Summer has been pretty crazy for me so far with photographing weddings, family events and a bit of traveling. I just got home from Southern California after spending the last two and a half weeks surfing and working at camps to teach kids how to surf. Here are a few pictures I snapped on an overcast evening at Trestles Beach on Camp Pendleton Marine Base.
This form of art is a great way of expressing yourself. You can get tattoos done to share memories and experiences or just because you think it looks neat (forget stupid tattoos like "DRAKE" across your forehead). In my opinion both are good reasons to have them done. People sometimes say "that's unprofessional", but does that matter when you have clothing to cover it? I have taken a great interest over the past couple of years to get a tattoo, but I promised myself (future self) that I would think about it rather than getting it done on impulse. That, and I am honestly a bit scared. I have a couple of serious ideas and hopefully I will have a piece by next Summer.
I am genuinely interested in tattoos that you have gotten and if you can recommend me any artists/parlours in the city.
Location
Sakura Garden is on 8th St. right above Panago Pizza.
Environment
I went for lunch where one woman worked the floor alone. She was very polite and gave every table attention. The restaurant sits on the second floor of the building so they receive plenty of sunlight on a good day. They renovated this past year, booths are cozy and large and I did notice the blue laminate flooring.
Menu
There were lunch specials, Vietnamese dishes, Chinese dishes and I believe they now have Sushi and Korean BBQ dishes in the evening as well.
Food
I went with the Special Vermicelli. It contained vermicelli, carrots, sprouts, lettuce, cucumbers, green onions shrimp, charbroiled pork and a spring roll. The pork is good because it's always juicy and flavourful. The savoury flavour seeps into the noodles and actually mixes quite well with the fish sauce. The spring roll had more of a egg roll batter which didn't bother me but I know it does bother some people. Lastly, the portion is very generous.
Conclusion
The food was tasty and fresh, the service was good and I left the restaurant full for under $10. That's my way of saying I liked it and will be going back.
On Wednesday I got to watch the wonderful conclusion to the Nolan Batman series.
Did it live up to the hype? It certainly did. But of course everybody asks, "Well, will it be as good as The Dark Knight?"
No.
Heath Ledger did a bang up job on The Joker and I don't think anything can really top that. So let's just... like... leave it at that. The Dark Knight Rises is its own movie and a good ass one at that.
The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is currently laying low, without spoiling anything from The Dark Knight (also if you haven't watched The Dark Knight at this point, then you're just being silly), because Gotham City is in peace time and they don't need Batman right now.
Then Bane (Tom Hardy) comes along and starts messing with stuff, essentially throwing Gotham City into disarray with the whole notion that the rich must be knocked down several pegs. So now Batman's gotta CLR the rust and get going so he can stop this Noob-Saibot-Mask-Wearing-Terrorist-Mastermind-Beefcake.
Like most Christopher Nolan movies, he shoves you in media res and expects you to figure it out as the movie plays out. Granted it wasn't too hard to understand, but some things just didn't make sense up until the ending of the movie.
Even for a two and a half hour movie this movie felt very "straight to the point". Like conversations. I'm used to listening to characters banter about so and so until they actually get to the point.
One thing that I wanna pick at is: Christopher Nolan must be messing with us. When his characters talk, they always seem like they have to pop out, not only in actions, but also vocally.
Every time you hear Bruce Wayne talk, he's fine.
Every time you hear Batman talk, he sounds like he's been trapped in a desert for eight months and all that he had to sustain himself with was 100 cartons of cigarettes.
This time around we have Bane who sounds like an old eccentric billionaire talking through a 1940s AM radio station.
It was to the point where every time Bane started talking, all 13 of my IQ points had to adjust itself to understand Bane and his radio play filter voice. Basically 79% of the time Bane started talking, I would miss what he would say.
But hey, it's a fresh take on Bane right? They could've just copped out and just made Bane have an angry muffled growl the entire time.
At first I thought the addition of Catwoman was gonna taint the movie a bit. But Anne Hathaway played it off very well. Maybe it's just me but I've had a crush on her since Get Smart.
Catwoman was something of a middle point in regards to morals. On one hand she's a cat burgler, who will do whatever it takes to get that $$$. But on the other hand, she will only steal from the extremely wealthy. Sorta like Robin Hood, but instead she takes from the rich and gives to herself.
What I love about every Nolan movie is how you're left in a suspense with a dash of confusion throughout the entire film, but by the end of it, he ties everything together.
Naturally TDKR was no different.
Everything I had said earlier were the only gripes I had with the movie. Aside from that this movie was bueno with a very satisfying ending to the series.
Of all the rebuilds of Batman, The Dark Knight series truly captures the darkness that surrounds Batman. It's the closest a comic book movie can get to reality without having the over-the-top comic book feel.
Should you go see it? Absolutely.
Comic book movies always suffered from this stigma where they would seem too over the top and cheesy or that they'd be horribly off from the original material making the die hard fans lose a part of their souls every time somebody mentions it.
The Dark Knight series shows that comic book movies can be done extremely well if you spend the time into such a thing as opposed to just making a movie about whatever just for the sake of making it.
Case and Point The Dark Knight Rises is: The unofficial film of the 99%.
Another hot release from Air Jordan. After seeing the Laser's and Mars Blackmon years ago we finally get to see the iconic Fire Red IV again. These are set to release on August 4, 2012. You will be able to get your hands on them at Momentum and Foot Locker.
The release of this shoe is coming soon. I must admit, I don't like the design as much as the previous two CTR360's. They have changed up the passing pods and the soleplate but I can't tell if this will be for better or worse. They do manage to keep the water resistance on the new Kanga-lite material and drop the weight by a whole two ounces (per shoe). We will see these in the Olympic's on players like Ganso (Brazil).
Go For Sushi is on 8th street in Grosvenor Park Mall.
Environment
The entire place is dim. It has a really clean look, especially in comparison to other all you can eat sushi restaurants in Saskatoon. The TV there was even playing the Chelsea vs PSG match. They give you a black pencil and an erasable menu and you select the amount of each dish you want to order. When you are complete, waiters come pick it up and return to you a blank menu. Servers are the same almost every time I go, they're always polite and helpful.
Menu
The menu consists of sushi, sashimi, tempura, teppanyaki, soups and vegetables. There is also a buffet that contains many things that you would see at a Chinese buffet and fruits, vegetables and desserts.
Food
This time around the food was awesome. We ordered different dishes of sushi, my favourites are always yam, green dragon and rainbow rolls. Tempura (battered vegetables and seafood) is always delicious too. The buffet was also very impressive this time around, they had salt and pepper squid and snow crab legs! I recommend that you go with a group of friends or family so that you are able to try multiple dishes. Underneath are photos of some of the food we ordered.
Seaweed Salad
Salmon and Avocado Sushi
Edamame
Tempura
Beef and Zucchini
Yam Maki
Green Dragon Maki
Conclusion
As for now, this is my favourite all you can eat sushi restaurant in the city. Why? Service is good and helpful, I am stoked on the crab buffet, the restaurant is the nicest and the quality of food.
Here's a video Brennan made for the Momentum blog. It features me fooling around and manualing a pad behind the shop. And just to make it clear, I got the trick the first three times. Brennan just decided to put in some additional trials to make it look like I struggled.
The album is introduced with the extremely familiar Playstation start-up audio followed by the iconic Street Fighter character select which -- if anything -- should immediately let you know what generation Frank Ocean grew up in. The Majin Buu lyric in "Pink Matter" sums it up perfectly: if you were born between 1985 and 1995 -- give or take a few years -- you are part of the same generation. Blame this man for having me spend countless hours searching through Dragon Ball Z videos since the iTunes release last week. Anyway, I gotta say this album is generation defining. Why? It boils down to being in the right place at the right time.
Well in this case, it's more like the right things were said at the right time. Frankly, channel ORANGE is a definitive album because it has been made in a relative manner for the times we live in. It will be remembered for Ocean's coming out and honestly admitting he was in love with another man. Some call it bi-sexual, others call it gay, but the point is that he said it at the ideal time. The President of the United States said he supports same-sex marriage back around May of this year. Jay-Z agreed with him. Those are two huge forces backing a major issue our culture is facing right now. One is the political leader of a country, and the other, a Hip-Hop mogul. Politics and Hip-Hop: two platforms that don't have the greatest history in dealing with same-sex relationships. Frank Ocean has become quite news story leading up to his album debut because of this event; everyone has some type of feeling toward who he is and what he stands for -- positive or negative -- and that is why channel ORANGE will be remembered. That and Majin Buu ( insert smiley face here ).
The album is expertly crafted and paints pictures true to the teenage and young adult lifestyle. Ocean sings with imaginative lyricism, focusing on topics like: love and unrequited love; unprotected sex; drug use; unhappiness; and most importantly, bisexuality/homosexuality. This story-telling articulation is what makes channel ORANGE so interesting. Ocean has a quirky, nerdy, way with his words and descriptions. In "Monks", he sings:
"We made it safely / Even with your father’s army trailing us / We escaped him / Even with his archer’s bows at our backs / What a great escape"
"Pyramids" shifts thousands of years between infidelity during the Egyptian rule of Cleopatra and a stripper/prostitute in Las Vegas. "Forest Gump" refers to-- amongst other things -- that same film it derives its namesake from; "Bad Religion" tells a tale about a confessional to a Muslim taxi cab driver; and Majin Buu is in "Pink Matter" ( shoot candy transformation ray here ).
Sonically, this album isn't a masterpiece but it is incredibly significant in terms of content. With that said, channel ORANGE is a cohesive project and all of the songs flow into one another. It is an incredibly mind-numbing and debatable task when trying to determine which songs are the proper singles and which are not. While nostalgia ULTRA (his first mixtape) may have been Ocean's "cassette player" , channel ORANGE is his "TV-radio" in comparison. The latter is a much more commercially satisfying effort, and while the former isn't literally obsolete, it isn't as coherent.
The only negative thing I have to say about this album is that he brought up this controversy a week or two before his album was released. I find it as a lame PR stunt to sell more units in the long-term. nostalgia Ultra and The Lonny Breaux Collection (a collection of long past Frank Ocean songs) have been out for a bit more than a year now and he never said anything then. He could've waited until after the album dropped and then answered questions in regards to the subject matter. His past songs [most recently his feature on Oldie: "I'm high and I'm bi / wait I mean I'm straight] had references towards men but no one picked it up/took it seriously. What he said is ultimately an immensely great thing, but personally, I just wish he told the world 24 hours after the physical disk was released.
Location
Schryer's is on 2830 Millar Avenue, in the North industrial area.
Environment
It looks like the classic barbecue joint that you would see on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, the colours of the interior really give it that feel. There are large menus, standard tables, televisions and arcade machines (including Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3). You can also do a drive through or take refrigerated goods home.
Menu
It's a smoked barbecue shack, there is everything that you would expect and more. Ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and unique poutines.
Food
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on top and fries on the side. The pulled pork was good, the meat was tender and the coleslaw always gives it that extra bit of pizazz. The only negative thing to the sandwich was the bun, it reminded me of a McDonald's bun. I would have really liked to see them use a freshly baked bun with seeds on top, but maybe that's just me being picky. The fries were good, they were quite filling. They were still crispy with a lot of potato inside. Next time I would like to try their poutine.
Conclusion
Schryer's was good, it has provided me with one of the better pulled pork sandwiches in the city. I like the idea of having different condiments and sides to personalize your meal (especially the cole slaw) and the Mortal Kombat arcade machine. If you ever are in the North end and looking for a place to eat a quick lunch, try Schryer's and let me know what you think!
Lately the sneaker community has been bombarded with many models because of the Olympic's. We've seen Barcelona (Team USA's basketball team played there 20 years ago) and Olympic themed footwear for an array of Nike's shoe lines. The Jordan VII has stood out among all of the shoes for me. Whether you're an American patriot or not, these sneakers are truly dope. The Olympic VII's will release Saturday, July 21. Your best bet is Momentum or Footlocker.
New photos of the anniversary Dunk have been released. These will go on sale in-store and online on Thursday, followed by Friday in Japan. This is going to be a tough one to get. As per usual there is a limited quantity and people are already camped outside of Supreme stores. I would really like to get a size 8.5 if someone else also wants to wake up and try to buy these for me.
I love Breaking Bad. Before Game of Thrones, this show was my favourite.
Today was the season 5 premier and I totally forgot about it up until Twitter reminded me.
See? Twitter is useful for something.
For those who do not know of Breaking Bad, it's about Walter White (Bryan Cranston, yes that is Hal from Malcolm in the Middle), a chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with cancer.
Before he passes on he wants to make enough money to leave behind for his son and pregnant wife. In order to do this he begins making meth with one of his ex-students, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
As the seasons pass, you see Walter White's transition from a caring family man to something of an anti-hero. This is so he can adapt with the issues he faces, because more or less, this becomes a story of "biting off more than you can chew".
The reason why I love this show so much is because it's minimalistic. There's only ever one plot and that one plot has everybody's stories connected to it and one way or another.
Also there aren't many characters that you have to keep tabs on. Unlike Game of Thrones where there are one gajillion characters who all name drop other characters that aren't even in the show yet, Breaking Bad has only, like, 7 characters max.
The mood of the show is strange, it's hella dark, but in a way it seems light.
Honestly if you added silly music in the background, it'd almost be a comedy.
Definitely watch this show. If you have Netflix, it's on there. It's probably the only good thing on Canadian Netflix to be honest. Well, that, and Sherlock, but that's a whole different post.
Breaking Bad is on AMC, which is channel 40 for you cool Shaw people, and whatever other channel for you strange Sasktel Max folks. It's on at 8:00 pm, Saskatchewan time, because we have a weird time zone.
It's almost Saturday evening and I'm playing Minecraft. Earlier in the day I concocted another mix full of dancers. It's on the heavy side of things, but definitely not the kind of jams you'd hear at a club. I'd like to think I'm staying fresh haha.
I recently obtained a Traktor Kontrol S4 so I've been dilly-dallying with it and so far it's lovely.
And if you thought it was tolerable you can check more of my stuff below.
I went for lunch today at A Taste of Saskatchewan and it was awesome, the weather was beautiful, it wasn't too busy and they had live music. I talked to a lot of people about there experiences and have had heard an arrange of responses from amazing to terrible. I for one had a pretty good experience. I had a donair from Sardinia which was basically a meal itself and a little combo appetizer at Royal Thai. Both were good but the beef jerky in the dish from Royal Thai was awesome, the meat was spiced and seasoned very well. It's not just the food that makes it fun, it's the atmosphere. Children can play and laugh, there is entertainment on the stage and everyone was happy overall. This event is sticking around until Sunday, so you still have time to get yourself out there.
Now is it possible for Saskatoon to have a food truck festival?
With items flowing out of our Marketplace, we will have another addition. This is the Nike SB Dunk Low "Money Cat". The money cat symbolizes luck, you may even call this sneaker the lucky cat. This pair was released back in 2007 and was actually one of two of the first Nike SB's to be sold at Momentum Marketplace. There are a couple of marks that can be easily cleaned, very little creasing and as far as I can tell there is no heel drag. These come with the original box and the second set of laces.
I figured this shoe would bring luck to someone considering that tomorrow is Friday the 13th.
For more information and other finds, visit the Marketplace.
This video is ridiculous, Brennan showed it to me yesterday. I personally don't think it's as good as Nyjah Huston's last Element part but it was definitely crazy. There are long 50's, feeble kickflips and 360 varial heelflips. I know we hear this a lot but Chaz will be part of the future of skateboarding
A Taste of Saskatchewan is hosted by Conexus Credit Union downtown near the Delta Bessborough hotel. This event will be held from July 10-15. Restaurants across the city work in little tents to present a few of their more popular menu items. This year there are more than 30 restaurants participating. The idea is quite simple, you purchase tickets ($2.50 for a food coupon and $5.50 for a liquor coupon) and exchange them for food. The items are more of an appetizer size to give you just a taste of the restaurant's style and to give you the chance to try many items.
Last year I had to miss this for a family trip but this year I plan on going once or twice to see what it's all about. You can expect a blog post to be made as well!
If you have an iPhone or Android phone, you are now able to follow us on Instagram at @hellosaskatoon. The plan is for the group of us to share photos of both events and daily activities that the audience of Saskatoon can relate to.
This shoe was my first Jordan purchase in a while and I am very happy about it. The colourway is perfect for summer. These look good with almost anything, straight legged pants, slim pants or almost any pair of shorts. If you missed out on these there will be another Jordan IV release next month and in November.
I really don't know enough about phones or have had this long enough to do a review, but I have had fun so far trying to figure this phone out. The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been in stores for a few weeks now and is a fierce competitor in the smartphone market. The one thing that blows my mind is that it allows you to use a motion detector rather than you pressing the screen for certain things. This is a huge upgrade to my little Blackberry Curve. I am hoping for a good two to three year relationship with it, hopefully it doesn't break or get lost. If you own this phone and can share anything cool with me, drop a comment underneath or get at me on Twitter (@SuMingHS).
Yup. That was exactly how I anticipated MSTRKRFT. Completely mindblastic.
The shows at Wake Ride started around 5ish, me and my friends didn't get there until 8ish, by the time we had arrived L.A. Riots was playing. He did a bomb job as well.
Come 9:30 MSTRKRFT hits the stage. Decks, mixer, laptop, bottle of Crown Royal and many cigarettes, MSTRKRFT brought the heavy hits.
I was right up in front dancing until the set was over. I haven't danced like that since DJ Baby Yu.
On June 1st, The Roots played at the Jazz Festival for their second time. Once again it was a sold out show. The Heavyweights Brass Band and The Steadies got the show going by opening for The Roots. I caught them the last time they were here as well and I found this performance just as lively and exciting as the previous show.
The Roots played music for everyone to enjoy, whether you were there to dance, listen to some talented musicians, rap along with Black Thought or just to party, this concert was the concert for you. I was curious to what they were going to play because I never really listened to undun (their latest album), but they played a variety of other songs from their 10 other albums and covers as well. Right off the start they had the crowd going crazy by performing "Paul Revere" in respect to Adam Yauch (MCA of the Beastie Boys). It didn't end there either, they played many of my favourites and succeeded to keep the audience entertained. Check out some more photos I took at the show.
Make sure to check out some Jazz Festival shows next year!
