According to t.v. lore, Joanie Loves Chachi scored the highest ratings ever for an American show when it first premiered in Korea. The reason? It turns out, “chachi” is a Korean euphemism for the male appendage. Now I don’t know about you, but if I heard ABC was about to premiere a show called Joanie…

As we awaited the arrival of the first dish, the conversation turned to what our friend Jackie termed “icons” - personal heroes, those outstanding individuals worthy of emulation. She brought up Mozart and Lincoln as examples - Mozart for his brilliance; Lincoln for his unwavering character. My wife suggested Oprah, someone who persevered and succeeded…

Happy Chinese New Year! Fondy and I will be celebrating with our friend Jackie by going to our favorite Chinese restaurant - Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant. Unless, of course, they’ve already canceled our reservation. It’s very possible given that, a couple of hours ago, a woman phoned and immediately started talking to me in rapidfire…

I am a creature of habit. Every second day I wake up at exactly 6:30 a.m. and run the treadmill for thirty minutes. Every night, I read for an hour before going to sleep. I drive the same route to work each morning, always check my email the second I get home, and when I…

I almost run into him as I turn the corner and, as I’m about to initiate small talk, my mind draws a complete blank. What’s his name again? I scramble to come up with an appropriate cover, but he beats me to it with: “Hey, buddy.” Hey, buddy? Buddy? That’s just one step above Seinfeld’s…

Well, Happy Valentines Day. And, coincidentally, Happy Ferris Wheel Day. While I won’t be riding any Ferris wheels today (or any other day for that matter), I will be celebrating Valentines with dinner at one of Vancouver’s finest French restaurants: Le Crocodile. Fondy loves their skate wing with beurre noisette but, since the special Valentines…

The term “comfort food” evokes memories of the meals my parents used to prepare for my sister and I when we were growing up. Dishes like eggplant parmesan, fetinni (pan-fried paper-thin pieces of chicken breast coated with breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley), and pasta orechietti come to mind. Meatloaf, fish ‘n chips, and chicken pot pie…

Among the titles I added to my ever-expanding library of books-I-may-never-get-around-to-reading this past weekend was The Terror, a supernatural re-imagining of the ill-fated 1840’s Franklin expedition. I enjoyed Dan Simmons’ first foray into horror, The Song of Kali, and so decided to check this one out. Interestingly enough, while I found Kali to be a…

My pug Bubba has impeccable timing. Every morning, at exactly 6:30 a.m., he wakes me up, barking to get at my attention or, failing that, jumping up on his hind legs to bat at my face. He’s like a furry little alarm clock with no snooze button. I try to ignore him but his persistence…

Our household watches a lot of Food Network, partly because we like the programming and partly because it’s the channel we always leave on for the dogs when we go out (Bubba in particular seems to enjoy that Alton Brown). One of the shows we catch on occasion is Restaurant Makeover. The basic premise finds…

Well, I was intending to do a review of Toyotomi Japanese Restaurant (4121 E Hastings Street) since it’s where the writing department ordered lunch from today. I really would have liked to weigh in on the spicy tuna sashimi and spinach gomae I ordered but, alas, it never arrived. Everyone else’s lunch orders made it,…

I’d like to kick things off with a book recommendation. Now, to be perfectly honest, I don’t read much fantasy. I don’t have the time given the number of scifi classics I still need to get through. But recently, after finishing my twentieth scifi novel in a row, I opted for a change of pace…

A guy at work claims to have lost fifteen pounds on the “chocolate diet“. And I believe him. I believe him because, in the 3+ months I’ve trimmed down, I’ve done so while eating at least a square of chocolate a day. Now before you all head off to enjoy your prime rib with a…

I once worked as a “Manager of Animation Development” for a then fairly successful producer of children’s television programs. My duties included developing series concepts, scriptwriting, story-editing, creating pitch packages, and, best of all, enjoying the occasional dinner with prospective clients. I remember traveling to New York once where I was treated to a grand…

Remember the good old days of television? When all it took to knock someone unconscious was to clock them in the back of the head with the butt of your gun? They’d conveniently wake up, hours later, nursing a slight headache but none the worse for wear. Shootings were relatively clean and dignified affairs, not…