The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

I've been watching a lot of movies lately.
This is the list of the movies I've been watching this week:
Bourne Identity, The Day After Tomorrow, Santa Clause, Paris (English subs), Dragon Ball Evolution, Laputa (English dubs), Julie and Julia, Gazon Maudit (English subs), Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Legally Blonde, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Hard to find a trend here? ^^;

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was a great film, actually.
With a fantastic line-up of incredible actors and actresses, it almost got me into a false assumption that the film is "just" about the "glamorous" casts, and nothing more.
However, I was proved wrong.
I thought the casting and actors were not only brilliant but appropriate.
Although Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell voluntarily showed up in the film to make up for the untimely and unfortunate death of Heath Ledger, it didn't really disrupt the consistency of the film.
The dream worlds that appear ever so often were unique and inspiring too.
I think the design of the balloon that appears in the dream world of the little boy was quite delicious =P
If you are a Vancouverite, you're in for a pleasant surprise at the end.

DAIZO

Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are enjoying your holidays and getting ready for New Years!
I'm kind of glad it's not a white Christmas this year.
Not being unromantic or anything.
I hope you know what I mean.

Anyhow, my Christmas this year wasn't really the best.
Despite the fact that my place is in downtown, the streets weren't filled with the jolly feeling of Christmas, nor were the apartments or houses.
No snow (snow is okay as long as it's not the day I'm working^^). Cold. Cloudy. Rainy. Windy.
Work.
Yes, I worked on Christmas Day.... well, I'm getting paid a fair amount so I guess it's alright.

Well to get back on topic again, on Christmas Eve, I spent the night watching my favorite Christmas movie, "Santa Clause," and heading down to Stanley Park to attend "12th Annual Bright Nights in Stanley Park".
The event is pretty much a park full of Christmas lights. It was great to see all the illumination as it finally got me into the Christmas spirit (so they say).
I was actually quite surprised with the traffic.. I guess the fact it was Christmas Eve wasn't helping much. Anyways it was definitely worth the visit.
Admission is by donation only and the parking lot is free so it's good to visit after dinner in downtown.

Happy Holidays!













http://vancouver.ca/parks/events/brightnights/index.htm

DAIZO

"Outbreak"

Hihi ppl! Gigi's here!
Last night I went to a Rock concert "Outbreak" hosted by "EVE". First, I wanna congratulate "EVE" on their successful sold out show. Good jobs guys! 4 bands were playing last night, including our beloved "x:Enders". I was excited to hear what "Re-Frain." would sounds like, and they r GOOD! I'll be looking forward to have u guys in our show someday.^^

How to N.O.T miss performing at a gig on a snowing day by LOCUS

On a snowing day, I would very much like to be a couch potato being roasted by the fireplace with the television on and watching Home Alone 2 and pretend I'm still 10 years old.

But no, not this past Monday night Dec the 14th. Jason, Kelvin and I had a very adventurious day and it felt like we traveled across the Atlantic ocean and back. To make it easier, I have sorted out our very eventful day in a timeline. Our goal was to make it alive and well with all our equipments to the Solace Music Nation show at The Tipper on 2066 Kingsway on the first snowing day this year. To make matters more adventurious, the whole thing started the night before.

Sunday Dec 13th

7:00pm

- It suddenly dawned on us that it will snow on our show night!!!!!!!!We had to figure out how to get to the venue with A.L.L our equipments but without driving in the snow. ( ......we are city people, we don't do snow tires.......)

11:00pm

- Jason and I decided to pack everything ( a car full of guitar, keyboard, stands and . . stuff) and move them to the venue at 8am in the morning, before the snow starts at 4pm in the afternoon.

Monday Dec 14th

6:00am

- Jason got up and packed and double checked we have everything.

- I just got up, and looking very miserable, and raced down hwy 1 to get to Jason's place at 7am

7am

-loaded everything to the car

8am

- unloaded everything at the venue

9am -3pm

- while Jason and Kelvin were working very hard at their job, I hibernated on the couch next to the fireplace

5:00pm

-met Jason and Kelvin in dt by public transit, and began our journey from dt to the venue at the corner of Victoria and Kingsway : The Review Room @ The Tipper 2066 Kingsway, Van.

5:01pm

- it suddenly dawned on us that this is the first time we ever took public transit to perform at a show.......

5:25pm

- arrived at Nanimo skytrain station and pray to God our #25 bus arrives on time because we were in the danger of becoming 3 ice statues as warning to other musicians to not to take public transit on a freezing snowing day. ( We were in our nice performance clothes. . . they tend to be. . thin . . .)

5:30pm

- arrived at the venue safe and sound, just. . couldn't feel all 10 toes, otherwise we were very much alive.

All in all, we had alot of fun performing at The Tipper and got to meet some great musicians like Gina Lily and Owen Lloyd Williams. And I got to try their very delicious Apple pie :) It's definitely all worth it at the end :)

And!!!!! THANK YOU JEREMY FOR PICKING US UP AND SAVING OUR LIVES!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU XOXOXOXOXO!!!!!!!

with love,

Kaila

A trip to EMP

Yes, you've read correctly.

"A trip to EMP".

I was quite surprised myself when I first saw the big banner in the Seattle Center with the letters "EMP". But no, this is not the Epic Marble Project that's been sneaking around in the Vancouver music scene hosting band shows, it's the Experience Music Project! The Experience Music Project is a museum in Seattle dedicated to music. With exhibitions of rare artifacts from legendary rock bands, such as Nirvana or Jimi Hendrix (no surprise, really), booths that allow you to play with different instruments, and an educational component that teaches you the essence of most music genres, EMP is a great location for you to expand your music knowledge.

It seems like you can watch live shows here as well, and collect goods that are only available at EMP, but I guess I will save that for my next trip, as I was only able to look around the museum for a short hour. I really enjoyed the section where you are able to learn how to play the drums, as I cannot play the drums at all. The effector section where you can play around with the effect pedals were nice as well, except I felt that it could be expanded much more as it was limited to 4 effects. Personally, I felt that we should be able to use effectors of various brands, as it would save our time in going to the music shop and testing out various effects ourselves.

If you really enjoy music and feel like you want to learn more about its history, or if you simply want to learn how to jam, EMP is a great location to get you started!

This really falls off topic, but there is something I must mention!
After a walk around the Pike Place Market, picked up a few books from Kinokuniya Bookstore that's located inside the Uwajimaya (a giant Japanese superstore), and strolled around Starbucks, I came across a great Mexican restaurant that I really really really need to write about. It was on the way home from Seattle, and I was really hungry so I decided to pick up something to eat. I didn't have a mood for any particular type of food at that time... I just wanted to stuff myself with anything that I could find so I walked into this random Mexican restaurant by the name Gorditos.

I got myself a wet steak burrito, thinking it would be one of those small burritos you get at those fast food restaurants. But hola! When the food was delivered to our table, I actually thought the waiter mistook the order with lasagna or something.....














It was HUGE!
The burrito was literally stuffed with chopped up beef steak, Mexican rice, beans, and tomatoes. As you can see, it's also topped with cheese and sour cream as well, which really blended in well with the other ingredients in the burrito.
The meal also came with nachos and salsa. I have to admit this is one of the best burritos I've had in my life! XD
Check it out at: http://gorditoshealthymexicanfood.com/


DAIZO

Music Otaku orz...

Hi everyone,

This is Jeremy writing here :)

Reading the previous entry, I feel very honored to have Daizo's recognition. I must point out, however, it is not too hard to follow instructions and do what you're told to do :P Actually, it is extremely difficult to be a leader and get the wheels turning. For that, I honestly believe that Daizo is our true benefactor, and I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work with him.

I must apologize for my recent absence. University has finally taken its toll on me, and I have just learned how "a mountain pile of homework" is not a metaphor, but a physical fact lol. A lot of people have asked me, "so you don't have time for music anymore?", I have to say that's not exactly true. Since I am studying music at school, it is actually quite the opposite. I have a "mountain worth" of music studying and practices to do!

Anyways, it's good to see this blog as a new expansion to our network. I hope to write some more interesting entries in the future. There's just...not much life to a nerd hahaha :P Well~not unless you want to hear about my recent exciting discoveries in music theory!

JEREMY