Vancouver Art Gallery: Art Spiegelman CO-MIX: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics and Scraps

VAG [Where is Liza?©]

If you aren't a fan of graphic novels, you may not be familiar with Art Speigelman. I am quite certain that you have seen his work, though, especially his often controversial New Yorker covers.

His most famous work is Maus. 

"Maus is a graphic novel completed in 1991 by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. The book uses postmodern techniques—most strikingly in its depiction of races of humans as different kinds of animals, with Jews as mice, Germans as cats and non-Jewish Poles as pigs.Maus has been described as memoir, biography, history, fiction, autobiography, or a mix of genres. In 1992 it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize." -- Wikipedia[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus] 

I strongly advice that you join the tour rather than just viewing the exhibit. Hearing about who he is and his experiences is a big part of appreciating his work. It will be at the VAG until June 9, 2013.

Oyster Dome, Deception Pass, Anacortes

View at dusk from Lighthouse Point trail in Deception Pass [Photo by: Where is Liza©]

We all know by now how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is. Knowing this, I am still in awe every time I am staring at its splendour.

The San Juan Island area in Washington is the equivalent of our Vancouver Island (without having to take the ferry and shelling out your life savings). It consist of various islands, breathtaking cliff side views, arbutus trees sprinkled everywhere, hiking trails aplenty, and that small town feel that makes you feel like you are on vacation.

Our first stop of on this road trip is Oyster Dome off Chuckanut Drive, south of Bellingham. The original plan was to do either the 3.8 mile or 6.5 mile hike. This didn't happen because we did not get our Discovery Pass that is necessary to park in any of the Washington area parks. We are however able to drive all the way up to the lookout point which is of course spectacular. It would have been very cool to see hang gliders because it is known for it, but oh well. 

Aside from knowing that we will be camping, we actually haven't made any concrete plans on where we will be staying. So we keep on driving south and figure that we will make a decision  when we see something interesting.

[Photo by: Where is Liza©]

[Photo by: Where is Liza©]

"Interesting" has brought us to Deception Pass campground. It's perfect -- no Discovery Pass required to camp for the night. With the sound of the ocean in the background, we set camp at around 7  pm. 15 minutes before 8 pm, we are putting on our headlamps for a hike to Lighthouse point. At this time, there is still some light, but it is getting dark. We follow a trail that goes to the beach and then up to the forest, and then to more of that breathtaking stuff I've been talking about (see first photo above). It is rugged, wild and crazy beautiful. (After a few minutes, it did get quite dark; I'm sure glad that I brought those headlamps). The hike only took about an hour, with plenty of stops for photos and ooohings and aaahhhings.  

[Photo by: Where is Liza©]

The next day, we drive to Anacortes, which is in Fidalgo Island. It's a very quaint town  with buildings that feel like it's been there for a very long time. I can just imagine that this place must be quite populated in the summer/tourist months. 

Washington Park - Anacortes [Photo by: Where is Liza©]

For the future, we drive to see the other state park in the area -- Washington Park. And yup, it's beautiful. We prefer the Deception Point campsite better, but the scenery is something else.  

We hope to come back to do some hiking in this area.

Washington Park - Anacortes [Photo by: Where is Liza©]

Anacortes [Photo by: Where is Liza©]

Anacortes   [Photo by: Where is Liza©]

Killarney Lake Hike - Bowen Island

This was not so much of a hike but more of a scenic stroll in an island. I had been so lazy all winter with only yoga, the occasional paddle and snowshoeing, so I know that I needed to ease into my activities.   


Because of the ferry ride, Bowen Island gives you the feeling of going "away." Killarney Lake was a mere 9 km of easy and scenic ramble. This was the perfect place to break in my new hiking boots (hard to believe that I was so excited with this purchase at MEC, when not too long ago, I only had eyes for 6" heels). The hike around took us 3 hours, but that's only because we took a very leisurely break at the picnic area. 

So now, enough  with the leisurely jaunt around the park, I need a challenge. I need to start training for the West Coast Trail for this summer which had been known as "being one of the most grueling treks in North America." 

Let the games begin!?

Evening Snowshoeing and Fondue at Cypress Mountain

 Cypress Snowshoeing

This was only my second time snowshoeing ever, and I loved it. It took no skills at all -- just the desire to be active and outdoors.

The first time I went, we started at around 3 pm and we stayed on the trails with the destination to Hollyburn Lodge in mind. It didn't take long at all to get there. We sat on the bench in front of it (it was closed that day) and enjoyed the hot apple cider and chocolate that we brought with us. We were mindful of the time because we needed to bring back the rented snowshoes by closing (5 pm).

The second time, we signed up on a tour for 6:30 pm. Initially, I thought it would be a waste of money because it seemed so simple a task. But actually, it was worth the $50 (you do get chocolate). Our guide who we later discovered was a Brit with his doctorate on Climatology (or something like that, it was difficult to hear with the crunching of the snow), was fantastic. He showed us a circuitous way up to the lodge. Any one can do the trail of course, if you want "easy." Our group didn't want easy, so we traversed through fresh snow piles throughout. He showed us how to slide down the slopes -- "the steeper the better." We learned the different species of trees in the area, which ones we can eat for sustenance just in case --  hemlock tasted citrusy (don't worry, it's not the same at all as the one that Socrates drank which was also called hemlock, that was an herb, not a tree). We even did some sliding (yes, on purpose, not by accident). There was a grooved area that will take you down nicely providing that you brought yourself a plastic bag to sit on (which our guide did bring for us). A few of the men did get quite competitive on who could go the furthest (yes, that would be my guy).   

By the time we arrived at the lodge, it was dark. There was a welcoming stove fire place burning, several tea lights lit, and a few lamps, which coincidentally, worked out quite perfectly as it was earth hour by this time. There were also some warm hot apple cider and hot chocolate waiting (which we garnished with some Fireball that we brought with us, yes, we did share with everyone). Our guide then prepared our treat - chocolate fondue with plenty of dipping goodies like fruits, cakes and marshmallows.  


Going down was definitely quicker that going up. T'was a good night. Can't wait to do it again on our own.

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.