[VFF ’16] The Sandwich Nazi, A Documentary Review

viff2015sandwichnaziLa Charcuterie
19080-96th Avenue Unit 8
Surrey BC V4N 3R3
(604) 882-0881

Saturday, Feb 6th 6pm
The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas St,
Victoria, BC

A trip to the industrial neighbourhood of Port Kells in Surrey, BC is needed to experience Salam Kahil’s capricious if not salacious behaviour in The Sandwich Nazi. Yes, the allusions to Seinfeld are there, and if the two had to be compared, Kahil is funnier. The size of the sandwiches he makes must be noted. They look huge and to finish it in one sitting must be a feat!

Kahil, an immigrant from Lebanon, is the focus in director-producer Lewis Bennett’s documentary. He was once a male escort and while the first act spends too much time on his escapades, thankfully all that changes halfway when viewers learn there’s more to him than meets the eye.

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Local Tsukino-Con Reveals Kensho Ono as Japanese Voice Guest

Originally published by Otaku no Culture.

KenshoOnoVictoria’s local anime and cosplay convention has managed to obtain a Japanese idol for their guest list. Last night Tsukino-Con announced on their official Facebook page that voice actor-singer Kensho Ono will be attending their event.

Ono has already racked up an impressive number of credits to his resume. Muggles will know Ono as the Japanese voice over for the lead character of the Harry Potter films but anime fans will know Ono as Tetsuya Kuroko from the series Kuroko no Basket. In the more recent animated series Ono has voiced Souji Okita on Bakumatsu Rock (where he also sang the series opener), Slaine Troyard of Aldnoah.Zero, and Mikaela Hyakuya in Owari no Seraph.

Ono has also appeared in a number of Japanese films and television programs including Hôtai Club (2007), Dive!! (2008), Kujira no Ita Natsu (2014), and Fuji TV’s Senjou no Yuubinhaitatsu (2006).

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Tsukino-Con Announces Voice Actress Sarah Anne Williams!

Sarah_WilliamsWith all that has happened in 2015 it is good to see fandom on Vancouver Island can still rely on Victoria’s annual anime convention Tsukino-Con. And when it comes to experiencing a weekend escape I believe Tsukio-Con knows all too well what kind of distractions their con goers want. That could be why they have announced the addition of special guest, voice artist Sarah Anne Williams.

Williams has worked as a voice artist for English dubs of Japanese animation and video games since as early as 2009. Williams’ first title was as Ayumi Tokita from Shinryaku! Ika Musume. Her other anime credits include Sayaka Miki in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kozuki ‘Niko’ Yuniko in Accel World, Lisbeth in Sword Art Online, Nonon Jakuzure of Kill La Kill, and Sayu Hisanuma in Nagi no Asukara. Williams’ video game works include Jinx in the League of Legends, Angel Death in Wasteland 2, and she’ll be voicing Aaa in the upcoming Freedom Planet 2.

Tsukino-Con will be held on the grounds of the University of Victoria from February 12 – 14, 2016. To purchase tickets, please visit Tsukino-Con’s official website here.

Originally published on Otakunoculture.com

There’s No Need To Talk Like A Pirate at Rumrunner!

The Rumrunner Pub & Restaurant
9881 Seaport Place
Sidney, BC
(250) 656-5643

J: The Rumrunner is one of those restaurants out in Sidney that is divided up into three sections: the pub, the patio and the dining area. We in the Sidney area because Ed wanted to see if anything remained from the Gracepoint set (the police station) that was filmed last year.

E: By chance, I found the Gracepoint Newspaper Truck parked in a private lot next to Saint Andrew’s School near downtown when I was out and about during Victoria Fringe Festival 2015. So why not?

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J J Morgan Restaurant Serves No Rum

IMG_20150129_131636632J J Morgan Family Restaurant
1520 McKenzie Ave
Saanich, BC
(250) 721-2188

This corner restaurant by McKenzie and Cedar Hill was once a favourite of mine during my youth. Back then, it was known as Pizza Patio and yes, while I’m dating myself, the memories are oh so pleasant. When birthdays were held here, kids were allowed to head back to the kitchen and make a pizza just the way they wanted it. They could pile the ingredients on high, slather tons of cheese or spread tons of sauce on it and make the product look like a sloppy joe.

Since then, it has become one or two other restaurants before settling as J J Morgan, a traditional restaurant with western flavours than anything else. They have a reasonable Sunday buffet and I went there with buddies a long time ago to chime in about how they fared back then. What they offered did not convince me to return. Fast forward to now, well, it seems the tastes have not changed by much. At least the service is always friendly.

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Kim’s Vietnamese is a Guilty Pleasure

Kim's VietnameseKim’s Vietnamese Restaurant
748 Johnson St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 385-0455

E: If ever you are in the mood for the food of Vietnam, then you should try your taste buds on Kim’s on Johnson. I know I’m starting off this article by sounding like a commercial but how else am I going to get you to try the atmosphere this place offers. It’s low lighting and warm comfortable decor is perfect for anyone having a romantic dinner or in some people’s cases a bromantic one.

J: I knew the owner’s sons at good ol’ George Jay Elementary. Okay, it was no Blanshard but they had one hell of a library. To get to my point, I wasn’t going to let any sort of association get in my way of a restaurant review.

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