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They say no news is good news, but news about an island inhabited by a bunch of pigs? That’s GREAT NEWS. Yes, there’s actually an island in the Bahamas that’s home to about 20 swimming pigs and piglets. They’re the only inhabitants on the place, which goes by the name of Big Major Cay aka Pig Beach. If you asked me, I would’ve called it Swine Island or  Swinesland for short. But no one asked me. And that, as you can probably imagine, makes me feel a little left out. What does a person have to do to be invited to these naming events, anyway? And don’t you dare say “be in a position of power” because, okay, that actually makes all the sense. Carry on!

Additional images via Reddit.

Artist Nicholay Nicholay Lamm created this 3-D printed Barbie that more accurately represents the average 19 year old American girl. The realistic-er one totally looks great, but I gotta ask: why’s everyone always hating on Babs? I mean, the poor woman’s already had her sham of a marriage exposed, she’s got a serious hoarding problem, AND the whole world’s seen her make up-less photos. Can’t we just give her a break? Besides, we all know it’s what’s on the inside that counts anyway and you know what? Both of those dolls are empty. So just think about that! Yeah! Was that deep? I feel like that was pretty deep.

AeroVelo, a team of engineers from the University of Toronto, has successfully claimed the 33-year old prize in the Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition. The $250,000 was awarded to AeroVelo for being the first team to successfully fly a human powered copter for sixty seconds at an altitude of 3 meters (9.8-ft) while remaining in a 10-meter (32.8-ft) square. Atlas, the team's helicopter, weighs in 52-kg (115-lbs), has four 20.4-meter (67-foot) rotors, is 58-meters (190-feet) long, and was powered by a dude with a pair of legs that could easy pop my head right off my neck. You know, sometimes when I'm doing some really hard thinking I tell myself I want legs like that. Then I take a good long look at my own little chicken legs and I say, "Self, that would take hard work and dedication." Then I flush and pull my pants up and stagger back to the couch. Hit the jump for a worthwhile video of the award-winning flight.

Photo via Shutterstock

Ikea furniture is ubiquitous in dorm rooms and apartments all over the world, but it’s difficult to fathom exactly how much of the world’s resources are actually used to make Ikea products. According to Pacific Standard, Ikea uses about one percent—yes, one percent—of the world’s entire commercial wood supply. That amounts to about 17.8 million cubic yards of lumber last year. It’s difficult not to have mixed feelings about so much of the world’s forest going to the production of cheap furniture, but the Swedish retailer isn’t all bad.

Read the rest of IKEA Consumes a Full One Percent of the World’s Commercial Wood Supply

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by Andrew Morrison | Former Market server Ray Loy is set to open his Bambudda eatery at 99 Powell Street in Gastown this evening. Here’s my skinny from when we broke the news of its coming back in February:

[...] the 8,000 sqft. space has been split into two addresses by the landlord, with one larger than the other. Both have already been leased. The bigger space, which is liquor primary, is apparently being turned into a nightclub [update: this is The Alexander/Brooklyn], which is to say that it’s the smaller spot that interests me. It’s slated to become a restaurant, and a likely a good one at that.

It’s called Bambudda. It will be a 55-60 seat contemporary Chinese joint dishing mostly Cantonese-inspired plates (plenty of nouveau dim sum) in a more stylish environment than we normally see from the milieu; expect a more fashionable design, darker lighting a more relaxed ambience, an audible soundtrack (ie. not a mere din), considered cocktails, et cetera (if you think that sounds a little like Bao Bei a few blocks to the south, I agree, except that in this case we’re talking about Cantonese rather than Shanghainese/Taiwanese). There will also be a sidewalk patio outside and a 400 sqft private room for up to 18 people.

Behind Bambudda is front of house lifer Ray Loy, who worked at “C”, Joe Fortes, and Bacchus before he became part of the opening team at Market by Jean George in the Shangri-La hotel, where he has been ever since. His parents brought him to Vancouver from Hong Kong when he was an infant some 40 years ago. He was raised in Strathcona/Chinatown, and opening a restaurant has been a lifelong dream. Where does the name Bambudda come from? “It’s a mix of two of my favourite things.” Loy explains. “Bamboo and buddha”.

The chef, Keev Mah, is a self-described “food nerd” who found a passion for the culinary arts in the kitchens of his grandmothers. Apparently, one grandma would cook Cantonese Chinese-inspired dishes with a Kelantanese-Malaysian slant and the other would cook Fujian-Chinese and Vietnamese-influenced food informed by her Nyonya-Peranakan heritage. Malaysian-born and French-trained, Mah worked at several restaurants in Vancouver (Hy’s, Malarkey’s, Circa) before landing this gig. He might be unknown to the fooderati, but I’m told he’s well travelled, well schooled, and a super keen perfectionist who likes to innovate.

The menu looks really interesting, and as you can see the space itself has turned out exceptionally well. They worked through two soft openings over the Canada Day long weekend and tonight is zero hour — the real deal. Check out the menu and ex-Maenam barman Buck Friend’s cocktail list (isn’t that a great name for a bartender?) amidst the photos below. The hours are 5:30pm to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday.

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

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Andrew Morrison is the editor-in-chief of Scout and BC’s Senior Judge at the Canadian Culinary Championships. He contributes regularly to a wide range of publications, radio programs, and TV shows on local food, culture and travel. He live and works in the vibrant Strathcona neighbourhood, where he also collects inexpensive things and enjoys birds, skateboards, whisky, shoes, many songs, and the smell of wood fires.

(via) Portuguese design firm Studio Ivotavares are in the midst of repeating the cool trick they pulled off last year in the town of Aguedo. For all of July, a shopping street has been given a shading canopy of coloured umbrellas. Close your eyes and imagine these lovelies hanging over Gastown’s Water Street all the way from Carrall to Abbott. Also, it rains here, so… Photos by Patricia Almeida.

OTHER CIVIC IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

Painted by artist Marc Simonetti, this is the Iron Throne that George RR Martin says best fits the Iron Throne he envisioned himself while writing the 'A Song of Fire and Ice' series. As you can see, IT'S F***ING GNARLY. \m/

This Iron Throne is massive. Ugly. Assymetric. It's a throne made by blacksmiths hammering together half-melted, broken, twisted swords, wrenched from the hands of dead men or yielded up by defeated foes... a symbol of conquest... it has the steps I describe, and the height. From on top, the king dominates the throne room. And there are thousands of swords in it, not just a few. This Iron Throne is scary. And not at all a comfortable seat, just as Aegon intended.

Man, HBO should have made it. Or at least CGI'd it. Because their twinky little Iron Throne is lame compared to this one. I want to see an Iron Throne that can easily impale the king if he trips coming up or down the stairs. HBO's barely even has any swords! I could gather more enemy swords opening weekend of the local Renaissance Faire. Hit the jump for a shot of the throne from further away, and a shot of HBO's for sad comparison.

This is the 40-foot dragon skull that 'washed ashore' on Charmouth Beach in Dorset, England, to promote the availability of Game of Thrones season three on the UK-based television streaming service Blinkbox. Any of you use Blinkbox? I don't even have a TV, just an aquarium. SAME SHOW EVERYDAY.

The 40-foot skull is (obviously) a man-made sculpture designed by a team of three, taking over two months to construct. It was created by movies and TV streaming service Blinkbox, to celebrate the arrival of HBO's third season of Game of Thrones on its service on July 15th. "Game of Thrones is easily the most talked-about TV show of the moment," said Ben Ayers of Blinkbox. "We wanted to mark its arrival on Blinkbox with a spectacle every bit as dramatic as this amazing series.

Whatever, I just want it in my apartment whenever they're done with it on the beach. And I want you to have to walk through the mouth when you come in the door. Then you'll be greeted by yours truly in a wizard robe, and I'll say something like, 'Greetings, and welcome to my magic castle.' Then you'll say something like, "Magic castle? This is a studio apartment -- I can see your bed from the door." THEN I'LL KICK YOU OUT FOR BEING A JERK. Hit the jump for a couple more shots.

This is the official five-minute gameplay footage trailer from Rockstar for the September 17th release of Grand Theft Auto V. It looks...pretty expansive. You can rob banks, fly planes, go sea diving, skydiving, hunting, play tennis, golf, go bicycling, shoot everything in sight, dabble in the stock and real estate markets, and, fingers crossed, go to a strip club and see some bare boobies. Sorry, that was the 12-year old me writing. No but seriously. Okay now that was the adult me talking. Hit the jump for the video.

© 2004-2013 Rebecca Bollwitt - Miss604.

The NHL’s Heritage Classic series is heading to BC Place on March 2, 2014 as the Vancouver Canucks will face the Ottawa Senators in the first regular season game to be played in a retractable roof stadium. Earlier this year five other cities were rumoured to host Heritage Classics and the Vancouver date was confirmed today.

“With one of the world’s great facilities as the setting, and one of the world’s most scenic cities as the backdrop, the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at BC Place in Vancouver will honour hockey’s Canadian heritage,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a release. “With the excitement, the entertainment, the competitiveness and the fun of this game, the Canucks and Senators will create special memories for hockey fans everywhere.”

“The NHL Heritage Classic allows our sport to further celebrate the history of the game while doing so in a unique venue,” Canucks president and GM Mike Gillis said. “We look forward to showcasing our city, province, team and fans this upcoming March.”

The 2014 edition of the Heritage Classic follows the 2003 game in Edmonton between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens, and the 2011 contest in Calgary between the Flames and Habs. [Source: CBC]

While I would hardly consider BC Place an “outdoor” venue (it would be like calling a car with a sunroof a dune buggy) its capacity of 59,841 will make it a very exciting game to attend. The most entertaining sporting events I have ever witnessed in person have been at BC Place so I hope that the enthusiasm that fans bring to Whitecaps and BC Lions matches will fill the stadium for this match-up on ice.

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With regards to the match-up against Ottawa, the Heritage Classic’s March 2, 2014 date will be just shy of the 99th anniversary of the Canucks defeating the Senators to win the Stanley Cup at Denman Arena in Vancouver.

Further details including information on ticketing for season-ticket holders for each team and national broadcast information will be released shortly.

© 2004-2012 Rebecca Bollwitt - Miss604.com. If you are not reading this via official Miss604 channels, this content is being reproduced without permission.

The post NHL Announces Heritage Classic at BC Place: Canucks vs Senators appeared first on Vancouver Blog Miss604.

Entering part of the Konami code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A) on any page of Vogue's UK website will make a sexy velociraptor in a different hat appear and shoot across the page. I've been doing it for fifteen minutes straight. This is probably the most time I've spent on a women's fashion and lifestyle website since I was reading sex secrets at Cosmo last night. PROTIP: If a sex move you want to try is defined on Urban Dictionary, your lover probably isn't gonna like it. Thanks to Alex, Lauren S, Matty W, Kt, carpe_ and Ford, who are convinced dinosaurs are the future of fashion and they are CORRECT.

Note: The map above is interactive, not just a picture. Hocus pocus! Ever wanted to take a virtual tour of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley? Well you're in luck (unless you willed it with magic), because Google now has a street-view version of the Diagon Alley tour from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in London. Pretty cool, but I've been to the REAL Diagon Alley before. Yeah, and I spent an hour inside Ollivanders Wand Shop waiting for a wand to pick me, and you know what I finally got? A dried cat turd. Ollivander tried to tell me it had a dragon heartstring core but you could tell it was just a furball. Thanks to bubblebear, rob, P4BBIT and Alex, who all believe magic is real which is good because it is.

London Original Loft is a concept design for the reuse of railway arcades scattered around London as living spaces. The idea is to close the arcades with a special facade that features skylights rather than vertical windows. In this way sunlight is provided while privacy is ensured.

+ CSR Architects

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BMW has yet to officially unveil the production version of its upcoming i3 electric vehicle – however BMW’s execs recently dropped a few hints about its impending launch date. According to Autoblog we can expect the fully electric BMW i3 to hit the US market early next year at a base price of around $34,500.

Read the rest of BMW i3 Electric Car to Arrive in the U.S. Early Next Year Starting Around $35,000

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Father and Redditor pourmeanother77 (no you pour me one) edited a texture pack in Mario 64 so his son could play the game and stomp goombas with his own face on them. Heck yeah, crushing yourself! Feels GOOD. I remember the last time I stomped on my own face. I'm kidding, that's never happened. But I did just grab my fat rolls between my hands and jiggle them around a bit. I could hear the Carnation Instant Breakfast swishing around in my stomach. It sounded like a ghost moaning, "In an hour I'll be gasssssss." Hit the jump for a closeup.

These are the conceptual 3-D printed 'Cortex' casts envisioned by designer Jake Evill (not to be confused with the Jake EVIL, who wants to see us all dead). They're awesome because if you break your arm a frienemy can't draw a penis on your cast. I've had to be casted up three separate times in my life and nobody could ever just sign their f***ing name like a normal person.

Out of the printer, the cast is left hinged and unfastened, so that it can be fitted around the wearer and then snapped shut, using integrated fasteners. Even when closed, however, the limb is still open to washing - and the cast itself is waterproof - while also being slim enough that a regular shirt sleeve will fit over it. The nylon structure would take some time to print, roughly three hours it's estimated, from the algorithmically-calculated CAD plans, but once produced would immediately be durable; that's unlike existing casts, which demand a period of up to three days to set fully solid.

I'm all for it, I hated regular casts. I'm also the kind of person who will spaz out and lose my shit because I can't take my cast off and has to be tranquilized before running out to the garage to grab a circular saw. I've had to be casted from wrist to shoulder twice. I couldn't even shower my arm -- you know what it smelled like? Low tide in a dirty gym sock. I could seriously get friends to puke by sniffing it. Nobody wanted to sit next to me at lunch. I had to itch myself with a coat hanger, then when they finally took the thing off all my arm hair had turned black and fell out. I felt like some sort of depressed zoo animal. Hit the jump for more pics with info.

This is Buttercup the duck. He's a dude though, not a chick. Although I guess all ducks were chicks at one time. "No, they were DUCKLINGS." Damn it all to hell. Anyways, Buttercup was born with a backwards foot that prevented him from walking normally and hurt, and nobody wants to see a lame duck.

Because the foot needs to be flexible, the usual plastics used in 3D printing aren't viable. Instead, NovaCopy printed a mould, which will be used to cast a silicone foot for the lucky duck, creating several iterations of the design to come up with the perfect one. It will be attached to his foot via a silicone sheath.

Heck yeah, he's getting an all new lease on life! I could use one of those myself. I haven't really been paying my life rent lately and my landlord is getting pissed. Isn't that right, God? "You've got till the end of the month to do two good deeds or I'll lightning bolt you." So, uh, any of you want to fake needing help crossing the street? Thanks to PYY, who wants to know what the name of Butttercup's little teddy bear in the picture is (please be Westley, please be Westley!)

If you’re like me and prefer to sleep in total darkness, with absolutely no noise, the Hibermate is a Kickstarter project that’s worth checking out. Whether you need it for your traveling lifestyle or to escape from your bed partner’s horrible TV habits, this innovative sleep mask with removable ear muffs promises a good night’s sleep. The cozy luxury eye mask is coupled with removable ear soft, medical grade silicone with sound-reducing memory foam inserts on the ear muffs. If someone disturbs you while this baby is strapped on, I’m pretty sure it becomes perfectly acceptable to punch them in the face.

Exploding Actresses is a Tumblr blog that posts animated gifs and videos of actresses in famous movie scenes having their heads explode. It's surprisingly entertaining. My favorites are this Snow White one and the Ghost one, but there's an entire video of Disney Princess after the jump, along with some others. And, since it's Friday, I suggest you stick it to the man for a little and watch them all. Then empty your suitcase into a trashbag, leave the suitcase on your desk so people will still think you're there, and leave work early. "GW, do you even have a job, nobody carries briefcases anymore." I do! "That's a pizza box with a yarn handle." I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, I was busy talking on my cell phone. "That's a juice box." You know what? THE DEAL'S OFF. Have fun explaining this one at the next board meeting, jerk. Hit the jump for more.

This is a series of shots from Japan of the rice patties farmers have turned into giant works of art by carefully planting different colored rice plants. Cool, but I went to a farm once and splashed around in a mud puddle for ten minutes before Old MacDonald finally told me it was pig shit.

This is called "tanbo art" (田んぼアート) or "rice paddy art". There are no dyes to create the different colors and hues. Instead, farmers used various rice strains in their tanbo canvases. Often, hundreds of villagers work together to plant the rice by hand and create these massive works of art. While planting, different areas of the rice paddy are roped off, so people know which type of rice to put where--kind of like painting by numbers.

Impressive. Quite possibly even more impressive than the time I used weed killer to draw a penis in my neighbor's yard. Get it? Because he's a dick. Just kidding, he's actually a really nice guy and I regretted doing it almost immediately I was just bored and drunk. Whew, it feels good to finally get that off my chest -- thanks for listening (but if you tell anybody I'll kill you). Hit the jump for a bunch more.

by Michelle Sproule | The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit. The Scout List is our carefully considered, first rate agenda of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

LASER CUTTER CAFE | There’s a new pop-up scheduled for The Chinatown Experiment this week. Laser Cutter Cafe owner Derek Gaw is moving in his Full Spectrum Laser Cutter. It can etch – with laser perfection – images and text onto everything from business cards printed on wood veneer to etched glass, puzzles, sculpture and signage. You can book it and experiment. Bring him a jpeg, word document or vector file and he can teach you how to have it burned onto just about anything (I have personally seen this done on nori, potato chips, bread, wood, and glass). Once you see what’s possible, you won’t be able to stop yourself from imagining the different things that you could do if you could get your hands on such a contraption. Start with a Safety and Basic Usage Tutorial ($25 includes a 30 minute booking).
Wed, June 26 – August 6 | Noon – 9pm | 434 Columbia Street | 30 Min/ $15 | 120 min $50 | DETAILS

CULT CLASSIC | Slip into a plush theatre seat with a drink and chill through the classic 1967 flick The Graduate at The Rio Theatre this Friday night. You can’t go wrong with Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock, Anne Bancroft as the sultry Mrs. Robinson, and a soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel. This ‘Midnight Movie’ will be hosted by Vancouver comic and ping pong promoter, Michael Unger. Dress up in a movie-inspired costume to receive $1 off the $8 cover (that dollar could go toward your first beer!).
Fri, June 28 | 11pm | The Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8 | DETAILS

ROCKS RESERVOIRS AND RAINFOREST | Take a guided walk around Little Mountain to learn about the natural history of this landmark green space. Celia Brauer (False Creek Watershed Society) will lead the rain or shine walk and discuss the human history of the area (before and after European settlement) as well as many of the unique features and tree and plant specimens found in the park.
Sunday, June 30 | 10:30am | Queen Elizabeth Park (4600 Cambie St) DETAILS 

WAKE OWL | Perfectly suited to play a small venue on a Saturday night at the beginning of summer are indie folk band Wake Owl. Darryl Wright (Popmatters.com) recently wrote a review about the bands latest 6-track EP that starts out: “Sometimes, the finest things are right under your nose. I was given a link to a Wake Owl track with a casual, ‘Hey—you might dig this.’ I checked it out and moments after I heard the first maple-sweet refrain of, ‘If I wanna leave I will / Stand on my feet, I do / Only takes these words, you / Never believe are true’ I pressed stop and went and paid cash for the EP. I know you’re probably thinking that’s how it should work, but let’s be honest—in 2013 it’s a bigger statement than it used to be.” Read the rest of the review here. Tickets are cheap and summer is waiting.
Saturday, June 29 | 8pm | The Electric Owl (926 Main Street) | $13.50 | DETAILS 

POSTER ART | Design firm Knauf and Brown are throwing one of their poster parties this weekend. Make your way to Fortune Sound Club on East Pender where there will be a fancy printer pumping out 2 foot by 3 foot, black and white artist’s posters for $15. Check it out!
Friday, June 28 | 9pm | Fortune Sound Club Project Space (147 E Pender St) | DETAILS 

THE PAPER HOUND | There’s a new independent bookstore in town.  The Paper Hound – which deals in fairly priced used and rare books and a limited selection of new books from local presses like Anvil and Arsenal Pulp Press – opened it’s doors at 344 W Pender this past week and it’s shelves are teeming with fantastic choices for weekend reading. Owned by Kim Koch and Rod Clarke (two bibliophiles who met while working down the block at MacLeods Books), The Paper Hound is the newest edition to a cluster of really awesome bookshops in the area. Grab a coffee or tea at nearby Finch’s and lose yourself in the stacks for a little while! DETAILS

EAST SIDE PRIDE | Celebrate gay pride over at Grandview Park this coming weekend. Count on hundreds of other people perusing the Pride Market (made up of wares of local artisans) and enjoy an eclectic mix of live music and (fingers crossed for sun) chilling on the grass. This free event is all-ages and appropriate for the whole family.
Saturday June 29 | 12pm | Grandview Park, Commercial Drive | Free | DETAILS

FEAST | UBC Farm is such a great place; home to fantastic learning gardens, programs and workshops, a Saturday Farmers Market, chickens, cob buildings and lovely grounds to explore. We should all be proud that a farm like this exists in our city. It’s also important to remember that to keep it going costs money. Consider contributing to its strength and the impact it has on our communities by kicking in with a little support. Clear your schedule for June 30th, when 16 home cooks from different ethnic backgrounds gather to offer their family comfort foods at the 3-D annual international food fair and UBC Farm fundraiser. The countries and ethnicities represented at this year’s event are: Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Scotland, Colombia, French Canadian, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Fiji, Malaysia, Salish (BC Interior), Caribbean, Mexico, Sudan, and Serbia (not to mention our very own west coast). Wander the farm grounds, taste authentic ethnic cuisine and support a kick-ass urban-meets-rural icon all at once! See you there.
Sunday, June 30 | 1-4pm | UBC Farm | $50 | DETAILS

EAT LOCAL | As always, make sure you grab locally grown produce from good people at your neighbourhood farmer’s market. This week We’re going for local garlic scapes, snap peas, Pure Bread, strawberries and lots of greens.
Trout Lake Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | Trout Lake | Free
Kitsilano Farmers Market | Sunday | 10am – 2pm | 2690 Larch @ 10th | Free
West End Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | 1100 Block Comox | Free
Thornton Park | Wednesday | 3pm – 7pm | Main Street Station at Terminal | Free
Dundarave (West Van) Saturday | 9am – 3pm | Between 24 & 25 on Marine
UBC Farm Market: Saturday | 9-1 | UBC Farm
Oak Street Market | Wednesday | 3-7pm | Oak @ 49th (Unitarian Church) | Free | DETAILS

GAME PLAN | Canada Day is a happy day with glowing hearts, true patriot love, and a party on nearly every corner. Head downtown for all day holiday celebrations at Canada Place. These will include music, entertainment, and activities. The Canada Day parade kicks off at 7pm (beginning at Georgia & Broughton Streets, the parade heads east to Burrard, flowing north until it’s end at West Hastings Street). Stick around Canada Place after the parade for fireworks that will light up the sky over Burrard Inlet after 10:30pm. The show will be visible from numerous locations (Coal Harbour, Stanley Park, West Vancouver and North Vancouver) for free, but it’ll be crowded. Save a spot in the reserved area at Canada Place and score yourself some unobstructed views (and easy access to washrooms) for $10 (details). Oh, plus we’re 146 years this year! Looking good!
Mon, July 1 | All Day, parade starts at 7:30, fireworks at 10:30 | Canada Place | DETAILS

BBQ | Steveston Salmon Festival is on in…well, Steveston. This is the 67th year that Salmon Festival hits the docks. There will be a parade, a Japanese Cultural Show, a craft fair, live music and the biggest, best, most wonderful salmon barbecue you have ever seen ($15 per plate). It’s estimated that somewhere in the neighbourhood of 70,000 people will show up. Take transportation and parking into consideration (this is a great day bike trip).
July 1 | All Day | Steveston | DETAILS

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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Read the rest of Southlands Residence Deftly Straddles an Urban Oasis in Vancouver

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Plastic Bag photo via Shutterstock

Following in the footsteps of San Francisco, Seattle, and other cities around the world, the Los Angeles City Council has voted to ban single-use plastic bags. Plastic bags have a huge environmental cost as they enter landfills, waterways and ultimately the ocean, and campaign groups fought hard for the measure, which received 11-1 votes in favor from the council. The measure will go into effect on January 1st, 2014, and it makes Los Angeles the largest city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags. Not only that, but it means that by the end of 2014, over 30% of California’s population will be covered by laws regulating plastic and paper bags.

Read the rest of Los Angeles Becomes Largest City in US to Ban Plastic Bags

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This is the ManaTea Infuser. Just fill up his tail with tea leaves, rest his flippers on the side of your mug, and add some hot water. Manatees: they’re known as the cows of the sea, however I prefer to think of them as mermaids if mermaids let themselves go and lost their hair in some horrific BP oil spill type disaster. But that’s just me and I understand animals. Just consider me a present day Dr. Dolittle if Dr. Dolittle had no education and did a lot of psychedelic drugs.

Hey all you spontaneous love-birds, have you been thinking lately… Why not get married? Hey, why not!? Oh right, because it’s expensive, hard to plan, and… did we mention expensive?

The Pop-Up Wedding Project is set to change that on the September 14-15 weekend by offering a way to help you celebrate your love for that special someone in your life in a way that is simple, meaningful, and beautiful, but without the cost and hullabaloo of a more traditional wedding.

Think of it like going to Vegas, but without the pain of finding the perfect Elvis impersonator to officiate the wedding.

The Pop-Up Wedding project is collaborating with a bunch of awesome Vancouver wedding vendors to offer a series of pop up weddings at The Chinatown Experiment over the course of the September 14-15 weekend.

Your wedding would include a decorated and styled venue, pre-ceremony canapés & cocktails, a private wedding ceremony with an officiant, a customized bouquet & boutonnière (or two bouquets/boutonnières depending on what strikes your fancy), a digital invitation to send to your nearest and dearest, photography & videography coverage, and a 30 minute post-wedding portrait session.

All you need is yourself, your significant other, a marriage license, and up to 20 of your nearest and dearest. Then, your Pop Up Wedding will last 90 minutes from start to finish and costs $1,200. That’s like the price of this tiny one-of-a-kind art piece at Anthropologie! Or a year of Starbucks! Or four months of gas! Cheap!

Not only is your wedding going to be budget-friendly and amazing, the pop-up wedding project team has got a few surprises up their sleeves for you as well. Who doesn’t love surprises!?!?!

You can register starting today by clicking here or learn more about this exciting venture at their website FAQ.

Best of all, a cheaper wedding means you can spend more money on getting your guests super drunk! And isn’t that really the point of a wedding? We like to think so.

(via) These so-called “offline” beer glasses are freakin’ genius. They force anti-social texting tipplers into using their cell phones to keep their beer vessels upright at Salve Jorge Bar in São Paulo, Brazil. They’d fit well in just about any Vancouver watering hole.

EVERY COOL THING WE WANT

We’re not exactly bridge fetishists here at Scout, but we really dig a variety of them, especially if they aren’t for the exclusive use of automobiles. Bridges are – by definition – transformative; they take you places, and there’s something to be said for enjoying the journey. Hence our push last year for this amazing trampoline bridge across False Creek. Would you believe that the bigwigs at City Hall didn’t go for it? Anyway, now we’re turning our attention instead toward the idea of a garden bridge, like the one pictured above, which is currently being floated for London’s Thames River between the existing Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges. “It will be the slowest way to cross the river, as people will dawdle and lean on parapets and stare at the great cityscapes all around;” says UK actress Joanna Lumley, who is one of the lead advocates of the project, “but it will also be a safe and swift way for the weary commuter to make his way back over the Thames”.

OTHER CIVIC IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

Disney princesses: we all grew up wanting to be one. By now some of you may have probably abandoned your dreams, but I have not. I would sell my soul to an evil sea witch in a heartbeat to be a mermaid princess and that's just the God's honest truth. I would marry Merman, and we would rule the seven seas together. Well, at least until he finally came out. Hey, no worries Merman -- you deserve the best. Now get out there and grab life by the conch. Hit the jump for closeups of each plus a BONUS announcer Mickey. Oh, and all these were created by illustrator and graphic designer MADHANZ. I meant to mention that in the article, but you know how these things go.

These sharp looking red shorts featuring an Irish Setter pattern are made from a quick-dry polyester microfiber—which is good because when you get them wet they look like crap. That is to say, they’re covered in crap. Not actual crap. Let me start over. When you get these shorts wet, little poopies show up next to the dogs. So basically they’re the best “gift” for your jerk of an older brother who thought it was funny to replace your English homework with pages from your diary when you weren’t looking. Yeah, the diary entry about your crush on your English teacher so you handed that in instead of “My Favorite Person Is…” essay. I mean, I got a B+ but still.

This is series of photos featuring pugs Blue, Bono and Roxy dressed up as characters from Lord of the Rings. The humans responsible for this madness is husband and wife Phillipe and Sue Lauer. This… this is what they do in their free time. And you know what they say: the couple that dresses up their pugs in Lord of the Rings costumes, stays together. People say that right? Yeah, I thought so. They totally say that.