nephrus.net

Welcome to nephrus.net! We cover anime news and conventions, rail and rapid transit, hockey updates and lots of other things in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. Enjoy your stay!

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Three countries took to the skies over Vancouver’s English Bay during July for the 20^th annual Celebration of Light fireworks festival. Check out our photos from the presentations by Spain and Mexico on two of the nights when they lit up the crowd on the beaches.

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 4

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 28, 2010 • Anime/Manga

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 4

The rendezvous with the spy goes awry leading to an all out battle between the updated Team 7 and Orochimaru. However, the brawl gets out of hand quickly and turns into a fight for survival between Yamato’s team and Orochimaru’s minions.

Meanwhile, Sai’s true intentions are revealed after he leaves the battle and ends up at Orochimaru’s lair. The rest of Team 7 arrive and finally encounter Sasuke, but Sasuke has other ideas in store.

The Naruto Shippuden Box Set 4 is expected to reach stores on October 19^th, 2010.

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Canucks get Torres; Mitchell to the Kings

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 25, 2010 • Hockey

The Vancouver Canucks have added another forward to their roster. Left-winger Raffi Torres signed on to the Canucks after spending last season between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres.

Torres had scored 19 goals, with 12 assists and acquired 31 points with the Blue Jackets, while only getting 5 assists and picking up 5 points with the Sabres.

Meanwhile, defenseman Willie Mitchell headed south for a two year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.

Mitchell, who suffered a season-ending concussion on January 16^th against the Pittsburgh Penguins, had scored 4 goals, with 8 assists and 12 points during the 2009-2010 season.

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Happy Birthday Canada Line!

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 17, 2010 • Local, Trains

Canada Line at Richmond-Brighouse station

The Canada Line turns one year old today! On August 17^th, 2009, Vancouver, Richmond and the Vancouver International Airport all became linked together with rapid transit.

Since it opened, the Canada Line has transported some 36 million passengers between the two cities. During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, 3.88 million passengers rode the system between February 12^th and 28^th.

Ridership numbers on the rapid transit line average close to 95,000 per day.

Source: TransLink

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Anime Evolution 2010

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 16, 2010 • Conventions

Another year, another Anime Evolution. Costumed fans of anime and manga gathered around the core of the University of British Columbia during a sweltering summer weekend. There was lots to see and do, along with plenty of awesome costume, but the convention wasn’t as great as anticipated.

Read the rest of this article…

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Anime Evolution 2010 photos

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 14, 2010 • Conventions, Photography

Amazing cosplay, all day long!

Check out the ever-growing gallery from this year’s Anime Evolution out at the University of British Columbia! New pictures are being added every day in the late evening, so be sure to return each night.

If you don’t see yourself, track me down on Sunday — just look for the Naruto with the camera!

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Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 11, 2010 • Gaming, Videos

Another Naruto Shippuden game is coming for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, a sequel to Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm, expands on the characters, designs, moves and more.

Fans of another popular fighting series, may recognize one of the newer characters. Lars Alexandersson from Tekken 6 makes an appearance in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. Masashi Kishimoto, the artist behind the Naruto manga series, designed an alternate outfit for Lars in Tekken 6.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 will be available for purchase sometime this fall.

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100 years of the Fair at the PNE

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 9, 2010 • Local

The historic wooden roller coaster at Playland

Since 1910, the Fair at the PNE has delighted locals and visitors alike with rides, food, exhibits and various of other events. During the fair’s centennial year, the PNE has returned with a strong line up of musicians; including Cindy Lauper, Huey Lewis and The News, Jesse Cook, Wayne Newton, Kevin Costner and Michael Bolton. Of course, there’s always the popular PNE Prize Home, the Dal Richards Orchestra, Super Dogs, mini donuts and more!

The Fair at the PNE runs from Saturday, August 21^st to Monday, September 6^th, 2010. Don’t forget to come early on Sunday, August, 22^nd as the fairgrounds open at 9:00 am PDT with free admission, but only until 12:00 pm PDT.

Passes to the PNE and Playland can be purchased online.

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Zambrano back in Cubs rotation

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 4, 2010 • Baseball

Carlos Zambrano, the fiery pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, is back in rotation starting on Monday, August 9^th against the San Francisco Giants.

This is Zambrano’s first start since being removed for one of his notorious outbursts in the dugout during the June 25^th game against the Chicago White Sox. After giving up four runs to the cross-town rivals, Zambrano’s ensuing tirade saw him suspended for three games.

Zambrano is 3-6 when starting, and has a 5.71 ERA.

Source: Chicago Cubs

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The Naruto’s Forest certificate

Frederick Linsmeyer • August 3, 2010 • Anime/Manga

I arrived home from work today and found an envelope marked all the way from Kazo, Saitama prefecture in Japan sitting on the table. After noticing the Present Tree logo at the bottom and the Konoha emblem on the back, I figured the contents had to be for the Naruto’s Forest campaign that ran this past June.

I opened the envelope and found five sheets of paper enclosed within; one of which was my certificate of the tree I’m sponsoring. Also included was a beautiful print of Naruto and Jiraiya resting under a tree, a card with an amazing forested landscape where the saplings are planted, another card detailing some of the various local plants and a brief paper covering how the tree will be cared for.

So, if you’re ever in Japan, stop by the forests in the Yamanashi prefecture and look for tree 11-04772. I hope to visit one of these days…