My former cohort in The Broadway Chorus, Maureen MacDonald, is now singing with the City Soul Choir, a 100+ group that performs uplifting, soulful music from spirituals, gospel, pop, R&B, world, and more.

Turns out they have a big performance, one of only two a year, coming up on Saturday, Dec. 10th at 7:30 pm at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby.

If you want your spirits lifted, I’d say you should definitely check it out!

More info at www.citysoulchoir.com (where you can also hear some audio samples).

Early this summer, I finally gave in to my curiosity and headed up the steps of the BC Lung Association building at 2675 Oak Street, which I’d passed by many times since moving to the neighbourhood. I was glad I did. I expressed my interest in the building’s history, met with some of the staff, and eventually, on a return visit, I was given a “grand tour” of the interior – as well as the opportunity to take some great photos. I’m happy to share them with you here!

The building was constructed in 1928 as Vancouver’s first Jewish Community Centre, and filled that role until the new centre was built in 1962. However, although the inside, all dark wood and antique detail, appears to be original, it turns out that the interior had to be virtually gutted when the restoration was done in the mid-1980′s. The building at that time was in such a sorry state that only the exterior could be truly restored.

At any rate, the restoration – or “rehabilitation” as it is probably more accurately called – was so well done that the building received an award from the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Advisory Committee, which is prominently displayed in the lobby.

Click here for the slide show.

My friend Diane Koerner has launched a blog that’s all about one of my favourite subjects: food! Specifically, it’s an ever-growing selection of tantalizing, tasty recipes from both Diane’s own kitchen and some of the great eateries in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and beyond, as well as some fine recipes contributed by readers. There’s even an occasional story of Diane’s blended in to add a unique flavour!

All of this is illustrated with mouthwatering photos taken by Diane herself. (Shown here is Pulled Turkey on Kaiser Buns.)

So have a look at Nourishing Vancouver!

A small but very nice improvement in my Mac experience, thanks to iOS 5 and iCloud, has just made itself apparent. The time is now precisely synced on all my devices!

It was my calendar alerts that made this evident. Previously, although alarms were synced between my iPod Touch and my iMac, they used to go off at slightly different times on each device. I knew my iMac was “live synced” to a time server that kept it accurate. And early on, I’d wondered if I needed to find some setting that would ensure the same on my iPod Touch. I imagined it would update the time when I plugged it in and synced – until I realized that this was not the case. You set the time on your iTouch and it immediately starts an inexorable drift out of sync with both the correct time and any other devices.

Enter iCloud. I noticed my alarms firing off on my iMac and my Touch within a second – something that’s never happened before. And sure enough, the time on my Touch is lined up with my Mac (at least, it’s only a one-second difference). Diving into my iTouch’s Date and Time preferences, I see that “Set Automatically” is now an option and is turned on.

So, it would appear that the cloud-syncing aspect of iOS 5 has made true time synchronization possible.

Of course, this is only relevant to the iPod Touch – the iPhone has always been able to set the time automatically. But now all iOS devices can be in sync – nice to have that at last.

Like all local movie buffs, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the imminent closing of Videomatica. But there is one positive thing coming out of it – a chance to sponsor your favourite film and help the complete collection to be maintained at a university or other learning institution.

From the Videomatica site: “Of course, universities don’t always have enough funds on their own, and that’s where we hope that the many who expressed concern over our collection’s future will step up to help make this happen. Rest assured, your donation will help to keep the collection together in an institutional setting, rather than seeing it being sold off individually and broken up.”

Click here for more details on the Videomatica fundraiser, or to make a donation!

Last fall, I was part of a strange and intriguing short film called WAIT FOR RAIN, created by Josh Epstein and Kyle Rideout, and including Peter Deluise and BC Hall of Famer Blu Mankuma among its cast. Although not in a speaking role, I think I’m somewhat prominent among the denizens of an office in a future where water is Earth’s most precious commodity.  And now, at last, the finished film is going to be shown – at the Vancouver International Film Festival!

It’s part of a short film double-feature on Sunday, October 9th at 9:30pm at the Empire Granville, and Monday, October 10th at 4pm at teh Cinematheque. You can order tickets here.

I took some pictures of the production, which included filming in an old warehouse on the Eastside as well as the legendary Penthouse Nightclub. Here’s warehouse pics and Penthouse photos.

I only saw bits and pieces of the story so I’m looking forward to seeing it in all its finished glory!

Christine and I are attending the Monday afternoon showing. Hope you can make it out too.