and the value of their properties have skyrocketed. “We should all get up and do the watusi,” quipped Ward Jones, president of
of the most “dated” vehicles in Cadillac’s lineup, its styling holds up well and the car still looks fresh and exciting. The SRX’s look is epitomized by Cadillac’s wide shield grille, flanked by the now iconic vertical headlights.The wheels are pushed to the corners, resulting in a wide stance and short overhangs. Looking at the SRX from the side, your eye is drawn to the fender vents and prominent crease rising from the top of the front wheel to just below the rear window.The high beltline and rear slanted roof continue the aggressive look, but does limit outward visibility. Vertical taillights compliment the front and the twin tailpipes round out the package. A power liftgate is standard on all but the base model. The SRX’s cabin is still upto-date and luxurious; It should please any young executive, though the newer competitors
are perhaps a bit more modern. Available in four trim levels, the SRX is offered with Luxury, Performance and Premium Collections.
PERFORMANCE
All SRX models are powered by a direct-injected 3.6-litreV6 rated at 308 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque. Lightweight materials were used to reduce overall weight for greater efficiency and a better front-to-rear balance. It is mated to a Hydra-Matic 6T70 six-speed automatic transmission, which features a ECO mode the alters the shift points to improve fuel economy. All-wheel drive is available to every model except the base model.The system incorporates an electronic limited-slip differential that increases traction in slippery conditions, while also providing side-toside torque transfer across the
CARNEY’S CORNER
ENVIRONMENT
The SRX’s cabin is a blend of luxury and technology.The materials are rich, the wood accent trim feels authentic, and the overall look and feel is comfortable and contemporary. The front seats are well
FEATURES
The 2015 SRX ranges in price from $42,930 to 58,205. Standard equipment includes heated front seats, automatic dual-zone climate control, heated exterior mirrors, keyless entry system, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity. Additional features, available as options or on higher trims, include ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot warning, front and rear park assist, rearview camera, auto-dimming mirrors, auto windshield wipers, and remote start. Fuel efficiency numbers (L/100km) for front-wheel drive models are 14.2 city, 9.6 highway, and 12.3 combined. All-wheel drive models return 14.8 city, 10.4 highway, and 12.8 combined. W
ATTN: INVESTORS & VIEW LOVERS!
sTanley CuP Playoff sPeCIal Extra large one bedroom features overheight ceilings, engineered wood floors, enlarged cooks kitchen with corian counters, updated bath, home office, great storage and large balcony. Underground parking is included, laundry room free and dedicated to the one bedrooms or can be installed insuite with strata permission. Quiet position overlooking garden with only one common wall. Central West End location. Cat welcome. $369,900
Sought after “03” suite at Harbour Side Park! BREATHTAKING FOREVER VIEWS of Coal Harbour, Stanley Park, marina, + N.Shore Mountains. This is the most sought-after 1 bdrm floor plan w/the best view in the building and no wasted space. Open kitchen with 5 appls. Insuite washer/dryer, insuite storage, huge living room, marble bath, open kit. Secured U/G parking, 2 storage lockers, + 2 private bike lockers. Indoor pool, gym, theatre, hot tub, 2 meeting + party rooms, billiards, 24 hr. security, visitor parking, resident manager etc. Well maintained and managed building. Pets and rentals allowed.
FIRST STAR! Great value in rare two bedroom, two bath with gas fireplace, engineered wood floors, new stainless appliances, granite counters and more. BBQ on your covered balcony or entertain on the gorgeous common rooftop deck. End unit with windows on three sides and only one common wall in boutique style strata steps to Denman, Davie, Robson, Stanley Park and English Bay. Laundry with strata permission but on every floor. Pet friendly, limited rentals. $479,000
$499,900 • 1603-555 Jervis • Breathtaking views!
STRAIGHT OUT OF B.C. HOME MAGAZINE!
ChamPIonshIP seRIes Rarely available two bedroom, two bath sub-penthouse with English Bay views. Sought after West of Denman location showcases immaculate home with red oak hardwood floors, solid wood cabinets, granite and stone counters, custom blinds, fixtures and closet organizers. Great floorplan with good light and crossbreeze, gracious living area and formal dining with sunny deck to enjoy sailboats and sunsets on the bay! Pet friendly. COMING SOON
WEN
West End Neighbours
New info always available on the website; an opportunity for community to stay in touch and keep up on local issues. www.westendneighbours.ca
TALK TO LIZ CARNEY 604 685-5951/603-3095
Fiz.cErC@B@c@CtHrB21.cE • www.vancouvercondo.com C@CtHrB 21 IC TAwC R@EFtB • 421 PEci?ic • 1030 D@CDEC
22 W April 23 - 29, 2015
This extraordinary home must be seen! Luxurious 3 bedroom, 3 bath urban oasis features a sophisticated Art Deco esthetic with $160,000 in upgrades. The main floor boasts hardwood floors, a gourmet kitchen, a sunken living room with gas fireplace, a large family room (with gas fireplace) two huge garden patios, and a stunning dining room with unique canvas painted ceiling by artist Veronica Foster. The upper level has a big balcony, 3 bedrooms include huge garden view master bedroom and 2 spa-like 5pc baths. The lower level has what most other condos are missing. A giant 468 sq ft media room / man cave, a private 2 car garage and 350 sq ft of storage room with direct access to your home.
$1,590,000 • 1020 Quebec St • Extraordinary
Call MICHAEL ROBSON
for your private appointment In Town Realty
604-671-7256
michaelrobson@shaw.ca www.vancouvercanadarealty.com
Prompton Real Estate 201-179 Davie Street, Vancouver
Westender.com
LIFESTYLES //
@WESTENDERVAN
HEALTH
The path to eating local is lined with perks local growers. Farmers’ markets offer a variety of fresh foods that our lovely coastal region has to offer. Also, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon outdoors. We are still in winter market season but, soon enough, there will be tons of markets popping up, making it more convenient for everyone to get their fresh produce party on.
Patty Javier Gomez Whole Nourishment
@WholeNourishBC Vancouver has always been on top of local food movements, because, let’s face it, most Vancouverites have an inner foodie that can tell you the many different ways that they have prepared kale. Living here, we are in a healthy lifestyle bubble. Vancouver is known for the 100 Mile Diet, farm-to-table movements, and long-running farmers’ markets among many other wonderful foodie things. Yes, the local movement is in high-gear here. It’s just getting bigger and more popular, and for many of us, it’s just a part of everyday life. Eating local means eating foods that are in season, making them fresher and more nutritious. Produce that is picked when it is ripened (and not a minute before), allows your body to take advantage of the flavours and nutrients. Fruits and veggies that are exported have to travel a long way to get to our plates. Unfortunately, some companies have found a way to compensate for this. Let’s take a look at the tomato, for example. According to Thomas F. Pawlick, author of The End of Food, most tomatoes sold in supermarkets are actually picked before they are ripe, just as they begin to turn color. At the time of selling, they
JOIN A CSA
Supporting local farmers is good for you and the economy. Thinkstock photo are then artificially ripened by a process which involves gassing the green tomato with ethylene. This gives the tomato the colour we all know so well. However, it is not the same as if it were naturally ripened, especially in terms of flavour and texture. Have you ever bit into a bright red tomato that is rock hard? Now you know why. Needless to say that eating more fresh, local foods can help you avoid the tennis ball-textured tomato and its equally dense counterparts. According to GetLocalBC.org, the average North American meal travels 2,400 km from the farm to the plate. But as the distance food trav-
els decreases, so does the need for processing and refrigeration to reduce spoilage.When we buy food locally, we are reducing the usage of fossil fuels, which contribute to air pollution and other negative environmental effects. And of course, buying local helps local farmers and businesses to thrive. Your dollar can actually create a healthy food system, reduce your carbon footprint and help support the local economy. Here’s how you can stay local:
Community Supported Agriculture supports farmers by having people buy a share in their produce at the beginning of the season, in exchange for deliveries of fresh produce. It’s an awesome win/win situation, and a tried-and-true system. This would be a good time of year to start doing your Internet research on some CSAs that you can be a part of this season.
FARM-TO-TABLE RESTAURANTS
left coast, mild weather that we can grow food all year round, even if the winter months seems to only bring more kale and root veggies than we can count. It’s still delicious, nutrient-dense food that you can get super creative with!
There are so many awesome restaurants to discover here that celebrate the best of what BC has to offer. Great lists of farm-to-table restaurants have been gathered by sites like We Heart Local BC, Urbanspoon, and more. W
PRESERVE FOOD
Stocking up on foods throughout the spring/summer months and preserving them for the winter is a great tool for eating local all year round.
RECIPE ONLINE
Visit Westender.com for Patty’s kale dip recipe.
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Read labels on fruits/veggies, etc., to see where they are from. We have so many amazing local companies and growers that produce quality food. This is also one of the easiest ways you can vote with your wallet and show local chain stores that you want even more local food. We are so lucky with our
FARMERS’ MARKET
This is a great way to support local and meet your
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Three easy steps before you dig: 1 Call: Call BC One Call at 1-800-474-6886 or cellular *6886 or click bconecall.ca 2 Review: Once you receive your natural gas line location, review it before digging. 3 Clarify: If you need further clarification, call us at 1-888-822-6555 and we can explain. Know what’s below before you dig. Learn more at fortisbc.com/digsafe. FortisBC uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. (15-015.1 03/20)
April 23 - 29, 2015 W 23
LIFESTYLES //
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SEX
Free Will Astrology Braving Daring’s By Rob Brezsny
Chris Moneymaker was employed as an accountant in Tennessee. On a whim, he paid $39 to enter an online poker tournament. Although he knew a lot about the game, he had never competed professionally. Nevertheless, he won the tournament. As his award, he received no money, but rather an invitation to participate in the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Can you guess the storybook ending? The rookie triumphed over 838 pros, taking home $2.5 million. I don’t foresee anything quite as spectacular for you, Aries, but there may be similar elements in your saga. For example, a modest investment on your part could make you eligible for a chance to earn much more. Here’s another possible “pot” twist: You could generate luck for yourself by ramping up a skill that has until now been a hobby.
EBay is a multi-billion-dollar e-commerce business that has been around for almost 20 years. But it had an inauspicious beginning. The first item ever sold on the service was a broken laser pointer. Even though the laser pointer didn’t work, and the seller informed the buyer it didn’t work, it brought in $14.83. This story might be a useful metaphor for your imminent future, Taurus. While I have faith in the vigor of the long-term trends you are or will soon be setting in motion, your initial steps may be a bit iffy.
Poetically speaking, it’s time to purify your world of all insanities, profanities, and inanities. It’s a perfect moment for that once-in-a-blue-moon Scour-a-Thon, when you have a mandate to purge all clunkiness, junkiness, and gunkiness from your midst. And as you flush away the unease of your hypocrisies and discrepancies, as you dispense with any tendency you might have to make way too much sense, remember that evil is allergic to laughter. Humor is one of the most effective psychospiritual cleansers ever.
I was in the checkout line at Whole Foods. The shopper ahead of me had piled her groceries on the conveyor belt, and it was her turn to be rung up. “How are you doing?” she said cheerfully to the cashier, a crabby-looking hipster whom I happened to know is a Cancerian poet and lead singer in a local rock band. “Oh, I am living my dream,” he replied. I guessed he was being sarcastic, although I didn’t know for sure. In any case, I had a flash of intuition that his answer should be your mantra in the coming weeks. It’s time to redouble your commitment to living your dream! Say it 20 times in a row right now: “I am living my dream.”
As I awoke this morning, I remembered the dream I’d just had. In the dream, I had written a horoscope for you. Here’s what it said: “The Kentucky Derby is a famous horse race that takes place on the first Saturday of every May. It’s called ‘The Run for the Roses’ because one of the prizes that goes to the winning horse and jockey is a garland of 554 roses. I suspect that your life may soon bring you an odd treasure like that, Leo. Will it be a good thing, or too much of a good thing? Will it be useful or just kind of weird? Beautiful or a bit ridiculous? The answers to those questions may depend in part on your willingness to adjust your expectations.”
Don’t calm down. Don’t retreat into your sanctuary and relax into protective comfort. If you have faith and remain committed to the messy experiment you have stirred up, the stress and agitation you’re dealing with will ripen into vitality and excitement. I’m not exaggerating, my dear explorer. You’re on the verge of tapping into the catalytic beauty and rejuvenating truth that lurk beneath the frustration. You’re close to unlocking the deeper ambitions that are trapped inside the surface-level wishes.
American author Stephen Crane wrote his celebrated Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage in 10 days. Composer George Frideric Handel polished off his famous oratorio Messiah in a mere 24 days, and Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky produced his novel The Gambler in 16 days. On the other hand, Junot Díaz, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, needed 10 years to finish it. As for you, Libra, I think this is– and should be! – a phase more like Díaz’s than the other three creators’. Go slowly. Be super extra thorough. What you’re working on can’t be rushed.
In her book A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman describes a medieval knight who asked his lady for a strand of her pubic hair: a symbol of her life force. The lady agreed. He placed the talisman in a locket that he wore around his neck, confident that it would protect him and consecrate him in the course of the rough adventures ahead. I recommend that you consider a similar tack in the coming weeks, Scorpio. As you head toward your turning point, arm yourself with a personal blessing from someone you love. Success is most likely if you tincture your fierce determination with magical tenderness.
“An escalator can never break,” mused comedian Mitch Hedberg. “It can only become stairs. You should never see an ‘Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order’ sign, just ‘Escalator Is Temporarily Stairs.’” I think a similar principle applies to you, Sagittarius. If we were to try to evaluate your current situation with conventional wisdom, we might say that part of your usual array of capacities is not functioning at its usual level. But if we adopted a perspective like Hedberg’s, we could rightly say that this part of you is simply serving its purpose in a different way.
I’ve got a tough assignment for you. It won’t be easy, but I think you’re ready to do a good job. Here it is: Learn to be totally at home with your body. Figure out what you need to do to feel unconditional love for your physical form. To get started on this noble and sacred task, practice feeling compassion for your so-called imperfections. I also suggest you cast a love spell on yourself every night, using a red candle, a mirror, and your favorite creamy beverage. It may also help to go down to the playground and swing on the swings, make loud animal sounds, or engage in unusually uninhibited sex. Do you have any other ideas?
When Aquarian media mogul Oprah Winfrey was born, “Oprah” was not what she was called. Her birth certificate says she is “Orpah,” a name her aunt borrowed from a character who appears in the biblical Book of Ruth. As Oprah grew up, her friends and relatives had trouble pronouncing “Orpah,” and often turned it into “Oprah.” The distorted form eventually stuck. But if I were her, I would consider revisiting that old twist sometime soon, maybe even restoring “Orpah.” For you Aquarians, it’s a favorable time to investigate original intentions or explore primal meanings or play around with the earliest archetypes.
What I propose is that you scan your memories and identify everyone who has ever tried to limit your options or dampen your enthusiasm or crush your freedom. Take a piece of paper and write down a list of the times someone insinuated that you will forever be stuck in a shrunken possibility, or made a prediction about what you will supposedly never be capable of, or said you had a problem that was permanently beyond your ability to solve. Once you’ve compiled all the constricting ideas about yourself that other people have tried to saddle you with, burn that piece of paper and declare yourself exempt from their curses. In the days after you do this ritual, all of life will conspire with you to expand your freedom.
Apr. 23: William Shakespeare (451) Apr. 24: Barbra Streisand (73) Apr. 25: Jason Lee (45) Apr. 26: Channing Tatum (35) Apr. 27: Ace Frehley (64) Apr. 28: Penelope Cruz (41) Apr. 29: Uma Thurman (45)
24 W April 23 - 29, 2015
1969 sex column
Does dating advice from a 1960s porno mag hold up? The short answer is…no Sex with Mish Way
@MyszkaWay In 1969, 75 cents bought you snaps of naturally gorgeous tits (really, truly, no sarcasm here), a few cartoons of rape jokes, workplace-focused erotica, and pages and pages of All American Ass. When my husband and I got married we merged our vintage porn collections. He’s got piles and piles of men’s magazines from the ‘60s and ‘70s passed down by his father, and I recently started flipping through an issue of Daring: Excitement For Men, a hippy-era rag published alongside the likes of Playboy and Oui. Who doesn’t like flipping through old pornography and men’s magazines? Pre-1980 you could find an interview with Kim Fowley about adolescent sex, right next to ads selling men “modern scientific methods” on how to “build up a rugged body, command respect and admiration, FEAR NO MAN.” Life-sized inflatable sex dolls as pretty as Vivien Leigh cost $9.95. But what really caught my attention was page 51 of Daring’s December 1969 issue: an extensive sex check-list, penned by John Bardin, meant to help you score again and again. (Right next to a spread of California’s Carla Conway, wearing nothing but a lace bonnet and a demented smile.) Bardin’s check-list describes women as doll-like cut outs, and gives instruction on how to treat each one based on her demeanor and actions. I’ll translate what Bardin really meant: Edith AKA The Maiden: “The first time you date Edith don’t make it seem like a date. Meet her outside the shop and walk along with her and then after you’ve listened to what she has to say about her day, buy her a cola. Ask her to the movies Saturday night. Hold hands. Kiss her on the doorstep, don’t go in even if she ask you. Be polite, kind, generous and bored. When you see her outside of the building at lunch-time Tuesday, she’ll be with another girl- say, “Hi!” and walk away.” Translation: Treat Edith like a child you are babysit-
Daring magazine’s December 1969 issue. Mish Way photo ting so she questions if this outing is actually going to lead to something sexual and her confidence diminishes, so she questions if she is worthy enough for someone like you even though you are hardly special. Ask her on a second date that’s slightly more romantic as to brighten her vulnerable and doubtful mind after you walked her like a Poodle and bought her cheap soda. Anytime you do something caring and nice for her, be sure to follow it up with something withholding so her confidence stays low. Act like everything she says is boring so she feels like she has to impress you (because, after all, she doesn’t. But you have to fake this to create the illusion of appeal since you are pathetic enough to listen to my erotica masquerading as advice and not just be a human being.) If you ever see her in front of her friends, treat her like she’s one of yours, so her friend thinks she could have a chance with you, too. Shirley AKA The Fast Track: “You take her left hand (never the right – a girl thinks in terms of the third finger, left hand.You may never want to ring that finger, but you start a quiver down her spine if you take that hand, very gently, and hold it until the hot dryness of the fingers and palms subsides.” Translation: Even the slutty ones see marriage as the end game, so watch the fuck out.
Delilah AKA Slow To Start: “She wants you to make up her mind. She needs you more than Fast Track will ever need any man. But where Fast Track wants to know who you are, Delilah isn’t very particular as long as you shave, bathe and earn a living. Delilah wants to be married.You drove to her apartment and she, hesitantly, lets you in. Three months later you are paying the rent. Translation: Razors are cheap.You can do this. It’s not your job to be anything but clean and wealthy.You don’t even have to learn to eat pussy when you can pay for things. Bardin closes up by reminding the readers that “a man acts-and a woman reacts-only to a man’s actions. The come-on is the woman’s: the decision is the man’s. The man who allows the woman to decide will have difficulty all along. Women need men. Any woman will try to make her man her own; she will only be your woman if you decide to make her your own.” Now every woman go and thank any woman you know over the age of 60 for putting up with this shit so you can live the way you do. W
EMAIL MISH Send Mish your own sex questions and queries to sex@westender.com
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One Easy Step Toward Sustainability Adjust your diet: Changing food choices to be more Earth-friendly isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Buying local helps, as does going for organically grown or produced foods. Another big factor is eating a mainly plant-baseddiet. For more information on plant-based diets, contact our Nutrition Team at nutrition@choicesmarkets.com. Also pick up a copy of one or both of these Wellness Guides: Beyond Broccoli: Plant Based Nutrition AND Becoming a Sustainabilist.
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