Paul McCartney

I am lucky that I have quite a few items on my "Cool Stuff I Have Seen or Done List." I have seen Mikhail Baryshnikov and Karen Kain dance, The Nutcracker by the Bolshoi, seen art by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Bernini that made me weepy. 

Last night's performance by Paul McCartney is definitely going in that list. How cool is it to witness and be part of this legendary person. I am not a fanatic music or Beatles fan, but you don't need to be one to fully appreciate this very affable Brit. 

He may be 70, but this doesn't stop him from giving a fantastic (and long) performance (2 encores with 4 or 5 songs each time, I think).  At the end, he finally had to say, "you know, we're all going to have to go home sometime."

Read the reviews, but it is the best concert I have ever been to. 

Yoga Conference 2012

A three day event of all you can have yoga and so much more.

CircleCraft 2012 - Vancouver Convention Centre

 There are still some who thinks that Craft Fairs are about granny knitted toilet paper covers (not that there's anything wrong with that). Not so. Many of the items at CircleCraft 2012 are high quality works of art.

Scar Tissue at the Arts Club on Granville Island

I knew nothing about Scar Tissue until I was reading their promo brochure. It was a play based on a novel by Michel Ignatieff (yes, the politician) about a family coping with the mother's Alzheimer's Disease and facing the reality that the children and grand children may carry the same genes.

This story was written for the reality of  looking into the sometimes difficult relationships we have with our parents and siblings and maybe trying to understand and forgive not only their flaws but also our own.

Banana Leaf on Davie

 

My girlfriend and I were looking for a place to further indulge ourselves after a perfect spa day. I haven't eaten all day, so the first interesting place was it - Banana Leaf on Davie (former location of Kam's).

We shared the appetizer sampler for two (A platter of green salad, chicken satay, spring rolls, roti canai & calamari), which we followed with some King Prawns, which was the special of the day. 

I have eaten at Banana Leaf a few times, and although, it's not my "go-to" Malaysian place (that would be Tropika), it's a satisfying place for homey Asian food.

Hakkasan Contemporary Chinese Cuisine

 

There are a few things that are a bit peculiar about Hakkasan, for one, its location. It's not in a hub, rather, it's amidst industrial Richmond. Another oddity is that the staff were actually friendly and attentive - definitely not a norm for a Chinese restaurant. If you are looking for familiar fare such as orange chicken or bright red sweet and sour pork, this is NOT the place.

For starter we had a curried whelk. What's a whelk, you ask? It's a sea snail (but imagine a regular escargot on steroids). It was chopped and curried and stuffed back in the shell. It is interesting, but nothing to get excited about. 

It is followed by a seared foie gras salad in a bed of mixed spring greens and strawberries and a bowl of lobster bisque.

Next course is a Smoked Mushroom Beancurd Crepes. This is an interesting dish that I would like to remake at home.

Main entrée for me is a Chilean sea bass, it is cooked perfectly. There isn't any exotic flavouring on this one, it's all about the fresh ingredient and cooking technique. My friend chose the lobster. Also cooked perfectly. Both meals came with a bowl of rice.

They will be closing temporarily soon, but I would love to come back to and try their other items. 

Neon | Ugly Vancouver at the MOV

Also at the MOV until August 12, 2012, is Neon/Ugly Vancouver, a collection of neon signs from Vancouver's past. I have to warn you, though, that you may end up with a headache as I did. The usually high up on the building signs are all in small enclosed space. This exhibition would have been better if placed in a more spacious room. Nevertheless, they are fun and definitely an interesting look of the "ugly" Vancouver.

Art Deco Chic at The MOV

I love fashion. [In fact, I named my daughter after one of its superstar icon (Gabrielle Chanel). ]

At the MOV (Museum of Vancouver) until September 23, there is a showing of Art Deco Chic, an exhibition of what is considered as the beginning of modern fashion. Some of the garment/work of art are from Chanel, Lanvin, Vionnet, Patou, and Schiaparelli. In case you aren't able to make it to the exhibition, here are some pics (they are only taken with my phone, so they are not great quality).

The Importance of Being Earnest & The Barber of Seville

I NEED ART!

I've been in a cave for the past year. Or is it more like a tunnel? Well, OK, in reality it's only librarianship school (although there are many a times when I am in serious darkness).  In any case, I'm starting to get a glimpse of light. I am coming to the end. 

For the last month, I have worked on reports on Energy Consumption in Indonesia and Japan, The Impact of the Housing Market in Canada, The Print and Non-Print Serial Collection of a Small Library, have catalogued many items, done an inventory of a photograph archive, researched reliable Image Scanning Vendors in the lower mainland, and have answered countless reference questions. 

My brain and body are aching for balance!

I've started going to yoga again, started my training for the half-marathon in May that I have signed up for, and this last two weeks, I went to see the Canucks vs Bluejackets, saw The Importance of Being Earnest and The Barber of Seville. 

First the Canucks. I went on St. Patrick's day -- the one where Edler got his groove on. Going to a live game is so much more exciting than not. The whole place was thumpin' with that cracking ice sound and light effects. That dancing little boy was even there as mini-Fin.

On Thursday, I saw Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest at the Stanley Theatre. The main character was that guy from the A&W commercials, Ryan Beil. I did not enjoy him. His accent and intonations were ridiculous and exaggerated. I read the Georgia Straight review, they weren't impressed with the show at all. I, on the other hand, didn't mind it. I enjoyed the story and the other cast members. I found the set was quite playful and unexpected. Overall, I think it's worth seeing.

Last night, was the third show of the Vancouver Opera -- The Barber of Seville. I really liked this one. Maybe it's because I needed a light topic after so much heaviness. This was fun and light. I really liked the female lead, she was beautiful and she was not afraid to be goofy. She was quite funny when she was mocking and mimicking the antagonist. This would be a good one to go to if you've never gone to the opera.

So, that's it for my Art fix for now. Back to work for me.

High Tea at the Fairmont Airport

Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged here. It's not because I've abandoned Where is Liza, I have been so crazy busy. For one, I have way too much school work to deal with, another is because I've been contributing to another blog for Library Techs. And lastly, because I have my favourite places where I repeatedly go to — I don't want to keep writing about these same places.

This last Sunday, I went to a new place, The Fairmont's Airport. I went for high tea — sadly, it was disappointing.

The ambiance was nice enough, enormous fireplace and a view of the runway (I know, it's a bit strange to have a view of the runway for high tea, but what can we do when we don't live in Victoria). 

The service staff were all dressed very professionally and were quite friendly, but they didn't come back to check if our tea needed to be replenished. The tea selection was not very large — some black, some green, a chamomile and mint. It was served using a French press. The china used were modern, all white. The biggest disappointment was the food. It just didn't seem special enough. There was a selection of croissant with egg salad, salmon, curried chicken on baguette slices, scones with some clotted cream and an assortment of sweets. It just seemed like the sandwiches were made way ahead of time, so the bread weren't all that fresh and the sweets didn't seem like they were made on the premise. 

For the price they charge, it definitely was not worth it. I wouldn't go back. I recommend instead going for Afternoon Tea at the Sutton's Fleuri Restaurant.