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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — This post is sponsored by Samsung Canada Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
The wait is over! Samsung Canada has launched the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge which is now available in black sapphire, white pearl, and gold platinum* styles. If you got in the #S6Lineup or pre-ordered your device through your carrier you will soon have the sleek and powerful Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge in the palm of your hand.
I’ve been playing with the Galaxy S6 over the last week, mostly for taking photos and using apps which is the main extent of my smartphone usage. The biggest feature I noticed was the screen (5.1″ Quad HD Super AMOLED® display) and its intensity. Colours popped and were much more bold than on other devices. The auto HDR was also helpful for capturing vivid scenes:
No filters. Left: Looking up 25 storeys at Central City in Surrey. Right: Looking up at Shangri-La in Vancouver.
Left: No filter. Flowers outside Weeks House in Downtown Vancouver’s West End. No filters used on each. Right: Using the built-in photo editor on the Galaxy S6 to add a light flare.
I used Quick Launch exclusively, calling up the camera without unlocking the phone and ready to shoot in under 0.7 seconds. The all-new, front-facing 5MP camera also comes with the world’s first, real-time, shadow-reduced (HDR) selective focus, so even in low light you can take clearer, brighter pictures.
The power was great too. I started writing when the battery was at 42% and in 9 minutes it has charged up to 50% (even while I was editing and pulling photos off to include in this post). I have also been using Smart Manager to check in on the battery status, storage, RAM, and security at a glance.
Win a Samsung Galaxy S6
If you would like to own your very own Galaxy S6, I have a device to give away to one lucky reader thanks to Samsung Canada. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a @SamsungCanada #GalaxyS6 from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/LpwbG
Follow Samsung Canada on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one contest winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, April 16, 2015. Colour of the prize device will be based on availability.
*The Gold platinum style will be available April 30, 2015.
Barry Manilow has hit the road one last time for a North American tour and Vancouver is on his list. The pop superstar, who performed more than 400 concerts at the Las Vegas Hilton and Paris Las Vegas from 2005-2011, will play Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena on May 26th as a part of the ONE LAST TIME tour that started out in February.
The GRAMMY®, TONY®, and EMMY® Award-winning musician’s career skyrocketed to superstardom when his mega hit song, “Mandy,” topped the charts in 1975. In the spirit of that special year, tickets will be priced to tie into that year and will start at $19.75. According to concert promoter AEG Live, Manilow insisted that the average ticket price remain low and that a greater range of ticket prices be available.
Tickets and exclusive VIP packages are available and in addition to great seats, VIP packages include limited edition memorabilia, VIP parking, and much more.
Manilow released his latest album, MY DREAM DUETS last October and the album debuted at #4, making it Manilow’s 15th Top 10 album. Modern technology has given him the opportunity to record his “dream” duets with his own musical heroes on his latest album. From cherished idols like Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong to contemporary icons like Whitney Houston and John Denver, they have all joined Barry in his “virtual recording studio.” MY DREAM DUETS is in stores now.
Barry Manilow’s unparalleled career encompasses virtually every area of music, including performing, composing, arranging and producing. A Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Manilow has triumphed in every medium of entertainment. With worldwide record sales exceeding 80 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time with over 50 Top 40 hits.
Win Tickets to Barry Manilow in Vancouver
I have 3 pairs of tickets to give away for Barry Manilow‘s concert in Vancouver, here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment naming your favourite Barry Manilow song (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to @BarryManilow in Vancouver from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/LpFMf
I will draw all 3 winners, who will each receive a pair of tickets to the May 26th show, on Friday, April 17, 2015 at 12:00pm. For more information about Barry Manilow‘s tour and performance in Vancouver follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Update The winners are Sandy, Wally Mag, and Meredith!
We look out across the inlet at glowing sunsets every night and somehow see past the 12-18 ships and tankers that dot the landscape between us and the horizon. Now the unfortunate morning has come that “Oil Spill in English Bay” and #VanFuelSpill are the news topics of the day.
The City of Vancouver has issued an alert as there was a heavy bunker fuel spill in Burrard Inlet this morning. The City warns that the wind may push the fuel to shore and the Coast Guard is currently managing the incident. Bunker fuel is toxic and should not be touched, it is a type of fuel oil.
CBC Vancouver is reporting that a grain ship is the possible source of the fuel leak and that the coast guard’s environmental response team was dispatched to the spill yesterday.
“The spill is surrounding a grain ship — named MARATHASSA — anchored in deep water off Vancouver”, said John Parker-Jervis, a spokesman for Port Metro Vancouver.
“There was a fair amount of product — what appears to be fuel, oil for the ships, around a particular grain carrier,” Parker-Jervis said. As a precaution a boom has been constructed around the ship in an attempt to contain the fuel, though the ship isn’t yet confirmed as the source, he said.
Five vessels currently surround the ship. The ship was in the process of loading grain. There is no evidence of fuel spilled between the grain terminal and where the ship is currently anchored, Parker-Jervis said.
At this time there is no estimate on the amount of fuel that has been spilled.
Thanks for all help offered: but right now don't go to beaches to clean up as there are health risks. Trained staff are onsite #VanFuelSpill
— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) April 9, 2015
If you see fuel on or near a beach, contact the Coast Guard at 1-800-889-8852. At this time, do not go to the beaches to offer to help clean up the spill as it is a health risk. As of 10:12am, the City is reporting that biologists and wildlife experts are currently assisting in assessing impacts of the spill on shoreline and wildlife.
Press Conference
Update at 10:45am with Geoff Meggs with the City of Vancouver: “No matter how much care is taken by industry, accidents can happen […] today our focus is to make sure that this one is as small as possible.”
City Manager Penny Ballem says despite responding with city resources like Vancouver PD, Port of Metro Vancouver, and Vancouver Fire, Ballem says we’re going to need the help of the federal government to deal with this. “We have a very clear role, we have no responsibility and resources for cleanup but that is their jurisdiction.” Federal agencies contacted the City of Vancouver this morning at 6:00am to tell them they had been working on the spill.
Commissioner John Coupar of the Park Board says there is currently no evidence of the spill reaching Spanish Banks or Kitsilano beaches. More information will be available as the day goes on and the spill is assessed.
1:20pm: The City of Vancouver is getting reports of people touching the oil. They remind everyone again to NOT touch the oil as it is toxic. If you do touch it, wash your hands immediately with clean water and soap. Please also keep your pets away from the water and shoreline just to be safe. Park rangers are posted at all city beaches to help people avoid oil-affected water and wet sand.
If you want to help clean up call 3-1-1 to register your interest, and the City will call you if they have volunteer opportunities available.
3:45pm: In an afternoon press conference the officials estimate about 2,800 litres of oil escaped into English Bay and 1,400 litres have been recovered.
Friday, April 10, 2015:
It has been confirmed that the bulk carrier ship that was the source of an estimated 2,700 litre bunker fuel spill into Vancouver’s English Bay was on its maiden voyage. The MV Marathassa was constructed in Japan and was in Vancouver to collect grain when it began to leak on Wednesday.
The Coast Guard is continuing assessment today with priority areas being Stanley Park, Ambleside, and Sandy Cove. @DFO_Pacific#VanFuelSpill
There is another press conference this morning, at which the Mayor of Vancouver is speaking. He has said that response to what is a relatively small oil spill is woefully inadequate, and adds that city wasn’t notified for 13 hours.
Mayor: "Our real concern is if this had been a lot worse … this kind of response could have been a catastrophe." #VanFuelSpill
There are many questions that must be put to Ottawa and Victoria, and he’s asked City Manager to give a full briefing at council meeting next week. You can read the Mayor’s full, official statement online here.
Want to help? Register with us online: http://t.co/SMgMP1Fmk8. Don't just go to beaches to clean up as there are health risks. #VanFuelSpill
The BC SPCA warns that you should never attempt to wash a wild animal affected by oil or pollution on your own. Due to the painstaking, stressful, and slow rehabilitation process, you should contact a professional wildlife rehabilitator. If you spot wildlife in distress, the City of Vancouver asks you to call 604-873-7000 with the location, species (if known), condition, and behaviour of the animal.
Update 2:00pm on Friday, April 10, 2015: From the City of Vancouver: “The Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) as directed by the Canadian Coast Guard will be coordinating the shoreline cleanup and our staff will assist as required. The federal agencies have advised us that cleanup efforts will involve crews in protective gear with special expertise in oil recovery and for now there is no involvement needed for possible volunteers.”
Crews are out along the seawall this morning, helping clean up after this week's oil spill. pic.twitter.com/TOVtzeMTTV
No, it’s not part of a set on Deadpool, thesuperhero/action filmed based on the Marvel Comics character that is currently filming in Vancouver. This stack of cars balancing on top of a tree stump is actually a new Vancouver Biennale public art piece called Trans Am Totem.
With its installation and unveiling coinciding with start of filming Deadpool, which has shut down the Georgia Viaduct for a healthy portion of April, it’s a common misconception that Trans Am Totem is part of an action movie. Instead, it’s a piece by Marcus Bowcott that features 5 scrap cars, a cedar tree, and a commentary on our consumer “out with the old, in with the new” culture in relation to the site, its history and Vancouver’s evolving identity.
In his artworks Marcus Bowcott arranges what remains of our throw-away consumer culture. As a metaphor his work uncovers an unpleasant darkness in our society, revealing the emotional bankruptcy that results from our dependence on cheap consumer goods which are almost always produced by unseen people on other continents. His beautifully twisting sculptures attempt to find something redeeming in the debris remaining from cycles of consumer desire and planned obsolescence.
By stacking smashed automobiles and levitating them high above the roadway, Bowcott’s sculpture serves to remind us of the ultimate responsibilities we bear to our planet and future generations. Trans Am Totem fantasizes a justified end to car culture even as countless automobiles zoom past on asphalt and concrete ribbons and ooze pollutants and spent carbon fuels into the atmosphere. Bowcott’s vision of nature triumphant subversively reminds ultimately of our ongoing contributions to global warming and further environmental degradation.
Before the introduction of heavy industry, this site was a shoreline of tidal flats and massive forest with old growth cedars and Douglas Firs in the vicinity of Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Watuth Nations. Later, False Creek became an industrial zone of sawmills, beehive burners and ringed with ever increasing collections of log booms. Just before Expo ’86 the mills where removed and the area transformed. Now the area is a constant flow of transportation and interconnections: residential tower blocks, commercial business and entertainment centers encircled by cyclists, light rail and most dominant of all – cars.
The 10 meter high, 11,340 kilogram (33 foot, 25,000 pound) sculpture, located at Quebec Street and Milross Avenue, between Stadium/Chinatown and Main Street SkyTrain stations. Follow Vancouver Biennale on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
The Vancouver South African Film Festival (“VSAFF”) will light up the screen at SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Theatre this weekend, April 10th to April 12th, showcasing a top notch selection of South African cinema while supporting a worthy cause.
Vancouver South African Film Festival
Now in its 5th year, the idea for the festival came to David Chudnovsky and friends over a meal, upon the return of he and his wife from one of their many trips to South Africa. “In 2010 we were there and a friend took us to the movies, and we saw a movie that was tremendous,” David told me over the phone this week.
“We came back to Vancouver and met with friends who are involved with and NGO called Education without Borders, which does education support work in South Africa. Every time we go, we come back and have dinner with them so we came back that time and said ‘We saw this terrific movie, you should use it as a fundraiser!’ By the time the dinner was over, we were planning a film festival.”
To date, the VSAFF has raised over $80,000 for Education Without Borders and David says they are confident that it is the most significant festival of South African films that happens outside of South Africa every year.
“The vast majority of the films that we used in the first couple of years were films that somebody had heard of, somebody gave us a tip, or we looked around and we found movies that seemed to fit. But as the years go along, we get more and more films submitted to us because people hear about our festival.” Building up relationships with producers and directors that have worked with VSAFF over the years has been helpful as many have recommended the festival to colleagues.
The selection this year is diverse, from youth, music and dance, to thought provoking documentaries. David says that they’re very happy with, proud of, and confident about the program they always deliver, and the diversity of the film selection represents the country of South Africa itself. “It’s a very diverse, interesting, complicated, inspiring, horrific, kind of place and one of our missions in the festival is to try and reflect that diversity. It’s like peeling an onion. There’s always another layer and we’re trying to help people understand that.”
The opening gala film selection this year is Hear Me Move, a wonderfully fun film. “We like [Hear Me Move] because when people think about South Africa, they tend to think right away about music and dance. But, they think about traditional music and dance, historic music and dance. This is right up to today, so we’re really big on this being the opening gala film.”
Four Corners Four Corners is a multi-thread, coming of age crime drama — and a window into the mean streets of Cape Town. It was nominated for an Oscar this year and David says while there are a lot of gangster movies coming out of South Africa, not all are well-made, but Four Corners is has a great story, wonderful narrative, great performances and more.
Angels in Exile Director Billy Raftery shares a story eight years in the making. He focuses on two inspiring kids — Zuleika and Ariel. We witness their entire adolescence, observe their fight to survive not only the dangers around them but also the haunting memories of the past that led them to run to the streets in the first place. This documentary is supported by the Charlize Theron Foundation and the filmmaker will be at VSAFF.
Behind the Lens Behind the Lens tells the story of a small selection of struggling photographers who risked their lives to document South Africa during apartheid. One of the photographers will be available for a Skype session with the audience following the screening.
Nelson Mandela The Myth and Me Filmmaker Khalo Matabane was an idealistic teenager with fanciful ideas about a post-apartheid era of freedom and justice when the great icon of liberation Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990. In a personal odyssey encompassing an imaginary letter to Mandela and conversations with politicians, activists, intellectuals, and artists, Matabane questions the meaning of freedom, reconciliation, and forgiveness—and challenges Mandela’s legacy in today’s world of conflict and inequality.
