Month: January 2007

Theatre: “Crazy for You”

After dinner, Dickson and I went to the opening night performance of Crazy for You, the second production of the year for Grant MacEwan’s Theatre Arts Program. From the website:

“an artfully constructed show-biz tale of boy meets girl, but rather than Times Square they’re in the Wild West, where they spread good will, good tunes and, of course, good lovin’. It’s a high energy comedy that includes mistaken identity, plot twists, fabulous dance numbers and classic Gershwin music.”

As custom, the house was nearly full, packed undoubtedly with family and friends of the cast members. John L. Haar Theatre really is a beautiful facility, fully equipped with wide aisles, a gorgeous stage, and orchestra pit. It’s too bad it’s out of the way, and not in proximity to any large attractions, as their programming should be seen by a wider audience.

For a student production, it was quite well done. The costumes were great, as were the set pieces (in particular, the clown car was well built, leading to an unexpected routine that provided a good display of stage magic). My favorite character was hands down Irene Roth, the soon-to-be wife of the Saloon owner in Deadrock. She was played with great sass by Ashley Bjorndal, and carried off some great verbal exchanges with Bobby Child’s mother and her future husband.

I thought the first half as a whole was better than the second half, both in pacing and songs presented. Furthermore, the dancing was stronger than the singing in this show – the male lead had a fairly weak voice (Dickson said the actor who played Bela Zangler had the better voice, and here, I’ll defer to his trained ear). I was also surprised at the lack of a show stopping end number. “I Got Rhythm,” clearly the most catchy song, and the only one in length that featured the entire cast, fell just before intermission, leaving the audience vainly wanting more.

I was also surprised at their decision to use a projected backdrop to convey the different scene locations. Because of their elaborate sets, I thought this was unnecessary and rather distracting. Specifically, the image of the Gaity Theatre seats could be considered inaccurate, as usual musical-within-a-musical productions see the rehearsals conducted facing the imaginary audience, not upstage.

Despite my nitpicks, it was a fun production overall, and one that left me with a desire to dance!

Sub-par Pho: King Noodle House

Dickson had been referred to King Noodle House (10613-97 Street) by a friend who claimed it boasted the best pho in the city. Emboldened by such a high recommendation, we sought to put it to the test on Friday.

The furniture was clearly from another era, seemingly having been transplanted from an 80s bar. The variations of pho offered were numerous, taking up at least eighty percent of their menu. Clipped inside the plastic jackets as well were copies of two favorable reviews from the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun. I ended up selecting pho with beef balls and flank, while Dickson chose the special #2 (containing a number of things I can’t recall).

The food came lightning quick, perhaps only two minutes behind the record set by Pho Hoa. My dish arrived with plenty of cilantro (hurrah), but all of it had already been submerged in the soup (boo). I found the meat portion small, but worst of all, the soup base was sub-par – oily and lacking flavor, it was rather disappointing. It definitely left me unsatisfied and in longing for a replacement bowl from either Pagolac or Doan’s.

Next up for pho firsts: V’s (#111, 4990-92 Avenue).

Restaurant interior

In place of an actual fish tank

Special #2

Pho with Beef Balls and Flank

Kitchen Wish List

As I watch television chefs in action, I grow ever-envious of their kitchens: the wide cooking space, the gadgets, the quality utensils. While my Mum’s kitchen is fairly well-stocked (who knew we had a mandolin?), there are a few things I intend on adding to our collection:

  • an immersion blender – to more easily make fabulously creamy soups (as seen on Barefoot Contessa);
  • a pizza stone – to create authentically crispy thin crust pizzas (as seen on Ricardo & Friends);
  • a functional, multi-purpose dutch oven (as seen on Everyday Italian);
  • Linzer cookie cutters (to make, well, Linzer cookies); and
  • a set of stainless steel dry measuring cups (sturdier than their plastic counterparts).

I’ve found Winners to be quite a great kitchen supply store so far, but I’m willing to shop around for a while to find even better prices. The hunt begins!

Next Stop: Disneyland

Late last year, the Churchill Station platform was Enmax-ified.

For anyone who didn’t pass through this LRT stop, Enmax took over all of the display windows, hung large banners from the rafters, and even plastered the stairs and seating blocks with their logo and message (one morning, Enmax representatives were even at the Station handing out branded ice scrapers). Advertising their new EasyMax energy program, it made sense on some level to target the population utilizing public transportation – people who perhaps ride the bus for financial reasons who may be looking for ways to save money on electricity costs, or who have environmental concerns and may be interested in alternative providers.

If you have been to the station recently, however, it has undergone another makeover into an inescapable billboard for Disneyland. With a lavender color scheme and iconic portraits of spinning teacups, Snow White, and Cinderella’s castle in its visual arsenal, the Magic Kingdom’s display is undoubtedly more aesthetically pleasing – and emotionally manipulative – than Enmax’s effort. For some, the images may conjure up feelings of nostalgia, childhood innocence, and carefree times. Still, while it is appropriate timing for summer vacation advertisements to begin their rotation, it’s quite curious to me as to why Disney chose to target the LRT-riding clientele. While a wide variety of people count on public transportation in their daily lives, it’s safe to assume that urban workers and students (university and otherwise) make up a large proportion of users. Does Disney think this continuous exhibition will passively lull this demographic into “I’m going to Disneyland!” proclamations?

I was thinking a more effective method would be to have Mickey and all his merry friends court potential travelers in person, and à la Enmax, hand out mouse ears and other themed memorabilia. A fun new hat may not spur a trip across the continent, but the receiver may end up wearing the ears all across the city, thus spreading the association. Or, even better, lobby ETS to temporarily change the Station name to “Disneyland.” Can you imagine hearing “Next train: Disneyland,” or “Next stop: Disneyland.” Now that would be marketing.

Culinary Q & A with Annie

Occupation: Teacher, President of the Professional Procrastinators’ Club, sexy Paramagnus intern, ex-fanfic writer, and sane-person-wannabe.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast: Warm cranberry crumble with ice cream (at 9:30 in the morning…that is what my Dept Head decided to bring to school for our PD…it was delicious but I’ve NEVER eaten ice cream at such an hour. I am a strong believer that you don’t eat junk food at least until 10:30 a.m.).

Lunch: SwissChalet’s rotisserie chicken with a Caesar salad and sautéed mushrooms and an iced tea. And may I comment that SwissChalet’s gravy ALWAYS taste like DOG FOOD. It was so gross I ended up using trusty salt and pepper.

Snack: A baby container of Silhouette yoghurt. And a leftover cup of organic coffee that nobody wanted after the PD meeting. It was from the pot and I couldn’t bear to dump it.

Dinner: A nutritious breakfast: 1 cup of Kellogg’s Special Flakes (Vanilla Almond), a toasted sesame bagel with garlic & herb cream cheese, and an orange juice.

Snack: Bowl of apples and strawberries.

What do you never eat?

Donkeys, dogs, and cats.

What is your personal specialty?

Chewy, crystal-like spicy Korean instant noodles. You really have to be an expert microwave/electric water kettle user to tackle this feat.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I was going to say spatula…but I think I’ll go with chopsticks. You can beat eggs with them, panfry your fish or whatever with them…eat with them…use them as skewers/toothpicks…and oh, they are great for drumming and hitting your dog with.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Appetizer: Chinese cold dish of jellyfish in sesame oil and my Dad’s famous shrimp salad (he always puts in tiny cubes of celery and apples for texture…works VERY well with the shrimpies)
Main course: A bento of sushi (especially tamago, avacado/tempura, and inari ~ you know, that one with the sweet tofu wrap! ) & sashimi (tuna, salmon, and beef).

My Grandma or Grandpa’s ginger fried rice…the story here is that this is what I survived on while on a train trip to Mainland China…I couldn’t eat anything else until we got to our destination. Whenever there was a stop, there would be vendors on the train platform, trying to sell us rice bentos…the problem was…I think they made the bentos on the street…every bite I took, there was SAND…and I remember my Mom finding tiny pebbles in it. YUM. This is how they made their living; I think they did their best for what they have.

A lotus seed bun. This is one of the most vivid memories I have of my Grandpa…when I was really little, he used to take me to DimSum in Hong Kong and I always loved lotus seed buns. When the waiter drops the bamboo steamer of lotus seed buns at our table, my Grandpa would immediately grab one, take the paper on the bottom off, carefully break the bun in half, and then blow on it to cool it down…and then he’d smile and give it to me. You have no idea how I can feel so loved from such a simple gesture. And he laughed when I told him this when he was visiting us in 2005…a good 20 years later.

Some BBQ pork & rice. When I was in kindergarten, my Principal/headmaster used to babysit me for my Grandma while she worked…she loved me and always took me out for lunch and BBQ pork with rice was my favourite. My headmaster also bought me my first plastic baby grand piano with its own stool! They lubbed me!

Dessert: A Japanese rice green tea. Some matcha (green tea) ice cream. Thai Sticky Rice with Mangoes. Bailey’s cheesecake. Fresh fruit. Clearly, all this stuff should be in the main course anyway.I’d probably die from eating all this food …no need to wait for the end of the world…but I digress…

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I want to firstly say ‘ew’ to Mackenzie Male who put down “Denny’s”. Hehe.
I’d say “Tokyo Express”.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Marco Polo in Chinatown! HAHAHA. Yes, if I want to eat cockroach bits.

Actually, I’d say the La Ronde with their beautiful, well-stocked brunch buffet. Omelettes made to order…woohoo! And the scenery. Nothing beats a rotating restaurant. Worth my 28 bucks or whatever.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I suppose I will have to eat all the fresh sashimi in Japan. Spicy rice cakes in Korea. And last but not least, go to Spain and try this scary sounding Hake fish thing. I’d like the gigantic cooked eyeballs…very chewy.

My God…it’s all seafood! Um, how about breadfruit? Never tried that.

BON APPETIT!

Film: “Their Brothers’ Keeper”

Until March, the University of Alberta International Centre will be holding weekly film screenings to increase awareness about global issues that affect the worldwide community, including human trading, conflict, and disease.

Tonight, I went to watch a film entitled Their Brothers’ Keeper: Orphaned by AIDS:

“Filmed over a seven-month period, Their Brothers’ Keepers goes inside Chazanga Compound, a shantytown in Lusaka, Zambia. The crew focuses on two families headed by children, and their ongoing struggle for food, water, schooling and health care. Local community and aid workers offer support but lack any real resources. Throughout the film, excerpts from speeches by Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, fill in the broader social context.”

In Zambia alone, there are an estimated 850,000 orphans. Those children without any remaining adult relatives, or adult relatives nearby, are forced to support themselves. So mature, strong, and brave these young heads of family are that it was easy to forget that they are still children, robbed of the opportunity to play, to laugh, to go to school and to grow up naturally and away from death. The children filmed showed many signs of resilience, most notably, continuing the tradition of storytelling. While the elder sister of one family was away, her brother of eight years made sure his six and three year old siblings didn’t miss their nightly ritual.

Following the screening, a medical practitioner who has worked in Africa, Dr. Stan Houston, led a question and answer session. He noted that the movie was decidedly optimistic, whereas the general tone at which he spoke betrayed his more realistic viewpoint – that tens of millions more people will die before the global community will act aggressively enough to stop the pandemic.

One of the most interesting audience members was a Registered Nurse who had volunteered in Zambia for a number of years, working with an NGO to assist with ARV (Anti-Retroviral) delivery in rural areas. In her experience, while the drugs may be available for distribution, without the infrastructure and support of public health services, the pills would be rendered ineffective.

Something that came out of the discussion that I wasn’t aware of was the effectiveness of male circumcision to decrease HIV infection. In two separate random trials, the transmission rate was 50% less in circumcised men. Though a few pointed out that encouraging condom use would be easier than mass procedures, it’s still a measure worth knowing about.

I was thoroughly engaged, and look forward to similar events in lieu of International Week, that runs next week from January 29-February 2. I encourage you to attend a session or two.

Man-purse!

Never usually one with great timing, turns out my 24 post earlier this week showed a bit of foresight. Today’s Edmonton Journal printed an article originally conceived for the Colorado Springs Gazette all about Jack’s handy bag from season 5:

“they can hardly keep the bag in stock. Both men and women are buying it. It was a big hit at Christmas and now, with the sixth season premiering Sunday and Monday night, orders are pouring in. ‘I mean people are saying things like, ‘Thank God I found one. My husband wants one, my son wants one, I want one.”

Jeffrey is just a tad mystified, not being a die-hard fan. But his brother Michael is a fan. And it’s kind of embarrassing for Jeffrey to relay this, but he does, anyway, for the sake of capitalism: ‘Michael is always saying, ‘What would Jack do?’ I mean, he’s 61.'”

And for $24 US, you too can be like Jack.

Jack’s man-purse (photo from NewYorkFirst.com)

Culinary Q & A with Amanda

Occupation: University student

What did you eat today?

I ate leftover taco for lunch and for dinner i had cauliflower and mushrooms

What do you never eat?

I never eat aspargus or brussel sprouts (ew)

What is your personal specialty?

I can’t cook but a can make a killer big breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Probably a butter spreader or your bread will taste like shit

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

All you can eat buffet ( pizza, club sandwiches, tomatos, bacon, californian rolls)

Where do you eat out most frequently?

McDonalds

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Banzai (with a 2 for 1 coupon)

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

There’s nothing I want to eat that I can’t get here

Men are like Coats

Gotta love a good analogy. First, there was LC’s comparison of boyfriends to handbags on Laguna Beach:

“LC: No, I think it’s more like purses, actually. You’re always going to have that one boy that you’re always comfortable with and you’ll always kind of like, right? That’s your purse that you wear everywhere, right? Then you have that gorgeous bag you want everyone to see you with.

Jen: Yeah, but the gorgeous bag is usually an ass****.

LC: Or costs a lot of money. Then you have like those other purses that you really like but don’t really want to be seen with.”

And now, an article from The Soko claims that men are like coats.

While the piece isn’t ground breaking, and certainly doesn’t provide any epiphanies, it’s a cute read all the same (especially because I just found a fabulous coat). My favorite comparable quality:

“Ensure the Coat Really Complements You

If you’re committing to a nice article of clothing, you need to make sure that it suits you and your lifestyle — fit, colour, style, etc. Don’t buy the coat if it washes you out or is too big on you or isn’t suitable for an active lifestyle.

Maybe it’s the style of the season, but if it doesn’t work on you, you’re going to be frustrated. With regard to relationships, why invest any further if you know he’s not the person for you? Longevity and quality are key – for coats and relationships.”

My only nitpick: I would expect the optimistically ambiguous ‘he’s out there’ byline to bring out a knee-jerk response of cynicism in most women.

Still, I’ve got the coat, and a girl can’t have everything, right?

“24”: Season 6 Initial Thoughts

Jack’s back(!) in the adrenaline-pumping, non-stop thrill ride known as 24.

As per prior seasons, it appears the central focus of this day will be preventing a nuclear attack (is it just me, or have warheads become blasé for other seasoned 24 watchers?). But now that the show has matured, and we’re on to POTUS #3, it’s interesting to be able to compare the leaders, asking, “What would David do?” or, God forbid, “What would Charles do?” and wonder if Wayne Palmer’s insecurities are any worse than Logan’s.

I continue to be fascinated by the mainstays of the show, including the steady erosion of civil liberties, the astonishing viral corruption apparent in all levels of public service, the ethical and moral dilemmas faced by the CotS (Civilian-of-the-Season), and of course, how “we’re securing a 10-block parameter around the scene” still means erecting a barrier of swiss cheese.

I also love the director’s ability to flawlessly point to character relationships – a flash of Karen Hayes’ ring to indicate her engagement to Bill Buchanan, or Sandra Palmer’s call to her brother in high office. And speaking of characters, there has been an interesting array of casting choices so far this season: Peter MacNicol of Ally McBeal fame (“I like a clean bowl!”), as a suspicious Presidential advisor; Shaun Majumder, a former host on the children’s television network YTV, as an Islamic fundamentalist martyr; and Kal Penn, one half of the Harold & Kumar duo who spent the length of a movie searching for a burger, as a terrorist recruit. It’s also worth noting that Mary Lynn Rajskub looks great this year; Chloe is really coming into her own.

Lastly, the real reason why I watch this show: to uncover, while mourning the loss of Jack’s man-purse, how it is possible for Kiefer to look equally good in a casual long-sleeved tee and a dress shirt.

Episode 5 airs tomorrow night!