kristina charania
Blame it on the nitrogen
October 22, 2012The aftermaths of nitro-cocktails make hangovers seem like a gift By Kristina Charania Photos by slgckgc When you walk into your first Monday morning lecture with a raging headache and a gymnastic stomach (the only acrobatic part of your body) you’ll obviously blame it on the alcohol: the vodka, the henny, the blue top, and the liquid nitrogen. Yes, liquid nitrogen. That’s right. Don’t worry, though — Jamie Foxx didn’t see that coming, either. Here’s the 411: when a few drops of liquid nitrogen are added to a drink, they release plumes of hazy vapour that make any plain margarita…
Continue reading
Kids of 88’s Modern Love will have you swooning
October 15, 2012The second album from the New Zealand band is better than the first. By Kristina Charania It’s an unspoken but well-established notion that New Zealand is completely awesome. They have beautiful lakes and forests, an adorable little national bird, and…
Continue reading
Fish and chips or frankenfish
October 9, 2012The latest edible to get bioengineered could be B.C.'s own salmon By Kristina Charania Photos by Steven Zolneczko Hey, you. Yeah, you — the kid shivering at pictures of fist-sized strawberries, glow-in-the-dark cats, and spider goats. You’ll be nonplussed to…
Continue reading
Cochineal has customers seeing red
September 24, 2012Weighing the pros and cons of bug-based food dyes By Kristina Charania Photos by Theresa B In March, bug-derived cochineal extract was discovered as a dye used to color the coffee-giant’s Strawberry n’ Creme Frappucinos, Strawberry Smoothies, Blended Strawberry Lemonade,…
Continue reading
Does drinking decaf cause cancer?
September 10, 2012Weighing the pros and cons of drinking decaf coffee [caption id="attachment_63832" align="aligncenter" width="300"] When not in the lab, he moonlights as a coffee connoisseur. [/caption] By Kristina Charania Photos by Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier We all know that judging glance you…
Continue reading
Bike-loving coffee house opens downtown
July 30, 2012By Kristina Charania Photos by Jenny Waters With bike parking indoors, Musette Caffe is Vancouver’s first bike-friendly cafe In life, there are those who can text on their iPhones with one hand, sip a coffee with the other, ride their…
Continue reading
Four B.C. summer wines that won’t break the bank
July 9, 2012By Kristina Charania Photo by Mark Burnham The Peak takes notes from a chat with a Steamworks wine manager Just to let you know: you don’t have to be an overzealous snob or shell out big bucks to drown in…
Continue reading
Prometheus’ fire fizzles
June 11, 2012By Kristina Charania Despite lukewarm characters, the explosive effects and ambiguous philosophizing make Prometheus an intriguing adventure Having been in development for over 10 years with the largest budget to date for a movie in the Alien series, producer and…
Continue reading
Album review: Vows — Kimbra
June 4, 2012By Kristina Charania Bold vocals and fearless genre exploration load up Vows with punchy, ambitious charm Kimbra Johnson is a rare jack-of-all-genres, and nearly their master, too. Her debut album Vows exudes brassy confidence, and as a showcase of her…
Continue reading
Mercy Years chasing the dream on the roads of western Canada
May 21, 2012By Kristina Charania Passion might just pay off for Mercy Years guitarist and SFU dropout Benjamin Mott “He who opens a school door, closes a prison,” French artist Victor Hugo once said. Generally true, but this adage has proved false…
Continue reading
