Westender - January 29, 2015

JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4 // 2015

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2 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

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January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 3

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INSIDE THIS WEEK You’re All Just Jealous of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld

23

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CP CAN PRETTY MUCH SUCK IT

Re:“City ofVancouver loses bid to halt CP”, Jan. 22, 2015.

Sour grapes CP rail! You didn’t get your way with development and you didn’t get the millions of dollars you demanded so you’ve decided to run trains again (after not having the need to do so for years). Instead of having community green space, bird habitat, gardens and walkways, neighborhoods can expect the eyesore of clear cut brush and tracks, no trespassing signs, garbage dumping grounds, pesticides and noisy trains. Why couldn’t the city and CP get it together and develop something like New York’s High Line Park? And before anyone goes there... no I am not some rich resident of Point Grey. I, like many who enjoy these gardens, rent a small apartment with no yard. I will miss lunch hours walking the paths and taking in the beauty and hard work of so many. Thanks for nothing CP, your “right-of-way” is the wrong way.

–L.Watson

SIGH...

The public library on Georgia Street is a cesspool of the

mentally ill, filthy disheveled homeless and halfway-houseincarcerated via the Sally Anne’s Belkin House homeless and criminal shelter, located just a stones throw from the library.

Hence filthy people fall asleep on library chairs, laugh insanely aloud disturbing others and initiate and engage others insanely due to their crack cocaine drug habit. Verbal and/or physical altercations and assaults are not unusual in the library, due to it being an ostensible “Riverview.”

I have personally requested that the library remove the blue chair cushions on all library chairs due to mentally ill and drug addicts filth soiling the cushions. The library refuses to do so for some arcane reasoning, hence one must locate and sit on the thickest book possible to keep one’s ass clean from the puke, defecation stains and bed bugs on the blue cushions, that are far from “blue” color anymore.

I have reported to the ostensible “security” on site that there are crack cocaine addicts smoking crack in the men’s bathroom in the lower level of the building and in the foyer when the library closes at 9pm and the foyer common public place is left open another hour for homeless to sit

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in their stink and filth and smoke crack in the lower level. Just incase the uninitiated have no idea of what crack vapors smell like before it sends you into la-la land, it smells akin to strawberries burning. If this rant is NOT politically correct then good, I don’t strive to appease the left wing semantic police one bit.

Open Riverview again, Christy Clark, and clean up our streets of these derelicts and embarrassment to the otherwise architecturally beautiful building. Ditto for the Downtown Eastside.

More police walking the beat and arresting crack smokers in public that are ignored. Left wing lib-tarded pseudo social workers hand out free crack pipes to justify a job for themselves. There are ample clean free clothes and free laundry and free showers in Vancouver, and the filthy are all aware where these are located and they are just too focused on the drug usage to bother to take a shower and wear clean clothes.

Enough is enough with this bleeding heart left wing horse shit. If someone openly fires up their provincial governmentprovided crack pipe next to you at a bus shelter, then phone the police and demand action!

–Calvin Pitre

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4 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

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YOUR CITY

Police Chief Jim Chu’s exit leaves ‘big shoes to fill’ MIKE HOWELL @howellings

The day before Police Chief Jim Chu announced he will retire this spring from a 36year career with the Vancouver Police Department, he sat down to lunch with a table of strangers in the Carnegie Centre at Main and Hastings.

Kelvin Bee, a residential school survivor, and Jasper Joseph, who has challenged authority since he was a kid, were two of Chu’s lunch mates.

They all seemed to get along, despite the conflicting histories of the three men.

“I’ve got to commend the chief with taking a chance with our women who still might be in the [sex] trade and with people that are addicted with alcohol or drugs — some of them even coming in here under the influence,” Bee said after Chu left the table to lead a raffle draw for 80 of his guests at the fourth “Lunch with the Chief” at the Carnegie.

Eight other tables at the centre were occupied by a mix of police officers and Downtown Eastside residents, all there to get to know each other, ask and answer tough questions and keep the conversation moving along well enough to encourage another lunch date.

It was Joseph’s second luncheon.

“I thought this was going to be one of those places where I was going to get uncomfortable,” he said after finishing his sandwich. “I don’t like people in authority. Whether they shake my hand or not, or smile, I have a hard time with it. I’ve been that way since I was a kid. But my emotions today are more different than they used to be. I can shake [a police officer’s] hand now and feel comfortable around them and not feel like they’re going to arrest me.”

It’s a revealing quote that Chu would consider a gain – a term he used at his news conference last Friday when asked about his legacy in the Downtown Eastside and whether his seven-and-a-half years of leadership has improved relationships between the VPD and residents. With the bungling of the missing and murdered women investigation, the unprecedented ticketing of lowincome residents for jaywalking and vending and incidents of police using excessive force on residents, Chu has had to answer for his department’s failures and wrongdoing in the low-income neighbourhood.

“In policing, there’s never a time to declare victory,” he told reporters at the Cambie Street police station. “You’re always looking if you’re moving in the right direction. Are things improving at the right pace?

And then, as you have a gain, you want to work harder to get more gains. So we’re going to continue to work with all our

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ever is going to replace him.”

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Police Chief Jim Chu welcomed about 80 guests to his fourth “Lunch with the Chief” at the Carnegie last Thursday, the day before he announced his retirement. Dan Toulgoet photo partners, including those in the Downtown Eastside, to assure them that we care about safety for every person in Vancouver.”

While observers of the 55-year-old Chu’s tenure as chief may point to his leadership during the 2010 Winter Olympics or his department’s response to the Stanley Cup riot in 2011 as hallmarks of his career, his record in the Downtown Eastside brings a more guarded reaction from residents and agencies who have watched the VPD leader’s moves in the community.

“We have a long way to go, but we’re taking steps forward and doing the work that needs to be done for safety in this community,” said Mona Woodward, former executive director of the Aboriginal Front Door Society, as she left the luncheon. “That’s why there was such outrage down here before because nothing was being done.”

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

Chu’s commitment to improve relationships in the Downtown Eastside was evident more than four years ago when officers and women from the neighbourhood created Sisterwatch, an initiative aimed at preventing violence against women.

Woodward is co-chairperson of Sisterwatch but pointed out the crime prevention network probably wouldn’t have formed had it not been for a tragedy: her niece, 22-yearold Ashley Machiskinic, fell to her death Sept. 15, 2010 from a room at the back of the Regent Hotel. The death led to Woodward and a group of women occupying the thenpolice headquarters at 312 Main to pressure Chu and his officers to investigate what they believed to be a murder.

Chu called and attended a town hall meeting, which led to the creation of Sisterwatch and regular meetings with

“Our relationship with the VPD is so much better under chief Chu than it was under [Police Chief Jamie] Graham... It’s been a world of difference.”

–Douglas King, Pivot Legal Society residents. The luncheons, which began last year, are an extension of those initiatives.

Investigators, meanwhile, continue to treat Machiskinic’s death as a “sudden death” file, according to the chief.

“The positive thing is that Ashley didn’t die in vain, right?” Woodward said of the community’s push for better relations with the VPD. “That from her death something beautiful happened.”

At his news conference Friday, Chu said the work of Sisterwatch has led to witnesses and victims of crime confiding in police and sharing information that has helped capture criminals. In another first for the VPD, the chief and several police officers have been regular participants in the Missing Women Memorial March held in February each year.

But with steps forward have come steps backward.

Back in June 2010, one of Chu’s officers, Const. Taylor Robinson, was captured on video footage shoving Sandy Davidsen, who has cerebral palsy, to the ground on East Hastings. Robinson, who had graduated from the Justice Institute six months before the incident, was suspended without pay for six days. He claimed Davidsen was going for his gun but later apologized for the incident and was transferred to another district.

Chu reacted immediately, imposing a mandatory policy

that stated rookies would no longer be deployed in the Downtown Eastside. The new policy requires only officers with a minimum of two years’ experience to be considered to work the beat in the neighbourhood.

Watching Chu and the department closely over the years in the Downtown Eastside has been the Pivot Legal Society, which has lodged complaints against officers and called for policy changes, including stopping the ticketing of lowincome residents.

Pivot lawyer Douglas King, who acted on behalf of Davidsen in the Robinson case, said Chu may have built better relationships with service providers in the Downtown Eastside but confrontations between police and officers continue.

“If you’re still giving out tickets for jaywalking, if you’re still hounding people as they walk down the street, you’re still not going to improve that relationship,” said King. “So I think there’s a lack of understanding of what the core issue is.”

That said, King added, the legal society saw some positive moves by the VPD under Chu’s leadership, including backing off on the enforcement of sex trade workers to focus on prevention of violence. The VPD continues to be supporters of the Insite supervised drug injection site, too, King noted.

King acknowledged one of the first moves Chu made when he became chief was to have breakfast with former Pivot leaders John Richardson and David Eby, where he apologized for officers’ conduct that led to 52 complaints against the VPD. “Our relationship with the VPD is so much better under chief Chu than it was under [Police Chief Jamie] Graham,” King said. “It was actively hostile with chief Graham. It’s been a world of difference and we hope it’s going to stay that way with who-

But Chu’s work outside the Downtown Eastside, particularly during the 2010 Winter Olympics, may be more familiar to people living in other parts of the city and across the country. Using a so-called meet-and-greet style of policing, which arguably saw more cops at any time in the force’s history pose for photographs with tourists, the VPD welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to the city during the Winter Games. There were few skirmishes, although there were protests and arrests.

Chu’s non-aggressive approach to the Occupy protest at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2011 and last year’s Oppenheimer Park tent city, where campers eventually left both properties without a clash with police, earned high praise from Mayor Gregor Robertson and civil liberties’ watchdogs.

But the recreational hockey player’s biggest test came in June 2011 when the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Boston Bruins at Rogers Arena.

Hundreds of people went on a rampage downtown, burning vehicles, looting stores and assaulting police officers. Chu and his department were criticized for allowing the riot to happen, although many people thanked the VPD for the work they did that night, covering a cruiser in yellow sticky thank-you notes the next day and overwhelming VPD email inboxes and mailboxes with well wishes.

“We assured the citizens of Vancouver that we would hold the rioters accountable,” said Chu, recalling the fallout from the riot. “I know there was some criticism about us taking some time. As I said, we want do it fast, we want to do it right but if we couldn’t do both, we would do it right. I think time has vindicated our decision to do it right. We’re over 300 people charged. That’s the largest number of people charged out of one incident in Canadian history.”

That same year, Chu was rocked by the embarrassing and shocking news that one of his own officers was charged with selling marijuana. At the time, Chu said it was his worst day on the job. Const. Peter Hodson was fired and served time in prison.

“It was a bad day but then it was a good day,” he said at the time. “The bad day was one officer violated the trust we placed in him. The good day was 30 other officers said they would investigate, appear in court, no problem. They were resourceful, energetic, committed and they got significant amounts of evidence to prove that he was a rogue cop.”

Robertson, who joined Chu at Friday’s news conference, credited the chief and his

leadership for the steady drop in crime across the city, pointing out how police diffused a gang war in 2008 and 2009.

Property crime continues to plummet and homicides are at an all-time low, Robertson added.

“He and his team have achieved in succeeding again and again in achieving remarkable successes for our city,” said the mayor, who doubles as chairperson of the police board, which conducts annual performance reviews of the chief. Robertson applauded the chief’s ongoing efforts to shine the light on the mental health crisis in Vancouver, where police are often the first responders to incidents involving people in need of treatment for their illnesses. In recent years, the mayor and the chief have joined together to lobby the provincial and federal governments for better treatment, services and facilities for the mentally ill.

“A special thank you to Jim for his very brave leadership on mental health and I know his commitment on that is something that runs very deep in the Vancouver Police Department,” Robertson said.

Chu was hired under a police board led by then-mayor Sam Sullivan. It will now be up to Robertson and the board to choose a successor, which will include a Canada-wide search for a candidate. The job pays well, with Chu earning more than $300,000 a year in recent years.

“These are big shoes to fill, there are some incredible candidates within the department,” the mayor said. “We look forward to them being in the mix and we’ll also open our doors across the country to make sure we’ve done everything to find the next best chief for Vancouver.”

POLITICAL FOOTBALL

So what’s Chu’s next move?

While Chu reasoned at the news conference that his early departure from his contract was to give one of his deputy chiefs a shot at the top job, Chu found himself deflecting questions about a possible federal run in politics.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” said Chu, whose contract was set to expire in 2017. “Other than some time off, I don’t know what the future entails. I didn’t want to be actively looking for the next step while I’m serving as chief.”

Chu acknowledged that political parties have approached him over the years but he declined offers. He said he will give the same answer until he retires, which is scheduled for the spring but could be later if the police board hasn’t found his successor.

Continued on page 7

January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 5

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COVER STORY

Back to the Land 2.0 Vancouver’s young people are on the move and leaving the city, many of them for their own slice of rural bliss.

But unlike the counterculture movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s, this generation is trading idealistic utopian goals for the simple pursuit of happiness and economic freedom.

ROBERT MANGELSDORF editor@westender.com

It’s a view Matt Cavers never gets tired of.

As he pedals to work at the Persephone Brewery in Gibsons down the back roads of the Sunshine Coast, a quick glance up reveals the soaring heights of Mt. Elphinstone looming overhead.

“Seeing that,” he says, “it means so much to me.”

His life today in the rural community is simple and fulfilling. He makes a modest wage as an assistant brewer.

He grows fresh vegetables in his backyard.

It couldn’t be further from the life he left behind.

Cavers grew up in Richmond and attended UBC, where, up until a few years ago, his focus was on finishing his PhD in human geography.

“I always assumed I’d make my livelihood in the city,” he says. “The plan was to be an academic or some type of intellectual worker.”

During his Masters program, Cavers began splitting his time between Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, where his wife Sheena grew up. By 2013, three years into his PhD and with a baby on the way, he decided he wasn’t coming back.

And so Cavers, much to the chagrin of his parents, gave up a bright academic career to drive a delivery truck, paint kegs and brew beer in the country.

“I don’t have a PhD and I don’t care,” says Cavers. “I’m happy, my family is happy.

That’s more important.”

Cavers is one of a growing number of young Vancouverites who are fleeing the city not for the suburbs, as in previous generations, but for a humble, bucolic existence in the country.

According to BC Stats, Vancouver has seen young people aged 20 to 30 leave the city in recent years, despite the overall population growing. Between 2010 and 2013, the city saw a net loss of 1,125 young people in that age bracket, while simultaneously growing by more than 20,000 people.

While BC’s rural population fell sharply after a peak of 667,112 in 1996, it has climbed steadily from 2006 to 2011, growing from 602,187 to 609,363, ac-

cording Statistics Canada’s census data.

For Todd Serious, lead singer of punk rock band The Rebel Spell, the ridiculous cost of living in Vancouver is what prompted him to leave the city behind and move to the tiny town of Lillooet.

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s year-end stats, the average price for a detached home in the City of Vancouver topped $1 million in 2014. By comparison, Lillooet’s median home price is just $198,000.

“It was a fight to find a place that was affordable [in Vancouver], it was a fight to find a job with so many other qualified people competing for the same job,” says Serious, who is a youth care worker when not on tour with his band. “It wore me out.”

For $600 per month, Serious and his partner rent a two-bedroom detached house sitting on two acres of land, surrounded by nature.

“There’s no mould, no bed bugs, and the landlord’s not going to bulldoze it and build condos,” he says. “We’ve even got a decent garden going.”

Serious says he had no difficulty finding work in town, where he works part-time at the local rec centre.

“As soon as I moved here…

I started getting recruited to do jobs, and I could ask for the money I wanted,” he says. “You

don’t need to work as much here, and you’re not giving up hours of your day to run errands, because all you have to do is cross the street.”

Today, Serious’ commute is a 10-minute bike ride into town. When he does have to drive – like when his band is on tour, for instance – he has a van that he’s converted to run on recycled vegetable oil.

“I’m much better, healthwise,” Serious says. “I’m outdoors all the time, I spend a lot of time in the mountains.”

Not long after Serious and his partner moved to Lillooet two years ago, his drummer followed suit.

“There’s a little cluster of freaks in town now,” says Serious. “There’s a reconfiguration going on. People are feeling ground down by the city, and they’re starting to realize there’s more out there. Life is a lot less competitive here.”

Of course, if there’s a downside to rural life, it’s the lack of excitement. Unlike Vancouver, there aren’t dozens of bands playing shows at dozens of bars every night, nor are there restaurants open around the clock in every direction.

But small town life is not that bad a deal, Serious insists.

Robert Mangelsdorf illustration

6 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

“It’s probably not what you think at all,” he says.

“There’s culture reaching out of the city.”

This isn’t the first wave of young people to turn their back on the many trappings of urban life in favour of a simpler rural existence, and it mostly certainly won’t be the last. The counter culture movement of the 1960s and ‘70s saw thousands of young people moving “back to the land” to pursue an idealistic goal of self-sufficiency and environmental connectedness.

But Dona Brown, a history professor from the University of Vermont, says the movement started much earlier.

In her book, Back To the Land: The Enduring Dream of Self-Sufficiency, Brown argues the movement began as early as the 19th century as city dwellers sought an escape from the grind of city life.

The movement has its roots

in “a deep lack of confidence in the structures of society as [they] exist, whether that’s [now] or back in 1907, or all these different time periods,” she explains in a recent YouTube interview.

“If you could take some control of your own life in your own hands, you could feel safer and more secure,” Brown says. “It’s almost always been about self-sufficiency.”

While the “hippie” generation may have held lofty utopian goals of starting communes and radically restructuring society, the current crop of young people fleeing the city are, once again, realists. Facing a climate of economic and environmental uncertainty, many young people are exploring self-sufficient rural lifestyles, intent on working less and having more control over their own lives.

Clare Kenny is one of them. A bookseller living in Vancouver, her and her partner began exploring the possibility of leaving the city for an idyllic life in the middle of nowhere almost 10 years ago.

“City living didn’t make any sense to us, we felt like we didn’t have anything more to learn,” she says.

“And we felt demoralized about what our culture is doing to the planet.”

Vancouver’s rapidly increasing cost of living meant staying here would be a life of wage slavery. So Kenny and her partner decided to see if it was possible to somehow build a house for free.

“Our culture teaches us to separate our real lives from our work lives and houses are such intimate parts [of our lives]. We live in them and for them. So everyone’s life is structured around a mortgage,” she says. “We wanted to explore other options, but we were urban people, we didn’t have any skills.”

So the couple took a 10day workshop to learn how to build all-natural cob houses, made from clay, sand, straw and water.

“It totally changed my life,” she says. “It was so incredibly empowering.”

Cob homes can be built for next to nothing, incorporating only the materials found on the building site. They take time and labour, but little in the way of expensive building materials.

“This is something you can do with your hands and feet, you don’t even need power tools,” says Kenny.

Kenny and the other workshop participants decided to pool their efforts and create the Mudgirls Natural Building Collective in an effort to help each other get free of the city and get homesteading. The group is proudly anti-capitalist, and offers workshops, labour and advice on a sliding scale to anyone interested in building a cob house, so they have the power and knowledge to exercise their right to provide themselves with shelter.

“Our approach is more the activist/education model,” says Kenny. “We want you to learn how to do it, and do it for yourself.”

The time is right to leave the city, says Kenny. Advances in technology have enabled people to live off-the-grid and off the land with little impact to their standard of living. Solar and micro-hydro systems – necessary for life in many infrastructure-free rural areas – are cheaper and more efficient than ever, while telecommuting allows workers to earn an income from just about anywhere in the world.

Continued on next page Westender.com

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COVER STORY Continued from page 6 After helping build more than 20 cob houses as part of the Mudgirls Collective, Kenny is finally getting around to building her own home on Lasqueti Island, where she and her partner plan to move in the next couple of years once it’s completed.

Despite the similarities to back to the land movement

of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Kenny sees the current wave as somewhat less naive.

“It strikes me that I don’t know anyone who is doing a neo-commune thing, which is interesting. Communes were such a big part of the homesteading wave in the ‘60s,” she says. “The preciousness and power of the idea of real estate has something to do with it, I think, and a modern aversion to anything deemed “hippy”.

“It’s a less idealistic wave, to be sure.”

For Cavers at least, the decision simply came down to how could he provide the best, happiest life for himself and his family. A busy career that monopolized his time in a claustrophobic city that drained him of his energy didn’t have much appeal.

“It’s not as driven by idealism, getting in tune with nature and all that,” he says.

“People want to be in a beautiful, more peaceful place.”

Far from being isolated in his comparatively small community, Cavers says he feels more connected.

“I walk around and I know

Matt Cavers brews a pilot batch of beer on Persephone Brewery’s test system.

Cavers decided to leave his PhD program to take the assistant brewer position at the Gibsons craft brewery.

Contributed photo

lots of people here. I go to the grocery store and I’ll recognize someone, and they’ll recognize me. It’s great to have these connections, I don’t feel so anonymous here.”

And for anyone thinking about making the move, Cavers has one piece of advice: “Just do it.” W

MUDGIRLS

• To learn more about cob houses and natural home building, visit the Mudgirls Natural Building Collective’s website at Mudgirls.Wordpress.com

don’t miss a thing!

Clare Kenny of the Mudgirls Natural Building Collective shows off her muscles earned constructing a cob home. Contributed photo

Chu no stranger to politics Continued from page 5 He is no stranger to politicians or how the world of politics works: As chief, he’s met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and led tours of the city and Downtown Eastside with federal ministers. Chu has made contacts across the country as head of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and lobbied for progressive changes related to marijuana possession such as ticketing instead of enforcement. And he’s made national news for a VPD-led program dubbed “Con-Air” that flies criminals back to cities where they are wanted on outstanding warrants.

His successor will likely need to possess the same campaigning style, which was directed by a police board that wanted Chu to speak out and be heard when issues such as the city’s mental health crisis is directly affecting policing; the VPD’s “Lost in Transition” report on the mental health crisis in 2008 was an example.

Several times during the news conference, Chu made it clear that the police board should look within the VPD’s senior ranks for the next chief.

Three deputy chiefs – Warren Lemcke, Adam Palmer and Doug LePard – work under Chu, who won the job in June 2007 after Jamie Graham retired. Chu noted his executive members are being actively recruited for jobs with other police departments.

“It would be a shame for this organization if one or two of these senior leaders left without the opportunity to compete to be police chief in the best city in the world in the best police agency in the

Westender.com

world,” he said. “For me to step aside right now, it gives those talented senior executives who the police board have been directing me to develop, mentor and coach the opportunity to be a leader in this organization.”

In an interview following the news conference, LePard, 53, said he is thinking about pursuing the job. Lemcke and Palmer were unavailable for comment before deadline.

“It’s a very important job and it’s not a decision that I would make lightly,” said LePard, who praised Chu for his leadership and relationships he established with people in the city, including in the Downtown Eastside where LePard joined the chief last Thursday at the luncheon.

NEXT CHAPTER

Whether LePard or some other candidate becomes Chu’s successor, that person will undoubtedly have to sell the police board on how he or she will handle the challenges of policing the Downtown Eastside.

Chu appears to have set a precedent, with no other chief in recent memory hosting regular lunches with sex trade workers, drug users and homeless people – and giving out door prizes such as Tim Horton’s gift cards, jewelry and rain ponchos to his guests.

Asked about this legacy as he left the luncheon, Chu credited the work of fellow officers for the relationships they’ve established with residents.

Then he finished with this: “Well,” he said. “I’m around at a lot of other venues in the city, as well. But this is important for the police department.” W -CourtesyVancouver Courier

Harold was fitted with his first set of hearing aids and can’t imagine his life without them. Now he doesn’t miss a thing the announcers are saying when he’s watching his team play!

Harold and Lindsay Crystal Hearing Denman Place Mall

30 people wanted If you or your loved one is showing signs of hearing loss, please call now for a FREE EAR TEST and to book them into our 30 WANTED Program today!

They will have a great opportunity to be the first to evaluate new digital noise reduction hearing aids, RISK FREE*.

Participants will be offered tremendous savings on their purchase!

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www.cvoh.ca

*Some restrictions applyy, see in-store for information about the risk-free trial and details about the savings offered. Program is available while space is available. +If you find a lower advertised price on an in-stock new identical item from an Authorized Canadian dealer, now or within 14 days of your purchase, just show us the price and we will match it.

visit us in vancouver! #103-777 West Broadway | 604-428-4327 #102-1030 Denman Street | 604-559-3277 Coming February to West Vancouver!

The Wiens Family

family owned and operated since 1997

January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 7

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Left: Steel Toad Brewpub and Dining Hall brings new life to the restored Opsal Steel building.

Above: General manager Mike Thomson stands in front of photographs of the original “steel toads.”

Rob Newell photos.

Steel Toad is a modern gastropub with curious menu Anya Levykh Nosh

@FoodGirlFriday STEEL TOAD

97 East 2nd 604-709-8623 SteelToad.ca Open Monday-Friday, 11amlate; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-late.

At first glance, the large cavernous space that houses this new brewery and “dining hall” on East 2nd is somewhat off-putting. All that glass, concrete and steel doesn’t exactly give off the comfortable, relaxed feeling one associates with a gastropub, but, then again, this is the new southeast False

Anya Levykh Fresh Sheet

@FoodGirlFriday Chef Paul Moran, recipient of the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship, is now a Canadian semi-finalist in the global San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 competition. Moran will be competing against chefs from around the world in Milan in June.

Odd Society Spirits has done it again. In an interesting take on traditional British liqueur sloe gin, dis-

Creek neighbourhood that encompasses the Olympic Village. It’s big, bold and slightly brash, and Steel Toad fits well into that mold. Turns out it also makes for great acoustics (there’s live music every night). And, judging by the mood of the crowd on three different nights – including one game night – the look and feel of the place is going down just fine with the locals.

The name comes from the moniker given to the steelworkers who managed the heavy machinery and forges for Columbia Block and Tool Company, which was the original occupant of the revamped Opsal building almost a century ago.

After sitting empty for over a decade, the space was

overhauled over the course of five years, with original materials, such as windows and original beams, restored and re-installed.

Two large-screen TVs on one side of the oval bar are silent unless it’s hockey night, and there’s a good mix of high-top, bar and booth seating. The house taps, overseen by head brewer Chris Charron, range from classic ales to more interesting rye IPAs. There’s a decent wine list and interesting cocktails. The Earl Grey Marteani ($11) was a bit sweet, but the tea-infused Tanqueray gin had some lovely notes.

Food is overseen by chef Robbie Robinson (formerly of West, Le Crocodile and Claridge’s in London). It’s an eclectic mix of dishes,

ranging from pub classics like the burger and roast beef sandwich to more contemporary offerings like cauliflower beignets. The latter ($9) were disappointing. A beignet should be pillowy soft, with a thin, slightly crisp coating.

These were solid florets, still quite firm inside. The coating was great, but the inside lacked flavour, which was only partly mitigated by the curry aioli. Tuna tataki ($14) was another miss. The fish was perfectly seared and obviously well-sourced, but was seriously under-seasoned and bland. The bok choi salad that it came with was too wet to really appreciate.

Other dishes hit closer to the mark. Quail and foie gras pithivier (think pastry pocket) felt a bit steep at $19, but

turned out to be an excellent dish. The pastry was light, buttery and flaky, the tender slices of quail and flecks of foie gras inside, sitting over mustard greens, made for a groan-worthy combo. Veal breast with sweetbreads ($22) was another winner.

Here, the cauliflower was a lovely purée, and studded with bacon lardons, shallots and housemade spätzle. The roast beef sandwich ($12) was beautifully presented, if slightly bland; open-face with a large, heaping portion of juicy, sliced roast over toasted bread, topped with crispy shallots and sided with rosemary aioli. And don’t miss the chocolate bread pudding ($6), although it’s more of a steamed cake. The dollop of crème fraîche takes

it over the top.

In general, the dishes are inventive and well thoughtout, the ingredients are top-notch and mainly local, and the kitchen’s technique is impressive. The lack of seasoning – especially when it comes to the proteins – could use some serious work, but it’s an easy fix, and there’s enough to like here to make going back an easy yes. W

tiller Gordon Glanz created a BC-based version using local salal berries harvested on the Sunshine Coast and Cortez Island. Only 45 bottles of the inaugural batch of Salal Gin will be available for purchase at the distillery on Sunday, Feb. 1, from 1-6pm.

OddSocietySpirits.com

fresh zucchini, marinated eggplant, basil pesto, grated ricotta, and confit yolk; and chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate honeycomb and white chocolate dust.

A “double date” option is also available at $180 for four guests. Wildebeest.ca/ Valentines-Day

lem-marrakesh cured sockeye salmon, corned and slow-roasted ras el hanout beef short rib, quince curd polenta cake, and Turkish Delight. Tickets are $125 per person and include dinner, wine pairing with each course, tax and gratuity.

MedinaCafe.com

gourmet popcorn and a Chocolat-themed five-course dinner. Tickets $128 per person.

MarketByJGVancouver.com

pairings, tax and gratuity.

GlowbalGroup.com

Café Medina isn’t normally open for dinner, but on Valentine’s Day, chef Jonathan Chovancek will offer a special five-course dinner at 7:30pm. Menu includes Yarrow Meadows duck liver parfait with fig and hibiscus marmalade,

Movies at Market has announced a new line-up for February through April, and it’s launching with a special Valentine’s screening of Chocolat on Feb. 13 and 14. The special edition dinner will include the movie, a glass of champagne,

Wildebeest is offering a steal of a deal this Valentine’s Day: a $49 threecourse menu that features brandied foie gras parfait with housemade bread and shallot jam; handmade pappardelle, with

8 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

On Feb. 22, The Roof at Black & Blue will host a special dinner with Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. The menu features caviar with celery root and vegetable chips, smoked sablefish with miso-cured albacore and salmon tartare, vanilla butter poached lobster tail, duck confit, and wagyu ribeye. Tickets are $125 per person and include canapé reception, dinner, wine

Find Anya on Twitter at @foodgirlfriday and Facebook at Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday.

Food: ★★★★★ Service: ★★★★★ Ambiance: ★★★★★ Value: ★★★★★ Overall: ★★★★★

Get your curry on at the Second annual Curry Cup on March 3, presented by The Chefs’ Table Society of BC. Watch and taste as eight top chefs compete to create the best curry in town, paired with local wines and beers. This year’s competitors include chefs from Hawksworth, Cibo/ Uva, Longtail Kitchen, Campagnolo, Medina, Burdock & Co., Perch, and Railtown Catering.

ChefsTableSociety.com W

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Off the grid dining Mijune Pak Follow Me Foodie

@FollowMeFoodie I love off-the-grid dining!

Far too often we forget about restaurants not located within the downtown core or popular neighbourhoods. Often we don’t bother to look outside our own bubble. We wait for word-of-mouth to spread, because let’s face it, who wants to be the guinea pig?

Lucky for you, I do!

Sure, finding a hidden gem or off-the-beaten path restaurant isn’t everyone’s calling, but I’m all for it! I love discovering something

new or never talked about, and I am willing to travel (far) for food.

However, for the sake of Westender, I’m keeping my proximity within the Vancouver city limits with the following “off-the-grid” recommendations.

Farm 2 Fork Pop-Up Restaurant Hurry, because this will literally be off-the-grid soon.

I had the pleasure of dining at Farm 2 Fork as an underground restaurant, but from now until Feb. 2 it is a notso-secret pop-up restaurant in Gastown (315 Abbott).

Chef and owner Nicolas Hipperson, previously executive chef at C Restaurant and

Raincity Grill, has taken his “secret supper club” from his loft to the street. The temporary 27-seat space offers a sophisticated West Coast three-course prix fixe menu for $38 with optional wine pairings. Reservations recommended 604-347-5495 or gastown.underground@ gmail.com Shameful Tiki Room Two words: Hot mess. It opened in 2013 in the Riley Park area of Main Street and it has a cult following of…I don’t even know who or what. The whole thing is very random. From the moment I walked in I felt like a tourist.

It looked like a dingy and very cheesy Polynesian bar,

actually that’s exactly what it was, but people were having fun and it wasn’t long before I got sucked into the hot mess, too. I haven’t tried the food, but the highlight was “The Mystery Bowl” which was what got me there in the first place. It’s a mystery cocktail served in a share bowl (meant for two) and it arrives dramatically with a gong and smoke from the smoke machine, followed by an enthusiastic crowd of customers saying “Mmmmyyysstterrryy booowwll”. I was out of my element, but the place is a hoot and unexpectedly unpretentious.

Chef and owner Nicolas Hipperson is at the helm of the Farm 2 Fork pop-up restaurant in Gastown.

The Narrow Lounge I discovered it in 2011 through geeky food research, and it’s still one of my favourite finds in the city. The sign is very discrete and almost illegible

and you’re better off looking for the red light to find the entrance. Yes, the Narrow has many traits from my list of “10 Characteristics of a Hipster Restaurant,” so it is that kind of place, but I enjoyed it. I’m

not the clientele, but the food is good, it has a nice list of whiskeys, bourbons and scotches, and overall it offers great value. W Follow Mijune on Twitter and Instagram @followmefoodie.

the bird. Exuberant red currant and plum with a pleasant hint of pepper.

2012 Judeka • Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Italy • $29.99, BC Liquor Stores A juicy Sicilian gem blending indigenous grapes Nero d’Avola and Frappato for a fleshy fragrant red. Bursting with cherry and flowers, it could be Italy’s answer to Beaujolais. W

An ode to roast chicken After 13 years as a vegetarian, I returned to the dark side by way of lamb. It wasn’t long before I started eating sweetbreads, steak tartare and just about every other meat product.

But for some reason I held out on chicken.

That was until I went to Mexico and stumbled across a woman roasting chickens in her back yard. I finally caved in. It was the most succulent bird I’d ever tasted. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with roasting the perfect chicken myself. During the winter, it’s a weekly occurrence. I love trussing it, slathering it with butter and making sure the skin crisps up in the oven.

Sipping on a glass of wine is of course crucial to the process.

The best thing about chicken is how wine friendly it is. While I avoid the lightest

more online

yourself some wine. May I suggest a dry Riesling from Australia?

At this point, I’m still not finished with that bird. I boil up the bones with vegetables to make a stock. A couple of weeks ago, I recommended a slew of wines with all sorts of soup. I neglected to mention chicken noodle though. Yes, there’s even a wine for this!

Try Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc or crisper, lighter expression of Chard.

Here’s to the humble chicken!

2013 Bila-Haut • Côtes-duRoussillon Villages AOC, France • $17.99, BC Liquor Stores A southern French white boasting luscious stone fruit balanced by refreshing citrus and mineral notes. Perfect for that thyme and lemon roasted chicken.

2013 Telmo Rodríguez Basa • Rueda DO, Spain • $18.99, BC Liquor Stores This vivacious white offers pungent aromas of bay leaf

2012 Tabalí, Pinot Noir Reserva • Limari Valley DO, Chile • $19.99, BC Liquor Stores Wild strawberry and black raspberry meet subtle herbs and spice. A must if you’re incorporating mushrooms into your leftover chicken dish.

2013 Clos du Soleil Rosé • Similkameen Valley, BC • $2025, winery direct and private wine stores A local pink crafted from Cabernet Sauvignon and bold enough to stand up to

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westender.com

Legendary Noodle 2013

We proudly serve the West End neighbourhood with Gold Standard.

1074 Denman St. 604-669-8551 LegendaryNoodle.ca Fresh noodles • Gluten free noodles available

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and jasmine with concentrated flavours of lime and wet stone. Try it with chicken noodle soup.

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@MichaelaWine

whites and the most robust tannic reds, I can never exhaust all the options in between. When I am in the mood for white, I look to richer, fuller examples like Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris, Soave and whites from the south of France. If I’m craving red, I gravitate towards something in the light to medium zone with soft supple tannin. Beaujolais is my default. Beyond that, Pinot Noir, Grenache-based wines like Côte-du-Rhône, Frappato from Sicily or a friendly Merlot are all excellent partners.

Even a gutsy rosé wouldn’t be out of place.

Roasting a whole chicken means there will likely be leftovers. The next day, pick the carcass clean and sauté all that delicious flesh with mushrooms and cream. This is when Pinot Noir is a must.

You could also add it into a Thai curry and serve with a Torrontés or a Viognier. If your preference is to make a chicken salad for lunch, just promise me you’ll pour

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Michaela Morris By the Bottle

S CH UI ALGERIAN C

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Eat

Come and enjoy our healthy North African Cuisine made with grass fed meats and local organic vegetables.

We are open for lunch and dinner.

Live Music Thursday-Saturday 7-9pm 1331 Robson Street • Reservations: 604-559-4FEZ (4339) • fezcafe.ca January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 9

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The lows and highs of beer writing Stephen Smysnuik The Growler @StephenSmys

It’s a rough life, I tells ya...

Thinkstock photo

hot chocolate 5th annual

vancouver

January 17 - February 14 THIS FESTIVAL IS A FUNDRAISER FOR THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WOMEN's JOB TRAINING PROGRAM OF THE PHS COMMUNITY SERVICES SocIETY AND EAST VAN ROASTERS. Presented by cityfood magazine

I have two things to share with you. (1) I’ve been drinking way too much. I’m not looking for sympathy, just some understanding.Yes. It’s a side effect, I suppose, of becoming a “Beer Guy”, when one’s job and identity are wrapped up in the culture and the act of beer consumption.

Not that I’m complaining, but beer – while enjoyable!

– isn’t exactly healthy when consumed in the quantities “Beer Guys” tend to indulge in. I realize now there’s a thin line between your funloving, wise-cracking “Beer Guy”, and the less appealing “Drunken Loser”. One often mutates fluidly into the other in the course of a night.

Fact: Beer writing is fun.

This is good. However, I’m doughier than I’d like to be.

This is bad. Also, my nights are long and mornings useless.

I have a negligent attitude toward exercise. I’m in a perennial fog and often feel like what I imagine a day-old turd would feel like if it were sentient…until I have another glass of beer, which starts the cycle all over again.

Is this the plight of the beer writer – fun job, rotten health?

I certainly hope not. So why do I do it? To maintain some sort of illusion, that I’m in the right places, drinking the right beer? Is it to stave off the lingering effects of the previous night’s excesses? Or is it to pour beer over whatever internal tumult drives me to drink in the first place?

I ask you: Is the craft beer culture simply a collection of emotionally damaged individuals seeking solace in beer and the community it hath spawned?

Oh gawd. It’s a grim world, friends, outside and in…

With that said, (2) I have some glorious news! I’m launching a new craft beer magazine this Friday. The Growler Craft Beer Handbook is a free, quarterly print guide featuring profiles on every single craft brewery in Metro Vancouver. The Growler is also overflowing with stories about craft beer culture and all kinds of pretty pictures. It’s designed to be as much fun to look at as it hopefully is to read.

Because the industry is growing so fast, it’s hard to keep track of who’s now open and where everything’s located. Each issue will include up-to-date information new breweries and old. The Growler

will eventually bring all BC breweries together between a single 100-pound-stock paper cover in a way that reflects the creative, artisanal and communal aspects of BC’s craft beer industry.

That’s why we’ve launched with a print product before a digital one. We want to offer something you can hold, or bend, or light a fire with if you find yourself in a bind. We want something you can use and refer to, to keep on your coffee table or in your purse or in your bathroom. Above all, we want to make something useful.

The website (TheGrowler. ca) is coming soon, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, get yourself a copy of The Growler at your nearest brewery, bar or private liquor store (Warning: I’m distributing most of the copies by hand, so if you’re outside Vancouver it might take you a few days to find one).

Also, follow us on Twitter and Instagram and let us know what you think @TheGrowlerBC. If you have tips on how to enjoy beer without devolving into a drunken lout, tweet at me @StephenSmys or shoot me an email at Beer@Westender.com. I’ll write another story about this in the weeks to come. W

Vancouver’s Kristian Eligh faces the best in the nation ROBERT MANGELSDORF @robmangelsdorf

Call me a Cab

crafted by: Terra Breads

Beyond the milky way BY: french made baking

THE LUMBERJACK

CRAFTED BY: 49th parallel COFFEE

ERIN GONE BANANAS BY: BELLA GELATERIA

24 ChocStars - 29 Days - 57 crazy flavours Taking place at the following locations: 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters + Lucky's Doughnuts, Bel Café, Bella Gelateria, Butter Baked Goods, Chez Christophe, Chocolate Arts, Diva At The Met, Mink Chocolates, Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France, East Van Roasters, Gem Chocolates, Glenburn Soda Fountain, French Made Baking, Schokolade Café, Koko Monk Chocolates, Soirette, The Last Crumb Bakery & Cafe, Terra Breads, Thierry (Chocolaterie, Patisserie, Cafe), Thomas Haas Chocolates, Uva Wine + Cocktail Bar

www.cityfood.com @CityFood_Mag

/CityFoodMagazine #HotChocolateFest

10 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

Hawksworth chef de cuisine Kristian Eligh is headed to Kelowna next week to take on the best chefs in the country at the annual Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championships.

Eligh is hoping to become the first BC chef to win since 2007, when Melissa Craig of Bearfoot Bistro brought home the gold.

Eligh won the right to represent BC after winning the regional Gold Medal Plate competition in Victoria in November. This time around, Eligh will be up against some of the brightest culinary stars in the country, including John Horne (Toronto), Antonio Park (Montreal), Dave Bohati (Calgary), Renée Lavallée (Halifax), Luc Jean (Winnipeg), Ryan O’Flynn (Edmonton), Chris Hill (Saskatoon), Mark McCrowe (St. John’s), Patrick Garland (Ottawa), and Milton Rebello (Regina).

The competition starts

Hawksworth chef de cuisine Kristian Eligh. Rob Newell photo Feb. 6 at the Delta Grand Okanagan with a mystery wine pairing. Chefs will be given a bottle of wine and must create a dish with local ingredients that best complements the mysterious vintage, in a set amount of time and with a set budget.

Round 2 is the infamous Black Box, where chefs will receive only 10 minutes notice, and a black box containing 10 ingredients. Then

they will have to produce and plate one spectacular dish using at least six of the 10 ingredients for the judges, all in less than an hour, Iron Chef-style.

The grand finale closes out the competition, and anything goes. Chefs create their best dish for guests to sample, paired with a great wine from their regional winery partner.

For more info, visit GoldMedalPlates.com W

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HEALTH A-Z

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t’s a new year, and time for a new you! But with so many different health and wellness options here in Vancouver, where do you even start? With Westender’s Health A to Z guide, of course! We’ve brought together some of the city’s best businesses to help guide you on a path to a healthier, happier you.

A W

e feel very strongly about building a community where people can get the care they need and gain support through our integrated approach to healthcare. We recognize the individual nature of pain, illness, and disease. You will have our unique team of experienced therapists work with you to change your life. A place where true healing occurs.

B Services include:

• Shiatsu Therapy • Massage Therapy • Naturopathic Medicine • Clinical Hypnotherapy • Psychotherapy • Acupuncture • Nutritional Counseling • Chair Massage • Workshops and Community Events

Body Energy Club was founded in 2002 and it all began in our modest 500 sq foot flagship store on Davie Street, in the heart of downtown Vancouver, BC. Since then we have opened 3 more stores in Vancouver.

These locations include City Square Mall at Cambie Street and 12th avenue, Robson St @ Homer, Broadway @ Arbutus. We are proud of our range of over 6000 products with over $2 million in inventory. All of our stores feature our premium Smoothie Bar which serves the best all natural protein smoothies in the city! We also

sell our very own locally made and produced Organic Cold Pressed juices.

At Body Energy Club, we won’t make or sell anything that we wouldn’t eat or use ourselves and trust us, our standards are high. We spend countless hours seeking out top of the line organic produce, Superfoods, supplements and products. Every day we aim to provide the best example we can for operating a business with the well being of people and the planet in mind while offering the best customer experience possible.

Mention this ad in any one of our 4 retail locations and enjoy a smoothie for half price!

ANGEL HANDS INTEGRATIVE CENTRE 201-1416 West 8th Avenue • 604.558.1926 angelhands.ca

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604-697-0466 H www.bodyenergyclub.com January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 11

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D Smiles for life!

30 PEOPLE WANTED! If you or your loved one is showing signs of hearing loss, please call now for a FREE EAR TEST and to book them into our 30 WANTED Program today! They will have a great opportunity to be the first to evaluate new digital noise reduction hearing aids, RISK FREE*. Participants will be offered tremendous savings on their purchase!

“

Harold was fitted with his first set of hearing aids and can’t imagine his life without them. Now he doesn’t miss a thing the announcers are saying when he’s watching his team play!

Thanks Lindsay!

”

DENMAN PLACE MALL #102�1030 Denman Street • M�F 9:30�5:30 604�559�3277 • www.cvoh.ca • denman@cvoh.ca

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Give yourself the ELEMENTS of health Elements Wellness Centre has been voted Best of Vancouver for the past 7 years! It has been described as a calm oasis in the city. Elements is an integrated wellness centre offering a wide variety of different therapies such as Acupuncture, Naturopathic Medicine, Massage Therapy, NAET Allergy Elimination, Neurolink, Nutritional Consulting, Clinical Counselling, Craniosacral Therapy & Reiki. Elements also offers Spa Treatments including Manicures, Pedicures, Waxing, Spa Massage, Spa Body Wraps, Ionic Foot Baths and Infrared Sauna sessions.

Opening in February is our new classes only fitness & yoga studio called ACOCO located in Kitsilano on West 4th Avenue!!

12 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

At Kits Family Dental, the focus is on oral health for the whole family – from babies to grandparents, and everyone in between. Drs. Robin Mak and Sakura Iwagami is passionate about more than just clean teeth; they love to educate, support, and laugh with families so that dental visits are always fun.

Drs. Mak and Iwagami and the rest of the Kits Family Dental team couple cutting edge technology with small hands and a great atmosphere to make sure every patient leaves smiling. Kits Family Dental believes prevention is key, and so they have

Dr. Sakura Iwagami and Dr. Robin Mak at Kits Family Dental. adopted the VELscope into their clinic.

It’s part of every routine visit for adults and is used to detect the early stages of oral cancer and other oral diseases.

It’s a quick, painless preventive tool that gives patients peace of mind – and another reason to smile.

Make an appointment and come visit Kits Family Dental today!

209-2223 West Broadway • 604.738.1816 kitsfamilydental.com

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What is floating?

Floating is a practice where you enter into a float tank (also called an isolation tank or sensory deprivation tank) which is a well-engineered enclosed tub filled with 10″ of water that has 800 lbs. of dissolved Epsom salts in it.

The individual lies down in the water and floats effortlessly in the nude. The water is heated to the same temperature as the surface of your skin so that when the water settles and you remain relaxed and still, you do not really feel the water anymore. The tank is light-proof and sound-proof and has a neutral smell.

207-2678 West Broadway 604.732.9355 elementswellnesscentre.com

All forces of gravity on the musculoskeletal system and nervous system are eliminated from the extreme positive buoyancy; so imagine a space where you don’t feel anything, nor do you see or hear anything. The tank’s extremely unique environment is designed to allow for a minimal amount of sensory input to enter into your nervous system. This environment generates a very unique form of relaxation that has a plethora of benefits and applications for health, personal development, spirituality, and well-being.

1926 West 4th (at Cypress) • 70 W Cordova floathouse.ca • 604-25-FLOAT • Westender.com

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Your integrative path to wellbeing

ntegrative has been among Vancouver’s most trusted health centres for over 30 years. Using the Integrative Model, we will tailor a health program for you that goes to the source of your ailments and injuries with a focus on prevention to ensure optimal physical, mental and emotional well-being.

We have something for everyone

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Some of our leading edge programming include a formalized Cancer program; Regenerative Injection Therapies to help you with pain and sports injuries; and Weight Management; all of which are tailored to you, for you. Visit us at integrative.ca for a full list of your health options.

1204 Davie @ Bute • 604-688-4325 • Open 7 days a week! gardenhealthvitamins.ca

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Individual and Couples Counselling

Joe Ramirez Counselling & Consulting began in 2011. After 10 years of working within various community sectors and specialized communities, he decided to go into private practice to provide couples counselling and individual counselling to men, women, and trans-individuals, straight or gay identified. From a one day a week humble office in Kitsilano, he now practices full-time at his private office located in the heart of downtown within the historic Rogers Building on Granville and Pender.

What separates Joe as a counsellor is the ease of ability to address complex concerns.

From anxiety to loneliness; from developing men’s parenting skills and emotional language to supporting male survivors of sexual abuse; from redefining ‘self’ from a divorce to redefining ‘self’ as gay or lesbian while in conflict with religious values.

His support extends to Latin-Canadian cross-cultural issues, providing counselling in Spanish, as well as to LGBTQ identified relationships in conflict. From swingers to polyamory, to a man and a woman rekindling intimacy together. Joe’s view is that while every person is complex, every person seeks to be known as they are…and accepted just the same. For clients, this means being received with an enduring sense of empathy and presence of safety – which some have described as “calm waters” to complex concerns.

Joe maintains his commitment to community health as the board director for the Adlerian Psychology Association of B.C. Yet, his first love continues to be meeting people, in his quiet office, and making a difference.

JOE RAMIREZ MCP, CAC, CCC #730 - 1285 W Broadway • 604-738-1012 • integrative.ca Westender.com

415-470 Granville Street • 778-227-9423 www.joe-ramirez.com • joe@joe-ramirez.com January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 13

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t Kitsilano Chiropractic, we are committed to bringing you the most up to date technology available to examine and detect the nature and cause of your concerns, and to assess the condition of your spine and nervous system. We have available on site surface EMG thermal scan and high frequency radiology facilities. Our philosophy is based on the concept that when the nervous system is compromised, not only every system in the body is compromised, but your LIFE is compromised. Instead of seeking pain relief when you hurt to “feel better” or to “get well” when you’re sick, why not experience the real benefits of Chiropractic Care and maintain the integrity and expression of the nervous system?

As Chiropractors, we are privileged to help people who suffer from a variety of health issues. Naturally, chiropractic helps

traditional neck and back problems, but chiropractic has also produced wonderful results with a variety of organic and systemic problems.

Chiropractic care is for everyone! We adjust people of all ages from newborns, to children, teenagers, adults to seniors too! At any age you can benefit from better health expression! Chiropractic is safe.

Chiropractic is natural. Chiropractic works.

Dr. Donna Little BPhE. D.C. 3446 West Broadway • 604-731-6773 www.kitsilanochiropractic.com drlittle@kitsilanochiropractic.com

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The mission of Health Initiative for Men (HIM) is to strengthen gay men’s physical, sexual, social, and mental health and well-being through trusted, tailored, targeted researchbased health promotion services, and by engaging the community through volunteer involvement, online access and events. Through our four health centres, we provide STI and HIV testing, by appointment or on a walk-in basis, along with professional counselling and change advocacy services. Ongoing activities include themed conversation support groups, yoga for men and summer outdoor fitness sessions.

Other social events and activities are available yearround. Check us out online, or subscribe to our monthly newsletter, for details. Serves gay men aged 18 and over.

Little Sister’s has been a beacon of health and information for the LGBT community and others for 30 years . Their long legal struggle against censorship and a commitment to serve the GLBT community has helped make Little Sister’s a recognizable name around the world.

Sexual health is a vital part of well being.

In their store and web site there is something for everyone. The Magic Banana® is a self-exploration tool designed by a woman for women. Janeson Rayne’s

innovative Magic Banana® features a loop with a gentle upwards curve – a design perfected through 30 years of research and development.

Squeezing action on the flexible loop provides a unique and pleasurable way to build inner strength while the curve provides extraordinary stimulation for your G-spot. This is but one of a plethora of products to help maintain a healthy libido.

The wide variety of information will help you make the best choice for your sexual health!

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Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium 1238 Davie Street 604-669-1753 Website: littlesisters.ca Open 10AM - 11PM daily

Natural Nutrition: a path to wellness To achieve your own optimum wellness and make a real difference in the world, consider a new career as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.

The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, a national school, offering one and two year programs with a balance between whole and natural food nutrition, science, the body/mind/ spirit connection, the environment and now includes hands on cooking classes in a state of the art demonstration kitchen.

421 - 1033 Davie St. 101 - 1416 Commercial Dr. 40 Begbie Street 220 - 10362 King George Hwy. 604.488.1001

Vancouver Branch 604-730-5611 • van@csnn.ca • www.csnn.ca/vancouver 14 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

Westender.com

LIFESTYLE //

@WESTENDERVAN

O

OPENING SOON

OPENING SOON OPENING SOON

Lose up to 10lbs a month while eating a nutritionally balanced diet combined with a fitness program designed to maximize you results.

SECURE 1 OF ONLY 400 EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS • • • • • •

All-Inclusive Membership Only 400 Exclusive Memberships Available State Of The Art Training Methods Unlimited Small Group Personal Training 1:8 Nutrition Tracking 24/7 First in Canada - Shockwave Rowers

604-559-1321 info@ozonefitness.ca ozonefitness.ca

• • • • •

Towel Service and Keypad Lockers On-Site Registered Nutritionists On-Site Registered Kinesiologist Medical Grade Infrared Sauna Free Parking

CLUB HOURS Monday – Friday 6:00am – 11:00pm Sat & Sunday 8:00am – 8:00pm

HEALTH A-Z

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OPENING SOON

GOOD FOOD CHANGES EVERYTHING Lose up to 10lbs a month while eating a nutritionally balanced diet up to program 10lbs a month while eating nutritionally balanced diet combined with aLose fitness designed toa maximize you results.

100% locally owned and operated, Pomme Natural Market makes the most forwardthinking food choices easy.

Pomme Natural Market is committed to supporting the local food system and all of their products meet stringent Lose up to 10lbs a month while environmental eating a nutritionally balanced diet and social sustainability combined with a fitness program designed toitems maximize results. standards.

All deli are madeyou in-store and with produce from their 100% organic SECURE 1 OF ONLY 400 EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS produce section - they carry locally • Towel Service and Keypad Lockers • All-Inclusive Membership sourced grass-fed dairy and meats, as well • On-Site Registered Nutritionists • Only 400 Exclusive Memberships Available as a large selection of health supplements • Towel Service andand Keypad Lockers Membership • All-inclusive Membership • Towel Service and eco-friendly lifestyle products.

• On-Site Registered Kinesiologist • State Of The Art Training Methods combined with a fitness program designed to maximize you results.

1 OF ONLY1 OF 400 EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS SECURE ONLY 400 EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS

SECURE 1 OF ONLY 400 EXCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS • On-Site Registered usive Memberships Available •• Unlimited Only 400 Small Exclusive Keypad Lockers Nutritionists • Medical Grade Infrared Sauna Group Personal Training 1:8 If•you have specific dietary On-Site Registered Art Training Methods Memberships Available • On-Site RegisteredKinesiologist Nutrionists Towel Service and restrictions, Keypad Lockers •• All-Inclusive Membership • Free Parking • Nutrition Tracking 24/7 whether it is a gluten or dairy intolerance, • State of The Art Training Methods • On-Site Registered Kinesiologies • On-Site Registered Nutritionists •• Only 400 Exclusive Memberships • First in CanadaTraining - Shockwave Rowers Medical Grade Infrared Sauna Available all Group Personal 1:8 a restriction on sugar, or are following • Unlimited Small Group Medical Grade InfraredMethods On-Site Registered Kinesiologist •• State The Art Training a •precise dietary path including vegan, Free• Of Parking king 24/7 Personal Training 1:8 Sauna vegetarian or paleo, Pomme carries a wide • Medical Grade Infrared Sauna • Unlimited Small Group Personal Training 1:8 CLUB HOURS 604-559-1321 a - Shockwave Rowers variety of options designed to specifically • First in Canada – Shockwave Rowers • Free Parking info@ozonefitness.ca ozonefitness.ca

Tracking 24/7 Monday•–Nutrition Friday 6:00am – 11:00pm Sat & Sunday – 8:00pm • First8:00am in Canada - Shockwave Rowers

CLUB Vancouver HOURS 909 West Broadway, club hours ess.ca604-559-1321Monday • info@ozonefitness.ca Monday–Friday 6am – 11pm – Friday 6:00am – 11:00pm 604-559-1321 ozonefitness.ca ca Sat & Sunday 8am – 8pm Sat & Sunday 8:00am – 8:00pm info@ozonefitness.ca

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ozonefitness.ca

Come visit us at Whole Foods Market Robson and check out our fine selection of natural and organic foods.

At Whole Foods Market we maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture.

Put your health first and come visit us today! Here’s a great simple quinoa salad recipe from our website - a healthy lunch box staple to add to your recipe book!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa 1 large tomato, seeded and diced 2 ears corn, kernels removed 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced 1 mango, diced 3 tablespoons finely chopped chives 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Method:

Pomme Natural Market wants to make a positive change in the world and truly believes that a positive change is grounded in a healthy diet.

CLUB HOURS Monday – Friday 6:00am – 11:00pm Sat & Sunday 8:00am – 8:00pm

QUINOA MANGO SALAD Quinoa, organic produce, vitamins and more!

• Free Parking meet the needs of any customer.

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear, drain and transfer to a medium pot. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.

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1722 Davie Street 778-379-0200 9-2755 Lougheed Highway 604-475-2505 pommenaturalmarket.com

D I S OV E RY • A W A R E N E SS • CO N N E CT I O N

Are you feeling stressed, finding it difficult to make decisions, going through a transition?

Join Karyn to experience how the expressive arts can transform your perspective! Come yourself, or with someone you love.

Imagine... Being nourished and empowered. Making new discoveries that boost your confidence levels. Becoming

more aware of your strengths and how to use them effectively.

Karyn works with individuals and groups to explore their life strengths and to deepen self-awareness and personal expression. In sessions she invites your challenges, hopes and goals to transform into new possibilities and greater consciousness. Explore your questions in a non-linear way as you engage the journey with a sense of adventure, using mediums such as visual art, music and movement, storytelling, and writing.

No skill or previous experience with the arts is necessary.

Add remaining ingredients and toss until combined.

Karyn Davies 1675 Robson Street • P: 604.687.5288 7am to 10pm seven days a week wholefoodsmarket.com Westender.com

Expressive Arts Therapist, Registered Clinical Counsellor, RSW

778-708-8966 • connect@refresharts.com • www.refresharts.com January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 15

LIFESTYLE //

WESTENDER.COM

HEALTH A-Z

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Spin Society has transformed what you thought you knew about indoor cycling.

Gone are the days of uncomfortable bikes, old music and lackluster instructors.

At Spin Society, we place high value on the comfort of our riders, both on and off the bike. We have the highest quality Schwinn bikes and our facility is beautiful, fresh, and welcoming. Our music is of the moment – in fact our instructors spend most of their time off the bike coming up with new tunes for our riders – and we have no problem pumping up the volume so you can feel it in your soul. We understand the importance of living a balanced lifestyle, which is why our instructors are also knowledgeable in cross training and nutrition.

During your 50 minute choreographed ride, be prepared to be surrounded by glowing candles, amazing music and instructors who will push your limits to a place you didn’t even realize you could go – they’re that amazing.

Our rides are for all fitness levels and we welcome riders to come try out their first class on us to make sure it’s the right fit. So clip in, cue the music and release your inner rockstar. Dreams don’t work unless you do.

FIRST RIDE is always FREE! New members receive unlimited rides for 30 days for $100!

We are Vancouver’s Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary • Flowers • Pre-Rolls • Tinctures • Edibles • Topicals • Concentrates

DOCTOR ON SITE Sunday, February 1st from 12:00-3:00pm

925 Davie Street • 604.899.4120 • www.kanducannameds.com @kanducannameds kandu-cannameds @kanducannameds

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U

can volunteer!

Are you interested in volunteering with the West End Seniors’ Network? There are many ways in which you can get involved! To help determine what a good volunteer job would be for you, please answer the following questions: • Why do you want to volunteer with us?

• What skills do you have that you would like to share?

Volunteer positions include: Receptionists, Friendly Visitors, Thrift Store volunteers, Grocery Shopping volunteers, Administrative Assistants, Transportation Drivers and Program Hosts!

Cannibidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive component of cannabis that possesses a wide range of therapeutic benefits.

CBD Tincture gives relief to those who are suffering from epilepsy, cancer, fibromyalgia, glaucoma and more.

Visit our website or studio to find out more.

Spin Society Cycling Studio 1332 Granville Street 604-558-4509 www.spinsociety.ca

To volunteer, or to find out more about the program, contact: Mhairi Campbell, Manager of Volunteer Resources You may contact her Monday to Friday from 9:00-5:00 at Barclay Manor, (604) 669-5051, volunteers@wesn.ca.

www.wesn.ca/volunteering/about 16 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

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is for TINCTURE

At Vancouver Orthotics, our goal is to provide our patients with an enhanced biomechanical support system that will ultimately lead to better posture and elimination of foot, ankle, knee, hip and back pain. We achieve this goal through specific consultation, examination and if necessary, the fitting, production and dispensing of custom made orthotic inserts.

Dr. Michael Horowitz uses state of the art electronic gait analysis and 3-D foam imprinting to obtain the best cast of the foot possible. Expect from him a diagnosis, gait analysis, biomechanical evaluation, sound advice and a recommendation on how to treat your problem areas. Symptoms commonly treated are the following: • Foot Pain, Ankle Pain, Knee Pain • Hip Pain & Lower Back Pain • Plantar Fasciitis • Morton’s Neuroma • Bunions • Heel Spurs • Shin Splints

Electronic Gait Scan Analysis & 3-D Foam Box Measurements The Benefits of Orthotic Inserts: • Better Posture & Balance • Enhanced mechanical efficiency of motion • General & athletic performance improvements • Prevention of joint & soft tissue injury • Support & correction of the fallen (pronated) or high (supinated) foot arch

Hycroft Medical Building | 113-3195 Granville Street 604-737-3668 | vancouverorthotics.ca Evening and Saturday appointments now available Westender.com

LIFESTYLE //

@WESTENDERVAN

Warning Using cannabis as a prescription medicine may include the following side effects: Reduces Pain, Relaxes muscles, Relieves spasms, Reduces inflammation, Aids sleep, Reduces anxiety & stress, Reduces nausea, Stimulates appetite, Relieves headaches & migraines, Reduces intra-ocular pressure, Anticonvulsant, Reduces seizure frequency, Expectorant, Reduces depression, Energizes & stimulates, Increases focus & creativity, Supports immune system.

HEALTH A-Z

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W Why Crossfit Vancouver/Madlab?

OPEN DAILY at 9 LOCATIONS:

2916 W 4th Ave @ Bayswater * 604-336-6420 1807 Burrard St @ 2nd * 604-336-4448 1232 Burrard St @ Davie * 604-428-2420 1353 E 41st Ave @ Knight * 604-336-1066 211 E 16th Ave @Main * 604-336-5420 2580 Kingsway @ 34th * 604-336-0420 3450 E Hastings St @ Cassiar * 604-568-4420 6657 Main St @51st * 604-336-7420 1193 Main St @ Terminal

COMING SOON

5038 Victoria Dr (@34th)

1108 Richards

5536 Wharf Ave (Sechelt)

www.weedsglassand gifts.com

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Yaletown Pet Hospital has been serving the pet population of the downtown core for over 10 years. We have five veterinarians and an enthusiastic staff providing high quality health care for your pampered pets. We offer wellness exams, vaccination regimens catered to your pet’s needs, acupuncture, laser therapy, and cat boarding. We provide general surgery, dental, laboratory, and radiology services, and can access ultrasound, specialty surgery and ophthalmology consultations as needed. For your convenience we are open seven days a week, including most statutory holidays. For more information visit our website at www. yaletownpethospital.com

893 Expo Boulevard, Vancouver www.YALETOWNPETHOSPITAL.com Westender.com

We are the only registered vocational School of Fitness in Canada. All our coaches are certified personal trainers, having gone through a two-year intensive coaching apprenticeship program.

Our intention is simple: We want you to be physically prepared for anything life throws your way so you can live a great life.

Having a great life means the ability to do any physical task— be it rock climbing, or sprinting across the street. Whether you play for fun or are an Olympic athlete, we believe that human beings differ by degree, not by kind. The movements an NHL hockey star has to do to excel are the same ones grandma must do to get through her day—functional movements. When you are functionally fit; life and especially sports, will become easier.

Our Hybrid Fitness Model is a unique blend between a personal training studio and a group exercise facility. Not only will you work with a personal coach in a one-on-one setting, you’ll also have the opportunity to join our supportive and social group classes which provide you with a

community, workout buddies, and often friends for life. Constant contact with your coach will ensure you’re working on improving your weaknesses, limitations and staying injury free.

After 10 years of experience working with people from all walks of life, we truly believe our model is the best way to get you fit and keep you fit!

1980 Clark Drive 604-253-1261 crossfitvancouver.com info@madlab.ca

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For all your nutrition needs, from A to

We pride ourselves on bringing you a wide variety of fine, fresh food for you to choose from.

We take pride in our produce department, and work hard to bring you varieties of delicious market fresh fruits and vegetables, plus a wide selection of organics.

Discover our wide assortment of artisan breads and custom cakes made to order for any occasion.

Enjoy personal friendly service from our in-store butcher, featuring top quality cuts. Discover our great selection of fresh fish and seafood from sustainable resources.

We’re proud to bring you a wide variety of top quality delicatessen meats, sliced to your specifications along with our flavours of cheeses from around the world.

Pick up your new PC Plus Points card in-store today!

• Download your personalized weekly offers on your smartphone!

• Earn points towards dollars off your grocery bill!

1255 Davie Street • 604.688.0911 www.yourindependentgrocer.ca • OPEN 7 DAYS 7am-3am January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 17

ARTS // CULTURE

WESTENDER.COM

WHAT’S ON Th/29

Fr/30

MUSIC

MUSIC

BASS DRUM OF DEATH Epic party rockers of Mississippi appear with special guests. 9pm at Fox Cabaret. Tickets $12 at BPLive.ElectroStub.com

ALVIN RISK American singer, producer, and DJ tours in support of new EP release Venture with special guests Kodak to Graph. 10pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $15 at Red Cat, Highlife and TicketWeb.ca

KODO ONE EARTH TOUR: MYSTERY Japanese taiko drumming troupe explores ‘mystery’ with its lavish theatrical elements representing a new direction for the ensemble. 8pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets at Banyen Books and NorthernTickets. com

COMEDY PETE JOHANSSON Former Vancouverite, now based in the UK with regular gigs in The Comedy Store, Glee Clubs, Komedia and Highlights. 8:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $15 at TheComedyMix.com

THEATRE/DANCE 7 IMPORTANT THINGS George Acheson was a rebel with a cause, living through the ‘60s and ‘70s counterculture and scraping through the years that followed. Now he tells his story, about the things worth fighting for. 8pm at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca.

Runs until Jan. 31.

LE CARGO A thought provoking reflection on memory, heritage and history, Faustin Linyekula, a spellbinding dancer and storyteller takes us on a journey to his homeland of the Congo.

8pm at Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca

ART OVERFLOW Carol Prusa’s current work speaks to multiple universes and possibility with the ancient technique of metalpoint drawing in a contemporary practice. 6-9pm at Kostuik Gallery (1070 Homer).

Opening reception with artist talk at 7pm; runs until Feb. 22.

CITY WALLS Vancouver based modern rock band with special guests David Newberry and Killing Vogue. 8pm at The Imperial.

Tickets $14 at Red Cat, Zulu and TicketWeb.ca FOGHORN STRINGBAND The shining gold standard for American Stringband music returns to the Rogue Folk Club. 8pm at St. James Hall. Tickets $24 at Rogu eFolk.bc.ca COLLEEN RENNISON AND BEN ROGERS An intimate, unplugged living room session with local blues/rock/folk favourites. 8pm at Rickshaw Theatre. Tickets $8 at the door.

FREEFLOW Rhythm-fused soul band with funk, reggae, rock and electronica influence take the stage with Return of the Sun and Dispell. 9pm at Railway Club.

Tickets $10 at the door.

ALEXANDRE THARAUD An artist of unique vision and originality, heralded for his brilliantly conceived programs and recordings ranging from Bach, Chopin, Rameau and Ravel to the Paris cabaret of the 1920s. 7:30pm at Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca ARNT ARNTZEN TRIO Danceable swing music inspired by early New Orleans jazz, sultry swing, Count basie blues and a little Western swing for good measure featuring Georgina Arntzen on vocals.

7:30-10:30pm at Grace Memorial United Church. Tickets $18 at BrownPaperTickets.com

Sa/31 OPERATORS Dan Boeckner of the Handsome Furs, Wolf Parade, and Divine Fits plays the first of two nights in support of debut album EP1. 9pm at Fox Cabaret.

Tickets $15 at BPLive.ElectroStub.com

COMEDY PETE JOHANSSON Former Vancouverite, now based in the UK with regular gigs in The Comedy Store, Glee Clubs, Komedia and Highlights. 8 and 10:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $20 at TheComedyMix.com

THEATRE/DANCE THE FISH EYES TRILOGY Trio of dance-plays by celebrated actress Anita Majumdar, whose tour-de-force performances celebrate the joy and awkwardness of youth while slyly tackling issues of colonialism and cultural identity. 8pm at Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Tickets at Tickets.TheCultch.com. Runs until Jan. 31 with Parts I, II and III on alternating nights.

HOUR OF THE WOLF Eye of Newt returns to Club PuSh with Norwegian vocalist performing a live soundtrack to Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf. 8pm at Performance Works, Granville Island. Tickets at PushFestival.ca

CHEAP & FUN CHESS & CHECKERS NIGHT Drop in for some friendly competition and show off your chess and checkers moves, all skill levels welcome. 6:30-8:30pm at VPL Champlain Heights Branch.

Admission is free.

GREAT DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL Bringing your favourite sci-fi, fantasy and cult films back to the big screen featuring an all day screening of the X-Men franchise.

Various showtimes at Scotiabank Theatre. Runs until Feb. 5.

Su/01

MUSIC

MUSIC

MUSIC

BAD SUNS LA based rock band on tour in support of their debut release Language & Perspective.

8pm at Electric Owl. Tickets $15 at Red Cat, Zulu and TicketWeb.ca

THE DUHKS Modern folk outfit from Winnipeg bring their dynamic blend of old-timey, French Canadian and Celtic music punched up with shades of blues and soul in support of Beyond The Blue. 8pm at St. James Hall.

Tickets $24 at RogueFolk.bc.ca

THE ROMANTIC SYMPHONY Bramwell Tovey conducts a powerful, emotional concert with Canada’s fastest rising classical music star, Katherine Chi performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. 8pm at Orpheum Theatre.

Tickets at VancouverSymphony.ca

THEATRE/DANCE

IVA BITTOVA Avant-garde composer who sings and plays violin infused with the spirit of Eastern European folk music and praised the world over for her fusion of old world and new music. 8pm at Fox Cabaret. Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca

BACCHANALIA! MUSIC OF DELIGHT, DELIRIUM & DEBAUCHERY Erato Ensemble presents the second concert of its eighth season with a lively program featuring songs to make you laugh and squirm with funny, naughty, party and drinking songs. 8pm at Orpheum. Tickets $25 at BrownPaperTickets.com

COMEDY GARRETT CLARK Canadian born, Australian bred, unpredictable and dynamic star of improv, sketch and television hosting. 7 and 9:30pm at Yuk Yuk’s. Tickets $20 at YukYuks.com PETE JOHANSSON Former Vancouverite, now based in the UK with regular gigs in The Comedy Store, Glee Clubs, Komedia and Highlights. 8 and 10:30pm at The Comedy Mix. Tickets $20 at TheComedyMix.com

THEATRE/DANCE PRIVATE LIVES Divorced couple Elyot and Amanda, each happily remarried, find themselves in adjacent hotel rooms on their respective honeymoons in France and when the two couples meet, the atmosphere begins to crackle.

8pm at Jericho Arts Centre. Tickets at JerichoArtsCentre.com

ART FAR AWAY SO CLOSE: PART II Three part exhibition series and publication set exp loring the idea of bridging distance as a quixotic gesture, and the relationship of this to art making with a focus in Part II on political utterance. Artist talk at 2pm at Access Gallery.

Runs until March 7.

CHEAP & FUN

Operators, Jan. 30

Ashton College

Part-Time Financial Programs Boost your credibility and take the next step in your career.

Mo/02

FUN AND PLAY! WITH VAZZY ArtStarts presents a family friendly workshop with some of the best children’s artists, introducing a parade of acoustic musical instruments, hands on percussion, dancing, singing and storytelling. 11am-2pm at ArtStarts (808 Richards). Admission is free.

FAWLTY TOWERS Adapted for the stage, Basil, Sybil, Polly and Manuel bring to life the BBC television sitcom of the fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay.

2pm at Metro Theatre. Tickets at Tickets.MetroTheatre.com. Held over until Feb. 7.

COMEDY

SUN BELT: CABALCOR Sun Belt’s debut album adapted into an invented multimedia history of an imaginary tar sands company town on the verge of becoming a desert wasteland. 8pm at Performance Works. Tickets at PushFestival.ca

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

ART

BULLET CATCH A theatrical experience unlike any other, writer/performer Rob Drummond attempts the death-defying stunt before your very eyes. 7:30pm at Revue Stage. Tickets at ArtsClub. com. Runs until Feb. 7.

MAINSTREETERS: TAKING ADVANTAGE, 1972-1982 A coming of age multi-faceted project that looks at a self-identified collective of socially and artistically motivated men and women who took advantage of a new medium (video) and of each other. 12-6pm Satellite Gallery.

Runs until March 14.

CHEAP & FUN UNPLUGGED SCRIPT READING CHALLENGE Writers, submit your feature, TV pilot or web series and watch actors take the challenge, reading the work of Vancouver’s up and coming writers unrehearsed and live. 7:30pm at Electric Owl. Admission by donation.

EVENTS COMMERCIAL DRIVE BRUNCH CRAWL Visit more than half a dozen of the Drive’s best brunch spots using your ‘passport’ as a guide to the best eggs benny, pulled pork and hash, presented by Vancouver Foodster. 10am-2pm at Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. Tickets $40 at DineOutVancouver.com

THEATRE/DANCE

FARE THEE WELL In this haunting installation, multidisciplinary artist Dries Verhoeven turns the world upside down, public space into private worlds, work that straddles a paradox in an epic, yet intimate experience. 12-6:30pm at Vancouver Lookout (Main Stage) at Harbour Centre. Tickets at PushFestival.ca. Runs until Feb. 8.

CHEAP & FUN GREAT CANADIAN AUTHORS BOOK CLUB Join monthly on a Monday afternoon for lively discussions for those who enjoy reading multicultural and regional Canadian literature. 2-3:30pm at VPL Central Branch. Admission is free, but please register at 604331-3603.

THE FORCES OF LIGHT Free Lecture, February 4th, 7pm, Vancouver Central Library

• CANADIAN SECURITIES COURSE (CSC)® • LIFE LICENCE QUALIFICATION PROGRAM (LLQP) • CANADIAN INVESTMENT FUNDS COURSE (CIFC) • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®)

For more information, contact our financial program adviser at 604.899.0803 or email info@ashtoncollege.com.

604.899.0803 | 1.866.759.6006 www.ashtoncollege.com

Maitreya, the Teacher for the Age of Aquarius, is here.

“Share and save the world!”

Ashton College

we build careers

18 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

NEW HOPE FOR HUMANITY

CSC® is a registered trade-mark of CSI Global Education Inc.

SHARE-INTERNATIONAL.ORG

Westender.com

ARTS // CULTURE

WHAT’S ON Tu/03

We/04

Th/05

MUSIC

MUSIC

MUSIC

KIP MOORE Nashville based country music singer-songwriter on tour in support of latest single “Young Love”. 8pm at Commodore Ballroom. Tickets $52.25 at Ticketmaster.ca

CRASH KINGS LA rockers on tour with guests My Goodness. 8pm at Biltmore Cabaret. Tickets $13 at TicketWeb.ca or $15 at the door.

ERIC JOHNSON & MIKE STERN One of the greatest guitarists of this century teams up with one of the most esteemed electric guitarists of his generation to support their collaborative recording Eclectic. 8pm at Vogue Theatre.

Tickets at NorthernTickets.com

THEATRE/DANCE SEA SICK Science journalist Alanna Mitchell tells the story of our oceans and the risk their degradation poses to human life. 8pm at Roundhouse Community Centre.

Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca POSTSECRET: THE SHOW A million anonymous secrets provide the impetus for this visual, auditory and emotional journey through the beauty and complication of our deepest fears, ambitions, and confessions. 8pm at Firehall Arts Centre. Tickets at FireHallArtsCentre.com. Runs until Feb. 7.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST The classic Disney tale of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town and the Beast, a young prince trapped in a spell by an enchantress. 7:30pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets at Ticketmaster.ca. Opening night, runs until Feb. 8.

CHEAP & FUN FEMAGEDDON AGAIN West Coast Geeks versus Nerds bring you 12 of Vancouver’s funniest female fanatics to help resolve the world’s most pressing pop culture disputes in the annual all-female debate. 7pm at Vancouver FanClub. Tickets $10 at WCGeeksVersusNerds.com

EVENTS E

E

Ç

SNAP M, THE CITY BEFORE THE CITY Musqueam First Nation, MOA and MOV partner on a transformative journey to explore ancient landscape and living culture right under Vancouver’s nose in a series of three unified exhibitions. Musqueam Cultural Education Centre and Gallery. Runs until Dec. 30.

KARMA TO BURN Instrumental desert-rock band from West Virginia takes the stage with guests Sierra, Medozza, 88 Mile Trip, and Craters. 7:30pm at Rickshaw Theatre. Tickets $17 at Neptoon, Scrape and LiveAtRickshaw.com

THEATRE/DANCE MOTHERLOAD An intimate account of parenting in the modern age, four prominent Canadian theatre artists and mothers bare their personal stories about what it takes to be a member of the world’s biggest club. 8pm at Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

Tickets at Tickets.TheCultch.com.

Runs until Feb. 21. Opening night.

TIME MACHINE Eight children and seven professional dancers upend ideas about age, ability and the border between dance and theatre in this new work by MACHiNENOiSY. 8pm at Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tickets at TicketsTonight. ca. Runs until Feb. 7.

STEPPENWOLF Inspired by Hesse’s novel of self-reflection, the audience is seated before a row of mirrors and somewhere within the reflection, the story begins and viewers become the viewed. 8pm at Russian Hall.

Tickets at TicketsTonight.ca THE LAST FIVE YEARS Lionfish Entertainment debuts its inaugural production, the powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. 8pm at The PAL Studio Theatre (300-581 Cardero).

Tickets at LionFishEntertainment. com or at the door.

ANDY SHAUF Canadian singersongwriter on tour to support his upcoming release The Bearer of Bad News. 8pm at Fox Cabaret.

Tickets $13 at Red Cat, Zulu and NorthernTickets.com

COMEDY MIKE WILMOT Former Canadian Comedy Award winner, and star of The Foundation. 8:30pm at Comedy Mix. Tickets $15 at TheComedyMix.com

Retirement living can be paradise.

THEATRE/DANCE THE ROAD FORWARD A multimedia musical inspired by the groundbreaking movement of the Native Brother and Sisterhood of BC, created by awardwinning performer, playwright and director Marie Clements.

8pm at Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Tickets at Tickets.TheCultch.com. Runs until Feb. 7.

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS A side-splitting update of the Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters, this unique blend of satire, songs and slapstick set in 1963 Brighton sees our hapless hero Francis Henshall juggle two jobs and two bosses. 8pm at Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.

Tickets at ArtsClub.com

ART PIÑATA inspired by many of the good and bad habits we bring into relationships, some of which deserve to be hit over the head. An original work by Meaghan Kennedy and Ali Bruce at Hot Art Wet City. Runs until Feb. 14.

You’re invited... bring a friend to PARC Retirement Living’s Taste of the Tropics event. It’s a fun afternoon of themed entertainment, food and prizes. Discover how idyllic retirement living can be.

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Caribbean Party ~ Feb. 4th 2 – 4 PM ~ RSVP by Feb. 2nd Summerhill PARC | North Vancouver | 604.980.6525

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Rio Carnival ~ Feb. 11th 2 – 4 PM ~ RSVP by Feb. 9th One Man, Two Guvnors, Feb. 5

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January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 19

ARTS // CULTURE

WESTENDER.COM

MUSIC

Boeckner’s midas touch continues with Operators LOUISE BURNS @_louiseburns_

I’m going to make you a bet.

Ask any indie musician from the West Coast of Canada who their biggest influence is, and 90 per cent will tell you the same person: Dan Boeckner. The island man with the midas touch.

All journalistic cliches aside, there is valid reason for this proclamation. Since the late ‘90s, Boeckner has been partly responsible for some of North America’s most important bands: Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits (with Spoon’s Britt Daniel) and now Operators, his most recent project that will be descending upon Vancouver this weekend at the Fox Cabaret.

The story of Operators begins after the demise of

Handsome Furs in 2012, when Boeckner split with his former bandmate and now ex-wife Alexei Perry. I reached Dan on the phone somewhere in the Silicon Valley, his current home, while he is packing for tour and sounding deeply relaxed.

“I had a lot of stuff I had been writing for the prospective [Handsome Furs album]. And I shit-canned all of it. I deleted it,” he says.

“I felt like those songs were written specifically for that band. Our relationship disintegrated, the band disintegrated and I just felt like they didn’t belong anywhere else.”

And so the songs were consigned to the trash bin of history.

With Operators, Boeckner says the idea was to create an expanded version of what the Furs were doing.

REVIEWS // FREAK HEAT WAVES

Bonnie’s State Of Mind (Hockey Dad Records)

Channeling Berlin-era Bowie and Eno via the peaceful town of Victoria, British Columbia, Freak Heat Waves have brought us a sophomore LP that defies genre and expectation.

The album begins with the instrumental “PlasticCoated Dancers”, a sort of Kratfwerk-on-acid type of song that conjures visions of dark night clubs and a moonlit Autobahn. First single “Design Of Success” could pass for a John Foxx B-side, or a slowed down

Visage deep cut, occasionally letting shadowy French passages spoken by a female, presumed to be an alien, sashay in and out of the track.

As their press release suggests, there are elements of Krautrock, post-punk and futurism in Bonnie’s State Of Mind. But by keeping it diverse, they avoid the modern problem of genre-

20 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

“I took that platform and some of the equipment that I was gonna use and it really evolved into its own thing,” he explains. “I brought [Macedonian electronic artist] Devojka and [Divine Fits drummer Sam Brown] in to work on it, and as soon as we had our first rehearsal, it was good.

Immediately. The first rehearsals were fucking great.”

With a clean slate and a fresh band, Boeckner began recording with his new bandmates as well as an arsenal of analogue synthesizers.

EP1, Operators’ debut, dances between electronica, disco and house, united by a frantic, unsettling energy and tenebrous lyricism that can be attributed to Boecker’s Pacific Northwest roots.

Growing up in the “oppressive, cloudy nature” of Lake Cowichan, there is a

shadowy undercurrent in his songwriting. I ask him about this Pacific mysticism in his music.

“There’s a real Twin Peaks undercurrent of darkness in those areas. There’s this cosmic horror that humanity is small and insignificant and at the mercy of forces they can’t possibly understand – that are not evil, but completely indifferent to them. Which is even more terrifying.

“This is a very depressing teenage way to look at a beautiful part of the world,” he laughs. “But I don’t think it’s inaccurate. That really informed my songwriting, I think.”

Anyone can write about teen angst, but to channel it into intelligent, escapist dance music is what Operators do best. Guided by

snatching. “Sinking In a Pale Cloud” features distant harmonic horns crying out from some other green world, softly melding into “China Blue”, the closest thing to a ballad you’ll find on Bonnie, and a song that could easily find a place on a soundtrack to some 1980s existential Wim Wenders film. “Comfortable Conversation” and “Civil Servant Awakening” balance it all out with a post-punk, monotonous vibe akin to The Fall or Joy Division.

To truly enjoy Bonnie’s State Of Mind for what it is, you must have patience for experimentalism, something that Freak Heat Waves do very well. An extraterres-

trial, futuristic take on the past, and a must-listen for the freak inside all of us.

–Louise Burns

Former Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, and Divine Fits member Dan Boeckner (centre) once again proves he knows how to write a song or two. His new band, Operators (pictured here with keyboardist Devojka and drummer Sam Brown) plays the Fox Cabaret this Friday and Saturday. Contributed photo

Brown’s rhythmic backbone and electronic sorceress Devojka on a “frankenstein table of sequencers and synthesizers”, to see Operators live is a sight to be hold. A holy union of art, intellect and divine channeling, something one cannot fake, only inherit. Perhaps that is why Boeckner’s influence is so great. It is part of an ancient channel of worlds colliding in crusty dive bars scattered along the coast.

“I was inspired by people in Victoria and Vancouver, like Steve McBean for instance in Jerk With A Bomb,” says Boeckner. “When I was in high school, I’d go see Gus play, and those were lightbulb moments for me too. It was like, ‘Oh this is it, I need to do this.’”

And so he has. Immediately after wrapping up

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

VIET CONG

Viet Cong (Jagjaguwar/Flemish Eye) Many people describe Viet Cong as deeply indebted to Women, the beloved former band of Viet Cong members Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace. While it would be just to emphasize the influence of their former work, Viet Cong have come crashing down to earth with their much anticipated debut like

an army of resilient warriors, breaking down all expectations with their measured pandemonium. The seven songs found on Viet Cong were written while touring their 2014 EP Cassette, and contain all the highs, lows and instrumental nuances that can only be achieved by road-testing new music.

Opening track “Newspaper

their headlining shows in Vancouver, Operators will embark on a fresh tour with New Pornographers, ending in the studio where they will finish another EP and a full length, both due out this year. From guitar-band genius to electronic wizard, the midas touch prevails.

“The more instruments I have, the more writing tools I have at my disposal… the more I can hone those techniques, the better I can make my music.” W Operators play at Fox Cabaret Jan. 30 (with Gang Signs and Black Magique) and Jan. 31 (with Sur Un Plage and Moths & Locusts).

Doors at 9pm. Tickets $15 in advance.

Spoons” explodes into your inner ear with the dissonant chanting of “Writhing, violence, essentially without distortion”, quickly followed by militant, maddening chaos.

“Continental Shelf”, perhaps the most poppy track on Viet Cong, comes at you with a menacing wall of sound, like Phil Spector in the gutter.

In a press release, Matt Flegel gives props to the “shit earth” of his hometown Calgary for the stark and cold production. But there is still warmth to be found in this album; a heat that emanates from a band who play for today in case tomorrow never comes. –Louise Burns Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Westender.com

ARTS // CULTURE

@WESTENDERVAN

ART/BOOKS

John Vaillant takes on the ‘United States of Amexica’ Award-winning author of The Golden Spruce tackles humansmuggling for fiction debut Kelsey Klassen BC Book Club @KelseyKlassen THE JAGUAR’S CHILDREN

By John Vaillant (Knopf Canada)

Welcome to the first meeting of BC Book Club.

Like all good clubs it should start with a bit of getting to know each other.

To that end, I’ll go first with a confession: As the the days grew shorter and transitioned into what is my 30th winter on this Earth, I went into a Netflix shame spiral featuring continuous seasons of The Fall, The 100, and other similarly-articled escapisms.

As result – and this is the confession – I haven’t picked up a book in over three months. So, when John Vaillant’s The Jaguar’s Children landed on my desk – one of Canada’s most-anticipated releases of 2015 – I approached it with some trepidation. I was actually scared that I would like it, and that I wouldn’t want to put it down.

Think of all that Netflixing I’d be missing…

Well, my fears were both realized and baseless. While, no, I couldn’t put it down (it offered the most satisfying binge a book lover could ask for), it also successfully transported me to Mexico, not with mindless escapism, but with a claustrophobic tale of the harrowing lengths migrants will go to to reach el Norte.

The Jaguar’s Children is the first foray into fiction for the Vancouver-based Vaillant (pronounced “valiant”), who achieved major critical and commercial success with his non-fiction efforts The Golden Spruce (2005), about a sacred 300-year-old tree and the man who cut it down, and the revenge-seeking maneater of The Tiger (2010).

The Jaguar’s Children begins inside a water truck that has broken down in the Arizona desert. Abandoned by their smugglers and welded inside the tank with no way out are 15 people hoping for a better life in America. The narrator, Hector Maria de la Soledad Lazaro Gonzalez, recreates how he arrived in this suffocating predicament with a series of sound files recorded on the phone of

Westender.com

Vancouver author John Vaillant.

John Sinal photo his wounded friend, Cesar Ramirez. Hector is sending his thoughts to the only American phone number in the directory – a woman by the name of “AnniMac”. At first they are urgent pleas for help, but as his messages go unanswered, he slips tumultuously into the past.

Once you get over the mental leap of a cellphone battery lasting that long, and our protagonist sitting in what would be an oxygendeprived desert inferno, the story becomes an engrossing blend of political commentary and family saga.

With a loving lyricism and bittersweet sense of humour, Hector introduces “AnniMac” to his abuelo, or grandfather – a tough, studious agrarian with feet “thick like a car tire” who inadvertently set this chain of events in motion. By rejecting societal norms, Hector’s grandfather created a stain on the family that Hector’s father would perpetually long to escape. After a humiliating deportation of his own, Hector’s father would go on to exhort his son incessantly to make the move to America himself. Eventually, on the run from the police, Hector does exactly that.

As he sets the geo-political stage for this dangerous decision, Hector has many memorable moments. In one, he recalls a map scarred by red dots representing all the places migrants have died trying to cross.

“Everywhere north of Sásabe was covered in red dots, all the way to Tucson,” he muses aloud. “If they ever make a Guinness Book of Third John Vaillant will be appearing as part of ‘Incite’ at the Vancouver Writers Fest on Feb. 11 at 7:30pm in the Alice MacKay room at the Vancouver Public Library (350 W. Georgia).

World Records this border will be in there for sure.”

In another, Hector puts his predicament in perspective with a wry comparison: “When those Greeks were hiding in that horse they wanted to attack the city, and when the terrorists were hiding in those planes they wanted to attacked the country, but when Mexicanos hide in a truck, what do they want to do?

They want to pick the lettuce.

And cut your grass.”

Vaillant lived in Oaxaca for a year in 2009, allowing him to salt the book with sayings and customs that reveal a deep connection with the region.

In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Vaillant explained that much of what takes place in the book is the stark reality of the exodus he witnessed in southern Mexico.

“Basically, with the exception of what was happening inside the truck, I saw pretty much everything else that’s in there,” he said. “[There were] these dramatic narratives unfolding before me: whole villages empty of adults. Where did they go?” he continued.

“It was really like a plague.’”

Much like the wintry weekend I spent reading it, The Jaguar’s Children is a dark and unyielding yet vivid experience. From within the confines of a water tank, Vaillant manages to celebrate the identity of one beleaguered country, while confronting why almost 12 million Mexicans reside in another.

As told by Hector, it is a poignant goodbye letter to a country with few people left behind to read it. W • The Jaguar’s Children is available now in eBook ($14.99) and hardcover ($29.95).

With that, the slump has been broken. It won’t be another three months before I pick up a book again; this club will meet monthly to discuss the latest and greatest in local literature, with suggestions always welcome.

And, like any good book club, I’d love to hear from you about The Jaguar’s Children: • Do you think the cellphone was a necessary literary device? How would you have told Hector’s story?

• Do you want to see more fiction from John Vaillant?

Let me know your thoughts on Twitter @kelseyklassen, or kelsey@westender.com.

An exhibition of Patrick Hughes’ work, such as Here and There (pictured), is on at Winsor Gallery.

The Hues of Hughes Winsor Gallery celebrates 50 years of op-art illusions KELSEY KLASSEN kelsey@westender.com

As you stand in the lobby of the Rosewood Hotel Georgia one particular painting appears to move – its Venetian canals simultaneously advancing and retreating as your body shifts around to make sense of it. And no matter how many times you figure it out – see the threedimensional magic at work – it still happens.

Created by English artist Patrick Hughes, this mindbending seascape (painted on wood blocks so as to protrude off the wall) is the product of more than 50 years of exploration into how the human mind perceives image and illusion.

In this, his 75th year of life, and on the heels of receiving an honorary doctorate for his contributions to neuroscience, the Winsor Gallery in Vancouver presents The Hues of Hughes: Selected Works 1999-2014, running now until Feb. 24.

Alongside the op-art exhibition will be videos, interviews, and documentaries on Hughes and his ground-breaking “reverspectives.”

Westender caught up with Hughes in London for a spirited chat about receding lines and the railway track of life: How do you decide on these scenes you end up painting?

There’s two parts of it: one is the geometry, one is the imagery. In the case of Venice, there are 10,000 buildings I can use, whereas, when I do an Andy Warhol picture, there are only about 10 good Andy Warhols that I would do.

And oddly enough, it’s because it’s a given thing, Venice. Everybody knows it. It’s a cliché, in a sense.You could say it’s the most beautiful city in the world. It’s these given things that you can interfere with.

Why this technique?

Originally I just wanted to do the opposite. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll make the perspective sticking out instead of going in.’ And then when I put it on the wall it receded again. One of the things it does is it sticks out but seems to recede. The second thing that it does is it seems

Illusionist Patrick Hughes. to move. And then you come along and look at it, you put it back together again.

Your brain flips it a few times.

Yes, it changes. It’s odd…

When we say ‘illusion’ it isn’t a visual illusion. When it’s just a photograph of it in a newspaper or a book it isn’t an illusion at all because it’s flat. It’s only an illusion when your body is moving. The overall feeling is one of reciprocity. It moves according to how you move, and in the opposite way.

Did it surprise you when you first discovered it?

Yes it did! And one of the lucky things about it is it still surprises me, and it will still surprise you when you go to the hotel again. It will still do it. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Is Venice one of your most popular subjects?

I’ve gotten lots of enjoyment out of doing doors, because they’re supposed to move. I try to look to do a variety of different shapes and pictures.

Brillo boxes. Cameras. I’m always looking for something new to do.

Always looking for lines...

I’m always looking for boxes or rooms, spaces or buildings.

I’m not looking for fish, or snakes, or leaves. I’m not in the natural world, I’m in the man-made world, aren’t I? I’m a human being. I’m concerned with what we do, really.

Have you ever felt confined by your medium?

I love my straightjacket! The restrictions are very thrilling...

I love the geometry because it’s something you can fight against. People erect their own constraints, don’t they? Like Samuel Beckett or Mondrian or an entire book without the letter ‘e’… I think the constraints are delightful.

It’s a strange discipline: geometry and symmetry and Euclidean things. I’m sitting in a room right now and it’s all lines and geometry, pictures on the wall… It’s rather comforting. [laughs] Something you can really rely on. I never thought about it when I was younger, but there’s something comforting about it all appending towards infinity – the way railway lines come to a point.

An underlying logic.

Your paintings focus on humans and what we’ve built, but there are no humans in them…

They’re barren.

Yes they’re sort of ideal, aren’t they... In the Renaissance, towards the end of the 15th century, there were three paintings of ideal cities and they were painted empty.

Sometimes people say, ‘Why don’t you have people in your pictures?’, and I say, in a smart aleck way, ‘Well, you’re the people in my pictures.’

In that one in the Hotel Georgia, you go into it in the way that you go into a home.

There’s either nobody there or somebody you know very well.

It would be very disconcerting if there was somebody else there! [laughs]You enter into the room and explore it yourself.

Did you ever feel like your art was in fact part of a scientific process?

Yes I did! I was recently, proudly given an honorary doctorate in science by the University of London and I am friendly with neurologists and psychologists of perception.

I’ve done some small Patrick Hugheses and people are looking at them with brain-scanning machines, studying what parts of the brain perceive movement or spatial depth.Which parts light up. So I have, for the first time ever, involved myself as providing experimental materials.

That milestone comes at an interesting point in your career.

Yeah, it’s good isn’t it. I’ll be dead soon but I’m making the most of it. [laughs] I’ve been lucky in that I’ve developed a lot in my 50s, 60, and 70s. It’s hard to have new ideas but I’m still having new ideas, new thoughts about what to paint and how to paint it. W • For the full interview head to Westender.com.The Hues of Hughes is at Winsor Gallery (258 East 1st) until Feb. 24.

January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 21

ARTS // CULTURE

Monthly Events

THEATRE

February 2015 February sees the days get noticeably longer, encouraging us to get out more. You may choose to ignore the commercialization of romance that Valentine’s Day has become, but there are lots of other opportunities to go out with a loved one, or to go out and maybe meet one to be loved.

Check out the final days of the PuSh festival.

Got a singing voice? Try out for the Vancouver Men’s Chorus. Maybe the Timberline dance nights are more your thing? See our community listings for all the details.

LOUD Business (formerly the GLBA) is a not-forprofit association founded on our three pillars: Networking, Community and Philanthropy.

Check us out at www.

LOUDbusiness.com, join us at one of our events. Come out and be LOUD!

PUSh InTernATIOnAL PerfOrMInG ArTS feSTIVAL Continuing until february 8th Various Venues www.pushfestival.ca Men On Men

A regular workshop from HiM

Tuesdays, 6.30-8:00pm Gordon Neighbourhood House 1019 Broughton Street http://bit.ly/1zKEYJJ VAnCOUVer Men’S ChOrUS OPen TryOUTS Wednesday, february 4, 7:15pm Vancouver Academy of Music 1270 Chestnut St. www.vancouvermenschorus.ca SAfeTALk CrISISCenTre A 3.5hr training in suicide alertness

Thursday, february 5, 9:00am12:30pm 763 East Broadway crisiscentre.bc.ca/ safetalktraining/ TIMBerLIne COUnTry/ WeSTern DAnCe nIGhTS Thursdays, 7:00-9:30pm february 5, 12, 19 & 26 St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Recreation Hall, 1140 Jervis St. www.timberlinedance.org GAy-frIenDLy BreAkfAST neTWOrkInG A LOUD Business Event

Wednesday, february 11, 7:15-8:30am The Edge Social Grille & Lounge 1100 Granville Street loudbusiness.com/networking/ events

freqUenT frIDAy neTWOrkInG LUnCh

A LOUD Business Event

friday, february 13, 12:002:00pm Chateau Granville Hotel 1100 Granville Street loudbusiness.com/networking/ events reD rIBBOn BreAkfAST Positive Living BC

Tuesday, february 24, 7:308:30am Pan Pacific Hotel 999 Canada Place http://bit.ly/1yZvdEG GAy-frIenDLy BreAkfAST neTWOrkInG A LOUD Business Event

Wednesday, february 25, 7:15-8:30am The Edge Social Grille & Lounge 1100 Granville Street loudbusiness.com/networking/ events PInk ShIrT DAy Wednesday, february 25 Wear your pink shirt with pride and support this international day against bullying. www.pinkshirtday.ca LOUD LOUnGe

A regular evening social. No agenda, no speeches. Check the LOUD website for date, venue and ticket info. loudbusiness.com/networking/ events Find out more about LOUD at loudbusiness.com

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22 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

PuShing gender boundaries with a ‘ Tomboy Survival Guide’ KRISTYN ANTHONY @allovthethings

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From left: Pebbles Willekes, Alison Gorman, Ivan Coyote and Sally Zori star in Tomboy Survival Guide at Club PuSh Feb. 6. Contributed photo

925 davie street • 604-899-4120 www.kanducannameds.com Kandu-Cannameds

@kanducannameds

Ivan Coyote has been pushing boundaries for years; blurring the lines of gender, the written word, storytelling, and music. As one of Canada’s only transgender household names, Coyote’s body of work has long provided a space for discussion surrounding all things queer and genderrelated.

This time out, Coyote is collaborating with fellow music makers Alison Gorman, Pebbles Willekes and Sally Zori to bring Tomboy Survival Guide to the PuSh Festival stage.

“There is just simply nowhere near enough positive expressions of trans and gender non-conforming and butch and questioning peoples lives out there,” says Coyote of the impetus for the project.

For these four, each having navigated their own very different gender journeys,

Tomboy is a retrospective of sorts. Featuring personal tales of triumphs and terrors when each performer was just a budding tomboy, the production is described by the PuSh Festival guide as “part anthem, part campfire story and part instructions for the dismantling of the gender stories we tell.”

Taking the audience through this dialogue using music was a natural progression for the four. Their musical paths have crossed on various projects, most notably, the East Van powerhouse funk outfit, Queer As Funk.

“We are interested in having a creative conversation employing the mediums we can all speak in, and using that conversation to create from.” says Coyote. “I like to find the medium that will best say or express what I am trying to say, and, in the case of this show, what Alison, Pebbles and Sally also bring to the table.”

As the discussion sur-

rounding gender grows, what it means, what it does or doesn’t look like, there is a misunderstood idea that only trans people are limited by the gender binary. In reality, “we all suffer from these really rigid gender boxes,” Coyote points out, making Tomboy relevant to those outside the LGBTQ community.

An interpretation of the word “tomboy” is not the point of the work here, Coyote is quick to impart, but rather an expression of Coyote’s own connection to it. Leaving behind the attachment to being defined by these, or any other terms, may just be the key to a more comprehensive understanding of how, and why, gender leaves so many behind. W Tomboy Survival Guide is at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright) as part of PuSh Fest Feb. 6 at 8pm and 10:30pm.

Review: Nothing new in PostSecret play KELSEY KLASSEN @kelseyklassen

When Frank Warren started leaving blank, self-addressed postcards around, asking strangers to send him their secrets, he likely didn’t intend them to be read aloud.

While the theatrical interpretation of one of the world’s most popular blogs succeeds in bringing the same meditations on religion, rape, family, and suicide to the fore as the website, PostSecret:The Show – created by Warren and Vancouver creatives TJ Dawe, Kahlil Ashanti and Justin Sudds – fails to truly embrace its medium.

Blending live music, postcard slides, actor and audience confessions, and reenactments of interactions between members of the PostSecret

PostSecret: The Show cocreator and co-star Kahlil Ashanti. Emily Cooper photo community, the play rarely reaches further than a Pecha Kucha presentation, and with a lot more fretting. (As they recite secrets from other peoples’ lives, it’s understandable that the capable actors Ashanti, Ming Hudson and Nicolle Nattrass are reduced to delivering their lines in

mostly concerned tones.)

Thankfully, director Dawe – playing to the strengths of his undeniably emotional source material – deftly never lets any one mood linger too long.

As the stickiness of all that confession coats the room, it is often quickly washed away with tears or laughter, and on that count the cast delivers with timing to spare.

For fans of the blog who want to learn more about its history, and some of the interesting side stories it has spawned, this retelling puts a fresh spin on the 10-year-old concept. But, for most, these stories can be experienced firsthand at, you guessed it, PostSecret.com. W • PostSecret:The Show runs until Feb. 7 at the Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova).

FireHallArtsCentre.ca.

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ARTS // CULTURE

@WESTENDERVAN

FILM & TV

Remembering Darren Shahlavi

Stunt actor Darren Shahlavi performs a flying kick on the set of Mortal Combat: Legacy.

Contributed photo

Hollywood stunt actor and fight choreographer passed away Jan. 14 Sabrina Furminger Reel People @Sabrinarmf

I knew that one day I’d write a column about Darren Shahlavi. Never in a million years would I have ever expected it to be in the wake of his death.

Darren was the first “reel person” I ever got to know.

We met in 2002, when my boyfriend (now husband) Paul, fresh out of film school, was working at Rogers Video.

At the time, Darren, then 29, was already a veteran of Hong Kong action films, where he’d made a name for himself as a versatile

BRIEFS // SPARK FWD

Some of the most eye-popping visual effects (VFX) on film are created right here in the 604, so it makes sense that Vancouver plays host to one of the most exciting annual visual effects festivals on the planet. Showcasing innovations in the VFX scene, SPARK FWD shines the spotlight on this dynamic industry through conference panels, lectures, screenings, and presentations.

Highlights for the 2015 fest include a 30th anniversary

Westender.com

stunt artist and actor who could spar with the best of ’em.

His early titles included Tai Chi II (directed by famed martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo Ping, who’d later choreograph the iconic fight sequences in The Matrix films), Sixty Million Dollar Man, and The Turbulent Affair.

Darren had just wrapped his first big mainstream role as Cedric Mills, the Hungarian boxer who lets loose on Eddie Murphy in I, Spy. At Rogers, Darren was always renting direct-to-video action movies and rare martial arts flicks. Paul and Darren bonded over the genre titles and their mutual ex-pat status (they’re both Brits). A friendship – then a bro-hood – formed between them.

When Paul proposed to me via an elaborate scavenger hunt that took us to various locations around

panel and screening of Back to the Future, with behindthe-scenes insight from director of photography Dean Cundey, DeLorean Time Machine designer and special effects supervisor Kevin Pike, and original BTTF storyboard and concept artist Andrew Probert; a job fair; interactive sessions with the VFX visionaries who created masterful effects and images for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Interstellar, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, Guardians of the Galaxy, Paddington,

Vancouver, it was Darren who helped out with the ruse, hiding in the bushes with roses and champagne until the appropriate moment. He stood with us at our wedding; he spent Christmas with us when he couldn’t get back to England; later, when Paul started directing video game trailers and in-game cinematics, he helped out with stunt choreography and motion-capture.

This column wouldn’t exist without Darren Shahlavi, because it was in observing Darren in action that I came to understand the passion, hard work, mindset, and sacrifice required to make it in showbiz.

I saw how people who work in this industry do so because of an abiding passion, often borne in their childhoods; for Darren, it was from the Bruce Lee movies he watched growing up in Manchester.

I saw that you had to go where the work took you – to China, to Germany, to Montreal, to Toronto, to LA – even though you desperately missed your family, your friends, and the comfort of your own bed.

I saw that red carpets and filming were only a fraction of the working actor’s life. The bulk of that life is rather unglamorous: auditions, training, making connections, waiting for phone calls, and doing your best to stay positive.

I saw how much joy could be derived from the craft. You can see it in Darren’s fights in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Arrow, or when he acted with Robin Williams and Sir Ben Kingsley, or when he played Kano in Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

That glint in his eye?

That’s glee.

In 2009, Paul and I sat with Darren in a restaurant in YVR. We were on our

way to Japan; he was on his way to China to film Ip Man 2. He was in the best shape of his life, so focused, and stoked to work with Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung.

It was to become one of his most defining roles, and elevate him to international action star status. He loved every second of it.

2014 had been an exceptionally good year for Darren. He’d recently wrapped on Pound of Flesh, in which he played the villain opposite one of his idols: JeanClaude Van Damme.

It’s a great irony that Darren, one of the gentlest souls I’ve ever encountered (just ask my fouryear-old about Uncle Big D), would be typecast as a leading villain throughout his career.

I knew that, one day, I’d be writing about Darren in this column. But I always expected that it was going

and more; and a Late Night Snacks shorts program of local and international films. Jan. 29-31 at Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour).

Registration and schedule at SparkFX.ca.

techniques. Shonali Bose’s Margarita, with a Straw – a critical darling of the Toronto International Film Festival – will kick off the fest, which will also screen Lady Be Good (USA), A 5-Star (Iran), Behind Closed Doors (France), The Lesson (Bulgaria), Seguir Viviendo (Mexico), Highway of Tears (Canada) and Relative Happiness (Canada). Also on the jam-packed schedule: an awards ceremony and screenings of local shorts (including the Crazy 8s crowd-pleaser Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story, and

Through the Pane, which scooped up several awards at the recent Vancouver International Short Film Festival). March 4-7 at Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour).

Tickets and schedule at WomenInFilm.ca.

A DECADE OF WOMEN IN FILM

Billed as a celebration of “the best of cinema created by women,” The 10th annual Vancouver International Women in Film Festival screens feature-length films and shorts representing an array of viewpoints and

GET SEX(ED)

For anyone who ever suffered through a droning lecture on ovaries and the uterus, or rolled a condom over a banana, this is the film for you. DOXA Documentary Film Festival’s Motion Pictures Film Series presents the Greater Van-

to be about his breakthrough to A-list status, and he was going to share his secrets for keeping your reel dreams alive, even when it’s difficult to do so.

On Jan. 14, Darren passed away in his sleep from the prescription painkillers he was using to treat an injury that he had incurred on set. He was 42 years old.

There are countless headlines swirling in the wake of Darren’s death, many of them lurid and patently untrue.

But the headlines won’t mar the love and respect I have for Darren, or the lesson I’ve taken from our 13 years of friendship: that to succeed – as a “Reel Person”, as a human being – you’ve got to hold tight to your childhood dreams, never settle for anything less than doing what you love, and relish every second of your journey.

RIP, Big D. W couver premiere of Brenda Goodman’s film Sex(ed): The Movie. Using clips from an astounding array of sex ed films, featuring everyone from Donald Duck to Marcia Brady, Goodman examines how sex education has changed over the years. From masturbation to same-sex attraction to STIs, sex is a complicated business, with business being the operative word.

Feb. 6 at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate). For further information, call DOXA at 604-646-3200.

January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 23

ARTS // CULTURE

WESTENDER.COM

MOVIE REVIEWS

Hockey doc a Cold War thriller RED ARMY

Directed by Gabe Polsky A hockey documentary that plays out like a Cold War thriller? It seems like an impossible feat, but filmmaker Gabe Polsky pulls it off with often thrilling results.

Charismatic former Russian captain Slava Fetisov sets the tone early – Polsky attempts to ask a question while the hockey legend is scrolling through his phone and, clearly annoyed by the director’s probing, promptly flips him the bird.

It’s a delightfully real moment that illustrates the kind of protagonist Fetisov is as he chronicles one of the most fascinating chapters in athletic history, where culture and politics were at a crossroads in Mother Russia.

Starting in the late ‘70s, Red Army weaves the spellbinding tale of Russia’s national, military-run hockey club that rose to world domination in its heyday due to rigorous, sometimes brutal training and ruthless coaching tactics. Many stories are recounted as former players detail their struggle to break

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

Offer hope in times of tragedy or hardship.

Starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain Directed by JC Chandor Changing creative direction for the third time in as many features, JC Chandor displays an astonishing surefootedness. After setting his narratives in confined spaces in both the Mamet-esque ensemble piece Margin Call and survival thriller All Is Lost, Chandor adopts a broader canvas for A Most Violent Year, a crime drama that’s equally bruising and perceptive. Seemingly shot through a smoke-stained lens, it immerses us in the gritty milieu of 1981 New York City, taking us into its backrooms, barbershops, offices, subway

BLACK OR WHITE

Starring Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer Directed by Mike Binder

FundAid.ca can help you start a crowdfunding campaign to raise money now.

24 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

“You’re a goddamn stereotype! You’re a walking cliché!”

Remarkably, there’s only one character in Mike Binder’s well-intentioned, dreadfully executed melodrama who’s called out on this. Especially given that the only member of the ensemble who needn’t worry about facing such charges is the teenaged genocide survivor who toils as a math tutor, moonlights as a chauffeur, totes around an archive of academic papers he’s penned on countless subjects and learns a new language whenever he’s bored. Of

The Soviets were virtually unbeatable from 1954-1991. free from the Iron Curtain, some even defecting to the NHL at great personal risk.

Polsky constructs the film impeccably. Incredible archival footage of the playmakers (aided cleverly by enhanced sound effects) along with interviews from individuals, including former Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman and a former KGB agent, give

the documentary a kinetic pace that is always enthralling.

The brilliance of Red Army lies in its context; one does not need to be a traditional hockey fan to appreciate the socio-political parallels drawn in this compelling examination of a fading era. Polsky has crafted something truly insightful and endlessly entertaining. –Thor Diakow

stations, restaurants, rail yards, freeways, tenements and palatial estates.

It’s on these fronts that Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) wages a campaign to secure his share of the American Dream. Cut from the same cloth as Scorsese’s upwardly mobile immigrants, Abel also has an affinity with There Will Be Blood’s ambitious oilman.

However, in Abel’s case, he’s amassed a small fortune through a successful heating oil distribution company. But as he’s entering a critical period of expansion, his trucks are hijacked and salesmen assaulted. And yet, somehow it’s his business practices that the authorities are investigating. As a competitor suggests, “It’s a tough market.”

Professing to follow “the

path that is most right,” Abel staunchly refuses to acknowledge how the sausage gets made and is consequently put through the grinder by both his formidable adversaries and cold-blooded wife (Jessica Chastain). Inside Llewyn Davis’ Isaac is once again riveting as a man forced to reconcile his ideals with economic realities. And when he’s pushed past his breaking point, there’s an exhilarating catharsis to the breathtaking seven-minute chase sequence that ensues but also a sober acknowledgement that he’s shedding legitimacy with every frenzied stride.

In the process, Chandor confirms that he’s the real deal. – Curtis Woloschuk

course, he comes across as just a little contrived. So too does Binder’s film, which takes the contentious, complex issues surrounding race relations and reduces them to pap.

We’re introduced to Elliot (Kevin Costner) minutes after the death of his wife. (It occurs off-screen, of course. This isn’t the sort of film that’s looking to upset anyone.) This tragedy leaves him as the sole guardian of his mixed-race granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell), whose saintly white mother died during childbirth and black father succumbed to crack addiction. Anesthetizing his heartbreak with alcohol, Elliot leaves himself vulnerable to a hostile custody takeover from Eloise’s paternal grandmother, Rowena

(Octavia Spencer).

Given that Binder – who previously helmed the Adam Sandler 9/11 film, Reign Over Me – struggles to stage a standard conversation convincingly, it’s hardly surprising that his attempts at gripping courtroom drama should quickly devolve into ridiculous grandstanding and more signals coming in from the sidelines than your average NFL game.

Perhaps this all worked better on the page but it’s difficult to envision a script that wasn’t written in all caps, including the final instruction, “END CREDITS. (ACCOMPANIED BY SONG THAT REITERATES KEY MESSAGES IN CASE ANYONE MISSED THEM.)” –Curtis Woloschuk

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STYLE // DESIGN

@WESTENDERVAN

HOME

A more refined version of the industrial trend is staging a comeback for 2015. Clockwise from above: Field in Town headboard (Janice Nicolay photo); Union Wood Co. dresser (Craig Pearce photo), Longwalk Lodge lights, chairs (Jamie Mann photos).

Designer Files: The New Industrial Jennifer Scott A Good Chick to Know

@Jennifer_AGCTK A few weeks ago I shared an article that discussed which design trends from seasons past have had the strength to move forward into 2015.

One of the bigger décor looks that is finding traction is the industrial look – but it’s not the same heavy aesthetic that dominated the scene a few years ago. This refined “industrial” has a fresh feel that I’m looking forward to incorporating into upcoming projects.

To get a full insider scoop on how this trend has evolved, I asked some of Vancouver’s most talented artisans in the woodworking field to share their thoughts on the new industrial style.

CLINT MOROZ, THE LONGWALK LODGE How have you seen the industrial trend evolve?

When this trend first became popular a number of years back, it didn’t gradually gain attention – it took off immediately and at a mass level.

Seemingly every home, restaurant and shop had adopted the trend in a big way; we saw heavy pipes, rustic woods and distressed metals combined in everything from shelves to wall cladding to smaller household items.

As we look forward at how the trend is adapting to current styles, we are seeing an

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“industrial” that is much less stark and brute. Industrial pieces now are taking on more of a Scandinavian, clean aesthetic by comparison, and have looked to a new approach in order to remain relevant.

We are still seeing reclaimed woods, but they are being paired with more interesting design elements, such as painted metals in a bright palette, or coloured resins rather than the heavily worn bare metals we’ve seen in the past. The industrial colourway and combos of a few years ago became too monochromatic, especially when used in lofts (or other industrial-inspired spaces).

Have you noticed a shift in the attitude of consumers toward industrial pieces?

Definitely. Previously, people were jumping on the industrial trend without actually thinking about if and why they liked it.

It was about having everything industrial, rather than considering how the trend would work for them.

Clients today are being more selective and seeking out pieces that speak to them and suit their own personal style.

We are happily shifting into a modern eclectic movement, a design approach that is encouraging people to mix, for example, a custom industrial table with a Victorian sofa in a contemporary setting; we don’t have fully “industrial” or “mid-century” homes anymore – we use pieces from different eras that all are representative of our individuality. The mass production items are less in demand, while craftsman

pieces are what consumers are interested in.

BENJI NESDOLY, FIELD IN TOWN What are you working on right now – what are you excited about within industrial/ custom woodworking?

I’ve been busy building new products and focusing on building up my collection. I’m all about working with new materials – taking the skills and styles that I’ve refined and trying them out with fresh materials.

Currently I’m really interested in working with hardwoods, I’ve been testing out combining beautiful Peruvian walnuts with complimentary woods to make unique combos (think: a stellar walnut with striking white woods). I’ve worked a lot with stains in the past, but now I see the direction moving toward letting the natural beauty of the woods take the focal point, so mixing the natural elements to create interest is where I’m seeing the look go.

You’ve been designing and creating for about a year and a half – what do you see as the future direction for Field in Town?

I think it’s really important as a designer to constantly be refining and improving your skill set. It’s all about the learning curve, you have to try in order to succeed, but also you sometimes have to try and fail in order to get a fresh perspective and see things in a new way. I keep gaining experience, and the more I do, the more I love it; the more I love it, the better my skills get. It’s a really positive loop.

WOMEN IN A POLICING CAREER

CRAIG PEARCE, UNION WOOD CO. How has the aesthetic of the industrial look has evolved since you began in the industry?

In my opinion there was a certain amount of crudeness to the industrial look, back in 2009 when I began making this kind of furniture. I think with the trend catching on that the crudeness has been exploited a bit. Our customers are looking for a more refined product, but still have interest in the industrial-style furniture.

What are you excited about in terms of industry trends moving into 2015?

There is so much I’m excited about in the industry trends. So many great materials, and so many willing clients these days. I’m really into seeing what other people are doing, and with social media, it’s so accessible. It’s inspiring to see others creating, and keeps me, as a creator, on my toes. W

More and more women are choosing policing, and the Vancouver Police Department hires more than the national average. Currently, 23% of sworn VPD officers are women, and we’d like you to meet some of them.

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January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 25

STYLE // DESIGN

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westender.com 26 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

Clockwise from top left: Yellow BCBG dress; Gingam dress by Carven; Mule clogs by Rachel Comey; Aritiza Portobello blouse; Velvet by Graham & Spencer jumpsuit. Contributed photos

Must-have fashion for spring NIKI HOPE @nikimhope

Fresh colours, classic fabrics and patterns, and a freespirit style are all on display in spring fashion. Here are some of my favourite trends for the upcoming season.

Lemon drop Blogger Alicia Quan looks stunning in this lemoncoloured gem. The feminine hue is turning up everywhere but had one of its sweetest moments at Diane von Furstenberg’s spring/summer 2015 show at New York Fashion Week. Quan’s dress is from BCBG on Robson Street. Keep your eyes open for this tart tone.

Gingham style The charming print turned up on all the spring runways, but it’s classic enough that it can be worn for seasons to come. This cotton dress by Carven, available at Gravity Pope

(regular $760, but on sale for $455), shows off gingham’s crisp feel. Another stunning example is the Michael Kors mid-length panel skirt with a sophisticated black-andwhite gingham pattern.

White on white Then there’s white: lots of it, mixed together in a single look. Start from the bottom up with these handmade slip-on mule clogs with leather upper and blonde base by Rachel Comey – available at Gastown’s One of a Few for $498. But don’t stop there – check out the white jumpsuit coming in for spring by Vancouver design house dace. The clean and modern jumpsuit would pair nicely with the clogs for a contemporary, white-hot spring look.

Lace in point Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the ‘80s, but I’m pretty crazy about the lace that’s turning up for spring.

Aritzia’s Portobello blouse (regularly $55, but on sale for $27.50) is a darling example of the lace trend. Style this soft blue gem with jeans, pumps, and a silver chain, and blow ’em away with a whisper.

Ladies of the Canyon Clothes with a bohemian edge never really get old, but this season they’re back with a vengeance. This simple indigo jumpsuit from Velvet

by Graham & Spencer – inspired by South Asian architecture – captures hippy spirit without overkill. With a loose fit that’s as comfy as pajamas, it’s the perfect onepiece for work and parties.

The jumpsuit is available at Hill’s of Kerrisdale for $225 (of note, Hill’s Dry Goods is opening on West 4th this spring). W • To see more of the clothes we’re coveting, follow Niki’s style board on Pinterest at Pinterest.com/WestenderVan.

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LIFESTYLES //

@WESTENDERVAN

HEALTH

You don’t have to be a hippie to meditate...

Patty Javier Gomez Whole Nourishment

@WholeNourishBC When I mention things like yoga or meditation, people often look me up and down like I’m a sage-burning hippie that sits in a room full of candles chanting (which I have totally done, BTW).

Resistance is met. Usually there are comments like, “I’m not into that shit” or, “Oh! You’re one of those?”.

Explaining how meditation makes me feel grounded and connected to everything doesn’t do me any favours either.

But seriously, meditation is a practice I can honestly say will shape your whole existence and can make your word a little less crap.

Science is quickly getting behind the effects of meditation, it has been proven to help lower blood pressure, relieve stress, improve attention span and even help shrink tumours! And, according to researchers at the Harvard Medical School, long time practitioners of meditation (and yoga) have a lot more disease-fighting genes, helping with ailments such as infertility, arthritis, inflammation and overall pain in the body.

I am one of many that have suffer from anxiety, and am no stranger to panic attacks. And if you’re sitting in front of me anywhere and your collar is out of place, I will fix that shit, so yeah, a little OCD, too.

Here is how mediation has helped me: because it increases electrical activity in the prefrontal cortex, the right anterior insula, and right hippocampus in the brain (all the parts of the brain that control positive emotion, awareness, and anxiety), regular practice has helped me refrain from

random acts of organizing and social anxiety in which I am convinced that everyone on the SkyTrain is silently judging me.

It has also cured a hangover or two.

Here are some ways that meditation can help you.

“Meditation,” says Patty Javier Gomez, “is a practice I can honestly say will shape your whole existence and can make your word a little less crap.” Thinkstock photo

DIGESTION

Since a lot of digestive issues are known to be linked to stress, then it makes sense that meditation as an anti-stress tool can help relieve some symptoms.

It can be helpful for such issues as low stomach acid and irritable bowel syndrome. Meditation can also help you from making poor food choices and overeating by helping you change your mindset.

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Meditation boosts antibodies neutralizing foreign agents such as bacteria and viruses contributing to a healthy immune system.

ANXIETY

Meditation increases GABA, a neurotransmitter known to stabilize mood disorders.

Take it from a high anxiety perfectionist, you want meditation in your life! Now I’m not claiming that it’s a miracle cure for everyone, but it is a great coping mechanism and super relaxing.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Stress is a well known culprit of cardiovascular disease. It releases the hormone adrenaline that causes your heart rate and blood pressure to rise. So you can guess what the results are in your body if you are constantly stressed out and not dealing with it. Meditation produces a technique for reducing stress and healing.

HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES

a year. The next one is this February. You work your way up from five minutes to 20 within the 30 days with guided meditations that are emailed to you, so you can do them at any time. This is pretty convenient for busy folks to get a taste of what meditation can do for them WestEnder Quarter.pdf and try outNetCad different styles.

W

Tension held in the neck, face and jaw can often lead to headaches. Meditation can help relieve the tension in these areas eliminating pain. No pills for you! Just straight up bliss.

WHERE TO START?

RECIPE // SOOTHING COCONUT DRINK Ingredients 1 can organic coconut milk 2 tbsp organic turmeric 1 tbsp unpasteurized raw

honey (try a tablespoon first and add more if needed.)

Preparation Warm it up on stove and stir!

I love to have this drink at night to wind down. Perfect post bath and meditation.

1 02/01/2015 11:07:42 AM

There are so many types of meditation out there that it can be overwhelming at first to know where to start. Here are my recommendations: • Youtube videos have guided meditations or just music.

• Isha System Vancouver is a great way to get introduced to the local meditation community. Led by some pretty amazing humans like Matthew Schmidt, there are weekly meetings and you can even book a one-on-one. The Isha system explores inner growth and unconditional love of self. Cause let’s face it, you can never have too much love.

• Tuja Wellness 30 day meditation challenge. It’s a free online meditation challenge that happens once C

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REAL ESTATE //

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www.MichaelDowling.ca January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 29

30 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

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REAL ESTATE / DRIVE Developers blast slow and cumbersome city planning processes GLEN KORSTROM @GlenKorstrom

Friction between developers and city planning departments remains high given the sharp critiques that the heads of several large development companies voiced about city planners at an Urban Development Institute luncheon January 22.

Aquilini Development Group president David Negrin went as far as to compare developers to lambs and city planners as wolves.

“I know [City of Vancouver general manager of planning and development] Brian Jackson is here,” Negrin said before launching his attack.

“I say this sincerely. I walk into the planning office and it’s like five wolves and a lamb in a room. The wolves turn to the lamb and say, ‘What’s for dinner tonight?’”

Negrin’s main beefs were that it takes too long for proposals to be approved and that the city’s system of community amenity contributions (CACs) is convoluted.

“I really believe that there should be just a single CAC,” Negrin said before lengthy applause from the hundreds of development sector insiders in the room.

The City of Vancouver currently tends to take about 75 per

cent of the value of any increase in land value after a rezoning provides for more density. That levy, which it calls a CAC, goes to fund social housing, arts and culture space, daycare centres and heritage restoration. The rate varies across the city based on land values.

The City of Vancouver, for example, also charges development cost levies (DCLs), which are fees based on square footage and pays for parks, childcare facilities and social and non-profit housing.

“We feel it’s exactly the opposite, where we’re the lamb and they’re the wolves,” said Jackson after the meeting.

Developers have teeth, he explained, because the city’s capital plan cannot provide for all of the facilities and services that the city needs to pay for without developer input.

He added that of the 1,400 development applications that the city receives every year, only three per cent involve rezoning and hence are subject to CACs. However, that’s little solace for Negrin.

“The CACs have been a big problem in the approval process,” he said. “It took us almost two years to get through a CAC [negotiation and project approval] at East Second Avenue and Main Street.”

Those delays cost money, he

explained, and that extra cost then gets passed onto home owners in the form of higher prices – something that flies in the face of achieving greater housing affordability.

Other developers similarly believe approval processes can take too long in various municipalities.

Polygon Homes president and CEO Neil Chrystal praised the approval process on the University of British Columbia endowment lands because it tends to only take about six months to go from submitting an application to getting approval.

“If you go to any other jurisdiction in the Lower Mainland, my estimate, and I might be wrong, but it’s between 12 months at best and 30 months to get approvals,” Crystal said.

“It’s taking way too long.”

Jackson explained that the difference between quick approvals at UBC and delayed approvals in the rest of the city stems largely from the fact that there is more complex integration outside of UBC. “This is about integration in the urban fabric of a very complex interesting beautiful city that has an extraordinarily high quality of life and we want the development to fit in with that quality of life,” he said. “To do that, it takes time.” W

Real Estate Opens West End

1740 Comox St #1503, 1 bdrm, $387,000, Sat 3-3:30, 30 mins. only

1924 Comox #412 1 bdrm, $488,000, Sat 2-2:30, 30 mins. only

104-1010 Chilco 2 bdrms, $555,000, Sun 2-4

29

29

1535 Nelson 1 bdrm, $369,900, Fri 10:30-12:30

28

1501-212 Davie St 2 bdrms + den, $738,800, 28 Sun 1-3

28

Today’s Drive: 2015 Honda CR-V The best gets better DAVID CHAO @westender.com

The Honda CR-V has long been a staple of the compact SUV market because of its great handling, ease of use, and class-leading design. Despite consistently topping sales charts, Honda felt the need to refresh the CR-V only three years after launching its fourth generation.

Claimed to be the most significant mid-cycle refresh in its history, the 2015 CR-V has been improved in many areas to make it even more competitive with the likes of Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape and Nissan Rogue.

The CR-V is now available in six trim levels, thanks to the new Touring model that has been added; and all six models feature revised new styling and improved components throughout.

DESIGN

The 2015 CR-V has a fresh new look that makes

STEPHEN BURKE

it appear more upscale. Increased amount of chrome, bolder trim design, and larger available wheels reinforce that impression.

Keeping the same basic architecture, the 2015 CR-V has a more aggressive front grille that is mirrored “conceptually” at the rear.

Not wanting to change too much, Honda retained the high taillights and the basic body shape of the vehicle.

The interior doesn’t feature any surprises, but it does boast some nice new enhancements such as configurable centre console, sliding sunvisors and rear console ventilation ducts.

The highlight of the new package is HondaLink, which allows a smart phone to be connected to the infotainment system (such as through the HDMI cable).

Also, a new suite of Honda Sense safety and driver assistance features that are normally only available on higher-end cars are part of the option list.

Though this change isn’t visible, the rear suspension has been redesigned

to maximize rear seat room and cargo capacity.

PERFORMANCE

Changes made to the 2015 CR-V were not just cosmetic in nature - Honda made some notable improvements in the engine compartment as well.

Honda rebranded its engine technology as Earth Dreams Technology. The new engine is more efficient and has more torque for better driveability all around. The CR-V still comes equipped with a familiar 2.4-litre inline four-cylinder, but thanks to direct-injection and a higher compression ratio, the torque has been increased by 11 per cent to 181 lb-ft (horsepower remains at 185 hp). To aid efficiency, the engine is mated to a new continuously variable transmission. Overall, this set up is said to be 16 per cent more efficient than last years motor with its five-speed automatic transmission setup.

Continued on next page

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January 29 – February 4, 2015 W 31

LIFESTYLES //

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DRIVE Continued from page 31

PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT: Offers valid until February 2, 2015. See toyota.ca for complete details on all cash back offers. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between Toyota prices, rates and/or other information contained on toyotabc.ca and that contained on toyota.ca, the latter shall prevail. Errors and omissions excepted. ¥Don’t Pay for 90 Days on Toyota Financial Service Finance Contracts (OAC) on all new 2014 and 2015 Toyota models. Offer valid from January 3 - February 2, 2015. Interest deferment on all finance contracts at no cost for at least 60 days. Interest will commence on the 61st day after the contract date. The first payment will be due 90 days from the contract date. Available with monthly or semi-monthly payment frequency. Not available on lease. “The Freedom 40 Lease delivers a lower monthly payment by extending standard terms by four months”. As an example, standard term of 36 months can be stretched to 40 months. Freedom 40 Lease offer is valid until February 2, 2015. 2015 *Lease example: 2015 RAV4 FWD LE Automatic ZFREVT-A with a vehicle price of $25,880 includes $1,815 freight/PDI leased at 0.99% over 40 months with $1,950 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $135 with a total lease obligation of $12,780. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.10. **Finance example: 0.99% finance for 36 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 RAV4 FWD LE Automatic ZFREVT-A. Applicable taxes are extra. †Lease example: 2015 Corolla CE 6M with a vehicle price of $17,540, includes $1,545 freight/PDI leased at 0.99% over 40 months with $1,599 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $88 with a total lease obligation of $8,677. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.07. ††Finance example: 0.99% finance for 48 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 Corolla CE 6M Manual BURCEM-A. Applicable taxes are extra. ‡Lease example: 2015 Tacoma Double Cab V6 5A SR5 Standard Package 4x4 Automatic MU4FNA-A with a vehicle price of $33,735 includes $1,815 freight/PDI leased at 2.49% over 40 months with $2,995 down payment equals 80 semi-monthly payments of $178 with a total lease obligation of $17,256. Lease 40 mos. based on 60,000 km, excess km charge is $.10. ‡‡Finance example: 0.99% finance for 36 months, upon credit approval, available on 2015 Tacoma Double Cab V6 5A Power Package 4x4 Automatic MU4FNA-A. Applicable taxes are extra. Down payment, first semi-monthly payment and security deposit plus GST and PST on first payment and full down payment are due at lease inception. A security deposit is not required on approval of credit. ‡‡‡Non-stackable Cash Back offers may not be combined with Toyota Financial Services (TFS) lease or finance rates. If you would like to lease or finance at standard TFS rates (not the above special rates), then you may by February 2, 2015. Cash incentives include taxes and are applied after taxes have been charged on the full amount of the negotiated price. See toyota.ca for complete details on all cash back offers. ¥¥Semi-monthly lease offers available through Toyota Financial Services on approved credit to qualified retail customers on most 24, 28, 36, 40, 48, 52, 60 and 64 month leases of new and demonstrator Toyota vehicles. First semi-monthly payment due at lease inception and next monthly payment due approximately 15 days later and semi-monthly thereafter throughout the term. Toyota Financial Services will waive the final payment. Semi-monthly lease offers can be combined with most other offers excluding the First Payment Free and Encore offers. First Payment Free offer is valid for eligible TFS Lease Renewal customers only. Toyota semi-monthly lease program based on 24 payments per year, on a 40-month lease, equals 80 payments, with the final 80th payment waived by Toyota Financial Services. Not open to employees of Toyota Canada, Toyota Financial Services or TMMC/TMMC Vehicle Purchase Plan. Some conditions apply. See your Toyota dealer for complete details. Visit your Toyota BC Dealer or www.toyotabc.ca for more details. Some conditions apply; offers are time limited and may change without notice. Dealer may lease/sell for less.

The updated suspension, along with the Motion Adaptive Electric Power Steering, contribute to excellent driving behaviour that is truly pleasant

CR-V is modern and functional, while looking more upscale because of the better textured materials. The front seats are supportive and adequately adjustable and the rear seats provide plenty of room for “full-sized” adults.

also quicker off the line. The horsepower is staying the same but that is perfectly acceptable as this CR-V will still comfortably cruise on the highway, pass other cars when needed and return good fuel economy.

The new interior of the

to drive around town and on highways. The CR-V’s dynamics are improved further as you move up the trim levels due to wider tires.

Driving the new CR-V feels more peppy thanks to the additional torque and it is

S MODEL SHOWN

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2015 TACOMA

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power tailgate to make loading and unloading easy. The easy fold-down 60/40 split rear seatbacks fold nearly flat and provide even more cargo space if needed.

FEATURES

Ranging in price from $25,990 to $35,790, the CR-V is available in six different trim levels. Standard equipment includes Bluetooth, heated front seats, multi-angle rearview camera with guidelines, and heated exterior mirrors.

Additional features, available as options or on higher trims, include keyless entry with pushbutton start, leather seating surfaces and steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, front wiper de-icer, LED daytime running lights, blind spot monitoring, autodimming rearview mirror, rainsensing wipers, and a moonroof. Fuel efficiency numbers (L/100km) for the front-wheel drive LX are 8.6 city, 6.9 highway and 7.8 combined.

All other models, which are allwheel drive, return 9.1 city, 7.2 highway and 8.3 combined.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The 2015 Honda CR-V fulfils every need and represents an outstanding value and features for the money. W

Rolfing is Manual Therapy which strengthens the body’s structural integrity and functional resources.

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Traditionally, the CR-V offers good outward visibility and the new model keeps that advantagel. The large windows and smartly placed pillars allow for an unobstructed view, making it safer and easier to park. Along with upgrades to the trim and materials, there is a new central display. Standard on EX and above trim models, the seven-inch touchscreen functions very much like a smart phone or tablet by allowing you to select functions simply by touching the screen.

As mentioned previously, the most interesting feature is HondaLink. Connecting a smart phone opens up features like Aha radio and utilizes the phones navigation app. This means that for the cost of a cable, you can have many of the same features found on the highest trim CR-V on the lower models.

All CR-V’s come with a full-colour multi-information display (that is situated forward and therefore not touch-oriented). The info provided can be customized using controls on the steering wheel.

I did find this “dual” setup a bit overwhelming to use.

As before, the CR-V has the versatility to accommodate a wide range of cargo. The low floor is aided by the available

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SEX

Free Will Astrology

By Rob Brezsny Do you have an entourage or posse that helps you work magic you can’t conjure up alone? Is there a group of co-conspirators that prods you to be brave and farseeing? If not, try to whip one up. And if you do have an inspirational crew, brainstorm about some new adventures for all of you to embark on. Scheme and dream about the smart risks and educational thrills you could attempt together.

According to my reading of the astrological omens, you especially need the sparkle and rumble that a feisty band of allies can incite.

Life has a big, tough assignment for you. Let’s hope you’re up for the challenge. There’s not much wiggle room, I’m afraid. Here it is: You must agree to experience more joy and pleasure. The quest for delight and enchantment has to rise to the top of your priority list. To be mildly entertained isn’t enough. To be satisfied with lukewarm arousal is forbidden. It’s your sacred duty to overflow with sweet fulfillment and interesting bliss. Find ways to make it happen!

The cosmos seems to be granting you a license to be brazenly ambitious. I’m not sure how long this boost will last, so I suggest you capitalize on it while it’s surging. What achievement have you always felt insufficiently prepared or powerful to accomplish? What person or club or game have you considered to be out of your league? What issue have you feared was beyond your understanding?

Rethink your assumptions. At least one of those “impossibilities” may be more possible than usual.

You may have never sampled the southeast Asian fruit called durian. It’s controversial. Some people regard it as the “king of fruits,” and describe its taste as sweet and delicious. Naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace said it was like “a rich custard highly flavored with almonds.” But other people find the durian unlikable, comparing its aroma to turpentine or decaying onions. TV chef Anthony Bourdain asserts that its “indescribable” taste is “something you will either love or despise.” I foresee the possibility that your imminent future will have metaphorical resemblances to the durian, Scorpio.

When I attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, my smartest friend was Gemini writer Clare Cavanagh. She headed off to Harvard for her graduate studies, and later became a preeminent translator of Polish poetry. Her work has been so skillful that Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czselaw Milosz selected her as his authorized biographer. Interviewing Milosz was a tough job, Clare told blogger Cynthia Haven. He was demanding. He insisted that she come up with “questions no one’s asked me yet.” And she did just that, of course. Formulating evocative questions is a Gemini specialty. I invite you to exercise that talent to the hilt in the coming week. It’s prime time for you to celebrate a Curiosity Festival.

“Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you,” writes poet John Ashbery, “at incredible speed, traveling day and night, through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes. But will he know where to find you, recognize you when he sees you, give you the thing he has for you?” This passage might not be literally true, Cancerian. There may be no special person who is headed your way from a great distance, driven by a rapt intention to offer you a blessing. But I think Ashbery’s scenario is accurate in a metaphorical way. Life is in fact working overtime to bring you gifts and help. Make sure you cooperate! Heighten your receptivity. Have a nice long talk with yourself, explaining why you deserve such beneficence.

In 1768, Britain’s Royal Society commissioned navigator James Cook to lead a long naval voyage west to Tahiti, where he and his team were supposed to study the planet Venus as it made a rare transit across the face of the sun. But it turned out that task was a prelude. Once the transit was done, Cook opened the sealed orders he had been given before leaving England. They revealed a second, bigger assignment, kept secret until then: to reconnoiter the rumored continent that lay west of Tahiti. In the coming months, he became the first European to visit the east coast of Australia. I foresee a comparable progression for you, Leo. The task you’ve been working on lately has been a prelude. Soon you’ll receive your “sealed orders” for the next leg of your journey.

According to computer security company Symantec, you’re not in major danger of contracting an online virus from a porn website. The risk is much greater when you visit religious websites. Why? They’re often built by inexperienced programmers, and as a result are more susceptible to hackers’ attacks. In the coming weeks, Virgo, there may be a similar principle at work in your life. I suspect you’re more likely to be undermined by nice, polite people than raw, rowdy folks. I’m not advising you to avoid the do-gooders and sweet faces. Just be careful that their naiveté doesn’t cause problems. And in the meantime, check out what the raw, rowdy folks are up to.

My advice? Don’t take things personally.

Talking will be your art form in the coming week.

It’ll be healing and catalytic. You could set personal records for most engaging phone conversations, emails, text messages, and face-to-face dialogs.

The sheer intensity of your self-expression could intimidate some people, excite others, and generate shifts in your social life. Here are a few tips to ensure the best results. First, listen as passionately as you speak. Second, make it your intention to communicate, not just unload your thoughts. Tailor your messages for your specific audience. Third, reflect on the sometimes surprising revelations that emerge from you. They’ll give you new insights into yourself.

Let’s say you want to buy an 18-karat gold ring.

To get that much gold, miners had to excavate and move six tons of rock. Then they doused the rock with poisonous cyanide, a chemical that’s necessary to extract the good stuff. In the process, they created toxic waste. Is the gold ring worth that much trouble? While you ponder that, let me ask you a different question. What if I told you that over the course of the next five months, you could do what’s necessary to obtain a metaphorical version of a gold ring? And although you would have to process the equivalent of six tons of raw material to get it, you wouldn’t have to use poison or make a mess. Would you do it?

Sex education is anything but...

Sex with Mish Way

@MyszkaWay I remember sex ed in high school well. Mostly because it taught me nothing (they actually called it “health class”), but more so because I got kicked out the very first day. At my high school, they decided to budget out sex ed like I’m sure they did with most schools. I imagine at the teacher’s staff meeting they pulled straws to see which sucker was going to have to forfeit half their curriculum to lecture a bunch of ungrateful brats about condoms and pregnancy. My home ec teacher lost the battle and ended up being our sex ed teacher for part of the year.You could see the disappointment in her retinas when she broke the news to us: “For the next month, we will be doing sexual education instead of home ec.”

Giggles dispersed from most of the classroom. Mostly because we were already all gearing up to be our own individual brand of sluts.

I spaced out on the first day. During lunch hour before class, I got stoned and walked into class a bit late. Everyone was sitting down at their desk clumps, quiet and ready as our teacher was fiddling with something on top of the overhead projector. When she turned around, a big, fat erect penis made of wood was just sitting there pointing up to the ceiling like a rocket ship.

“Hey, a woody!” I called out. Our teacher spun around and pointed her finger towards the door, “Get out.”

It was kind of a blessing in

disguise. Who wants to listen to a woman in her late 30s talk about sex in her best matterof-fact-but-oh-so-PG 13 voice when you are high?

I got a lot of punishments in home ec class for tardiness.

One time, our teacher punished my desk group by forcing us to give the cookies we baked to the teachers lounge. We spit big, snotty loogies into the dough and bit off our finger nails and sprinkled them in as well. We contemplated tossing in the bandaid that was on my thumb but decided that was a dead give away. Teenagers are real pieces of shit sometimes.

When I was invited back to sex ed class, the lectures were all pointless. By that time most of us had been experimenting in our own ways and some of my more voluptuous friends had fallen to the pressure of their gorgeous, womanly tits and even had sex with the older boys at our school. Those girls were the ones who got all the questions. They were the real sex ed teachers: informing us about the reality of sex, blow jobs and finger-banging while our home ec teacher was busy forcing us to make posterboard projects about STDs. In what world is making a giant poster with pictures of chlamydia-infected genitals “sexual education”?

The whole thing felt completely ridiculous to me.

What was I learning about the reality of sex: the constant and one-sided pressure for girls to give oral and not receive it, the awkwardness of our first time or the places where we could obtain birth control without having to tell our strict parents?

Furthermore, there was no open discussion. No questions,

just fearful lectures about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. We did not talk about possible condom allergies. We did not talk about healthy ways to explore our own bodies and figure out pleasure.

In fact, pleasure (a hugely important part about love and sex) was not even a part of the conversation. The male orgasm was talked about like this demon seed we should fear with our lives, but pleasure for us girls? Nonexistent.

What about gay or lesbian relationships? There was no talk about gender identity or transgender or bisexuality or anything but good old fashion dick in vagina fear talk. Oh, and the wooden dick which our teacher showed us how to put on condom on. But don’t worry, the posterboard project on HIV was all we really needed to know. I’m not blaming my home ec teacher. She did not ask to inform us about sex.

She just drew the short (and very shitty) straw. What I am blaming is our culture, which somehow views talking about sex and sexuality in school with kids as this evil thing that should be feared with every fiber of our being. Why not talk about this most natural, beautiful – and yet slightly high-risk – part of life in a responsible, normal way? Why was there no open dialogue? Why wasn’t there a person like ME teaching the class? I mean, I feel like I could have kicked that classes ass so hard it would have cum in its curriculum book. W

EMAIL MISH Send Mish your own sex questions and queries to sex@westender.com

In 1899, the King of the African nation of Swaziland died while dancing. His only son, Sobhuza, was soon crowned as his successor, despite being just four months old. It took a while for the new King to carry out his duties with aplomb, and he needed major guidance from his grandmother and uncle.

Eventually he showed great aptitude for the job, though, and ruled until his death at age 83. I’m getting a Sobhuza-type vibe as I meditate on you, Aquarius. New power may come to you before you’re fully ready to wield it. But I have confidence you will grow into it, especially if you’re not shy about seeking help.

In the 1951 animated movie version of Alice in Wonderland, Alice says to herself, “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.” I hope you won’t be like her, Pisces. It’s an excellent time for you to heed your own good advice. In fact, I suspect that doing so will be crucial to your ability to make smart decisions and solve a knotty problem. This is one of those turning points when you really have to practice what you preach. You’ve got to walk your talk.

Jan. 29: Jonny Lang (34) Jan. 30: Christian Bale (41) Jan. 31: Kerry Washington (38) Feb. 1: Harry Styles (21) Feb. 2: Shakira (38) Feb. 3: Rebel Wilson (29) Feb. 4: Rosa Parks (102)

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34 W January 29 – February 4, 2015

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WEEKLY SPECIALS Prices Effective January 29 to February 4, 2015.

While quantities last. Not all items available at all stores. We reserve the right to correct printing errors.

100% BC Owned and Operated PRODUCE

MEAT Organic Table Carrots from Fountainview Farm, BC, Canada

Organic Fair

Trade Hass Avocados from Pragor Co-op in Mexico

value pack

value pack

5.99lb/ 13.21kg

2.98

2/3.00

Aspen Ridge Beef Stewing Meat

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7.99lb/ 17.61kg

907g/2lb bag

Organic

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3.98

Organic

Limes

Ocean Wise Sockeye Salmon Fillets

2.98

value pack, previously frozen

454g/1lb

11.99lb/ 26.43kg

product of California, USA

340g

product of Mexico

Life Choices Frozen Burgers chicken or beef

10.99 568g

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28%

Kettle Foods Potato Chips

Tre Stelle Shredded Cheese

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3.99-8.99

3.79

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33%

170 - 425g product of USA

Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Juice

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170-200g product of Canada

36%

2/5.00

regular or preserveative free

10.99

200-220g product of USA

946ml

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Liberté Méditerranée Yogurt

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assorted varieties

2/6.00

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37%

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500g

44%

product of Canada

assorted varieties

3/4.98

2/7.00 900ml

34%

product of China

Simply Natural Organic Pasta Sauce

40%

EPA 660, DHA 330

16.99 28.99

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7.99-13.99

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530g

4.99

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11.99

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120 soft gels

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739ml

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