張學友1/2世紀溫哥華演唱會 [Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour Live In Vancouver]

If memory serves me right, I first saw Jacky Cheung live in a charity show he performed in during the 90s. But being probably my most favourite Asian singer, seeing Jacky headline a show has been on my bucket list for a very very long time. So when he announced his current tour would stop in Vancouver, I made every effort to be there in person.

Needless to say, he did not disappoint. In what he says was his 109th concert, he hit the stage shortly after 8pm and went on for three hours straight. Sure, I got a little restless when he sang several songs in a row in Mandarin. But I'm sure I would've loved it if I was a little more familiar with his Mandarin hits. And it was also too bad he messed around with the tempo and style of a few of his classic hits. But in all . . . the guy sang for three hours straight, dancing and even doing the splits! For a 50-year-old, what else could you ask for?

Below is his setlist, with some of my personal notes:

花花公子 - didn't expect this, one of his earliest hits
小姐貴姓
初吻
你是我今生唯一傳奇
妳的名字, 我的姓氏 - first goosebumps of the night here
情願 - and here begins the string of Mandarin songs
一滴淚
人在雨中
三分拍
如果·愛 - goosebumps again, my favourite Mandarin song of Jacky's
天氣這麼熱
吻别[ROCK版] - wish he had performed the original version
當愛變成習慣
我應該
肥姐 - this was unexpected, a tribute to Lydia Shum
愛網[JAZZ版]
情人的眼淚
我真的受傷了 - love love love
Life Is Like A Dream
Double Trouble
李香蘭
每天愛你多一些[粵語版] - this is when I started feeling like a kid again
她來聽我的演唱會
心碎了無痕
心如刀割
餓狼傳說
頭髮亂了
這個冬天不太冷[粵語版] - this is what everyone had been waiting for, a series of the old songs
分手總要在雨天 - at this point, you could tell people were loving it, cell phone lights exploded in the round in lieu of lighters
遙遠的她[粵語版]
一千個傷心的理由
只想一生跟你走
祝福[JAZZ版]

Not a bad way to spend a Friday the 13th, eh?

#1: Project 366

A new year's Steveston, a photo by gloomybb on Flickr.

One photo a day for all of 2012.

Why I'm Boycotting Threadless

Hello blogosphere, it's been awhile! Unfortunately, the reason I'm taken to the blog this time is not the most positive. But read on and you shall understand . .

I love graphic tees. The wit and creativity that can often be found on graphic tees make my life a little sunnier. I love supporting independent artists. So how could I not love Threadless - purveyor of all tees graphically delicious. And I did love them. Until now.

Earlier this week, Threadless had a major sale on their merchandise - $9.99 for selected shirts - and I wanted to take advantage of this. My cart quickly filled up with these shirts, amounting to almost $100 worth. And when I came across one particular shirt that was not on sale, I decided to go for that too. This shirt would be a special order "Lab" item that would need 2-3 weeks before shipping could occur. I was really excited about the things I'd selected, as a couple of shirts I'd been lusting over for months would soon be mine!

Now, while I'm not what you'd call an environmental crusader, I do take it upon myself to try to be green. So imagine my surprise upon checking out. Options for shipping speeds and prices, but where was the little checkbox to combine shipments? Nowhere to be found.

I turned to Twitter to find the answer. [exact transcription of my conversation with them]

me: I want to get 1 special order tee w/my order. Is there a way to make it so everything ships at once?

It took them so long to respond that I cancelled my $100+ order.

12 hours later . . .

them: Nope, sorry! :( Those will ship separately.

me: I wonder if it might be something you'd consider. More economical AND environmental.

Another 10 hours later . . .

them: Consider it considered! Sorry again it's not an option now.

Wait . . . what??? Is that really how you've trained your social media team to communicate with customers? "Consider it considered"??? By whom? The social media team? I know Threadless is one of those young hip companies, but I did not expect them to just dismiss my concerns like that. I'm down with colloquial and casual internet language. But to be so downright flippant about it is uncalled for and rude. They would have been better off just not responding at all. Or y'know, a simple respectful response would have sufficed.

Unfortunately our current shipping policy does not allow that. We're sorry for any inconvenience.

Is that so difficult? I came up with that in about 5 seconds.

Forget the extra shipping cost - it's a few bucks. But I'd expect any company to try to minimize their carbon footprint and shipping materials needed. Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed by Threadless and will not be purchasing anything from them for now.

Update: To their credit, a response from Threadless was left in the comments of this blog within an hour if its posting. While I appreciate this effort to reach out to me, I'm still going to think twice about ordering from them again.

When You Smile, The Whole World Stops & Stares For Awhile

Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars

Anyone else feeling the buzziness in the air? While most people look forward to summer, the sun, and hot weather . . . that's not the case for me. Nope, I have long been a champion for autumn and winter.

September - a new start [to the school year?], the end of mozzies biting me.

Truth be told, I was starting to get sick of all the sun. Call me crazy if you want! I have things to look forward to: Halloween, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's Eve!!!

Another thing to be excited about? My Canucks of course! This past summer, I was happy to join up with the good folks over at the Canucks Fan Zone, so I am looking forward to helping them out and spreading the [social media] word on Canucks events and contests happening around town.

That being said . . . come out and see us on Wednesday, October 20th at Joey's on Broadway for the first official Canucks tweet-up of the year. These events started up last year and have only gained momentum. Join follow Canucks fans, bloggers from the Canucks Hockey Blog, and the Fan Zone when the good guys take on their nemeses from the past two years, the Chicago Blackhawks. Joey Kenward of Team 1040 will have hosting duties and rumour has it, Fin will make an appearance.

Hope to see you all there!

I Long To Fly Away

I'm Like A Bird - Nelly Furtado 

Posts are long overdue. Sit tight kiddies. They're coming.