Cycling is growing in Vancouver, and that is excellent. Well, it would be excellent if there was also support in terms of infrastructure and funding to accommodate the growing ridership. There is also a community around biking, and events such as Bike to Work Week and Critical Mass help it grow. While hanging out at Calhoun's the other day, I grabbed my first copy of Momentum, which is North America's self-described "urban cycling culture magazine."

The ladies who run Momentum are putting on an event called Bikeosphere on Friday night, so if you get a chance to drop by the Centre A Gallery, you'll enjoy a whole mishmash of stuff aimed at highlighting city cycling as a lifestyle choice. There will be music, art, a fashion show, refreshments, and valet bike parking! It's only $5, and proceeds will go to the artists and to the magazine. If you can't attend, make sure to look out for Momentum (it's free), or subscribe to it.

While I'm on the bike thing... check out this Vancouver cyclists' map. I just found out about it, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to be my Bible.

With two weeks to go until the much-hyped you-know-what, the Whistler Music Festival has managed to escape under the radar. It's happening next weekend, and with it's stellar line-up and great location, this festival deserves a lot more attention. The full list of artists is up on the website, but highlights include Thievery Corporation, Broken Social Scene, Bedouin Soundclash, Allen Toussaint Band and Mr. Elvis Costello and the Imposters.

One of the things that this festival seems to be doing right is providing you with a manageable number of artists to check out. With ambitious but scattered schedules at festivals such as New Music West, Music Waste, and Sled, great artists were playing to semi-empty venues. At Whistler, where all the action will be happening in two days on the side of Blackcomb Mountain, it will be easier to see everyone you want to. Perhaps the most obvious gap in the line-up is the lack of local talent, but I'm hoping that this will be fixed as soon as more artists are added, as the website promises.

You have until tomorrow to get the cheaper early bird tickets. The easiest way is to call 877-855-4TIX or order online here. Single day passes are at a very reasonable $57 right now, while the two days will run you $100. In terms of accommodations, a lot of hostels seem to be booked, but there are still some camping options. And with exorbitant gas prices affecting tourism, I hear that hotels have lowered their summer rates, so your best bet is to call around and find a deal. In any case, Ami and I will both be there, so we'll have some reviews and photos for you as soon as we can.

With both Duran and I recovering from the weekend/Canada Day, the review for last Friday night's FUSE at the Vancouver Art Gallery is a few days late. Usually, these monthly parties last until midnight, but twice a year an all-nighter is held that lets you stay until 6 a.m. (there's breakfast at the Café in the morning!) I made it until close to 4. Duran left a little earlier, which might have had something to do with liquor service stopping so early.

We arrived at the party around 9, when the line-up was still tolerable. Later, it began to stretch all the way down Homer Hornby Street, and getting in took a while. Once inside, we were given schedules of what shows were on at what time. There was plenty to cover, and there was a ton that I ended up missing over the course of the night. Duran's photos (slide show after the break) alone were full of surprises - I didn't catch a lot of the performances because I spent the first part of my night trying to get all the people I was with in one location. Tip #1: go with one or two friends. If you go with a group, don't count on staying together. You'll end up wasting a lot of time and cell phone minutes.

Right as the Festival d'été francophone came to an end with Tuesday night's celebration of Saint Jean-Baptiste Day, the 2nd Annual French Film Festival began. Although by the time you read this the first movie (Roman de Gare) will have already been showing for a week, hopefully some of these recommendations will come in handy if you have time to check out the festival. All of the movies come with English subtitles, bien sûr, so don't worry if your French is not up to par.

3) Priceless (Hors de prix) - This is a light comedy about a gold digger (Audrey Tautou) who sleeps with a hotel bartender (Gad Elmaleh) because she mistakes him for a rich man. The guy decides that she's just too good to let go, and here begins his quest to win her heart. Yeah, the plot has been done before. Yeah, the movie came out in 2006. But it's potentially an enjoyable film that contrasts with the more serious subject matter of some of the other ones. If you find Audrey Tautou as charming as I do, perhaps this film is worth seeing. You can catch it starting July 4th.

2) Love Songs (Les Chansons d'amour) - I don't usually like musicals, but something about the quirky trailer and the Parisian backdrop makes me want to see this one. It's all about the intricacies of a love triangle, and also what happens when a fourth actor comes into the picture (does that make it a love rectangle?). This film, which has become a bit of a cult favorite in France and Belgium, makes its debut on July 11th.

1) The Last Mistress (Une vieille maîtresse) - Something about steamy 19th-century romance makes for good film. Think The Atonement, but more French (that means that at least the sex scenes should be more exciting!). I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this one - it's been acclaimed at a bunch of movie festivals, and I've generally heard good reviews. It starts July 25th.

Anna here. This one's going to be short and sweet.

Baby high heels latest fashion accessory. Babies in high heels on the front page? Really, Province, really? "It looks like it's trying to make a six-month-old look like a 20-year-old." Next thing you know, R. Kelly will be using these to prove that he is innocent.

Monet painting fetches $80-million at London auction. See, aren't you glad that Vancouver has The Cheaper Show? $200 don't seem so bad in comparison.

If your watering hole of choice is anywhere outside the Granville Street brouhaha, you might want to speak up about Vancouver's archaic drinking laws. Do something without actually doing anything and join the Facebook group.

If you're not going to be away, on the beach, at a barbecue, or sleeping in this Saturday, you may want to check out some of the excellent papers being presented at UBC's Graduate Student Symposium.

The one with a new job around here is chef Rob Feenie. You've probably seen the new Cactus Club over at Burrard and Dunsmuir. It looks impressive, but we'll just have to wait for a taste test to see if it's as crappy and uninspired as all the other locations.

On the flipside, you may have heard that just about everyone has left Yahoo. Some dude created this fantastic DIY resignation letter.

Ooh la la. I didn't notice this in the Georgia Strait! Vancouver's own dating guide. Amidst a flurry of clichés ("the key is to be open to people"), dog walking and flea markets are also suggested.

Image courtesy of mordechai dangerfield in the BR Flickr Pool.

Whenever I go out for Vietnamese, I usually end up with either a bowl of pho or a sub. Both are great, but that's all Vietnamese food ends up being. When a friend suggested that an unsuspecting restaurant has some specialty dishes to try, I immediately agreed to going. That's how we ended up having dinner at Le Petit Saigon, located right on the corner of Renfrew and Hastings.