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  • Lee


    1) Lee on King Street West

    Douglas Coupland in his excellent book City of Glass (thanks Lady Sarah and Phil) notes "Lee" as the top surname in the City of Vancouver (followed closely by Wong, Chan and then Smith).

    It is also the surname of one of the globe's most inventive and celebrated chefs, Susur Lee. Susur's story is both amazing and tragic - his cookbook/autobiography simply called Susur: A Culinary Life is worth a read not only for the spectacular recipes but his personal story, which included the tragic death of his first wife     Marilou Covey who perished in the Korean Air Flight 007 disaster in 1983.

    Born in Hong Kong, Susur calls Toronto home despite restaurants around the world:

    - Chinois in Singapore;
    - Zentan in Washington DC;
    - Shang in New York City.

    We did undertake a Susur recipe once - they are highly complex and require exhaustive preparation - for Oscar Dinner 2007 when we prepared one for the movie, The Queen, that we called "The Queen's Beast" - a stunning success too I might add.

    The latest reinvention of the former Susur restaurant on King Street West is Lee. A week ago while in Toronto, G, Blee and I had the pleasure of trying this newest creation. On tap, in particular, was the Singaporean Slaw (that everyone we know who has tried it; raves) and the famous dish of roast chicken, farce curry, polenta & grits, tomato jam and chili mint chutney for which he received - in the 2nd season of Top Chef: Masters - the highest score in the show's history 19.5 out of 20 star    s.

    Lee works on the tapas style approach where diners order several dishes which are then shared among the group. We ordered 8 dishes and it was plenty. Dinner with food, a cocktail, a bottle of wine, tax and tip came to CAD$115/person.


    2) the interior; 3) Blee ordered an oyster caesar that came with a pickled gherkin and calamansi lime (which is almost orange like)


    4) yellowfin tuna with a hidden gem of tuna tartar beneath in a delicious miso broth


    5) the tartar; 6) the famous Singaporean slaw (unimaginably fantastic and duly worth all its hype)
    7) Spicy crisp tofu with wildflower honey soya chili glaze, golden sand, fresh basil - I LOVED this appetizer


    8) Cheese burger spring roll with lettuce wrap, smoked chilli mayo ; 9) Susur style diced vegetable chow mein with roasted almonds in crispy lettuce wrap


    10) the wrap again; 11) Caramelized black cod with Cantonese preserves, miso mustard with grilled turnip cake - this course was also just okay - the turnip cake in particular was just too soggy and the fish not hot enough (although it was perfectly cooked)


    12) Top Chef green curry chicken with sweet pea polenta, butter almondine, spicy tomato jam, oven dried pineapple, chilli mint chutney
    13 & 14) our final dish was a rethink of Peking duck that was - I'm so sorry - not all that good. The duck was fabulous but the combination of it with the foie gras pate topped with maple maple syrup, persimmons, a hoisin sauce just did not work

    All in all a very lovely meal with the first two courses - the yellowfin tuna and Singaporean Slaw being blow-me-away standouts! Susur however, needs to turn down the music in his restaurant as much of the detailed descriptions of his fine food by his fine wait staff is lost to the noise.

  • "It's like going to the moon"

     
    1) we lived here for 3 days


    If you drive even further north than Gros Morne in Newfoundland. If you drive five and something hours past The Arches, past River of Ponds, past St. Barbe - where you catch the ferry that will take you to Labrador - past the barrenness that is Eddie's Harbour, past the seemingly endless muskeg Route 430 crosses over the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula toward St. Anthonys - and yes - even past the original Viking settlement of Eric the Red at L'Anse aux Meadow - you will find yourself at a dock which represents the village of Quirpon (pronounced "Car-poon").

    And there, before you - a 30 minute boat (and I use that word loosely) ride away - sits the most northernly point on the island of Newfoundland - Quirpon Island - an island roughly 6 kms long and at its broadest 3 kms wide.

    And if you're really adventuresome you can cross to this barren rock set on the Strait of Belle Isle and own the island as your personal kingdom, complete with servants for as long as dare.

    And that is exactly what G and I did. We booked 3 days on the island where, aside from us, there was but two grandmas - Mariah and Margaret - who prepared all our meals in the old lightkeepers house where we stayed. Even the locals in St. John's gasped when they heard we were going there, saying; "It's like going to the moon" which indeed it is. It was worth every penny and the vast distance we traveled to get there, and will remain - I believe - one of the most exceptionally amazing travel experiences we'll ever have.

    Quirpon Island was ours to explore. There is no television or radio and your mobile won't work out here. It is just you, the ocean, the whales, the sound of the foghorn - blowing deep and wailingly long at night - and the wind; always the wind.

     
    2 & 3) caribou, like moose, are everywhere and you must drive with great caution


    4) one last stop at Western Brook Pond before going even further north


    5) Western Brook Pond from a distance; 6) and way up close with thanks to my zoom


    7) our little car that got us there and back; 8) G moves in to explore The Arches


    9) there are some very strange dead trees at the Arches where I am sure a witch must once have lived; 10) near Quirpon a beautiful iceberg - a 'growler' or 'bergy bit'  as the locals call them - wanders a small harbour as two ducks (lower right) pass by
    11) finally reached it!; 12) these two are of course famous for 'discovering' the Viking settlement


    13) this group of moose are smart - grazing in the National Park where they are protected from hunters; 14) look ... Vikings ho!


    15) over 1000 years ago, here is where the Vikings landed and set up home (I can't imagine!)

     
    16) the wee bay their settlement looked over; 17) the Vikings lived here for a generation before retreating back to Greenland (you can click on any of these pictures to make them bigger)


    18) a decidedly bigger berg wanders by at L'Anse


    19 & 20) the dock at Quripon where we awaited someone to pick us up


    21) finally we're off - with Kevin, Margaret and our captain; 22) leaving civilization behind and into the unknown

     
    23) our first sighting of 'home'


    24) our base camp for the visit; 25) I jump for joy on the helicopter pad upon arrival (the Canadian Coast Guard uses this pad for their infrequent visits to the Island to provide maintenance to the Lighthouse and fog horn)


    26) our first sighting of a sea otter but a dozen feet away; 27) the Lighthouse (known as the Cape Bauld Lighthouse) is always our beacon when out hiking


    28) the fog horn station and indoor whale-watching station; 29) G edges to the tip of the island


    30) our wee livingroom where we drank lots of red wine and read; 31) our bedroom


    32) our bathroom; 33) the diningroom table is set for us


    34) you can buy a beer here - from Quidis Vidi of course; 35) the ladies will cook you real, hardy homecooked meals like this


    36) they will also serve you iceberg water - ice harvested from growlers that is some 10,000 years old and delicious; 37) lunch this day was a hearty soup and FANTASTIC homemade bread

     
    38) way out another growler sneaks past ... he disappeared by the next morning


    39) you will see minke whales here too; 40) the hiking is all on this unique ground cover of tiny mosses and wee firs


    41) who owns this island? ... G does!


    42) there is a trail that cuts through the centre of the island but a better - and drier one that runs across the tops of the mountains


    43) it will rain - bring raingear ... here we are hiking the mountain trail to the far side of the island ... it rained and was terribly foggy and we loved every moment


    44) I stop to get my requisite Brent the explorer pose


    45) Belle Island sits way out between us and Labrador


    46) G goes down to explore this crevasse; 47) the view from the Lighthouse down toward the boat dock


    48) the Lighthouse; 49) and the fog horn station (avoid standing right in front of this when it is going off)

     
    50) the sun sets late one evening ... this is around 10PM; 51) it was sunny the next morning


    52) G heads up to the house for bed

     
    53) one of the quiet ponds atop the mountain range


    54) the views are spectacular and to think it is only G and I here


    55) heading out one morning and looking back to home from the top of the first hilltop


    56) G on the lookout for whales and icebergs


    57) there's G way up there to the left of the roofline; 58) me seeking some respite from the wind


    59) our last day - G heads down to the dock


    60) here is the view looking back from the dock


    61) here comes our 'boat' for the 40 minute ride back to the mainland


    62) G enjoys the sunset with red wine in hand ... what an awesome adventure!

  • Alpinehorn


    1) where to go in Gros Morne?


    We flew from St. John's up to Deer Lake, rented a car and drove north up the great northern peninsula towards Gros Morne.


    2 & 3) we landed at Deer Lake courtesy of Provincial Airlines at god-o'clock in the morning


    There we settled into the stunning Neddies Harbour Inn, which lies inside the wee village of Norris Point right in the heart of the Gros Morne National Park. I cannot recommend this lovely inn enough. Owned by a Swiss woman, Bettina (who we met and is delightful), she settled here as she found the location so very similar to her village in Switzerland. She designed every aspect of the inn and ensured all local materials and craftsmen were used to build it. The inn has a very fine dinning restaurant up on the top level and is studded with many of artist ..... minimalist paintings of the northern peninsula and Gros Morne.

    We had a charming room that looked out onto the harbour as you can see below.


    4) our corner room with such a wondrous view at Neddies Harbour Inn


    5) a typical breakfast at Neddies; 6) "Mooseberry" cocktail (made with partridge berry juice)


    7) G had a very yummy chowder; 8) I ordered a beet and fennel salad


    9) the halibut; 10) hand-made pappardelle with sage, tomato, garlic, ricotta and black olives


    11) partridgeberry cheese cake for dessert
    12) a minke whale waves hi just outside our room at the Inn; 13) Gros Morne - climbing is not permitted until mid-June once the wildflowers and etc have had a chance to develop


    14) pretty as a picture and I can't believe it was from our room



    15) into the park we go...


    We drove to the interpretation centre (remember to stop on entering the park to buy a day pass) and although it was chilly and threatening, decided to climb "The Lookout" for the view of the "The Tablelands" (the mountains that look like tables and are actually remnants of the earth's mantle left exposed). Apparently there are few places globally where this happens. Who'd have thunk.

    The trail ascends through low scrub into a forest and then out into the alpine-like meadows before arriving at several snowy sections (each, oh, 200m or so) that need crossing before the last haul to the top. From there you are in a tundra like area with wooden boardwalks and then, finally, the summit. Well worth the hike!


    16) the interpretation centre entrance; 17) heading up

     
    18 & 19) G ascends


    20) the views mid-way up are lovely - this is looking down to Norris Point (where we were staying)


    21) this is looking the other direction - towards The Tablelands

     
    22) into the snow we go - crossing our first snow bridge - the picture does not due justice to just how steep this is
    23) looking down to Norris Point and Gros Morne (in far left)  


    25) a small meadow appears before the final ascent to the lookout summit

     
    26 & 27) the summit is in sight and thanks to the Parks guys for building some ladders
    28) one final snow bridge; 29) and there's the summit


    30) the view from the top!


    31) the summit is very flat as you can see from this picture


    32) the Tablelands taken from the summit


    33) G snaps a picture to prove I was here - boy was it EVER windy up here

     
    34) down we now go - you can see the boardwalk over G's shoulder; 35) we stop to make ice angels but of course


    36 & 37) Rocky Harbour Village


    38) Moose - introducted to the Island in 1904 are EVERYWHERE and a real threat while driving the roads ... the Park actually has a massive yellow sign that gives you a running count of moose-vehicle incidents ... when we arrived it was reading 08; a day later it read 11


    39) we enjoyed dinner at Pittman's - about as family run a business as you'll ever get. It was just G and I and 12 locales eating. The evening we ate here, the town - as part of their Tales, Trails and Tunes Festival had a "Singing Kitchen" event happening which was a lot of fun


    Other days were spent visiting the various hiking trails and interesting spots in and around the Park, including:
    Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse; Green and Broom Points; the village of Cow Head; and of course a 3 hike to the mouth of Western Brook Pond (something everyone should do if you visit).


    40 & 41) Lobster Cove Head Lighthouse in the early morning fog


    42) me at the entrance to Western Brook Pond; 43) the walk in is full of bogs - which can be as deep as 4m

     
    44) boggy; 45) the trees are covered in this mossy growth


    46 & 47) G jumps along the boardwalk through the bog


    48) moss is everywhere; 49) a close up of the plantlife on the ground of the bog


    50) bog bog bog


    51 & 52) can you see the woodpecker?


    53) these are NOT M&Ms; 54) G nears the end of the trek


    55) Western Brook Pond stream - VERY cold water; 56) heading up through the pines


    57) you can ford the stream if you wish ... then backcountry hike for about 5 days and you'll summit the Western Brook Pond mountains for a spectacular view; 58) the streem is made up of flint-like rocks


    59) believe it or not, behind me is the fjord with its mountains taller than the CN Tower


    60 & 61) heading into Cow Head we were halted by these sheep

     
    62) at Broom Point we encountered a very friendly bunny

     
    64) Broom Point

     
    65) Broom Point


    66) G beachcombs at Broom Point; 67) you can see how layered the rocks are here


    68) Broom Point

     
    69 & 70) Caribou are also everywhere ... here they wander in front of Western Brook Pond on a sunny day


    71) Western Brook Pond

      
    72) that mountain - for perspective - is taller than the CN Tower (this is taken with my zoom); 73) here's one showing just how far away it is ... we hiked all the way there


    74) me at the start of the Western Brook Pond hike; 75) Green Point


    76) here we are back at Norris Point - so pretty
    77) and a view of the Tablelands from Norris Point

    Back at the Inn one night we met Werner Urb who is an alpinehorn master who was giving a concert in the village. So suddenly here we were in Newfoundland with a Swiss gentleman who then taught us how to play the alpinehorn. Go figure. Very cool is all I can say.
    78) the view from our room at the Inn

     
    79) looking over to the Tablelands from our room

     
    80) Werner prepares his horn (it is made of rattan actually); 81) finding a place to set up and blow

     
    82) you'd think we were in Switerland eh!


    83) here I am giving it a go ... G was much better than I was as he played trombone


  • iDAPT

    1) TRI


    I've been attending a massive international conference since yesterday and had a opportunity to tour iDAPT (    Intelligent Design for Adaptation, Participation and Technology), which is part of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and has - in the span of a year - had $36M thrown at it to create one of the world's most advance research facilities to enhance the lives of older people and those with disabling injury or illness.

    It is built using a model similar to CERN as a innovation lab for the brightest graduate students in the world to come intern and work on projects aligned with iDAPT's mission.

    It is a fascinating place and should you visit Toronto, do try to figure a way to get in to visit the site. Within the building are 5 unique, custom built labs - three are buried in the basement and have a decidedly NASA feel to them - a driver lab; a winter lab; and a stairs lab. Two additional labs sit on the 13th floor - a home lab and a care lab.

    The basement labs are massive pods that are lifted into the research hall using a crane. They are placed on a hydraulic base that is able to twist, turn, shake and drop these labs - at speeds up to 1G.

    A control room 4 stories up looks down on the labs when in the research hall. Dr. Geoff Fernie is the mastermind of this exceptional centre and he has grad students climbing over each other to get a spot on the team. All very cool.

    They are currently finishing the final bits of construction for the labs and are studying things like:

    - slips and falls in winter and the appropriate shoe wear (not surprisingly Canada Post is championing this research).

    - the design of stairs and the neurological processes that go on in our brain when we ascend or descend stairs. Apparently our brain pays attention for the first couple steps as we use stairs then kind of goes on remote the rest of the way. The problem is that if the stairs were incorrectly built (in particular at the top - as they are often pre-manufactured and shipped on site for installation to existing supports) or damaged (think winter) then the slightest misalignment or glitch (of but 1mm) can cause a fall. They are exploring whether stairs should be constructed with differing rises and runs so as to force our brains to pay attention the whole way up or down.


    2) this machine can create a 3D model of anything - out of resin - before your very eyes; 3) with that the lab's shop room can build it


    4) on left is the Driver Pod, the research hall is through that massive door on right


    5) here you can see the crane and the Stair Pod inside the research hall


    6) this mechanical engineer controls everything; 7) from waaay up there on the right


    8 & 9) the Winter Lab Pod has real ice inside it, the roofs of each lab also come off so that a robotic or regular harness safety system can be used inside each lab as they put real patients in these


    10) the Stair Pod rests on the hydraulics; 11) learning more about the driver lab


    12) here's the hydraulics taken from right inside the research hall


    13) I took this one to give you a sense of perspective; 14) inside the stair lab with its robotic safety harness


    15 & 16) the care lab is a real hospital room moved inside with its room removed so researchers can study and mount cameras


    17 & 18) the Homelab is built in the same fashion ... it was being renovated as the designers built it to look pretty but the researchers want a home more like yours and mine - lived in


    19) interested in a job? your brand new workstation awaits


  • St. John's, NFLD

     
    1) one of the many pretty streets in St. John's


    2) the light at Cape Spear


    3) we stayed at the YYZ Sheraton before flying out; 4) with Air Canada


    We started our Newfoundland adventure in the province`s capital - St. John`s, which remains the oldest settlement  with `city` status in all of North America. John Cabot was the first European to sail into the harbour on June 24, 1497. We took up residence in the Hotel Newfoundland - once a Fairmont hotel - now branded as a Sheraton. While the hotel is dated, they have completed a reno of the lobby and the new bar and restaurant are gorgeous (all done in walnut). There is a lovely atrium awash with greenery that I would have no problem throwing a party in and a wee little Club Lounge that served us appetizers in the evening (good chicken wings) and breakfast each morning during our stay.


    5) our corner suite at the Hotel Newfoundland; 6) we instantly turned those 2 chairs around so we could sit and look out on the harbour


    7) the government needs to learn how to spell Sheraton on the elevator license!; 8) the Club Lounge (this makes it look bigger than it actually was)


    9) the very funky bar in the lobby; 10) moi in the room with Signal Hill in the background


    The city is a rabbit warren of streets with many quaint homes all painted a different colour. We were told this was because fishermen bought paint for their boats and used the same paint to do their homes as well. I enjoyed St. John`s for its quaintness and for being a good jumping off point to tour the Avalon Peninsula. Really, and being kind, once you`ve visited `The Rooms` (St. John`s museum cum art gallery), climbed Signal Hill and done your obligatory visit to Lottie`s Place for their famous white russians ($5.95 each), you`re done.


    11) moi at the Rooms; 12) brown trout at the Fluvarium


    13 & 14) dinner at Velma's place ... including cod tongues and scrunchions


    15 & 16) sushi (including an interesting seared tuna sushi at Sun Sushi on Duckworth Street


    17 & 18) rated the best place to eat in St. John's by TripAdvisor - Shalimar, we would agree, was excellent


    19) me being Atlas at the Fluvarium; 20) this kitty followed alongside us as though it were a dog all the way home one night after dinner


    21) Cabot Tower on Signal Hill; 22) the interpretation centre just down from the Tower


    23) G looks as though he jumped from the tower in this action shot eh; 24) me listening to the original message Marconi heard way back when (to be honest, it just sounded like static to me)


    25) this is where we British did in the French in North America; 26) the view from the top of the Tower of St. John's Harbour is worth the climb up

      
    27) looking across to Fort Amherst ... you can see how narrow the "Narrows" actually is into the harbour

     
    28 & 29) the wonky final flight of stairs to the outdoor observation nook at Cabot Tower


    Using the city as a start, we visited Cape Spear and Trinity and Bonaventure Bays. The trip up to Pouch (pronounced
    `pooch`) Cove is very, very pretty - the road winding up alongside the rough Atlantic.


    30) G goes for the water at Middle Cove Beach on the way up to Pouch Cove


    31) Cape Spear; 32) the WW II gun encampments at Cape Spear

     
    33) G jumps at the end of one of the tunnels at Cape Spear; 34) the original lighthouse

     
    35) we just had to visit this place!; 36) on the road out of Witless Bay you cross this barren and bizarre landscape - moonlike in many ways



    37-40) this series shows me triumphantly discovering the lens cap from my Nikon after it was inadvertently left on the hood of the car ... we drove back and found it!


    41 & 42) we saw this ad in the St. John's newspaper and just had to visit the town called Dildo!


    43) here is your Dildo (I'm actually at a loss what to say!)


    44) this is known as Jellybean Row in St. John's


    45) sit seagull, sit; 46) in the village of Quidi Vidi is brewed Newfoundland's local beer

     
    47) the green building is the brewery and you can tour it; 48) my white russian at Lottie's Place ... let me tell you, there was a fascinating mix of locales (even at 5pm) in this landmark bar


    49 & 50) we awoke one morning to see the Silver Whisper cruise ship enter the harbour


    51) the Silver Whisper crosses the Narrows


    52 & 53) later that evening out she went

     
    54) she was heading across the Atlantic to Ireland


    55) G begins the hike to Cabot Tower; 56) lots of interesting homes along the way


    57) looking back to the city from Jellybean Row


    58) here we are right at the Narrows where people sit and watch the ships come and go


    59) ships like this one

     
    60 & 61) leaving Jellybean Row behind you inch along the rock face heading to the Tower

     
    62) view on route; 63) it is VERY narrow in places and you've no idea from this picture just how steep that drop off to G's right actually is

     
    64 & 65) luckily the National Parks organization has laid some boardwalks and stairs on route

     
    66) you round the end of the cliffs past the Narrows and then up, up, up you go; 67) the Cabot Tower lies way up ahead


    68) nice views along the way like this one of Fort Amherst (foreground) and Cape Spear in the far distance

     
    69) G climbs the last few steps; 70) a view from the top looking down to Fort Amherst


    71) me with two of Newfoundland's most famous dog breeds ... can you name the two breeds? I'll buy a drink for the first person with the right answer... next time I'm in your city

  • The End of North America

     
    1) the end of North America is here - Cape Spear - you can not go any further east in all of North America


    Before heading west, G and I flew the 3 hours from Toronto last week to Canada's youngest province, Newfoundland and Labrador (which entered Confederation in 1949). Newfoundland and Labrador is a vast province with roughly 500,000 residents, 90% of whom live on the island.

    It is a stark, chilly, windy place with some of the warmest people you'll meet this side of Ireland.


    2) me at the most easterly spot in all of North America; 3) where you want to go?


    Newfoundland is a place of firsts:

    • the first ever transatlantic cable was laid here;
    • the first woman to ever cross the Atlantic by plane, Amelia Earhart, left from here;
    • Marconi received the first ever wireless transmission here (at Signal Hill) (you have him to thank for wifi);
    • Europeans - the Vikings actually - first landed here at L'Anse aux Meadows (which we're visiting later next week) 400-odd years before that charatan Columbus 'found' America.

    If you get the chance; visit - you shan't be disappointed. And when you come, make sure you 'kiss the cod'; try some "screech"; dine on 'cod tongues with scrunchions'; have a 'touton' alongside your breakfast eggs; and visit George Street in St. John's, which - in another first - has the most pubs per squre foot of any street in all of North America.


    4) I got this close to a harbour seal in Quidi Vidi this afternoon


    5) shooting Battery Road from Fort Amhurst on the south side of the Narrows


    Goodnight from St. John's and onwards to Cupid and Heart's Delight tomorrow.

  • Asagi あさぎ


    1) the chef's station at Asagi


    While in Tokyo, we secured a reservation at     Asagi, a one-star rated Michelin restaurant - not much more than a hole in a wall set along a tiny alleyway - near Ginza. Asagi has 8 seats, set along a gorgeous cypress counter where chef prepares stunning tempura before you. Chef - who embarrassingly I cannot remember the name of - was assisted by his wife and we learned - through my broken Japanese and his broken English - that he had been preparing tempura in this location for - wait for it - 40 years!

    Needless to say, it was THE BEST tempura G and I have ever eaten. Hands down. Stunning. Meals here start at JPY8,000 and rise from there. Pricey sure; but well worth it.


    2) the table is set; 3) tempura shrimp


    4) afterwards, chef tempured the shrimp heads for us too; 5) the accompaniment


    6) this fish was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious; 7) at the end of the meal, chef prepared a lovely soup


    8) here's me reaching for more


    9) the entrance to Asagi; 10) dessert

    Incendies
    When their mother, Nawal Marwan (a superb Lubna Azabal), dies, twins Simon (Maxim Gaudette) and Jeanne (an excellent Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) are given instructions through their mother's will to find their brother and father. This strange yet simple start to the film, based on the play written by Wajdi Mouawad, then evolves into a moving recounting of Nawal's life in Lebanon as a mother, terrorist and prisoner that is both captivating and brutal to watch. Several scenes will leave you breathless with sadness. Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, Incendies was Canada's entry into Best Foreign Picture at the Oscars in 2011, and is certainly one of the most beautifully crafted films in sometime. As their search into the mysterious roots of their mother's life progresses - leading to tortuurer Abou Tarek (Abdelghafour Elaaziz) - an awful truth is revealed with all its devastating impact. Incendies is a film not to be missed. My rating 10 out of 10.


    Source Code
    Duncan Jones directs this sci-fi adventure that sees a near-dead army pilot, Coulter Stevens, being teleported (though some magic of physics not wholly explained) into a Chicago commuter train's last eight minutes before a bomb blows it up. His mission is to discover who the bomber is so as to avert an even bigger dirty nuclear attack that is going to happen in the 'present' time. Source Code is essentially an action vehicle for Jake Gyllenhall bookended by a romance between Stevens and fellow passenger Christina (Michelle Monaghan) and victim of conscious Colleen (Vera Farmiga) trying to navigate whether or not to let our hero Stevens finally die. Source Code is a fun movie despite the constant deja-vu. With tighter writing to really add depth to the exploration of Steven's situation 'living' amid life and death and futher examination of the consequences his tinkering with time could have, Source Code would have been an instant classic. My rating 7 out of 10.



  • Squamish


    1) Eagle Run near Squamish


    I'm going to tell you a story about a 4-year-old-boy.

    This little boy lived next door to a elderly gentleman who recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the elderly gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

    When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy replied: "Nothing, I just helped him cry.    "

    I shared this story at the conclusion of a camp I was honoured to volunteer at over Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday for people with neuromotor disabilities. While confidentially prohibits me from telling you anything about the camp or the campers, I can share some of the pictures from a couple of hikes I took near Squamish.


    2 & 3) more of Squamish hiking

    I'm now safely ensconced at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, glad to be returned to the lap of luxury after roughing it for 4 days in Squamish. I've a great view of the runway and am enjoying watching the planes come and go.

    4) my room here; 5) the view from the room


    6) the bathroom; 7) the room


    I did also manage to visit the Olympic Flame earlier last week and must say it was a nicer experience than negotiating the wall that blocked the installation when we were here during the Olympics.


    8 & 9) the Olympic square is much nicer now


    10) Douglas Coupland's tres cool "Digital Orca" installation


  • YVRing


    1) view of Vancouver from my hotel room - law courts are in bottom right corner


    My friend WetJet Sue advises one must drink 1 litre of water for every hour in the air. I should have heeded this advice earlier this week when flying from Toronto to Vancouver. Gosh, when I landed here what a hell of a headache I had. I took the Canada Line from YVR downtown and landed in the hotel before noon. I was supposed to meet WestJet Sue for lunch but crawled into bed instead.

    I do enough flying to know this, but lesson learned (again).

    I'm holed up at the Sheraton Wall Centre again and unlike my visit in February have not had rain inside the room .... yet.

    I did manage a semi-real ramen meal yesterday with Maddy at Kintaro. Reputed to be one of Vancouver's best ramen's places, it is good but not near as good as the most mediocre findings in Tokyo. As is often the case with ramen broths in North America, what's missing is depth. And it was too satly by half. Still, better than anything in Toronto.
     


    2) Kintaro miso pork ramen (with the egg forgotten)


    I'm just returned from the epic hot dog stand that is Japadog. I chowed down on this "Okonomi" style dog - pork; mayo; cabbage and bonito flakes. It was underwhelming and I'm at a loss to understand why people would line up - as they did for hours during the Olympics - for this street food.


    3) the Japadog - Burrard / Smithe


    I'm flying down to Seattle tomorrow then back up to Squamish for Easter Weekend camping. OMG Squamish, BC. It's been surely 10 years since I wandered through stopping on route to Whistler for lunch at White Spot with G and Blee.

    Tron: Legacy
    Still fabulous after all these years, Tron: Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinski, brings us back to gladiatorial games and netherworld of life on The Grid in a fashion the original cult sci-fi classic never dreamed of. Starring Jeff Bridges as gaming guru Kevin Flynn (and his alter Tron ego, Clu); Garrett Hedland as his son Sam; and Olivia Wilde as Quorra, the perfect ISO lifeform created in the Grid that Clu is determined to wipeout, Tron: Legacy is full of flash and special effects wizardry. While the story's themes are breathtakingly deep, the movie does not have the time to full develop or explore them which is really unfortunate. Still, the film is beautiful on oh-so-many levels and will remain timeless in a Blade Runner fashion. My rating 8 out of 10.



  • Allan Gardens


    1) Allan Gardens - there's a pathway in there somewhere


    Built back in Queen Victoria's time in 1858, Allan Gardens is a perfect place to catch a hint of spring before spring arrives. G, Blee and I paid a visit last weekend to snap some photos. It even has - yep - a banana tree that has spouted fruit..


    2 & 3) the banana tree and fruit


    4) in the cactus house; 5) these were little blue flowers that looked like green chilis


    6) in the cactus house again


    7) looks like this cactus has an erection; 8) these flowers reminded me of potato chips for some reason


    9) an orchid, but of course


    10) so pretty!

    11 & 12) dinner on me for the person who can guess what these two fruits are growing inside the conservatory

    Also must give a shout-out to my dear friend LA who paid us a visit a few weeks ago for lunch. LA and I go waaaay back, and by that I mean, friends since the age of four. We actually also both won "Athlete of the Year" Awards in the same year at the same high school - LA as best female athlete, moi as best male athlete. Yes, we ran with the sports/jocks crowd ... back then.

    13) moi and LA