Consumer interest in cosmetic skin treatments is on the rise and with traditional technology and the tools of the trade becoming cheaper and more widely available, there are now an unprecedented number of businesses looking to capitalize on this growing demand. In downtown Vancouver, for instance, finding a skin-oriented spa or clinic is almost as easy as finding the next Starbucks. And while more service providers means more choice for consumers, an unregulated industry like the cosmetic skincare business can quickly give rise to the problem of widely varied qualifications among practitioners and, ultimately, vast differences in service quality—differences which may not be apparent to the average consumer until it’s too late.

Why qualifications matter when it comes to skin treatment

Some of today’s most widely available skincare treatments encroach to a surprising degree into the medical realm and the lines that distinguish spa treatments from medical treatments are increasingly blurred. Given this, there is an urgent need for skin practitioners and consumers alike to be more accountable and better educated than ever before. Today’s skin professionals need to possess a thorough understanding of skin anatomy, physiology and the pathologies of several common skin concerns in order to perform accurate assessments and give a valid diagnosis.

When you are serious about finding solutions to your skincare problems you should seek the advice of a practitioner with a background in advanced skin biology and cosmeceutical science. These qualifications will allow your practitioner to understand the exact relationship between what goes into your tissues and the results you achieve, as well as to identify any contra-indications or unique considerations that might apply to your particular case.

So, how do you determine if a practitioner is right for you?

By asking questions—education, qualifications and industry experience are good places to start. Look for qualifications that have international industry recognition and government accreditation. Find out which treatments your practitioner considers to be within the scope of their practice and which they see as being out of their area of expertise—and before accepting any suggestion for products or treatments always ask:

“What will this product or treatment do and how will it achieve this?”

Some treatments produce dramatic but temporary results, while others produce long-term change but take longer to manifest. A knowledgeable practitioner will know and explain the differences and will only make recommendations that align with your personal goals. Don’t settle for vague or generic answers: it is not enough for your practitioner to reply with “…it stimulates collagen.”

All recommendations should be backed up with thorough and in-depth explanations as to how products do what they do, what you can expect to experience during and after treatments, what the signs of success will be and what signs—if any—might be cause for concern.

Your skin therapist is answerable to you for these questions and any others you may have. You should feel comfortable with the answers and confident in your therapist’s knowledge and abilities before going ahead with any product or treatment recommendation.

A good practitioner will keep your patronage by helping you attain your goal of strong, healthy and resilient skin—and not by cultivating a dependence on their services! Choosing your practitioner based on qualifications and experience can mean the difference between having a skin treatment and having your skin transformed.

For more information, visit www.naturalskinsolutions.ca. Call today to book a one-hour complimentary skin health assessment (604) 630-6855.

After the holiday spending blitz, the entertainment budget for the new year tends to take a sorrowful hit—there are no fancy meals in the foreseeable future for you until you’ve paid off that looming credit card bill! Fortunately for those on a budget who still have an insatiable penchant for haute cuisine, though, restaurants at culinary schools are a more affordable option.

Culinaria (100-609 Granville Street) is an elegant downtown room run by the culinary students at the Art Institute. It’s open Monday to Friday for lunch, and Thursday to Saturday for dinner. Starters ($8 to $12) feature such items as bison carpaccio with watercress, parmesan and horseradish, and mains ($16 to $22) include dishes like New York steak with red wine demi-glace with pommes frites, and local wild salmon with lemon beurre blanc. White chocolate-and-lavender crème brûlée rounds out the meal.

The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts—at the entrance to Granville Island—runs their own intimate student training restaurant, Bistro 101 (101-1505 West 2^nd Avenue). From Monday to Thursday, lunch ($18) and dinner ($24) are three-course options that start with an item like a Dungeness crab cake with quinoa salad and miso aioli, then move to stuffed chicken breast with mushroom duxelle and red wine and thyme sauce, concluding with apple crêpes with vanilla ice cream and decadent chocolate sauce. Lunch ($20) and dinner ($30) on Fridays are sumptuous West Coast seafood buffets.

Another great choice is JJ’s Restaurant (250 West Pender Street) in Vancouver Community College, where they open for lunch and dinner during the weekdays. Lunch is an à la carte menu of very reasonably priced appetizers ($2.50 to $4), like shrimp and avocado salad; mains ($8 to $10), such as slow-cooked leg of lamb and pan-roasted lamb loin with rosemary jus; and desserts ($3), like sticky toffee pudding with English custard. Dinner is a three-course $27 prix fixe.

Food at all three restaurants is top notch—just keep in mind that these are aspiring cooks and servers who might require a bit more patience than usual!

By the time January arrives, the rain has typically worn us down. Thoughts of where to travel next fill our dreams. Weather weary, we need to escape to a spot where adventure and sun are abundant. But what if you can’t get away? The cheapest plane ticket you can buy is a delicious bottle of wine. Smells and flavours are powerful—a simple swirl and sniff can transport you to a place where wine and food are bountiful…

White

-2010 Jean Jean, ‘Ormarine’ Picpoul de Pinet, Coteaux du Languedoc AOC, France, $13.99 (SKU: #124834)
Southern France is always on our ‘A’ list of destinations.  Put a bit of sunshine into your day with this refreshing Picpoul, a favourite white grape from the Pinet region. Serve with white fish simply cooked with beurre blanc and lemon—you’ll be in France instantly.

Red

-2008 Catena, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina $20.99 (SKU #427849)
Cold winter days lend themselves  to a glass of full-bodied red and there is nothing more appropriate than a Malbec. Argentineans would have it with asado; we opt for a juicy steak. Beautiful floral and dark plum flavours comfort and charm. Olé Argentina!

-2009 Mud House, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand, $22.99 (SKU #311340)
Concentrated crunchy flavours of cherries and a hint of thyme bring us right back to Central Otago. This stunningly beautiful region has become a reference for top Pinots—enjoy with grilled salmon, tuna, pork or game meat.

-2007 Fontodi, Chianti Classico DOCG, Italy, $33.99 (SKU #533315)

The very first smell triggers fond memories of happy days spent amongst the rolling hills of Tuscany. Based on Sangiovese, Fontodi’s concentrated and complex Chianti is polished and elegant, with flavours of cherries and cinnamon. A treat with tomato-based pasta and Osso Bucco. Cin Cin!

If you are a fan of craft beer in Vancouver then you might want to consider joining CAMRA Vancouver. The Campaign for Real Ale was started in the United Kingdom in 1971 in response to the ongoing disappearance of traditional, cask-conditioned ales there as bigger brewery chains bought up pubs and smaller local breweries in order to serve their own homogenous bottled products. CAMRA became a very effective consumer advocacy group and now boasts more than 100,000 members in the UK alone.

CAMRA BC has chapters in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Penticton and the Fraser Valley. The Vancouver group has been growing rapidly in recent years—in direct relation to the growth of craft beer in the city. The chapter now has more than 600 individual and corporate members and plays an active role in the promotion and responsible consumption of craft beer through events and festivals and by acting as an advocate with the provincial and local governments.

CAMRA Vancouver has a diverse membership with a strong mix of men and women from all age groups, although the core demographic is definitely in their 20s and 30s. This is immediately evident at the group’s popular and boisterous events, which are usually held seasonally. In 2011, events included Fest of Ale—Spring Sessional, which featured low-alcohol, flavourful ‘session’ beers, the summer’s Too Hop to Handle, which focused on potent and bitter IPAs, and Oktoberfest-Harvestfest, which offered Oktoberfest beers along with seasonal brews infused with pumpkin or fresh hops.

If you’re the type of person who likes to get involved, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer with CAMRA Vancouver, whether it is serving samples at one of the beer-tasting events or in a more comprehensive fashion by running for a position on the society’s volunteer board.

Membership costs $25 ($40 for a couple) and benefits include discounts at a wide variety of local restaurants and private liquor stores—which means you can make up the nominal cost of the membership pretty quickly!

Check out www.camravancouver.ca for more information or to join online.

www.thirstywriter.com

One year it’s this diet trend, the next year it’s that diet trend—with all of the diet plans out there, it’s hard to tell which are safe and effective. Aside from the hype accompanying the ‘latest and greatest’ diet plan, all the new diets end up saying pretty much the same thing: eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, consume less animal fat, drink more water and cut out refined foods. Surprise!

So, let me tell you about the latest ‘it’ diet. Unlike the typical diet, it doesn’t have a catchy name. Nor does it promise you’ll drop a size by the weekend. It’s not even really a diet, per se, but actually an eating plan for life. Allow me to introduce you to the anti-inflammatory diet.

While there are numerous diet books out there based on the anti-inflammatory concept, the general gist is that chronic or out-of-control inflammation in the body leads to illness and that eating to avoid constant inflammation inspires better health and can ward off disease. Inflammation is often only though of as the painful part of arthritis, but it is also a component of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, many cancers and strokes. Proponents of the diet say that in addition to soothing sore and stiff arthritic joints, it can reduce the risk of heart disease, keep existing cardiac problems in check, reduce blood triglycerides and lower blood pressure. While you may feel fine, you could actually have high levels of inflammation. Stress (yes, even the ‘good’ stress like planning for a wedding or vacation) creates inflammation in the body. In addition to stress, certain aspects of our modern diet tend to generate inflammation—including eating too much fried food, consuming too much saturated fat from animal products and eating processed foods with high sugar content, too many trans fats and not enough fibre. Additionally, the average North American diet is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in cold-water fish (such as salmon or sardines) and when the balance of omega-3 and omega-6 are out of whack, inflammation can set in.

Keep in mind that reducing inflammation is not just about what you eat. Maintaining a healthy body weight is one of the best things you can do to reduce inflammation, especially for those suffering from arthritis. Exercising with an elevated heart rate for 30 minutes five days a week is an excellent way to reduce inflammation and stay in shape.

www.ericablitz.blogspot.com

The lure of fast food and our increasingly stressful yet still too-sedentary lifestyles have made losing weight a crucial issue for many to deal with. When we begin to consider losing weight, we want it to be over in a minute—we think that after months or years of sitting around we can get fit in a week. We all know that it’s not realistic, but we keep reaching for that quick fix.

It’s time to realize that it’s often a long haul losing weight and keeping it off—realistic weight loss and fitness goals are where you need to start. To set these goals, it’s important to assess where you are fitness-wise and then determine where you want to go. Make a list of incremental steps to reach those goals and start out slowly. To be a real loser, be realistic—you’ll last longer and maintain better fitness over time.

A proper diet and regular exercise go hand-in-hand and a person needs both to have complete success. For those who are overwhelmed as to where to start, the approach should always be a slow and gradual one until you can expand your exercise program to where it becomes a daily routine.

Get Moving

The secret to maintaining an exercise regimen is to start with those activities that are enjoyable—like walking, bicycling, swimming or playing sports. Doing what you like will get you moving. Whether you’re at home or at work, make it a rule to never sit for more than 30 minutes at a time. Get up and walk around. If there are stairs in the building, take a break and go up and down those stairs as many times as you can. For successful weight loss, begin expanding this activity to doing an extra set every few weeks. As you lose weight, you’ll find you can get past the ‘plateau effect’ by intensifying the exercise through walking up, and then running down the same stairs. The third and last level is to run up and down the stairs, establishing a strenuous cardio routine and eventually achieving your desired weight loss.

Weight Resistance

Even though cardio exercises have always been touted as the big calorie burners, weight resistance actually revs up the engine a lot quicker. Working out 10 to 20 minutes with weights before a cardio session will help burn calories more efficiency and jump-start your metabolism—muscle will burn fat faster and cardio afterwards keeps the burn going more consistently.

The Right Food Choices

Know which foods are better replacements for bad ones. Read labels religiously for hidden fat, sugar and salt content—all these will pack on calories. When deciding between two similar products always pick the one with the fewest ingredients, as this usually means fewer chemicals, additives and preservatives—all which serve to add unnecessary calories to your diet and sabotage your weight-loss attempts.

Replace white flour, bread, pasta, sugar and rice with whole grain or whole wheat products. Instead of having a white potato, opt for a sweet potato instead. Although calorie counts may be the same amongst similar food types, whole foods contain more nutrition and fibre. For people on low-carb diets, one gram of fibre cancels out a gram of carbohydrates, so always aim for foods higher in fibre!

Setting realistic weight loss and fitness goals boils down to determining where you are right now and where you want to be. Divide that large goal into manageable objectives and keep track of your progress. Above all else, don’t think of your weight loss and fitness regime as a program that will be over one day—it works best if you make it a lifetime lifestyle change.

Every new year holds the potential for a fresh start, a metaphorical rebirth with the completion of one cycle spinning into the beginning of another. The ‘circle of life’ theme is a favourite among filmmakers—especially in animated movies—because it provides a relatable and age-old dramatic structure for a compelling character arc. This theme is subtly present in the Toy Story trilogy and it more overtly motivates Disney’s The Lion King. Arguably though, the most elegant and moving filmic expression of a spiritual and physical rebirth can be traced back to Bambi, the classic 1942 animated feature produced by Walt Disney.

Bambi was Walt Disney’s fifth animated feature film, following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941). Along with Bambi, these five films constitute Walt Disney’s golden age of animation, every film a milestone in the evolution of character animation, storytelling, subject matter and technical achievements.  During the 1930s and early ‘40s, each new Disney feature film was a rebirth, a reinvention for the studio and the animation medium—and Bambi is the film that marks Walt Disney’s creative maturity. It’s no wonder that Walt acknowledged Bambi as his favourite film among the many that he produced.

Bambi is the simple tale of a newborn male fawn and his year-long journey into maturity, ultimately to become the Prince of the Forest. Bambi will experience profoundly the changes of the seasons, the ways of nature and acts of survival and death. He meets animals who will become lifelong friends, like Thumper the rabbit (engagingly voiced by four-year-old Peter Behn), Flower the skunk and Faline the doe, who will become the mother of his child. The film is not so much a conventional narrative: it is a lyrical and philosophical tone-poem. The dialogue is sparse yet crisp—humorous and powerful in its brevity—and the ethereal beauty of the forest suggests moods and emotions. These stunning backgrounds are minimalist in their Oriental-influenced design, inspired by the brilliant Chinese-American Disney artist, Tyrus Wong.

Though the Disney animators had enjoyed great success in elevating character animation from ‘rubber-hose’ frolicking to a refined style of realism in their features prior to Bambi, they faced an awesome challenge to be able to endow the animals from Felix Salten’s original book with both realism and relatable feelings. The Disney artists studied real fawns and did tireless research on animal anatomy and when two of Walt’s key animators, Frank Thomas and Milt Kahl, presented Walt with a screening of their first animation experiments on Bambi, the nervous animators waited in trepidation for his review. Never one to dole out easy compliments, Walt— with a tear in his eye—sincerely told his animators, “Thanks, fellows: that stuff is pure gold!”

And after 70 years, Bambi remains pure gold—and evergreen. It’s recognized as one of the finest animated films ever made and I would go so far as to crown this Prince of the Forest as one of the finest motion pictures (animation or otherwise!) of all time.

Never a group to shy away from the outlandish and extravagant, Mariana’s Trench have returned with their third studio album, Ever After, which sees the Vancouver band toying with everything from ‘80s funk-pop to expansive, Queen-like vocal arrangements. Vancouver View recently conducted an interview with all four members of the band…

Vancouver View: What inspired you guys to put together such a high-concept record this time around?
Mariana’s Trench: Basically, we just wanted it to be better than the last album (laughs). Josh had the idea for the concept and the basic narrative a while ago, and then the songs were written around that.

VV: What were the songwriting and recording processes like?
MT: We were writing and recording as we were going, with no demos, which made a big difference—everything is fresher. Because Josh has a studio, we were able to go in and record whenever we wanted to and not worry about spending too much.

VV: The multi-layered vocals have always been a trademark for you guys, and they’re definitely out in full force here.
MT: We definitely wanted this album to have that, because it’s become the one thing that does stay ‘signature’ across all of our albums. This time around, we decided to put more effects on the vocals, in the same ways that some pop acts put effects on their synth parts.

VV: Do you think Ever After will bring you more exposure in the United States?
MT: That’s the goal! The last time we were touring through the States, we kind of got the same feeling that we got in Canada right before we blew up a bit. The seeds have definitely been planted, so we’ll see what happens next…

Check out Mariana’s Trench tour dates at marianstrench.net

Photo by Gary Sylvester

By Kristen McKenzie | January 2012

Once upon a time in Vancouver, nothing less than divine intervention compelled musician Zachary Forbes to approach Farshad Edalat at a nightclub and ask him to sing. Having just moved from Edmonton less than a week before, Forbes was on the prowl for fellow artists following the breakup of his last band and something inexplicable about Edalat drew his attention.

“He just looked like a singer,” Forbes explains.

As it so happened, Edalat could sing—extremely well, in fact.

“I sang that “Hustler” song [by Cassidy],” Edalat recollects, laughing.

That was enough to knock Forbes’ socks off and the two began an instant musical partnership that grew in the coming year to include mutual friend Anthony Dolhai. From there, the concept of Dirty Radio—a pop group that churns out infectious, toe-tapping dance tunes, was born.

“Ever since, we’ve been together every day for the last three or four years,” Edalat says.

They’ve certainly made the most of that time. Over the last year, the trio released their first album, Debut—off which three songs: “My Heart”, “Wanna Ride” and “Groundshake” received heavy radio play—co-founded music production team SEX-ED, remixed for K-OS and laid the groundwork for the release of a new EP in February.

“[2012]’s going to be at a whole different level,” Edalat enthusiastically says of the group’s upcoming plans.

“More than anything, creating timeless music is what we want to do,” adds Forbes.

Fortunately, the threesome’s not afraid to put a lot of hard work into taking Dirty Radio to new heights. For months now, the group has spent 12 hours a day, six days a week in their East Vancouver studio putting the finishing touches on their latest album (which at press time remained untitled).

“We’re constantly working on music,” says Forbes, who, while on vacation in Hawaii last winter, insisted he bring his keyboard along so that he could compose. “No matter where we go, even if we’re not together, we’re always creating.”

Oddly enough, their workaholic natures cause them to feel a kinship with a certain notorious band that everyone loves to hate.

“We have nothing but respect for Nickelback,” declares Forbes. “From a work ethic standpoint, you might not like their music…but those guys work their asses off.”

“They built this whole empire on their own—and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Edalat adds.

In terms of stardom, however, the spotlight is, for now, focused entirely upon Edalat. All the group’s marketing, including Debut’s cover art, focuses on the Iranian-born singer.

“We purposely wanted it that way,” explains Forbes. “I’m better at sitting in the studio on my laptop. I think Farshad’s strength is being more in the limelight.”

“That’s going to change because we’re sick of seeing Farshad’s face!” Dohai jokingly adds.

All kidding aside, the three performers are content with their respective roles within the group and have cultivated a deep friendship that appears untouched by petty jealousy. As Edalat humbly states, “I wouldn’t be where I’m at without these guys!” And on that note, here’s hoping Dirty Radio continues down the path to happily ever after.

Vancouver Noir, 1930-1960

Anvil Press, $25.00

224 pages

The noir era in Hollywood was exemplified by shadowy-shot, black-and-white films featuring hard-boiled private eyes and ice-blonde femmes fatales in seamy stories about gangsters and corrupt politicians. Similar themes prevailed in the noir vein of literature, highlighted by books such as Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1930) with its tough-as-nails detective, Sam Spade (famously portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film version) and The Big Sleep (1939) by Raymond Chandler, which introduced his iconic detective hero, Philip Marlowe.

In Vancouver Noir, Vancouver academics and authors Diane Purvey and John Belshaw make the contention that the noir period had much to do with cameras: specifically a new generation of relatively more portable ‘speed graphic’ cameras that allowed photographers to capture candid shots outdoors and often after dark where photos had never previously been possible without tripods and plenty of preparation time.

“It captured rain-slicked streets, the spontaneity of crowds, the darkened corners, speeding cars, and neon lights,” they write in the introduction to the book. “Speed graphic photographers could get in close when they chose to, and they often did so. Shocking photos of crime scenes, the unfaithful spouse, the surprise witness, the busted head, the angry cop, the body lying across an intersection disjointed like a Sunday turkey…”

Framed by dozens of black-and-white photos found in city archives and at the Vancouver Public Library, Purvey and Belshaw’s book argues that the noir era was also a period of great change in Vancouver history—when a major city planning project started in the late 1920s coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression—resulting in a huge shift in where people lived and worked in Vancouver, displacing thousands, and expanding the schism between rich and poor. And all of this was captured on the dark and shadowy streets by professional and amateur photographers.

Vancouver Noir, 1930-1960 provides a unique and mesmerizing glimpse of this period in the city’s history.

www.joewiebe.com