All articles posted in January 2011.
Hikaru no Go volume 23
It’s the toughest challenge Hikaru has faced as he takes on one of Korea’s top young players: Ko Yong Ha. However, Hikaru isn’t looking just to win the Hokuto Cup, but for something from within. Will he be able to understand what it means and overcome his opponent?
The final volume of Hikaru’s journey from amateur to professional will be available on May 3rd, 2011.
Fullmetal Alchemist volume 25
Under Central, Father prepares to make his move, but it will place Roy Mustang in a difficult position. Alphonse Elric encounters an opportunity to restore his lost body, however the price to regain it appears to be significant. At the same time, Führer Bradley and Greed fight over Central Command’s main gate but will Bradley succeed and regain control?
Fullmetal Alchemist volume 25 will be available on June 21st, 2011. Only two more books before the series concludes!
Canada Place and Coal Harbour
I grabbed my camera and tripod this evening and decided to take myself up on an idea I had for a while: snap some photos of Vancouver at night from Stanley Park. I started on the seawall just off from the totem poles at Brockton Point where I encountered another photographer taking pictures. She had forgotten the clip for her tripod and asked if she could borrow mine. We ended up spending half an hour taking pictures before the weather decided to force us to pack up.
After driving along, and contemplating whether I should stop and take pictures of the illuminated Lions Gate Bridge, I decided to park at Prospect Point and try anyways. Upon making my way up to the overpass that crosses the approach to the bridge, I ran into the photographer before and we spent some more time clicking away. I tried taking some pictures from the viewing platform at Prospect Point to get a profile of the bridge, but the rain made it difficult, so rather than risk damaging my equipment I called it a night.
I’ll have to select an evening where it will be drier and perhaps a little warmer — might even try and get a shot of the Nine O’Clock Gun going off too.
Robson Square during the Winter Olympics
Remember last year how Vancouver held two straight weeks of partying during the 2010 Winter Olympics? The City of Vancouver is bringing back the party spirit with a number of events held on Saturday, February 12th, 2011.
Olympic Glory Relived on Granville Street
Starting at 12:00 pm PST and running through until 9:00 pm PST, Granville Street will reopen to throngs of pedestrians to celebrate the anniversary of the games. There will be performances from buskers, street hockey matches and a parade too.
Illuminate Yaletown
This event spans two nights starting on Friday, February 11th and finishing Saturday, brings out the best of Yaletown with entertainment and works by local artists.
Creekside Community Recreation Centre
Held at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre, this event will host a variety of family friendly activities based on the Olympics and Paralympics. The even runs from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm PST on Saturday, February 12th, 2011.
2011 CIBC LunarFest
The Vancouver Art Gallery will light up with the LunarFest, a celebration of Asian culture, from 4:00 pm until 11:00 pm PST.
There will be many other activities going on in the downtown core, with the Province of British Columbia hosting a few at Robson Square, which includes free ice skating and entertainment.
The Olympic Cauldron will also be lit by the Olympic and Paralympic torchbearers down by the Vancouver Convention Centre west building at 4:00 pm PST on Saturday.
Thinking of driving through Vancouver on that weekend? Granville Street will be closed between Smithe Street and Dunsmuir Street, while Robson Street will be blocked off between Howe Street and Seymour Street.
When TransLink announced they would be moving towards a smart card-based fare system, a problem appeared: what would the card be called? The London Underground has the Oyster, Chicago has the Chicago Card and Sound Transit uses ORCA. So, last fall, TransLink held a contest allowing locals to submit their ideas on what the card would be named and now three finalists have been selected.
Between January 14th and 28th, 2011, you can visit TransLink’s contest web site and vote for the top three contenders: Tpass, Compass and Starfish. The winner will be announced sometime in March 2011.
Kimblee continues to cause trouble for Edward and his partnered chimeras before injuring the young alchemist and escaping to rouse the troops of neighbouring Drachma. The assault on Briggs by Drachma is quickly put down by the hardened soldiers before they march on towards Central to assist General Olivier Armstrong.
A healed Edward teams up with Greed and Lan Fan to take on Pride and Gluttony, but not before the battle takes a turn for the worse. A helping hand from Hohenheim and Alphonse, leaves Alphonse trapped with Pride under a mountain of dirt used to prevent the homunculus from using his shadows.
Over in Central, Roy Mustang manages to muster enough of his troops to begin his attack on the military headquarters and puts his plan into fruition by kidnapping a key person close to King Bradley — his wife. While King Bradley returns to Central to assert his command over the military, the news of an attack on the Fuhrer’s train allows General Armstrong to pursue her plan in taking control of the military… but it may not last.
The two-disc set contains episodes 40-53 and is set to be released on March 29th, 2011. A Blu-ray edition will also be available on the same day.
Death Note Black Edition volume 1
Viz Media is republishing the popular thriller series, Death Note, in a new format. Artist Takeshi Obata’s and writer Tsugumi Ohba’s story unfolds in Death Note Black Edition, a six volume collection — down from the original 12 volumes, and comes with larger print, select pages in colour and a redesigned cover.
A Japanese high school student, Light Yagami, stumbles across a mysterious book called the Death Note, which has the power to end another person’s life. Upon writing the names of known criminals in the Death Note, Light attracts the attention of L, an enigmatic detective, who is determined to track down and bring the mastermind behind executions. Will Light and his ideal world be jeopardized by the authorities or will L wind-up with his name written in the deadly diary?
The first volume was released on December 28th, 2010 with volume 2 following on March 1st, 2011.
FUNimation has posted the for the Canadian screening schedule for EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE, the second of four movies retelling the story of epic series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. Visit the FUNimation web site for a complete listing in both Canada and the United States.
View the Canadian screening schedule
Naruto Shippuden postage stamps
It’s a little dated, but Japan Post released a set of ¥80 JPY stamps featuring characters from Naruto Shippuden back on October 23rd, 2009.
The stamps come in a sheet of ten featuring Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Sai, Nara Shikamaru, Deidara, Uchiha Itachi, Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato. Only 13 million individual stamps were printed on over 1.3 million sheets. You can find a few on eBay if you’re looking to add to your collection.
Of course, Naruto isn’t the only series to grace the front of an envelope. Detective Conan, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Pokemon were released in previous years, with Sgt. Frog being the latest.
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