Vancouver Birthday Extravaganza, Day 1

Perhaps not an extravaganza, but certainly a nice visit to the Soggy City by the Sea.

My flight got in early which is a good thing since I was shared the row with two other guys my size. Between that and the backpack, I was pretty stiff and sore when I arrived at my hotel.

About my hotel, all of my hopes (nice venue, decent bed, good service and location, downhill walk to everything) and fears (furniture built for skinny-ass midgets, uphill walk from everything) were realised. If I could get the same Travelzoo promotion, I'd stay here again.

I went for a walk down to Broadway and discovered that the weather was beautiful.


However, it was short-lived, the sun went down early, just like in the rest of Canada.

Later I went to meet garething' Steph and Eileen at the Clubhouse. There was sushi and baked avocado, which I was deprived of my last visit to Vancouver, so this was supremely satisfying. Afterward, we went to Mario's Gelato.

A good start.

Hugo Meets Scorsese

Hugo, the new film by Martin Scorsese is a wonder. It's one of those rare gems that's a well made family movie that doesn't talk down to kids. What else is it? A 3D movie that uses the 3D so seamlessly that you forget you're watching a 3D movie. There's certainly no Dr. Tongue's Evil House of Pancakes moments in it. Also a 3D movie that seamlessly incorporates surround sound. You are immersed in this movie, but you don't drown in it.



he story revolves around Hugo, the orphan boy who lives hidden in the Paris central train station and maintains the clocks there. The only thing he has left of his father is a broken clockwork robot he tries to fix. But the automaton is missing a key component.

The movie goes on from there, introducing characters and sub-plots and making us care about everyone we encounter, even the villains.

And somewhere along the way, you're not just watching Hugo's story, your also getting a glimpse of the intense love of the movies that the creators, and especially Scorsese, have. Hugo is really an ode to movie-making as art, companion, lover. Losing that love can be as heartbreaking as losing a person's love, and where Hugo really excels is in fixing things that are broken. A movie that ends with the message that anything can be fixed is especially worthwhile to me, as someone who is, on many levels, broken. As long as movies have happy endings, they will remain my constant companion. I am happy to have Hugo along for that journey.

Vancouver Birthday Extravaganza, Day 2 & 3

Sunday began with breakfast at a joint off Main street called The Whip. It was decent fare improved by adorable servers. I then went to New Westminster and spent the afternoon with garething and Steph. There was a nice walk to the mall and time spent hanging around at their apartment. I got a ride to the train station and headed back downtown. I didn't get up to too much trouble after that, but I did manage to spend the evening (and a gift certificate) with somejauntypolka. The restaurant we chose was the Glowbal Grill in Yaletown, and we each had the prime rib special.

Sunday was the only day that I failed to have sushi.

Monday was spent exploring downtown Vancouver, or at least the Davies-Denman-Robson-Granville loop. I had an opportunity to get a massage for fairly cheap, but sadly didn't do so.

When I got back to my room I discovered that my key had been disabled. The Burrard staff were quick to fix it, pointing out that the problem was my Travelzoo promotion was for two day, and I was here for four days. This, I suggested, meant that since I had the deal twice, and not merely one deal stretched out, so therefore I should get another gift certificate. The guy at the front desk readily agreed and gave me another one. Score!

The evening was spent with bognaustroglum, Gareth and Steph out in New West. Steph made me carrot cake and I discovered that Eileen is a chatterbox that won't let anyone else have a word in edgewise. There was gamer talk, and it was good.