@ the Helm

10 February 10

perogy paradise

We were in lines for over an hour, but it was worth it.

Last week I went to the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral's monthly Friday Night Ukrainian Supper with Melanie and another friend of ours.

We were all hungry, but also eager for the full experience; old Ukrainian grandmothers serving food, old Ukrainian men smacking their mouths as they sipped their coffee, and the massive crowd of Main Street hipsters, working class families, foodies, Eastern Europeans, and Orthodox parishioners.

The white concrete hall was packed. There were around 200 people sitting and eating at any one time, 100 people in line for food, and 100 people in line outside waiting to get in. By the time we got to the food, at around 7pm, the serving ladies decided to shut the doors even though they normally stay open till 8pm. Thank goodness I got my food before they had to start rationing!

I got the regular dinner which includes 6 'pyrohy', 2 cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, Ukrainian sausage, sour cream, fried onions, and coffee/tea.

The perogies were the best I've ever had. Absolutely perfect even though they were only filled with potato and cheese. If they added bacon to them I probably would have swooned and caused a scene.

The sauerkraut - superb. The sausage - most satisfying. The cabbage rolls - not that great. Sorry Babushkas, my mom makes much better, and she's Swedish.

Mediocre cabbage rolls aside, it was a night of great food and people watching. I'll be going again.

2 February 10

uh-oh-lympics

I am not very confident that the Winter Olympics are going to go well. It's going to be a volatile mix of idealists, the greedy self absorbed, the compulsively paranoid, the chronically angry, and relatively innocent spectacle seekers.

I should even count neutral uninterested persons into the explosive because the simple act of taking up space in some areas of the city will soon be grounds for confrontation.

There is tension throughout the city and I'm worried that there will be violence, the nature and extent of which will depend on which side blows their fuse first, or perhaps more importantly, which side is perceived as blowing up first.

The anti-Olympic activists can not afford to be viewed as starting any violent action or their credibility and public support outside their own and very immediate network will vanish. Their multiple causes have already lost a great deal of support due to violent disruptions, such as knocking down torch runners and interrupting Olympic events in a few very un-family friendly ways.

VANOC and the Vancouver police should also keep cool heads, if a Yao Wei Wu or Dziekanski-esque incident occurs during the Olympics, the public rage and scrutiny that would follow will pull many in power off their perches.

So stand your ground everyone.

If you're a protester; document everything around you with audio and video. Don't provoke. Don't disrupt (too much). Wait until they slip up on anything that has a direct impact on tax dollars or public health, the two things that are most likely to get you support from the most people.

If you're an Olympic supporter; go by the book and don't do anything even resembling unsportsmanlike behavior. If the protesters disrupt or damage public infrastructure and/or citizens, hit them with the book (figuratively) and then blame them for everything else that didn't go right.

If you're just a spectacle seeker; park your car, transit in, keep an eye on your wallet, get there ahead of time, and don't pack your lunch.

12 January 10

holiday hangover

The period of time immediately following holidays is awkward.
It's like getting back into a two-week old political conversation at mid sentence with a pleasant yet senile acquaintance when you thought you were talking about a reality TV series you never watch.

A holiday on the first Friday after New Years could help avoid these sorts of accidents and embarrassments.

Someone should start a facebook petition.

16 December 09

Feasting

On the weekend Melanie's parents were in town and we did some feasting.

I was going to write a review of the two restaurants we went to, the first being Crave on Main street. But then I realized that my detailing of the experience sounded pretentious and dull. So I'll just give a solid OK to Crave as an option for medium priced decent food.

The real gem was Seasons in Queen Elizabeth Park. The food was well worth the price, the martinis were well done, the view was amazing, and the service was excellent. Everyone had a great time.

To quote the father -
"This is the best friggin pork chop I've ever had in my life"

Eat drink and be merry everyone. Tis the season.

8 December 09

Christmafied

The Holiday Season is officially here.

I had rum and eggnog last night while wearing a Santa hat and decorating the apartment with all the Christmas decoration loot that Melanie has.

I also got out some Christmas records. So far we've listened to:

Elvis' Christmas Album - Can't go wrong with Elvis. Classics like "Blue Christmas" and "Peace in the Valley".

Elvis: Memories of Christmas - Again, can't go wrong, and not much overlap with the above album. My favorites are "Merry Christmas Baby" and "If Every Day Was Like Christmas".

Christmas with Nana Mouskouri - I have a good friend that kinda looks like a young Nana Moukouri. I've never heard her sing though. Lots of Christmas classics and two versions of "Ave Maria"

The Roger Wittaker Christmas Album - Classic childhood memories with this one. "Darcy the Dragon" is one of my favorites.

29 November 09

harping

One thing that surprised me when I got my subscription to Harper's and starting exploring the website is that it looked a little off in Firefox. Which is odd, since those guys should be on top of 'new media'.

Thus...

Subject: welcome Firefox please
From: Jeffrey Helm
Date: 11/10/2009 5:09 PM
To: harpers@harpers.org

Hello Harpers,

I justed wanted to give you a heads up.
The Harpers.org website doesn't appear to be optimized for viewing with Firefox. Which is odd because 47.5% of people on the internet are now using Firefox as a base browser.

On both my work and home computer, which run Firefox, the layout of the website is disjointed and I can't imagine that you really want it to look like that.

I want you guys to look good because we both know you're one of the best magazines out there, so please don't skimp on the website.

Sincerely,

- Jeffrey Helm

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Subject: Re: welcome Firefox please
From: Paul Ford
Date: 11/10/2009 6:44 PM
To: harpers@harpers.org

Hi, Jeffrey. We develop Harper's on Firefox first. If it looks
disjointed...well...maybe that points to something else.

Best wishes,

Paul Ford
Harper's Magazine

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Mr. Ford may think that I'm a crank, but my skeptical eyebrow has risen.

If you run Firefox, go to the Harper's page and see if it looks 'off'. To be sure you're seeing things right, compare what you see in Firefox to what it looks like in Internet Explorer.
Right now it's an even tie:

looks wacky on my computer - 2
looks fine. what's your beef? - 2