Raymond Tomlin is a veteran journalist and educator who has written frequently on the political realm — municipal, provincial and federal — as well as on cinema, mainstream popular culture, the arts, and technology.
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My musical tastes run the gamut: progressive and old-timey country, folk, Americana, lounge, progressive dance, klezmer, world beat, Celtic folk, Japanese pop, trip-hop, orchestral, urban pop, hip hop soul, rhythm and blues, acoustic, dirty bass south, avant-garde, europop, gospel, house music, dream pop, trance, ambient and downtempo, acid jazz, rock ballads, post-Britpop — and with all that, I’m only scratching the surface of the types, styles and genres of music I love which constitute the soundtrack of my life, the various genres of music which you’ll come to hear through this screen in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
Where I am a listener and an appreciator of music, with some background in piano and guitar — long forgotten, alas — my son Jude, a recording engineer and D.J. creates his own complex, layered, multi-dimensional music, electronica for wont of a better word. Jude records under the name Dj Nameless, as has been the case for well more than a decade now.
I love well-produced, textured music, and remixes, of which you’ll be hearing a great deal more in the time to come. Today, a remix by New York-based D.J. Branchez of Rihanna’s 2012 chart topper, Stay. When this song pops up on my iTunes playlist, through my bluetooth headphones, when I’m heading downtown to a movie, the bus crowded, rain pelting down on the bus, the wetness of the day permeating not just the clothing but the very souls of the people around me, the Branchez bootleg remix of Stay simply raises my mood — see if it does the same thing for you.
Megan, my great daughter, age 11 (in 1988), am just putting the picture up cuz I like it …
In the 1970s, when I was “co-ordinating” the Tillicum Food Co-operative — honestly, a big deal, a multi-million dollar grassroots endeavour that not only changed eating habits across Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, and beyond, but put power into the hands of activists and working people — as Tillicum’s produce, and some other, suppliers were located in the area just north of Powell Street, and east of Main, Cathy and I would frequently stop in for lunch at the then one and only existing sushi restaurant in Vancouver, The Japanese Deli, I think it was called, or perhaps some other name.
As time passed, as Cathy and I moved into the Interior for me to take a job as a teacher, and she as a Financial Aid worker with the Ministry of Human Resources, and as I moved on from my responsibilities with the Tillicum and Fed-Up Food Co-operatives — although Cathy and I re-invigorated the Shuswap / North Okanagan food co-operative movement in our years in the Interior — we got out of the habit of eating Japanese cuisine.
I recall in the early 1980s attending a garden party at the University of British Columbia, accompanied by my friends Scott Parker and the late Daryl Adams — with whom I worked on the Galindo Madrid Defense Committee, in concert with Gary Cristall and the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Latin America, and Svend Robinson — the food on offer at the sunny, mid-spring afternoon political event, fresh sushi, the first time in years I’d had sushi, although I had long ago mastered the use of chopsticks (which took me four arduous months — one cannot honestly call me the most co-ordinated person in the world, but once I get it, it’s got!).
A couple of summers later, in the summer of 1982, when Megan was a whole five years old, I asked her one summer’s day where she’d like to go for dinner, to which she replied, “Kibune Sushi — it’s my favourite.” So, off Jude, Megan and I went to Kibune Sushi on Yew Street, just up from Kitsilano Beach. Once we’d seated ourselves in the tatami room, after a couple of minutes, the waitperson came by with tea and to take our order. Being the adult present, I set about to order — but, really, what did I know about ordering sushi? Not much I can tell you.
After about 30 seconds of my fumbling around with the menu, Megan looked over at the waitperson and said, pointing in my direction, “He doesn’t know much about Japanese food,” and then turning to me, she said, “Dad, I’ll take over the ordering. You just sit back — we’ll be good.”
Megan, age 5, a ‘take charge’ kind of person, always …
At which point, Megan set about to order …
“Well, given that my dad doesn’t know much about Japanese food, I think we should start him off with chicken yakatori, because that’s really BBQ chicken, and I’m sure he’s familiar with that. An order of chicken yakatori, then. Next, a California roll will hit the spot, I think — I know my dad likes avocado, and my brother and I do, as well. So, an order of one California roll. I like the yam roll, and I think my dad wouldn’t find that too confrontational — so, we’ll have a yam roll, as well.
(looking at me, Megan said) “Now, sooner or later, dad, you’re going to have to get used to eating sashimi. To complete our order, because all three of us are hungry, I’m going to place an order for an assorted sashimi platter,” which the waitperson dutifully wrote down.
So, that’s Megan: in control always, and I do mean always. Honestly, in the entirety of my life, I’ve never seen anything quite like it: Megan sets her mind to do something, and it’s done — almost like magic. Megan is stubborn, she knows her own mind, she knows what she wants, and she always gets her way — it’s simply unprecedented in my experience.
Oh, and did I say that Megan is a lovely, lovely person — tough, but wonderful, possessed of a social conscience, capable of much good, and one of the brightest, most able people I’ve ever met. And I’m not saying that because Megan is my daughter — she is simply a gift of our landscape.
While the members of our federal and provincial governments, and our newly-elected City Council, Park Board and School Board set about to do the work of the angels to make ours a freer, more welcoming, fairer and more just nation, province, city and region, the “big issues” of the day — given that for the first time in nearly 50 years, we are experiencing progressive governance at all three levels of government — are auspiciously and dutifully (if haltingly, at times) being taken care of, which is all to the good for Canadians, and particularly meaningful for all of us during this most festive and warm-hearted of seasons of good will.
Have you ever noticed, though, that while in the larger world — at work, with family, or with friends or neighbours — all goes well, it is the annoying little things that will tend to get you down, causing frustration and irritation (even if in the greater scheme of these things they don’t really matter): the jar that won’t open no matter what you do, the door that won’t close, the car that won’t start, and your shoes, socks and feet that get completely soaked when you step off a curb into a puddle, because there’s just no other option if your going to move forward.
Well, I’ve got the solution for the latter: no wet feet, no wet socks, no wet shoes ever, ever, ever again. Watch this video …
Vessi shoes for women or men mean no more soaked feet during the long winter rainy (or, on some days, snowy) season, no more stepping into puddles or slush and walking to your destination with absolutely freezing cold, soaked feet — that’s a thing of the past with Vessi footwear.
Here’s what I’ve found …
The fashionable and ultra-comfortable Vessi shoes are light as a feather, slip onto your feet and then hug the sides of your feet just below your ankle, allowing no water ingress no matter how many puddles you jump through;
They’re incredibly easy to clean, almost cleaning themselves;
The heel and arch support are just great, and the Vessi shoes are perhaps the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned.
So, why bring Vessi shoes to your attention now? Here goes …
Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, the good folks at Vessi Footwear will host one of their very occasional pop-up shoppes, where you can purchase a pair (or more) of their shoes, usually at a deep discount ($99 Canadian, usual price $135 U.S. plus shipping). Vessi Footwear is a Vancouver-based company, started by two, young UBC scientists, who distribute their shoes worldwide — after having raised a million and a half dollars on Kickstarter a couple of years back — and because Vessi is Vancouver-based, we’re the only jurisdiction worldwide where Vessi hosts pop-up shoppes for customers, so that’s good for all of us who live in Vancouver.
So, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, from 11am til 9pm each day, at 1151 Robson right near the London Drugs, between Thurlow and Bute, you can pick up a pair, or two, of the must-have shoes if you’re a Vancouverite, and if you’re at all interested in keeping your feet warm and dry this winter.
Own an iPhone SE or later & having battery issues? Or, maybe you want to get in on Apple’s iPhone battery replacement programme that, no questions asked, will give you a brand new battery for your iPhone for free — if you’ve got Apple Care — or, otherwise, for the relatively paltry sum of $35 Canadian ($29 U.S.), about half the regular price for battery replacement.
Apple is still offering $35 battery replacements for the iPhone SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X. All of these devices are eligible for a discounted $35 battery following the processor slowdown scandal that Apple faced earlier this year.
After December 31, 2018, replacement iPhone batteries will return to their regular price. For most iPhones, replacement batteries will be priced at $65, with the exception of the iPhone X. Apple will charge $99 for an iPhone X battery replacement. How to Initiate a Battery Replacement
To initiate a battery replacement, use Apple’s battery support site. You can take your iPhone to an Apple retail store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or send it in for replacement at an Apple Repair Centre. In my case, after clicking on Start a Battery Replacement, I chose the Bring in for Repair option, signed in with my Apple ID, on the next screen put in my postal code and my mobile service provider, clicked Go, chose an Apple repair location (in my case, I chose Apple, Oakridge Centre), and chose a convenient time for me to bring in my iPhone for the battery replacement.
Upon arrival, I checked in at the Genius Bar, spoke with one of the Apple Care staff, who asked me a few questions before taking the phone away for repair — the process from beginning to end taking about an hour and a half. When I purchased my iPhone about 15 months ago, the salesperson suggested I take my iPhone into my nearest Apple Care Centre once a year for a thorough cleaning. The number one problem iPhone customers experience concern dirty and / or plugged ports — to preserve the life of your phone, and to ensure a continued good experience of your phone, an annual cleaning is a necessity, I was told. Best aspect of the cleaning — it’s absolutely free! When I was given my phone back, it was sparking clean.
All iPhones will eventually face battery degradation issues due to the nature of lithium ion batteries. While performance management software was initially limited to the iPhone 5 SE, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE, Apple in iOS 12.1 added it to the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X to prevent future shutdowns should these devices suffer from failing batteries.
In the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X, performance management features introduced due to degraded batteries “may be less noticeable” because of their “more advanced hardware and software design.”
iPhones, including the XS, XS Max, and XR, will also eventually receive performance management software, until battery technology improves.
Final note: even If you’re not experiencing battery issues with your iPhone, it probably remains best to get your battery replaced before the programme ends, so you can avoid potential problems after December 31.
