The Georgia Straight (the newspaper, not the body of water) is known for being an authority on all-things passing through and within Vancouver and they’re putting the call out for your picks for the 13th annual Best of Vancouver 2008.
There are 238 questions in categories like City Life, Media, Arts, & Culture, Travel, Mind Body & Soul, Sports & Recreation, Living, Style, Food & Drink, Nightlife, and Sex & Romance.
According to their website, “Readers who answer 25 or more questions are automatically entered in a draw for a trip for 2 to Las Vegas,” so there’s a little incentive for your vote and speaking up for that little mom ‘n pop diner or day spa you’d like to promote.
A highlight this year is that they have added more to their “Media” section, including: Best local blog page, Best local webcam, Best local website for green living, Best local activists’ website, Best online community web page, Best Vancouver Facebook group, Best local podcast, Best online source to buy music, Best online source for free music.
I’ll more than likely be doing another Best of 604 as I have my own picks for things like the best site for green living so perhaps this year we’ll have some similar results.
You can vote for the Straight’s Best of Vancouver 2008 through their online ballot and the issue will be out September 18, 2008.
The following is a guest post written by the President of the Vancouver Sherlock Holmes society, The Stormy Petrels.
It has come to my attention that there are two new Sherlock Holmes movies in the works. This is always good news to Sherlockians – fans of the great detective.
Downey, who earned raves for the action blockbuster hit Iron Man this spring, has signed on to play the iconic literary sleuth in an upcoming film directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, Warner Bros. announced on Thursday. [CBC]
However, the casting of the main character is critical. Sherlockians are very protective of Sherlock Holmes, and he must be portrayed as the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, had described him. Physical characteristics can be altered somewhat by movie magic, from his tall, thin stature, to his hawk-like nose, but the mannerisms and quirkiness must be adapted to a fault. The casting of the title role is crucial to the movie’s success. Needless to day, the movies will be judged with many keen eyes.
Hundreds of Sherlock Holmes movies and plays have been adapted or written for stage and screen and the list of actors portraying the detective is as varied as the plot lines.
John Barrymore, Orson Wells, John Gielgud, Peter Cushing, Christopher Plummer, Roger Moore, Raymond Massey, Charlton Heston, George C. Scott, Michael Caine, Rupert Everett, Matt Frewer, to name just a few actors who have taken on the title role.
The most well-known, and one of the most popular actors as Sherlock Holmes is Basil Rathbone in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Although, except for “The Hound of the Baskervillesâ€, the stories did not follow the originals very closely.
It was not until the 1980’s when a Grenada TV series introduced Jeremy Brett to the role of Sherlock Holmes, to great critical acclaim. This series sparked much renewed interest in Sherlock Holmes Societies around the globe. The stories resembled the original writings and Sherlockians were very pleased as Brett had the character down perfectly.
Actors have been and will always be compared to Rathbone and Brett. Nearly all have and will fail in their attempts. Recently, very poor choices have been made to cast the role. These movies have all been panned by Sherlockians based on this factor alone.
I get the sense that comical portrayals, such as the up-coming movie starring Sasha Baron Cohn (“Boratâ€) as Holmes will not be popular among Sherlock Holmes fans. Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes? I think it unlikely. Sherlockians are still waiting for the next great Holmesian performance.
Update: May 2009 – the trailer for the film has been released:
Waiting in line ups since 4:30am, watching the Rogers system fail and confronted by those who simply don’t get the hype, Tanya Davis and John Biehler were real troopers this morning (and continue to be) while attempting to secure their shiny new iPhone 3Gs.
They were featured on the Bill Good Show on CKNW and I was able to capture some audio from the show.
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You can read their blogs for coverage, Tanya’s focusing on Rogers and their outrageous plans and lack of customer service, and John’s for the more technical side about this freakin’ cool gadget. John was also the one responsible for me getting my first gen iPhone at Christmas time so I think CKNW couldn’t have picked two better people to talk to today – that and Tanya’s comments are amusingly sharp and witty.
The video podcast scene in Vancouver is pretty bare (aside from a nice group of tasty bites produced by DaveO) but thanks to Warren and Jon reviving The East Van Podcast, Vancouverites (East, North, South and West) will be able to enjoy their hyper-local content.
In Episode 4 they venture over to Bon’s Off Broadway, a legendary joint where you can get breakfast at any hour for $2.95. Actually for that, Bon’s isn’t just legendary, it’s an institution.
Bon’s Off Broadway is located at 2451 Nanaimo St. and it has atmosphere, decor, and washroom graffiti that many locals can appreciate in a diner.
You can subscribe to the East Van Podcast on YouTube, Warren’s Blip account, or follow along on their Facebook group.
As a side note, this is my 1,501st blog entry on Miss604.com – I totally missed the milestone in the last post but I’m happy to mention it here on a post about something truly ‘Vancouver’.
The first few days (okay who am I kidding) years of working for yourself are pretty scary. I say years as this blog has been four years in the making and it’s not slowing down any time soon.
Miss604.com circa 2005
John and I formed a partnership called sixty4media to consolidate our website works, podcasting, freelance writing and all out social media consulting gigs to which I have started contributing full time.
Now I’ve worked from home before as most of my professional career over the last eight years has been in the online realm, which leaves these options pretty open. However, many people who work from anywhere often have a hard time getting motivated or finding a good place to get out and be inspired to put their nose to that grindstone and crank out their work.
Having recently made our partnership announcement public, I’ve been getting some excellent advice from all over the blogosphere so here are some tips and tricks for those starting out on adventures like this, in this town.
Everything you keep has a clear reason for being in your life at any given moment—both now and well into the future. This gives you an amazing kind of confidence that a) nothing gets lost and b) you always understand what’s on or off your plate.
Organization is key, in most of the texts I have read and aside from the stack of papers, files, and business cards on the dining room table, everything that is online is in order right down to the shared Google Calendar to which John and I both contribute.
“I used to think those people who sat alone at Starbucks writing on their laptops were pretentious posers.” – Carrie, Sex and the City, The Good Fight
Monday was a little crazy, migrating from coffee shop to coffee shop around town for meetings, but it was actually quite easy to move around town, working on the go.
I think that one of the reasons why we do this is that we feel accompanied but at the same time, we’re all doing our thing. I love doing this with friends… going to a coffee shop and working. Each one of us is doing his/her own thing but at the same time, we have a chance to chat and make small talk.
Earlier this week, a highlight was meeting up with Raul and doing just that – being in each others presence but also getting things done and being productive in our own way, on our own projects (much like the informal NerdCamps John and I have with Duane at our place or his).
Aside from getting motivated and having a place in which you can be productive, I think something else that keeps me pushing forward it simply my desire (not to rule the world… not yet anyway) to be good at what I do and help people along the way.
Our ultimate goal is to help others find their online presence because I think John and I can both supply ample advice, tips and tricks in that department. That being said, if you want to know what a blog is, know how to start a blog, have someone write for your blog, have me out to liveblog your event, podcast, or delve into the bulging world of social media, please feel free to drop me a line.
The Georgia Straight (the newspaper, not the body of water) is known for being an authority on all-things passing through and within Vancouver and they’re putting the call out for your picks for the 13th annual Best of Vancouver 2008.
