The Apple Store in Vancouver is open. And while it offers something new in terms of sizzle, the steaks inside the store have been available in Vancouver for years.
We have Simply Computing,Westworld, Switch, and Future Shop. But Apple is not about the steak - it’s about the sizzle.
When we had our media preview this morning, the simple, stark space of the Apple Store Vancouver still had that new store smell. You know, like a car, but more woodsy and less vinyl.
The staff are beaming, and excited. They’re aligning and re-aligning every mouse along the counter. The boxes are perfectly straight. The store is crisp, and clean.
That’s the sizzle that Apple sells.
Everything is consistent with the message, even the Geniuses at the Genius Bar carry themselves with a subtle I-know-more-than-you attitude. But it’s not stuffy. They’re Geniuses, but not arrogant about it.
That’s Apple.
The question is, on a day like today with the new sizzle in town, would you want to be one of those previous retailers with just a lot of steak?
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I have a feeling someone is struggling to move tix to his July 4 show at GM Place.
Madonna, Kanye, Pemberton, Celine Dion, Cirque du Soleil, George Michael, Janet Jackson …. the concert dollar is getting squeezed and Georgie’s promoters are feeling the pinch.
Oh well, I like a going out of business sale as much as the next guy. If I have anything left after the H&M opening, Apple Store opening and Madonna on sale, I might pick some up.
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Janet Jackson told Ellen this week she’s hitting the road in September. It will be her first tour in 7 years, and just like last time she’s starting in Vancouver.
The 42-year-old singer, set to tackle her first tour in seven years, will perform across North America beginning Sept. 10 in Vancouver, she revealed in an appearance Monday on the television talk show Ellen.
Jackson’s event promoter, Live Nation, has so far only announced a few dates for her Rock Witchu tour, including concerts set for New York and Washington. A full itinerary is still pending.[source]
Janet is, without a doubt, one of the best interviews I have ever had.. let’s dial the clock back to August 1998 when she was out on the Velvet Rope tour.
The Rock Witchu adventure promises to be a greatest hits tour, Janet has set up a phone number, 1-323-622-8139, where fans can dial in and get their favourite track added to the set list.
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On Monday I said there were no cool concerts coming to town. Scratch that. Madonna will make her first ever Vancouver appearance this year.
The closest Madonna has ever come to playing a concert in Vancouver was a jaunt to Seattle in 1988 on the Who’s that Girl Tour. Since then, we’ve seen U2, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Janet Jackson, Pavarotti, Bob Dylan, Prince , Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney, and everyone else in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.
But not Madonna. NEVER have we seen Madonna.
This year, that changes.
Today Madonna, the Mother of all Pop Icons, unveiled the itinerary for her Sticky and Sweet Tour. Scroll down fellow members of the 604, cause only one date matters. Finally, we are worthy.
MADONNA
STICKY & SWEET
TOUR ITINERARY 2008
Showdate: City: Venue: On sale Date:
23-Aug Cardiff Millennium Stadium Fri. May 16
26-Aug Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann Fri. May 16
28-Aug Berlin Olympic Stadium Wed. May 21
02-Sept Amsterdam Arena Sat. May 17
04-Sept Dusseldorf LTU Arena Wed. May 21
06-Sept Rome Olympic Stadium Fri. May 23
09-Sept Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena Wed. May 21
11-Sept London Wembley Stadium Fri. May 16
20-Sept Paris Stade de France Fri. May 16
03-Oct E. Rutherford Izod Center Mon. May 19
06-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
07-Oct New York City Madison Square Garden Mon. May 19
15-Oct Boston TD BankNorth Garden Sat. May 17
18-Oct Toronto Air Canada Centre Sat. May 24
22-Oct Montreal Bell Centre Sat. May 24
26-Oct Chicago United Center Sat. May 17 30-Oct Vancouver BC Place Stadium Sat. May 24 01-Nov Oakland Oracle Arena Sun. June 1
04-Nov San Diego Petco Park Sun. June 1
06-Nov Los Angeles Dodger Stadium Sun. June 1
08-Nov Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena Sat. May 31
11-Nov Denver Pepsi Center Sat. May 31
16-Nov Houston Minute Maid Park Sat. May 31
19-Nov Philadelphia Wachovia Center Mon. June 2
22-Nov Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Mon. June 2
24-Nov Atlanta Philips Arena Sat. May 31
26-Nov Miami Dolphin Stadium Sat. May 31
Okay, it’s at BC Place. That pretty much sucks. But it does give us 40 000 extra chances to try and avoid the fanny packed asses out front.
It’s Madonna, gang. In Vancouver. The day before Halloween! As Trent at PiTNB would say: Bring it, bitches!
Last weekend we trucked down to Mount Vernon for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It was beautiful, spectacular, wonderful and every other extraordinary adjective you can think of.
Today, we had our own little tulip festival in the backyard.
Last fall, Jen blistered up her hands trying to dig through a rocky, barren pit in a corner of our yard to fill it with yellow, white and red. These tulips have taken their time cracking through - what with the snow and ice and all. But today we were rewarded with explosions of colour normally saved for the Symphony of Fire / Celebration of Light.
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You are about to be hammered by the eco friendly message today. It’s all about composting and recycling and using less in the news as Earth Day is marked around the world.
Many people take the environment seriously, and go HARDCORE when it comes to their actions. Rain barrels to collect rainwater to use for irrigation, composting to turn table scraps into fertilizer.. stuff like that. They’re on my radar to get done, but require some planning and hardware and I’m not quite there yet.
I’m taking small simple steps to help Mother Earth.
I already use cloth bags when I do my groceries, that’s a good change that was simple to make. I bring my own mug to the coffee joints when I sit and linger with a paper on the weekends and now I turn off my computer at night. I’ll be bringing my mug to Starbucks today as they serve up free coffee for Earth Day when you bring your mug.
I didnt normally do that. I would leave the box humming all day and night, just in case I got a brilliant blog idea in the middle of the night.
But by simply turning off or unplugging the computer at night you can save energy. Lots of it.
An average desktop computer with a 17-inch monitor needs between 150 and 350 watts of electricity while it is being activity used. If you were to leave that computer on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it would use over $200 of electricity and lead to the release of over 1.5 tons of CO2 into Earth’s atmosphere. Turning off your computer — even an inactive computer — for just 10 hours a day can lead to substantial carbon savings. [source]
By unplugging your PC each night, you will reduce your CO2 emissions by a total of 51 lbs. for the month. [source]
Notice the key part of the second quote. It says “unplugging” your computer - not just turning it off.
Did you know that many of your household electronics and appliances use electricity even when they are turned off? This is known as standby or “phantom” power. For instance, your television uses standby power so that it can be ready to instantly turn on when you click the remote control. Your computer’s printer powers down, but isn’t really off unless you turn off its power switch or unplug it. Anything you own that has a transformer plugged into a socket is probably drawing electricity all the time, even when the gadget it’s connected to is not in use. Skeptical? Touch the transformer. If it is warm to the touch, then it’s wasting electricity. [source]
That shouldn’t be too tough either, especially if you have a tangle of power bars and wires under your desk. You don’t need to unplug them all, just the one that goes to the wall.
Oh, and while you’re saving energy by turning off your computer at night, turn off the tv too. It’s Turn Off Your TV Week - so, um.. don’t forget to set the TiVo/PVR/VCR.
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Retire #16 now and rename Expo Blvd, Linden Avenue. He’s the greatest. Ever.
16. He’s a RW who will take defensive zone faceoffs in the last minute
15. The Life Line (Linden - Ronning - Courtnall)
14. He’s a damn fine mountain biker
13. 1994
12. 1989
11. Hospital visits
10. Canuck Place
9. Game 7
8. The fans
7. One of the grittiest playoff performers in history
6. Raise-A-Reader
5. 2008
4. Canuck Place
3. He gave up the C to Messier
2. He didnt ask for the C from Naslund
1. 1994
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Vancouver is a vibrant multicultural city, that’s easy to see. Live in Richmond? Even if you’re not from Hong Kong, you’re definitely down with Chinese New Year. If you live in Surrey you know all about Diwali, regardless of your ethnicity.
This week everyone’s Irish, there isnt a “real” Irish district of Vancouver, so everyone’s down with St Patrick’s Day. Our family is Persian this week, because we live in North Vancouver and this week is Persian New Year.
Jen, Z and I went down to Yaas Bazaar on Lonsdale to pick up some fab kebabs and rice for dinner last night. Just to make it all right for the season, I served up a Guinness on the side. Now that’s multicultural!
Norooz is the Persian New Year, and it happens when the vernal equinox happens in Iran. This year that’s 9:18a on March 20 in Tehran, which means the new year actually happens at 10:18p on Wednesday here in North Vancouver.
There’s a pretty cool collection of customs associated with the new year, most associated with the same rebirth we see with the season. As we switch from winter to spring and the buds start blooming, and the life cycle starts again seems like a perfect time to celebrate the new year.
Yesterday there was a big festival at Mahon Park in North Vancouver, but if you missed that, you still have a chance to check out some great celebrations of the season. Tomorrow night, you need to take a walk down to Ambleside Park for the 2008 Red Wednesday Bonfire Festival, better known as Chahar Shanbeh Soori.
It happens on the last Tuesday evening of the year. Every family gathers several piles of wood or brush in the streets or parks to be lit shortly after the sunset. Then all the family members line up and take turns jumping over the burning fire and singing “sorkheeyeh toe az man, Zardeeyeh man az toe” (I give my paleness to the fire and take fire red healthy color.) Yellow or paleness symbolizes the sickness and pain and red symbolizes heath.
The symbolism doesn’t end there. When we were at Yaas, the place was packed. As you walk down Lonsdale you see racks and racks of wheat grass outside the shop. Inside, everyone was crowded around a huge fishtank filled with goldfish. The corner with the bakery was squeezed tight with pistachio treats. The smells and smiles of the season filled the entire place.
Just as we rush to get a turkey with trimmings for Thanksgiving or Christmas, the Persians have a similar hustle for a very specific shopping list. They need 7 things on their table as they celebrate Haft Seen, each with a separate and important symbolism.
The Haft Seen is a spread with seven items which each symbolizes a wish or theme. All seven items in this ceremonial table starts with the Persian letter seen or S in English.
Get ready to go on a scavenger hunt, here’s what you need:
Sabzeh (grown wheat or lentil) for rebirth
Samanu (flour and sugar) for sweetness of life
Sekeh (coin ) for prosperity and wealth
Senjed ( dried fruit of Lotus tree) for love
Seer (garlic) for health
Somaq ( sumac berries) for warmth
Serkeh ( vinegar) for patience
There are some other random things you can toss on your table, such as painted eggs, which represent fertility, a mirror that represents image and reflection of life, and a goldfish in a bowl that represents life.
So while you’re raising a pint of green beer today, come up to North Van and grab some fresh green grass and a goldfish.
Aidee Shoma Mobarak!
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However, this past weekend, Jen and I along with a couple of other couples, had our own little wine fest! When you’re married to a wine rep, and head over to a colleague’s house is a wine rep, and also married to a wine rep, you know some grape will be poured and 4 bottles of beauty hit the table on Saturday night.
First the menu: There was a spicy sausage and creamy cheese tray with baguette while we chilled, then dinner was a beef tenderloin that absolutely melted with white asparagus, green beans and potatoes. A roasted tomato and spinach salad was on the side.
Here are 2 of the 4 wines we polished off:
Domaine de Montfaucon 2005 Viognier - Now I don’t recognize this grape right off the bat either, it’s not a big 6, but this Viognier was smooth and easy drinking. Right away I could taste the honey, our hosts said honeysuckle, but I thought it was richer, right to honey. Wiki says: The color and the aroma of the wine suggest a sweet wine but Viognier wines are predominantly dry.
Pinotage - Jen thinks this one tastes like band aids, the South Africans at our table were drifting back home as they talked about the smell being like an African camp fire. After all, it is South Africa’s signature grape. In the end, I agreed with Jen, it had a dusty medicinal taste that just didnt do much.
Some interesting choices there for your weekend sipping, or maybe you’ll head off to the ‘Fest and get your glass on. Before you do that, have a quick look over the Insiders Guide for Wine Festivals.
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When we had our media preview this morning, the simple, stark space of the Apple Store Vancouver still had that new store smell. You know, like a car, but more woodsy and less vinyl. 
On Monday I said there were 
You are about to be hammered by the eco friendly message today. It’s all about composting and recycling and using less in the news as 
Jen, Z and I went down to Yaas Bazaar on Lonsdale to pick up some fab kebabs and rice for dinner last night. Just to make it all right for the season, I served up a Guinness on the side. Now that’s multicultural!
It happens on the last Tuesday evening of the year. Every family gathers several piles of wood or brush in the streets or parks to be lit shortly after the sunset. Then all the family members line up and take turns jumping over the burning fire and singing “sorkheeyeh toe az man, Zardeeyeh man az toe” (I give my paleness to the fire and take fire red healthy color.) Yellow or paleness symbolizes the sickness and pain and red symbolizes heath.
There are some other random things you can toss on your table, such as painted eggs, which represent fertility, a mirror that represents image and reflection of life, and a goldfish in a bowl that represents life.
Domaine de Montfaucon 2005 Viognier - Now I don’t recognize this grape right off the bat either, it’s not a big 6, but this Viognier was smooth and easy drinking. Right away I could taste the honey, our hosts said honeysuckle, but I thought it was richer, right to honey. 
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