Kelly Clarkson - Sober. I got a leaked copy of this single from KC's upcoming album and I friggin' love it. I've listened to it way too many times already and am certain that when it becomes a full-fledged single, say a month or now from now, it is going to get the kind of ubiquitous play that Since You Were Gone got. Maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but I think that by the end of summer there still won't be a single that has embedded itself into people's minds as the pop song of summer 2007, so this one has a chance to run after that crown. Watch out for this song - it's totally addictive. Omg, I may have some of the same musical tastes as a teenaged girl. I'm lame.
Justice - Cross. I saw this video for D.A.N.C.E. a while back and loved it. I didn't know anything about the band so figured it was an obscure band that had a single cool video and that was it. When I saw the album, bought the album, and listened to the album, I liked the band and album as much as I liked the video. The sound brings electronic dance and rock together. Good and good (for me) coming together in the sound of a single band.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The week ended with a pepper steak
Thursday - A repeat of Wednesday night's dinner. Steak with onions in balsamic vinegar over baby spinach.
Friday - Out for Greek food with Chiming, Kevin, Lillian, and Linda. Lamb souvlaki dinner.
Saturday - Pepper steak cooked without any onions. I didn't know what I was doing other than I had beef thawed and a pile of peppers (green, red, and yellow). Garlic and cubed beef went into the pan, then the pile of peppers cut into strips. A bit o' beef broth, a few canned plum tomatoes, a bit of sugar, salt, and hot pepper flakes. Plated up over hot rice.
Ahh, a good meat week it has been.
Friday - Out for Greek food with Chiming, Kevin, Lillian, and Linda. Lamb souvlaki dinner.
Saturday - Pepper steak cooked without any onions. I didn't know what I was doing other than I had beef thawed and a pile of peppers (green, red, and yellow). Garlic and cubed beef went into the pan, then the pile of peppers cut into strips. A bit o' beef broth, a few canned plum tomatoes, a bit of sugar, salt, and hot pepper flakes. Plated up over hot rice.
Ahh, a good meat week it has been.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
It's just one of those weeks
It started on Sunday. For dinner I was invited to Alyssa and Andrew's. Spaghetti with meatballs.
On Monday, I had a "looking forward to visiting you at your new digs in Seattle" dinner with Joe. Steak sandwich.
Last night was somewhat a night off. Dinner was leftover chow mein-style noodles with chicken.
Tonight, I pan-seared up some beef steaks, then cooked up some diced onions in the same pan, pulling up the meat bits with some balsamic vinegar and reducing it down to a near-syrup. The steak and balsamic dressing with onions went over some spinach leaves.
Oh, what a carnivore's week it is.
On Monday, I had a "looking forward to visiting you at your new digs in Seattle" dinner with Joe. Steak sandwich.
Last night was somewhat a night off. Dinner was leftover chow mein-style noodles with chicken.
Tonight, I pan-seared up some beef steaks, then cooked up some diced onions in the same pan, pulling up the meat bits with some balsamic vinegar and reducing it down to a near-syrup. The steak and balsamic dressing with onions went over some spinach leaves.
Oh, what a carnivore's week it is.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
This ain't no Candymountain
Nardwuar was showcased in a concert by the Evaporators and the Choir Practice last night at the Ukrainian Hall. Madalene and I missed a major part of the show, showing up in time to see Nardwuar being carried around the dance floor, but completely missing the Choir Practice. It was strange to shift gears from Friday evening furniture moving to searching Strathcona for the Hall on foot to seeing this extreme live show.
Here are a couple of shots that I snapped with my phone. Yes, Nardwuar is wearing a full spandex bodysuit printed in the red, white, and maple leaf of the Canadian flag.
Here are a couple of shots that I snapped with my phone. Yes, Nardwuar is wearing a full spandex bodysuit printed in the red, white, and maple leaf of the Canadian flag.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Twice promised
Here they are! Photos taken in a photo booth in the lobby of the Ace Hotel. My head takes up a lot of square footage on the prints. Ahh, the Portland silliness!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Portland in photos
Mount St. Helen's from our two-propeller plane.
Benson Hotel lobby. Lots of chandeliers and woodwork above your head. Lots of oversized flower arrangements throughout the hotel.
Great old buildings throughout the city. This bank is across from the Benson and was set up for a party on my first night in Portland. When I inquired if it was a private or public party, I found out that all the guests had been fed and left hours ago - it was a function celebrating a retirement.
Parade pics - Yup, that's a real ring of fire.
Parade pics - Yup, it's cool watching the formations that marching bands make as they turn corners.
Parade pics - Yup, it's much better to be inside watching a parade from a warm, dry hotel room with food and drink than from the cold, wet sidewalk.
Parade pics - Yup, they use real flowers to decorate their floats. Each bloom is in its own vial of water, then pinned to the float.
Parade pics - Yup, we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine...
The Shaggin' Dragons from Vancouver are in this boat. Go Pam, go! Row Pam, row! (Yup, I know it's "paddle" not "row," but that doesn't rhyme now, does it?!)
Post d&d therapy: Sitting & balancing (not shown); potato chips, banana, room card, bottled water, mango smoothie, toothbrush, eyeglass and contact lens cases (not necessarily used in that order); sleep (No! No "in bed" photos. That's creepy that you even asked!)
Da boys - Bad lighting and a camera phone that doesn't have a flash make for a dark and blurry image. A series of group photos - clear and funny as hell - from a photo booth is on its way.
Portland in words
Over this past weekend I made my first exploration of Portland, travelling with Tamas to visit Andy at his current work location. I went with high expectations to like the city based on rave reviews from friends and what I found out about the city from guides and stories. It did not disappoint - I liked it a lot and look forward to visiting it again very soon.
Where to stay:
Benson Hotel - Beautiful old-world hotel with fantastic memory foam beds. Beautiful lobbies with a jazz band regularly playing in the evenings. Fantastic memory foam beds. I stumbled upon the daily tea & cookies (slightly stale), but did not get to join the daily wine tasting. Did I mention the fantastic memory foam beds?
Where to eat (my standouts):
Saucebox - Funky funky modern stylings, serving up great cocktails and Asian fusion food. Standouts for me were the tapioca dumplings and the hijota (muddled lime with mint, ginger vodka and hibiscus syrup). I liked the cool design, dj playing the house music, and the friendly table service provided by our host, John, and the very pretty servers.
Clyde Common - The very recently (2 1/2 weeks) opened restaurant at the recently (February 2007) opened Ace Hotel. Big soaring ceilings, open kitchen with the staff performing the preparation of your food, communal tables throughout the ground floor. Great mix of lotsa different crowds - all appearing to be having a good time. A menu that appears to be changed on a daily basis. One annoyance was that a few dishes were not available by our late dinner hour, but this may be a new restaurant symptom.
Whole Foods - Didn't really check out the grocery aisles, but their selection of prepared foods is awesome. Vancouver's arrives this year, I think, giving a great alternative to fast food for meals on the run.
Where to shop (my standouts):
Canoe and Relish - There websites tell you the story of these stores: Not a huge selection or range of products, but well-chosen ones for interesting design and original gifts. On Saturday, only two gnome soaps were left at Canoe, so if you want to bathe with a gnome, hurry and try to snag one of the last guys remaining.
Powell's - I thought I would luvluvluv Powell's, but I found it too massive and overwhelming. If Powell's is the City of Books, apparently, I still am just a small-town boy.
What I did:
Festival of Roses parade - Watching from a hotel room equipped with food and drink, and not having to sit out in the cold cold rain is the way to do it. Marching bands are cool - when they do intricate turns, it's very cool to watch from a bird's eye view.
Dragon boat races - Go Pam, go! Row Pam, row!
Drink and dance - Self-explanatory. D&d was followed promptly by sitting on patio railings - they don't like you to do this; and balance-beam walking the edge of concrete planters - you will have to explain yourself to strangers that notice you doing this.
Gotta thank da boys for making the weekend fun. Tamas and Andy, you rock! Let's do more Portland in the very near future. Photos are on their way, including one cute group shoot set where my head dominates the field.
Where to stay:
Benson Hotel - Beautiful old-world hotel with fantastic memory foam beds. Beautiful lobbies with a jazz band regularly playing in the evenings. Fantastic memory foam beds. I stumbled upon the daily tea & cookies (slightly stale), but did not get to join the daily wine tasting. Did I mention the fantastic memory foam beds?
Where to eat (my standouts):
Saucebox - Funky funky modern stylings, serving up great cocktails and Asian fusion food. Standouts for me were the tapioca dumplings and the hijota (muddled lime with mint, ginger vodka and hibiscus syrup). I liked the cool design, dj playing the house music, and the friendly table service provided by our host, John, and the very pretty servers.
Clyde Common - The very recently (2 1/2 weeks) opened restaurant at the recently (February 2007) opened Ace Hotel. Big soaring ceilings, open kitchen with the staff performing the preparation of your food, communal tables throughout the ground floor. Great mix of lotsa different crowds - all appearing to be having a good time. A menu that appears to be changed on a daily basis. One annoyance was that a few dishes were not available by our late dinner hour, but this may be a new restaurant symptom.
Whole Foods - Didn't really check out the grocery aisles, but their selection of prepared foods is awesome. Vancouver's arrives this year, I think, giving a great alternative to fast food for meals on the run.
Where to shop (my standouts):
Canoe and Relish - There websites tell you the story of these stores: Not a huge selection or range of products, but well-chosen ones for interesting design and original gifts. On Saturday, only two gnome soaps were left at Canoe, so if you want to bathe with a gnome, hurry and try to snag one of the last guys remaining.
Powell's - I thought I would luvluvluv Powell's, but I found it too massive and overwhelming. If Powell's is the City of Books, apparently, I still am just a small-town boy.
What I did:
Festival of Roses parade - Watching from a hotel room equipped with food and drink, and not having to sit out in the cold cold rain is the way to do it. Marching bands are cool - when they do intricate turns, it's very cool to watch from a bird's eye view.
Dragon boat races - Go Pam, go! Row Pam, row!
Drink and dance - Self-explanatory. D&d was followed promptly by sitting on patio railings - they don't like you to do this; and balance-beam walking the edge of concrete planters - you will have to explain yourself to strangers that notice you doing this.
Gotta thank da boys for making the weekend fun. Tamas and Andy, you rock! Let's do more Portland in the very near future. Photos are on their way, including one cute group shoot set where my head dominates the field.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
More Montreal memories
The Fairmont team is awesome at keeping a clean fort. Each and every bottle in our room was neatly fitted with a Fairmont doily when we returned from our daily adventures. The night staff, however, needs to quicken their step at cleaning up emptied food trays. The day staff could take a bit more time in the mornings before collecting up the newspaper bags.
Ragaven and Fiona shooting the horns for Le Beaver Club. Note the fancy plastic glasses filled with wine that we have on the street. We classy!
Fiona and me in Old Montreal.
An extremely powerful hand dryer.
A fantastic meal at Restaurant du Vieux Port that helped celebrate Joanne's birthday - rack of lamb, filet, veg, and potatoes.
A table stain that looks like F & R. Fiona & Ryan, obviously.
The free bottle of wine that accompanied our free dessert. I didn't like our waiter that much for a good part of the meal, but he eventually won me over.
A couple meant to be together, spotted at the jazz club that we visited after dinner. They both wear their pants low and their shirts high.
Only weirdos run around St-Denis in white socks
Here's the story from Montreal that I promised you.
Date: Saturday mid-afternoon
Location: Starbucks patio on Rue St-Denis
Description of weirdos: Dude in floppy purple velvet hat, purple velvet suit, dalmation shoes, and diamond studded bling; dude in Brazil soccer colours; dude in shorts and white socks.
Weirdo behaviour: Fiona and I were seated in the sun at Starbucks, chilling on our weekend in Montreal. Dude in purple Flavor Flav outfit walks by. We notice, laugh; he enjoys the attention. Dude in shorts and white socks runs past, running what appears to be laps around the area - in one Starbucks door, out the other Starbucks door, around the block. On second lap, he has no shirt on. On third lap, he has his hand down his shorts. On final lap, he has no pants on - the dude is naked except for his white socks, for the first part of the circle, he appears to be trying to hide his manhood with one hand. This is drawing attention from the Brazilian soccer dude, who is shouting cheers from the balcony above. It also draws the attention of our Flavor Flav who returns to the scene. It also draws the attention of the police who show up, get some pants onto the dude and start calming him down from his run about.
Conclusion: Only in Montreal... true dat, true dat.
Photos: We didn't get photos at the height of activity, and trust me, we could have had a viewfinder-full of photo, especially of running naked guy, from our front row seats on the edge of the Starbucks patio. The shots that I do have are pretty cloudy, taken from a distance and using a camera phone, but they have all of the major characters - Flavor Flav, the Brazilian, and the naked guy.
Date: Saturday mid-afternoon
Location: Starbucks patio on Rue St-Denis
Description of weirdos: Dude in floppy purple velvet hat, purple velvet suit, dalmation shoes, and diamond studded bling; dude in Brazil soccer colours; dude in shorts and white socks.
Weirdo behaviour: Fiona and I were seated in the sun at Starbucks, chilling on our weekend in Montreal. Dude in purple Flavor Flav outfit walks by. We notice, laugh; he enjoys the attention. Dude in shorts and white socks runs past, running what appears to be laps around the area - in one Starbucks door, out the other Starbucks door, around the block. On second lap, he has no shirt on. On third lap, he has his hand down his shorts. On final lap, he has no pants on - the dude is naked except for his white socks, for the first part of the circle, he appears to be trying to hide his manhood with one hand. This is drawing attention from the Brazilian soccer dude, who is shouting cheers from the balcony above. It also draws the attention of our Flavor Flav who returns to the scene. It also draws the attention of the police who show up, get some pants onto the dude and start calming him down from his run about.
Conclusion: Only in Montreal... true dat, true dat.
Photos: We didn't get photos at the height of activity, and trust me, we could have had a viewfinder-full of photo, especially of running naked guy, from our front row seats on the edge of the Starbucks patio. The shots that I do have are pretty cloudy, taken from a distance and using a camera phone, but they have all of the major characters - Flavor Flav, the Brazilian, and the naked guy.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Montreal... woot woot!
Just returned from five days and four nights in beautiful Montreal. The trip was fairly jammer-packed full with networking, learning science, eating, drinking, wandering, shopping, and lots of exploring. Lots of fun - stories and photos are on their way.
One of the ultimate Montreal stories is from Saturday afternoon. The hint for what went down: What do Flavor Flav, a Brazilian, Starbucks, and public nudity have to do with each other? The full-story answer within the next couple days.
One of the ultimate Montreal stories is from Saturday afternoon. The hint for what went down: What do Flavor Flav, a Brazilian, Starbucks, and public nudity have to do with each other? The full-story answer within the next couple days.
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