Are You An English Major?

If you are, I'd like to ask you a few questions:

1) Do you read the required novels on time, every time?

2) If so, do you enjoy that?

3) Are you both critical and creative in your essays?

4) Do you find symbolic meaning in every word you see?

5) Do you get 80s on most essays?

6) Do you feel like an incompetent, illiterate fool if you don't?

I am an English Major at the University of Toronto, and today I came to the realization:

I hate studying English at U of T. I hate writing essays. I am neither argumentative nor creative.

I have no passion or interest for dwelling on the meaning of certain words nor the placement of particular commas.


I cannot tell you why I Majored in English. I truly can't.

What is the "Harlem Shake"?

It's everywhere. Within milliseconds the globe has been bombarded with these damn video clips. First it was Kony then it was the escapist Ikea monkey and now it's the Harlem Shake.

According to Wikipedia, my internet friend who has never led me astray, the Harlem Shake is, in fact, a meme! Except, this internet meme comes in the form of a video. The innovators of this infectious meme were five teenagers from Queensland, Australia. On YouTube they go by the name of TheSunnyCoastSkate. On February 2nd the teens uploaded their video which was soon proceeded by YouTube vlogging sensation Filthy Frank's own version.

Here, first listen to the original track.






 Now watch the video that gave the Harlem Shake trend its kickstart:

 



Now for Filthy Frank's version:

 


 And if you haven't had enough here are some U of T produced, which I think are fucking great.



St. Michael's College REPRESENT:

 




 U of T's Faculty of Music!!

 




U of T's Con Hall!!!!





I'm sure you have heard enough Harlem Shake for the rest of your life. I will never download this song onto my iPod. Never.





I'm so sorry to do this to you, but you need to see this one. It's by far the most chaotic piece of incredibility I have seen thus far. Wilfred Laurier University's Harlem Shake. Even staff got involved. Take this in:







:)

"Started from the Middle" - Drake (A Break-down)

Drake dropped his new record this week - "Started From The Bottom", and, being born and raised a Toronna girl, wanted to express some opinions I have about it.

Firstly, take a look at the video if you haven't yet seen it:

Bones to pick: 

One, Drake grew up in Forest Hill. For those who are not familiar with that neighbourhood, it's stated as being "an affluent neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with Lawrence Park, Rosedale, and The Bridle Path, it is one of Toronto’s wealthiest neighbourhoods", courtesy of Wikipedia. 

He did not slum it like 50 cent or The Game (what happened to that guy?) did or hustle "to make some money to feed my daughters" like Biggy, or come from Georgia and drug deal like T.I. and has not been to jail multiple times like Weezy has. 

So... is "the bottom" relative? No. "The bottom"  is the grind, the hustle, the struggle; not having food on their plates, and scars from bullet wounds. "Starting from the bottom" does not mean, growing up in one of Toronto's wealthiest communities to date. Sorry Drake, you're not as hood as you consider yourself to be.

In fact, I'm sure Nas and Immortal Technique are somewhere out there laughing hysterically while they watch pretty-richboy-Drake's new video. I sure as shit did.

I come from "Vaughan and Oakwood" which borderlines the division between Forest Hill and the government-funded housing. I might say I grew up in the best of both worlds. I've seen "the bottom" and I've driven through the Bridle Path, and man, Drake's conception of "low" is completely skewed.

Forest Hill abode

A, perhaps, more humble living space in F.H.

Shit, there's even bus service

He grew up without a father most of his life. My condolences entirely. I have several friends who grew up the same way and it's tough - "tough" might even be an understatement. But he went to school in a very well-to-do frou-frou part of Toronto. Forest Hill Collegiate Institute was where all the Forest Hillites sent their children. Rich kids. Loads of rich kids. 

Commenting on his "sub-par" living conditions, Drake expressed his mother  "wanted the best for her family. She found us a half of a house we could live in. The other people had the top half, we had the bottom half. I lived in the basement, my mom lived on the first floor. It was not big, it was not luxurious. It was what we could afford." 

Come on. Give me a break. There is absolutely no one should be complaining about having an entire basement to himself, especially when that basement is situated in Forest Hill. It was renovated for Pete's sake. It was spacious. It had a recording studio in it. Fuck off, Drake.

Next,

You will see that Drake worked at Shopper's Drug Mart. Poor kid. My heart goes out to him. He had a part time job - man, that's the pits. 

Spare me.

He grew up the way every middle class individual did. He did not come "from the bottom". He did not come from the top, alright. But he definitely came from two thirds of the way, and that's better than most.

So, Drake. Lose the "I had to hustle to get here, I had to put my education aside to do this, I had to starve for days" attitude. You had clothes on your back, a car to drive, a job to tend to, and friends of status. You are not hood. You did not live the thug life.

That is all.

How to Choose a Summer Music Festival: Toronto

It seems that within the past couple years music festivals in Canada have been popping up all over the place. Our neighbours down south are used to the privilege of summer music festivals, what with Coachella, Lollapalooza, and The Governor's Ball to mention a few.

Coachella, L.A. 2012

But last year Toronto was bestowed with the great honor of hosting several summer concerts performed by world renound DJs and bands. NXNE, Toronto Jazz Festival, Digital Dreams, VELD, and the Identity Fest at Echo Beach were some of the lot hosted in T.O. From The Flaming Lips to Steve Aoki, Toronto was bumping and shakingn all summer long to the beat of some fantastic jams.

VELD, Toronto 2012

That was last year. The bar has been raised. The ante is up. What kind of musical festivals can we look forward to this summer?

Well,

• VELD is coming back along with Digital Dreams, and although the lineups have not been disclosed, it can be guaranteed that after the success of last years' events, they will be rolling in bigger and badder.

• The Canadian Music Festival featuring over 800 new local and international artists is being  showcased in 55 venues throughout Toronto's city centre (April)

• Waterfront Blues is back for round eight in its celebration of blues, jazz and R&B (June)

• NXNE, in it's 16th year is back for the killing - rock, indy, grunge, you want to hear it and they'll deliver. (June)

• Osheaga is being hosted in Montreal once again for the vagabonds and wanderous souls who love to travel and explore the vast realms and fellow cities within Canada. (August)

For complete lists of Canadian music festivals check this out:

www.musicfestivaljunkies.com

For events tending more to families, skim through this:

www.hotoronto.com/festivals


Now, on to choosing one, or some, for those who have the pocket change.

1. Decipher your chosen genre of music. Jazz? Soca? Reggae? House and Techno? Rock?
2. Give yourself an expenditure limit. These festivals do not come cheap. Be prepared to dish out $80 minimum. Depending on the length of the festival (some last up to 3 days) and the number of popular headliners will alter the cost of tickets/wristbands.
3. Browse through the links I have posted. Check out the individual websites for each music festival. On them the lineups will be released as well as the starting dates.
4. Lineups, lineups, lineups. Check them out and figure out where your favourite bands or DJs are performing!
5. Consider accomodations, commute time and accessibility.
6. GET. EXCITED.

This might just make your summer the most memorable one yet. Good luck choosing. Sometimes it becomes excrutiatingly difficult trying to decide between two or three festivals because several of your favourite artists are performing at each. Don't forget, there is always next summer!

Peace. Love.

New Age Aquarians

Yesterday night I had the privilege of attending UC Follies' production of 'HAIR' performed at HartHouse Theatre on the St. George Campus at U of T. Directed by the ever-impressive Shak Haq, and comprised of a cast reaching numbers of at least thirty, this was a production full of that 60s flare which is often forgotten about in the culture of the youth of the 00s.

Emmett O' Reilly played the rather, intense, character of Burger. Aidan Sharp played the sensitive character Claude, Bronwen Drummond was Sheila, Madeline Foley the rumbunctious Jeannie and Arianna Benincasa the heartbroken Chrissy. Each of these actors abound in talent and radiated a heat of talent which wafted around and smacked each audience member sitting there that night. O' Reilly in particular used his hands and the intonation of his voice to raise the bar in terms of character development and his consistent attention to detail of the character's nuances and quirks. Foley's slapstick humour brought the rather meek audience to chuckle with laughter, and brought me and a friend of mine to roar with it. Her solos were something fantastic as well. Benincasa's Chrissy was light and likeable and her solo embodied the definition of vocal control.

The ensemble seemed to have been experiencing the after-affects of a long day and long haul through the blizzard. Or maybe they had U of T's mountainous heap of readings on the brain. Whatever it was, the seemed to lack the extra ounce of chutzpah, however continued on with the show just the same. 

The costumes were out of this era. Colours and patterns and bell-bottoms, the movement on the stage was a spectacle in itself.

And the music...oh, the music.

Listen for yourself,

I highly recommend those of you who want to experience the trip of the 60s once again, or for the first time, to head on out to HartHouse Theatre and support the talent UC Follies has to offer.


www.uofttix.ca




Peace, Love.

Summer 2011

My sincerest of apologies for the current lack of the written word on my blog. I've been busy taking advantage of my summer holiday which, sadly, is over in about two weeks. Yes. Two weeks.

Where did it go? What did I do with my time? I will now attempt, to the best of my abilities, to recall how I spent my summer. For no other reason, really, than for my personal satisfaction, and to remember.

May-June 2011

- Summer School: Contemporary Poety (did marginally well...)
- spent time with an old friend, recently-turned-mother
- watched some Hot Doc productions
- found places to hang out at night with great views of the city
- went out to Century Room with some friends
- attended the launch of In Toronto Magazine at Roosevelt Room
- attended the UTICA gala
- attended Pero Expo at VoX International party
- attended cousins' First Communion...spoken entirely in Hungarian...
- went to good friend's house party for her boyfriend's birthday
- landed new job working at psychological centre...for a month.
- BierMarkt for friend's going away party... although she never did end up leaving...
- spent the day at Cherry Beach with the girlfriends
- continued my piano lessons!
- smoked the green and ordered a pizza to the top of a parking lot then headed over to the dirty Brunny (sweet random night)
- LEVENDES FC SAGAPO POLI!
- bike trip from home down to Lakeshore Blvd!
- Kensington Market with the bestie
- lunch at Vivoli's with the ladies!
- Brunny night...and green, oh the green.
- Gullo's birthday at This is London
- read under a tree all day at Trinity Bellwood's Park
- Prostate Cancer Walk for Papa Silva!
- Bike ride to Centre Island with the Bestie
- more casual baby visiting
- Visited the Nonna in Windsor for a week...joy.
- my special broke his wrist and I truly couldn't believe it

July-August 2011

- Dave and Buster's night...now that was some really awesome fun
- Oro Beach for Angela's birthday
- Drove the sister to the airport so as to begin her trip to Halifax...and never finish it
- "A Midnight in Paris"
- attempt number one in making Fettucini Alfredo...#hugefail
- K.O. after Century Room with the girls. The night ended way too late, or is 5:30 am considered early?
- Vivid's Pizzeria with my special (arguably best pizzeria in Toronto)
- Salsa on St.Clair with baby mama & Co.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt.2 !!!!!!!
- house party at Cheech's
- Breaking Bad. Seriously got into Breaking Bad. So much Breaking Bad.
- last night before the Greek boys headed off to Greece
- Skybar/The Guvernment
- Katrina's annual Taste of the Danforth Party (I got him back...best time spent all summer)
- My special gets a cleat in the knee and loses a chunk of it. Six stiches later and no summer championship he lost but was undefeated
- St. Lawrence Market with my special!
- Swimming with my special :)
- The CNE with friends and my special
- The Paramount
- The Brunny
- SMC Frosh Leader Retreat 2011
- Ana gets her wisdom teeth removed...again
- 'Pasta and Pizza' and Chinatown with my special!!

And there is it. The most sequentially accurate recollection of my summer's events. I mean, hey, I might've not had the most extravagent summer, but I spent it with him. And I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Uno Mas

It appears my blog has now become a daily recollection and recording of my adventures. iExplore. iSee. iExperience. iWrite. uRead. sWeet.

I've been expanding my cultural cuisine horizon as of late, and me and my special opted for Arabic food. Naturally, there had to be a sideorder of pita bread.

With a sideorder for the sideorder of hummus.

And for the main course? Shawarma on a plate.

You really should check out this restaurant. It is located at Dundas and Yonge, just south of Dundas Sqaure. It's called, Paramount. Check it out.

Ferris Wheels, Poutine, Cotton Candy

Get Up and Eat!

Not sure what to do with your Thursday afternoon? Well, here are some ideas:

Travel down to Little Italy on College Street. Walk around, take it all in. The desserts looks sumptuous, the smells are divine. The boutiques are full of wonderful artistic pieces. Really, you gotta check it out.

Once you've arrived on College, step into Vivoli's, a small Italian restaurant with great sidewalk and rooftop patios (and exquisite Sangria). Order a Margherita. Why? Just trust me on this one.

You're going to want to order that Sangria now, c'mon, it's hot out; you know you want something refreshing. This is the picture in the dictionary beside the definition of refreshing. You'll even find some fresh blueberries, raspberries and diced strawberries floating around in there.

Then you're going to want to take some pictures of your special person. Or not. That's optional. But I did.

Once you're finished your delightful shenanigans, pay off that bill and head on out to find the best gelato and desserts at the Sicilian Cafe! Your tastebuds will have never had it better. Wow.

And to top off the afternoon, go look for those benches (that aren't benches because they're not made of wood) but they're benches because they look like benches and you can lie down on them like you can on a bench...

Mangiare bene!!

Famiglia di Weston

What do you know about the Westons? My own knowledge of the family is very limited, which might seem embarrassing seeing as I work for them. Don't get excited. I'm not their maid or their gardener. I work at Loblaws, and today I served Mr. Weston's butler and personal chef. He purchased $545 worth of Loblaws foodstuffs.

"No big deal."

So I decided to chat with Mr. Weston's butler about how he came about this job and what working for the family is like. He comes from the West part of France and has worked for several families all over the world. He had just come from the Caribbean where he waited on a very wealthy family. When I asked him how he felt about leaving his family behind constantly he was impartial. He enjoyed the time to himself.

He said the entire Weston family does not live under the same roof as they have homes all over the world. (Had to hold my breath here. Holy magnanimous wealth!!) They are apparently very friendly and he has greatly enjoyed working for them for the past month. He plans to continue working for the Weston's for just about over a year.

So I did some research. Here are some basic facts:

- Galen Weston is worth around $7.1 billion (GASPING FOR AIR)
- He was ranked by Forbes as the second wealthiest man in Canada...
- ...and 133rd in the world (CAN. NOT. BREATHE.)
- The Weston family maintains control over:
- Loblaws Companies Ltd.
- Holt Renfrew (Mme. Hilary Weston is the deputy chair)
- Selfridges in the U.K.
- Brown Thomas in Ireland
- and the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands

I mean, wow. Incredible, really. This family is rolling around in green and have their hands in so many successful industrial and commercial pockets all over the world. They're also very involved in charitable business and founded the Garfield Weston Foundation which has raised almost $200 million dollars in the past ten years.

And I was the lucky cashier that served his butler and personal chef.

What to do on a Tuesday in Toronto...

It might not be an ideal way to spend your Tuesday, but this is how I spent mine:

So around 10am I arose from my bed and proceeded to prepare for the day--took a shower, ate, brushed my teeth, covered my naked self...

...awkward.

After that, I met up with a very, very special person at Dundas Square. Like most days, Dundas Square was bursting with live entertainment, loads of people swarming the square, hotdog vendors waiting for their next victim, etc.

We then made our way into the Eaton Centre where we decided to take a look around the infamous H&M. Unfortunately we came out unsuccessful, but not discouraged!

Afterwards we mosied on down towards Queen St. where our real adventure started. Queen St. is filled with so much to see. If you are a sushi fan, Queen St. West is the street for you, as a sushi restaurant can be found every ten stores down or so. Indian food tickle your tastebuds? They got those too. We however stopped at "The Footie Restaurant" just south of Queen and ordered ourselves some poutine and a piri piri chicken sandwich. I ordered myself a Corona, and boy, did it hit the spot.

After we finished eating we decided to check out the Farmer's Market at Trinity Bellwood's Park. The park was full of people soaking up the sun, playing tennis, riding their bikes, tossing around a frisbee, enjoying a picnic in the shade, chasing dogs...it was quite the popular attraction apparently.

We decided to take it easy and parked ourselves under a maple tree. It was relaxing and wonderful.


That was my Tuesday afternoon in Toronto. If you enjoy discovering new hidden boutiques or tasting new foods or trying on clothing you wouldn't find in a commercial shopping mall, I think a similar sort of day would suit you just fine.




-e

GET READY, TORONTO!

TWO DAY FESTIVAL. BIG. BAD. INSANE. IT IS COMING.

LABOUR OF LOVE @ THE GUVERNMENT

Line-up includes:

BENNY BENASSI
AVICII
BLOODY BEETROOTS DEATH CREW 77
DUBFIRE
CROOKERS
GARETH EMERY
TOMMY LEE
DJ AERO
VICTOR CALDERONE
LOCO DICE...
GUTI

Now, if you love house music, dubstep, euro...you need to be at this event. I am not a promoter by any means, but I'm going because it's going to be phenomenal. And because I know how mind-blowing it's going to be, I encourage the rest of you to get out there and buy your tickets as soon as possible.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS



Get your tickets at www.theguvernment.com

Step back and take a look around

Maybe if I ask the questions, you'll ask them of yourself.


C'mon humour me, just think about it:



What does music mean to you?

How does it affect your life, mood, day, etc.?

What is one wish you've had for a long time and are yet to see come true?

Why hasn't it?

In ten words, describe who you are, right down to your core...

What does love mean to you?

Who in your life do you love? Do they know?

What makes you cry?

If something is making you cry, cry. Let it all out. Let it all go.

What puts the biggest and brightest smile on your face?

Or who?

Imagine it right now...

Smile.





Life is too short to wait around and feel disappointment. Make of life what you may. Never hold back, for one day you will look back and sigh to yourself.



Live and let live!!


I send you my love and my hugs and warmth, and if no one told you you were loved today, I DID!

YOU ARE LOVED!!!!

You Must Experience!

Seeing as the summer break is finally here for all those college and university-goers, many of us have tons of time on our hands and no idea where to begin to make the most of it. Well, may I provide you with a few suggestions?

Go out for a night on the town with your best friends or your loved one, and catch a flick! Specifically make a mental reminder of "Water for Elephants". Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson (although not a personal fan of either) really shine as it appears they are in their element in this movie as circus performers. I mean not to say they are clowns in any way, just that their partnership in creativity under a circus tent is phenomenal. Definitely a must-see this summer.

Go for a bike ride! Biking is an awesome way to work your muscles and get out there and catch some rays. Ride through a part of town you are unfamiliar with and stop by the local bakery for a pastery or milkshake! You really can't go wrong.

Catch some local theatrical talent! Tomorrow night I will be watching "Forrests" at the Terragon Theatre in downtown Toronto! The talent is supposed to be mind-blowing, so I'm uber excited. Check out what kind of plays are being produced around you!

Spend the day at the spa. If you live in Toronto, you might want to check out The Elmwood Spa and venture out to visit a masseuse. Apparently they really know how to get right in their and mend your broken mind and body! If you're like me and trying to mend a broken heart, a spa and massage might be just the way to go.

Need more suggestions? Check out What's On Toronto.com for a great list of restaurants, free gigs, best jazz bars and local shows to catch!

Enjoy!!

What's Going On?

It was on the George Stroumboulopoulos Late Night Show that I learned Canadians are among the world's leading best "sitters". We love to sit. We lounge. We waste a copious amount of time on social networking sites. Hakunamatata. It is Friday the 13th and perhaps that may be the reason for all my friends deciding to stay indoors tonight. Or perhaps it is the sudden rain that started about fifteen minutes ago. Some "have work in the morning", others "haven't spent much family time lately". Really though, I think the reason they've all chosen to stay inside is because they are professional "sitters".

What are all my friends doing at this very moment? Melting into their couches and watching '90210' or catching up on last season's 'Dexter'. I don't have much to say for myself, I mean, how am I spending my time any better sitting at my laptop typing this out? My only defense is that my intentions were not to do so tonight.

I wanted to out with some guys 'n' dolls to go watch 'THOR'(which came out May 6th). I was even planning on suggesting heading out to a pub afterwards to enjoy a couple 'a' beers. Sadly my good intentions never received the oppurtunity to play themselves out.

Relationship-lovers, lazy slugs and club rats are what make up my scattered, and numerous, circle of friends. If they're not sitting, they're out at clubs dishing out money they don't have and making memories that will never be. If they're not at "Revival", they're at home in front of their TV set, or attending to their significant other's magnanimously important needs.

Makes me want to throw up.

Anyhow, that's all I have to say about that.



Oh, speaking of Friday the 13th...

Hot Docs Toronto, 2011

www.hotdocs.com

Everyone needs to check these out! Young movie-makers all over the world produce these raw and unscripted documentaries, and the contextual quality of each one I've ever seen is truly phenomenal!

If you live in Toronto, make sure you catch a few of theses flicks! Students watch free!