Mashed Thoughts of dPotato http://dpotato.posterous.com My online journal of my amazingly boring life. Don't expect anything juicy. I write those in my real journal at home safe away from prying eyes. Except for maybe my sister. posterous.com Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:17:00 -0700 Harry Potter Picnic & Muggle Quidditch Match http://dpotato.posterous.com/harry-potter-picnic-muggle-quidditch-match http://dpotato.posterous.com/harry-potter-picnic-muggle-quidditch-match

Warner Brothers hosted this event at David Lam Park to celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Many wizards and Muggles came down to be part of this epic event. There were a lot of awesome costumes and creative foods made by fans. And cake! Delicious cake! Advance screening passes, movie soundtracks, t-shirts, caps, magnets, key-chains and posters were given to the most enthusiastic fans. Muggle Quidditch was very interesting to watch. It was like a cross between tag and dodge ball. Looked fun and participants had a great time!

If you are craving more Harry Potter and don't have the coveted advance screening passes to Wednesday night's screening, you may want to check out the 'Harry Potter Relive The Magic' event at Chapters. They say it is all Chapter stores across Canada but you may want to call in to confirm.

It's hard to believe that the Harry Potter saga will be coming to an end soon. Don't miss the finale HP7: Part 2 in theatres this Friday July 15. I can't wait to see it!

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Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:39:00 -0700 NKOTBSB at Metropolis Hot Seats at Rogers Arena http://dpotato.posterous.com/nkotbsb-at-metropolis-hot-seats-at-rogers-are http://dpotato.posterous.com/nkotbsb-at-metropolis-hot-seats-at-rogers-are

K won Metropolis Hot Seat tickets and she invited me Sunday night to watch the NKOTBSB concert from the Metropolis at Metrotown suite at Rogers Arena. The suite was on the 5th floor and it's the first time I've ever been so high up in that building. There were about ten people there including the Metrotown social media team. We were treated to yummy food as soon as we arrived. There was a cheese platter, veggie platter, fruit platter, popcorn, chips and drinks. We pigged out on snacks while watching Matthew Morrison sing and dance the opening act. He borrowed a lot from Glee. Even his intro had Sue Sylvester in it. Later the hot foods arrived - there was BBQ chicken wings, breaded prawns and mini-burgers. SO GOOD.

But enough about the delicious food. NKOTBSB were amazing!  Rogers Arena was packed with screaming fangirls (and fanboys). I recognized quite a few songs - more from the Backstreet Boys than from NKOTB. It certainly brings back a lot of memories. They had great audience interaction. At one point the singers pulled four lucky girls onto stage, gave them roses and sang to them! They also walked around crowd. Everyone wanted to touch them! One girl lunged at one of singers and had to be pushed back forcefully by security! Yikes! But other than that there were no other incidences. I loved the atmosphere, the energy and the excitement that permeated Rogers Arena on Sunday. It was an awesome concert and I had an amazing time. Thanks Metropolis at Metrotown!

For your chance to win tickets to the suite, visit the Customer Service booth at the mall and enter at the contest kiosk. Also follow @MetropolisMet on twitter and tweet with the hashtag #MetropolisHotSeats or like them on Facebook.

Here was the opening sequence on Sunday night:

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Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:00 -0700 3rd Annual Mascot Race at Hastings Racecourse http://dpotato.posterous.com/3rd-annual-mascot-race-at-hastings-racecourse http://dpotato.posterous.com/3rd-annual-mascot-race-at-hastings-racecourse

The 3rd annual Mascot Racing was held yesterday at Hastings Racecourse. This event benefits Variety the Childrens Charity. There were a lot of mascots participating this year and several races were held between the furry characters. Every two horse race, a mascot race was held. There were three qualifying rounds and one final race to determine the winner. I didn't stay for entire thing as I had to go prepare for the NKOTBSB concert in the evening but I definitely want to stay until the end next year because it is so fun to watch! The race had two hurdles to hump over this year and many of the mascots are just not built for racing - the poor things. Many of them were fell. Poor Philbert from Purdy's Chocolate fell again and he was doing so well too. 

This was also the first time I went to the racecourse to watch the races. Betting on the horses is so confusing! But we decided to try our luck and placed a two dollar bet on horse #5 and he won! We had beginners luck. Hahah. We won 80 cents from that bet. We were screaming so loudly when our horse was in the lead racing toward the finish line. I bet everyone could tell we were first-timers! I love watching the horses race. It's so exhilerating. Horses are such beautiful creatures and there is something that I love about their raw power and speed. I will definititely go again. Perhaps next week, since there is Weiner Dog racing next!

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Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:09:02 -0700 Summer Live at Stanley Park http://dpotato.posterous.com/summer-live-at-stanley-park http://dpotato.posterous.com/summer-live-at-stanley-park

It was a beautiful sunny day today! Perfect weather for the Summer Live event at Stanley Park. I skytrained downtown and had intended to take the bus or the free shuttle down to Stanley Park but the lineups for both of them were horrendously long! So I started walking instead. It took a while since it's quite far and I also took the scenic route. Lots of people seemed to have the same idea as well. If you are going tomorrow, you might want to walk or ride a bike there instead. 

When I finally got to Brockton Point, music was playing on several stages and field was full of people enjoying the sun. Sponsor and activities boothes were set up around the perimeter. There was a big kids zone where all the family activities were being held. Public Dreams had giant Jenga and Twister games going on and there were people teaching guests how to juggle and spin plates. Several booths were dedicated to kite making and other craft activities. In one of them invasive plant species were being used to create art. Most people were weaving them into wreaths.

Later I saw Bollywood dance performance and a giant robotic snake, which I thought was so cool! The BC Lions mascot and other costumed characters were walking around taking pictures with kids. If you get thirsty, no sweat! There were water fountains set up around the site and Dairyland was also there giving away small cartons of chocolate milk and Armstrong Cheese was offering cheese samples to people. The chocolate milk was very popular since it was so hot out. It was great to just kick back in the shade and enjoy the cool milk.

The Mint had there own booth and was hosting a giveaway of a prize pack which includes a Sasquatch coin. You are suppose to find the answers to a quiz which are located on Sasquatch coin signs around the kid zone. But in reality, you only need to fill out the form since they don't check the answers to the quiz.

All the food vendors were located in another area and there the Vancouver Aquarium was giving away coupons and also tickets to the aquarium but only if you manage to spin onto the WIN slot on the wheel. Two players from the BC Lions were at the next booth signing autographs.

After I walked around the entire site, the bus lines heading out of the park was long too so I walked back downtown. I passed by the Rose Garden and snapped a few photos. So pretty and they smelled nice too.

Now I'm pooped! I did so much walking my feet hurt. I had fun though and enjoyed the awesome weather.

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Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:00:00 -0700 Weekend Events http://dpotato.posterous.com/weekend-events-40750 http://dpotato.posterous.com/weekend-events-40750

Summer Live in Stanley Park

Summerlive-poster
Date
Friday July 8 - Sunday July 10, 2011

Time
12:00pm - 11:00pm

Location

Brockton Point in Stanley Park

A free three day festival to celebrate Vancouver's 125th anniversary starts today. There will be over 180 performances featuring Mother Mother, Daniel Wesley, The New Pornographers, Neko Case, Dan Mangan, Dr. L. Subramaniam, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bramwell Tovey and Spirit of the Wes. All sorts of activities including Kite-making, boat-building, and juggling workshops, canoe races, giant board games and family sports. For those taking the transit, a free shuttle bus from Waterfront Station runs from 11am to 11pm each day, and a free, secure bicycle compound will be available for cyclists.

I might go check it out on Saturday. It sounds like quite a fun summer event!

 

Fish for the Future

Fishforfuture
Date
Saturday July 9th, 2011

Time
10:00am - 2:00pm

Location
No. 2 Road Pier, London's Landing, Steveston

Fish for Future promotes sportfishing and other outdoor activities to youth and families in BC. Participants will get to learn tasks such as fishing for local fish species, flycasting, fly tying, fish identification and much more. If you are under 16, then all the fishing activities are free. There will also be prize giveaways for kids. Free juvenile saltwater fishing licences will be available for participants under the age of 16. If you are older you will need to purchase a Tidal license which can be obtained at Nikka Fishing & Marine, 3551 Moncton Street Richmond or online: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/licence-permis/index-eng.htm

You can RVSP on Facebook but it is not necessary to participate in the event.

 

Mascot Racing

20110710-mascotracing-8
Date
Sunday July 10th, 2011

Time
12:30pm - ???

Location
Hastings Racecourse, Vancouver

The 3rd annual Mascot Race is being held again at Hastings Racecourse. It is a fundraising event benefiting the Variety the Children's Charity and family friendly. Company mascots gather to race including including BeBop from the Vancouver Aquarium and Philbert from Purdy's Chocolate. Cobs Bread’s mascot, Breadhead is the defending champion who won two years in a row! Will he be able to win it three years straight?

Here was video of last year's race. Poor Philbert tripped and fell when he mistimed a jump. I'll be rooting for him on Sunday! See you there!

 

Movies
There are always movies to watch. Out today is Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper. Both are comedies. And while I haven't seen Zookeeper but I'm pretty sure Horrible Bosses > Zookeeper.

 

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Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:48:00 -0700 Canada Day 2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/canada-day-2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/canada-day-2011

It is hard to believe but this is the first time that I've been downtown Canada Place during Canada Day and the first time I've stayed to watch the fireworks! It was very crowded and there were a lot of people dressed up in red and white and had their faces painted with maple leafs. Bands were playing music on the main stage and there were a lot of food stalls around. We spent the day walking around looking at the various booths then headed to toward the city centre in preparation for the parade. Apparently it was also Cannibis Day at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the weed smoke was stinking up the area. People seemed to be selling weed right in the open with the police just a few feet away! The nerve!    The parade was enjoyable. It was about an hour long and had many of different groups participate: multicultural groups, theatre, dancers, singers, cheerleaders, bands. There was even a Star Wars group of Stormtroopers! Translink had a bus in the parade but it said "Not in Service"! I laughed. They should have displayed a "Happy Canada Day!" instead of that. After the parade it was very hard to find a washroom that did not have a humongous line because everyone then headed over to the waterfront to wait for the fireworks! Thankfully, we had tickets to the View for a Change viewing area courtesy of a Canada Place contest so we weren't packed like sardines like at the new Convention Centre.  

We found a place against the rail next to a woman who's daughter's boyfriend was in charge of the fireworks! She let us know that they have been preparing since Tuesday for the show and all sorts of other interesting tidbits about his company. The fireworks were spectacular as expected. The colours were beautiful and the height of the explosions were amazing! It was definitely worth going down for and I plant to go again next year! Happy 144th birthday Canada!

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Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:08:00 -0700 Canada Day Events in Vancouver http://dpotato.posterous.com/59179142 http://dpotato.posterous.com/59179142

Canada turns 144 years old tomorrow so it's time to dress up in your patriotic red and white colours and celebrate! There is no shortage of celebratory events happening around the Lower Mainland - it's hard to choose which ones to attend!

Here's some of the events happening around Vancouver:

  1. Canada Day at Canada Place

    Canada_place
    It's the largest Canada Day celebration in Western Canada and includes all sorts of free concerts, kid-friendly activities, a parade and fireworks. There is even a mobile app for people with smart phones to plan their experience and keep up to date with the schedule of events. The celebration starts at 10am and goes on until 6pm. After the festivities are over, the 3rd Annual Canada Day Parade will begin at 7pm starting at Georgia & Broughton Street. The Burrard Inlet Fireworks Show will follow at 10:30pm.

  2. Canada Day at Granville Island
    Starting at 8am and going on 'til midnight, there will be lots of food, free jazz performances, kid-friendly activities, and a parade. The 12th Annual Canada Day Parade is begins at  1:30pm starting at Ocean Construction and ending at Ron Basford Park.

  3. Canada Day at the Olympic Village
    Celebrate Sustainability on Canada Day with WE CANADA in a multi-city event. There will be food, music, dance, documentary films and sustainability workshops and much more.

  4. Stevenston Salmon Festival
    Starts at 6:30am with pancake breakfast, 10am Canada Day parade, then the famous salmon barbecue starts at 11am. 1200 lbs of wild salmon are going to be grilled over over fire pits in Stenston village in Richmond

  5. North Vancouver Canada Day Celebrations at Waterfront Park
    Lots of performances and kid-friendly activities

  6. North Shore Canada Day Parade
    Pancake breakfast starting at 8am-9:30am and a parade at 10am.

  7. Free Pancake Breakfast at Park Royal
    10am-11am free pancakes, music and balloon artists for the kids.

  8. Lonsdale Quay Market
    Music, face painting, balloons for kids.

 

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Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:08:19 -0700 The Day I Almost Bought An Apartment http://dpotato.posterous.com/the-day-i-almost-bought-a-house http://dpotato.posterous.com/the-day-i-almost-bought-a-house

I keep forgetting to post this. Last Sunday, I went with my family to check out the new lowrise housing community down by the Fraser river on Kerr Street. New Water it is called. A lot of people were there and there was food, drinks, popcorn and even a scavenger hunt of the kids. Unfortunately it was RAINING! Virgin Radio was also on location and the flight crew was cooking hot dogs. I met Tara Jean finally! Hehehe she recognized me from the Facebook photo I had tagged Kiah in.

So New Water had me in the mood for looking at housing. We went to MacPherson Walk next and took a look at some suites. They were almost sold out of Phase 3 and where offering discounts on the remaining suites. It looked so nice and the sales person was so convincing I got sucked in to purchasing one of the last ground suites which has a small yard instead of a balcony. I was ready to sign some papers but we took another walk around to survey the area and it looked too close to the skytrain for our taste so I backed out of the offer. I still have second thoughts though...it looked so nice and owning my own home would be awesome. Someday...

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Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:44:21 -0700 Green Lantern - Join the Corps Vancouver http://dpotato.posterous.com/green-lantern-join-the-corps-vancouver http://dpotato.posterous.com/green-lantern-join-the-corps-vancouver

A large Green Lantern symbol lit up the Sears Building on Granville and Robson after 9:30pm last night, calling to all with the desire to Join the Corps.

Right after the Canucks game I headed to the "secret" location to see what was up. It was only 8pm but there was a lot going on already. The Green Lantern street team were set up and parading up and down Granville street with their big Green Lantern posters taking photos with hopeful Canuck fans and handing out swag. A shaved ice machine was set up and there was a long line up to get the lime flavoured treat with a green glowing stir stick in it!

A huge crowd started to build as it got closer to 9pm. The street team did a great job of handling the crowd given how big it was. Rings, t-shirts, coasters, foldable water bottles, drawstring bags, temporary tattoos, glowsticks and Green Lantern toys were all given out. 17 lucky people also received a advanced screening pass to go see the movie tomorrow!

I usually don't see such events happening for movies held in Vancouver; they are usually reserved for bigger cities like Toronto, but Green Lantern is filmed in Vancouver and the star Ryan Reynolds was also born here! I hope last night's success will mean more events like these will be held in Vancouver!

Green Lantern is coming to theatres this Friday! I can't wait to watch it!

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Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:02:00 -0700 EAT Vancouver 2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/eat-vancouver-2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/eat-vancouver-2011

Please update your bookmarks to http://www.mashedthoughts.com

 

 

On Sunday I went to EAT! Vancouver for the first time. EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival is an annual food convention where celebrity chefs, popular local restaurants, food and beverage manufacturers, wineries, retailers and many others from the culinary world gather for three days of food heaven! I went with an empty stomach and left at the end of the day stuffed full of delicious food and bag laden with samples. There were many displays and vendors giving away samples - Yoghurt, beef jerky, Clamato, McDonald's iced coffee, candied salmon, humus just to name a few.

Rob Feenie of Cactus Club Cafe was also there presenting on the main stage. I stayed to watch him for a little while but my hunger got the better of me and we purchased some tickets to trade in for food. There was so much to see and taste! EBO Restaurant and Milestones were there. I thought EBO's presentation of their food was the nicest! There was also a junior chef competition. USA won gold, Canada took silver and Chile placed third.

Just looking back at the pictures makes my mouth water! I can't wait go again next year!

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Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:02:00 -0700 Dragon Boat Festival 2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/dragon-boat-festival-2011 http://dpotato.posterous.com/dragon-boat-festival-2011

After the Green Lantern event at Metro I headed down to the annual Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival at False Creek. The weather was beautiful and water's edge was packed with people watching the races. The vendors are located at the Olympic Village this year due to construction on the other side of Science World. The races are exciting to watch but since I don't know anyone participating in them watching one was enough for me. Hahah. I was more interested in the cute dogs there as you can see by my photos.

The Dragon Boat Festival is still on tomorrow. Make sure you line up to get your picture taken on a boat; you can get a small Rio Tinto Alcan foldable water bottle afterwards. Sad to say that there is no cooking show or tin foil giveaways this year.

Phew what a long day! And tomorrow I'll be going to EAT Vancouver! There's always lots to do in Vancouver!

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Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:41:00 -0700 Green Lantern Events in Vancouver http://dpotato.posterous.com/green-lantern-events-in-vancouver http://dpotato.posterous.com/green-lantern-events-in-vancouver

I popped in to take a look at the Join the Corps event at Metropolis Comics & Toys today. The store was hosting a Green Lantern party and had lots of contests going on. I didn't stay for the entire duration of the event but I met some enthusiastic Green Lantern fans and also met the people behind @WB_Vancouver on Twitter. Very cool! The Warner Brother reps will be Play On ( the Street Hockey event happening at Metrotown Kingsway parking lot) again tomorrow at 2:30pm. If you find them you can get some cool Green Lantern swag like rings, t-shirts and bags. 

Also on Monday, Vancouverites will have a chance to Join the Corps! There will be a "Green Lantern" symbol projected somewhere in the downtown core at 9pm. The specific location is unknown but each day, Warner Brothers is releasing a clue to lead you to that secret location! The first 17 people to find the location will receive advance screening passes to see the movie on Wednesday! Other prizes will be available as well. But if you are a Canucks fan and there is a Game 7 which one would you go to? Hmm Tough call. Remember that Monday night is also game day so there'll be a lot of people downtown! So make sure you are on your feet!

Here are the clues:

Pre clue #1: During the Olympics the streets near this building were closed for the celebrations of superheroes clad in red and white.

Pre clue #2: Everyday it overlooks the most artistic building in Vancouver.

CLUE #3:  One of its neighbors is a vault for priceless works of art.

CLUE #4:  If shopping is your superpower, you can utilize it at this building.

CLUE #5:  Masked with secrecy this building has no windows.

CLUE #6:  One of its neighbors has never lost to its archenemy: high clothing prices.

CLUE #7:  If villains needed money to fund their evil plans they would target its neighbour recognized by its green logo.

CLUE #8:  The son of Rob meets his Gran at this ville.


Green Lantern is in theatres next week, Friday, June 17th, 2011.

 

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Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:36:00 -0700 Fin's Birthday Wish Comes True - Canucks win Game 2! http://dpotato.posterous.com/fins-birthday-wish-comes-true-canucks-win-gam http://dpotato.posterous.com/fins-birthday-wish-comes-true-canucks-win-gam

We were at the Party on the Plaza at Rogers Arena before the game started and boy was it packed! Today was also the Vancouver Canucks mascot, Fin's tenth birthday! Look how long his playoff beard is getting! Hahaha! There was cake and a lot of celebrating. I even got a photo with him! His birthday wishes include: 1. A big win tonight 2. A big win on Monday night 3. A big win on Wednesday night. Looks like one of those has already come true! Again downtown Vancouver exploded into celebration when Burrows (<3) scored that OT goal, 11 seconds in.  People on Granville Street were packed like sardines and still more people from other live sites were pouring in. The atmosphere was so energetic, everyone was smiling and cheering, complete strangers were giving each other high-fives. This is way bigger than Olympic Gold. There absolutely is no comparison. We've waited 17 years for this and tonight we are 2 games closer to the Cup. Go Canucks!

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Sat, 07 May 2011 23:31:00 -0700 Coca-Cola's 125th Birthday Celebration http://dpotato.posterous.com/coca-colas-125th-birthday-celebration http://dpotato.posterous.com/coca-colas-125th-birthday-celebration

The Happiness Truck was driving all around the Vancouver downtown area today and stopping periodically to give a little happiness to those who pressed the button (And who doesn't want to push a button that is labeled 'Push'?). These Kids Wear Crowns were also playing live in Robson Square and Coca-Cola gave out free bottles of coke to those who attended. It was a simultaneous party with Montreal and Toronto. Despite the rain and hail, there was a pretty good turnout. Wish I could have stayed longer but I found out that I had won a contest for Canucks tickets that very night and I had to pick them up at Cactus Club! Open happiness!

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Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:00:00 -0700 Cavalia http://dpotato.posterous.com/cavalia http://dpotato.posterous.com/cavalia

I took the family out to see Cavalia yesterday and I really enjoyed it!. Currently located at the Olympic Village, Cavalia is an extravagant show that explores the relationship between humans and horses. It features acrobats, dancers, riders, 49 horses as well as musicians and a vocalist. It is hard to pick a favourite moment in the show but if I had to choose, the segment that I loved the most is where two girls fly over riders on two beautiful white horses. The flying acrobat is suppose to embody the spirit of the horse and they did it very successfully; they are so graceful. I also enjoyed the roman riding and fast paced segment where the riders do tricks while riding galloping horses. Awesome.

Cavalia has extended their stay in Vancouver to May 1st so there's still time to go! It doesn't matter if you are a horse lover or not, you will really enjoy it and be amazed at how connected these beautiful animals are with their trainers.

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Thu, 14 Apr 2011 01:22:00 -0700 Video Games Live takes the Cake! http://dpotato.posterous.com/49517588 http://dpotato.posterous.com/49517588

I had the amazing opportunity to go see Video Games Live at the Vancouver Centre of Performing Arts tonight courtesy of Futureshop. VGL is an awesome concert performed by a live orchestra and choir and featuring music from popular video games. Every night is different as they have many songs to chose from a vast collection of games. Tonight they started off with mashup of old classic games including Pong, Space Invaders, Frogger, Duck Hunt, Street Fighter II and Tetris then moved to more modern games including songs from Final Fantasy, Halo: Reach, Castlevania, Silent Hill 2, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, God of War, World of Warcraft, Uncharted 2, Chronos Trigger and a bunch of others.

Performances featured Tommy Tallarico, the creator of VGL, who was playing guitar, flutist and vocalist Laura Intravia and piano soloist Martin Leung. Intravia's first appearance on stage involved opera version of Tetris! Who ever thought Tetris could sound so opera-like! "Flute Link" also made an appearance with Intravia playing a solo from Legend of Zelda dressed as Link with Ciela on her shoulder that she arranged herself! It was very amusing to watch as Ciela had her own "flute" and kept interrupting Intravia and the whole piece was basically a flute playing war between them. Martin Leung played the theme from Super Mario Brothers and blindfolded at that! His fingers just fly across the keys; it is very mesmerizing to watch. I am really amazed at all the talented people that performed tonight. In fact both Intravia and Leung were recruited because Tallarico saw them playing on Youtube! I guess it is a breeding ground for stars! It's also the conductor, Emmanuel Fratianni's first time in Canada. If you look at the photos I took you will see that his conductor stand is actually a joystick!

Throughout the performance they also gave away prizes. There was also a contest which involved two audience members playing Frogger while the orchestra played the sound reacting to what was happening on screen. A Guitar Hero contest was also held prior to the concert and the top scorer was invited on stage to play "Emotion" by Aerosmith on Guitar Hero while Tommy Tallarico played real guitar. He only needed to get 125,000 points in Hard to win a prize but he choose to play it on EXPERT and hardly missed any notes! The audience went wild cheering him on. He took home the prize of a Kinect for XBox360 courtesy of Futureshop! Some lucky person walked away with a PS3 AND PSP courtesy of Sony from a random draw! I'm so jealous!

After the show, they held a meet and greet with Tallarico, Intravia, Leung, Fratianni and Chris Mair (?) and I got to meet them and get their autographs. Unfortunately Flute Link accidentally smudged her signature. ='(

Anyways I had an awesome time and will definitely go again next year! My favourite part must have been when they sang "Still Alive" (from Portal). (Oh my gosh! I found it on iTunes!) The lyrics are so funny and the images that accompanied the song in the background were hilarious! I wish I had taken a clip it. Here's one I found on youtube:

Video Games Live is only in Vancouver for one more night, April 14th, so get your tickets now! And in honour of the Canucks win tonight they released the discount code: CANUCKS for 50% off any balcony seat ticket! Don't miss this opportunity to see them! Any one who enjoys music should go see Video Games Live, gamers and non-gamers alike!

 

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Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:44:00 -0700 UBC LipDub Live! http://dpotato.posterous.com/ubc-lipdub-live http://dpotato.posterous.com/ubc-lipdub-live

The official UBC LipDub is now live on Youtube! Watch and share! Pacific Blue Cross is donating a penny for every view to Make a Wish Foundation!

I had a lot of fun participating in this but my screen time is limited to 2 seconds. Hahaha. You can see me starting at frame 2:14.

Lipdub

There is also an official launch party tonight at Robson Square starting at 8pm which will include live bands from 30:Live Entertainment Group. Marianas Trench is rumoured to be at the party as well. Come out and join us! Winning! LOL

 

 

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Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:12:00 -0700 2011 Vancouver International Autoshow http://dpotato.posterous.com/2011-vancouver-international-autoshow http://dpotato.posterous.com/2011-vancouver-international-autoshow

After afternoon tea, I joined my family at the Vancouver International Autoshow. This year's show was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre since the usual BC place is still under construction. There was a LOT of people there. Good thing I already had tickets because the line up was super long!

Nothing at the show really caught my eye except maybe the Canucks Camero and Whitecaps car! And maybe also Subaru's sexy Sumo wrestler who was taking photos with people! Hehee! The Ford Fiesta was there again and some of them had awesome looking decals put on. I love the shininess of new cars. Too bad once in the real world, there isn't anybody that will give it a wipe down every half hour. Hahah it's a small world because we bumped into the same girl that works at these types of events AGAIN and we also saw our aunt and uncle who was also there!

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Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:21:00 -0700 Nintendo 3DS Midnight Launch http://dpotato.posterous.com/nintendo-3ds-midnight-launch http://dpotato.posterous.com/nintendo-3ds-midnight-launch

After UBC LipDub was complete and I'd eaten my fill of pizza, I headed downtown to check out the Futureshop Nintendo 3DS launch. It was midnight launch but I didn't plan to stick around for that long. I tried the device and was pretty impressed with the 3D effect! Playing for long periods of time may make you dizzy though but thankfully Nintendo put in a slider that lets you turn off the 3D effect.

The 3DS retails at $249.99 and comes in two colours - Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black. Personally I love the Aqua Blue colour. It has 3D camera and a built in motion and gyro sensor so the device can detect motion and tilt. Be careful when around other people, you don't want to whack them in the head by accident when you are playing! 

The funny thing is that I ran into some friends also trying out the system! We always seem to run into each other at these types of events. Hahaha.

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Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:20:37 -0700 UBC Lipdub Filming http://dpotato.posterous.com/ubc-lipdub-filming http://dpotato.posterous.com/ubc-lipdub-filming

LipDuuuuub? Lip Dub Who Ha Ha! That was the chant echoing on the campus of UBC on Saturday where the first ever UBC lipdub was being filmed. I was one of the thousand of people who signed up to participate. The songs that we were dubbing to was a mashup of Raise Your Glass by P!nk and Celebrity Status by Marianas Trench.

Sign in started at noon and while we waited for more people to join, we had to learn a dance for the flash mob portion of the dub. The LipDub crew managed to secure a helicopter to film the mob from above! We were given blue ponchos and filmed at the back of the Anthropology Museum. Unfortunately the ponchos made everyone very hot (and not in a good way) because we kept having to run in and jump again and again for several takes!

After the flash mob portion was done, my group went to the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre to set up. The part we were responsible for was to throw all sorts of junk down from the upper floors of the library while singing of course. You don't know how hard that is! There was a lot of confusion on when we where suppose to chuck our balloons, tissue paper, beach balls and army men. I hope they don't use the last take because that one was the most disorganized.

There were horses, dogs, bouncy houses, a trampoline, cars, a Transit bus and Josh Ramsay from Marianas Trench involved in the lipdub shoot! I even got a photo of Josh as he passed through Irving Library. It wasn't a very good one since I was on the 3rd floor looking down. I didn't see everything because we weren't allowed to leave our zone and a lot of the day was just waiting around but that's the film industry for you I guess. So a lot of what the video will look like is a mystery to me.

After that was finished, we headed toward the UBC Swimming Centre for the last shoot of the day. It was a underwater shoot which had scuba divers, divers and other random people in the pool. I don't get what the sign they hung up is suppose to mean though. Does anybody recognize it?

Shooting wrapped up at 7pm. Finally after a LONG day, the LipDub crew treated us all to much needed pizza and drinks. I had a lot of fun and I can't wait to see the finished product. The official premiere will be on April 8th!

Check out the UBC LipDub website here.

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