bloor street buddhist

i was stopped on the street today by a canvassing buddhist - he was a young white man in an orange robe with some paint on his forehead, talking to people and giving away books on buddhism (one of them was a book, he said, inspired gandhi, mandela and mlk).  he said that i look "at peace".  i smiled and nodded. he asked me what my secret is. i explained that it's not one big secret, but a bunch of little ones. he offered me a book and asked for a donation. i told him that his books look interesting, but i honestly was not going to read them.  I'm pretty happy and i'm not looking for enlightenment or spiritual growth right now.  I told him that there are many more torontonians that could benefit from these books. I wished him good luck and bid him farewell - and now i wish i stayed and talked a bit longer with him.  i wonder what his story is.

sometimes i like sharpe marker facial hair

i don't like halloween.

so much pressure to dress up/i hate dressing up

WE'RE SO EXCITED

weird psycho ttc driver

he looks friendly, doesn't he?

Yesterday, I took a bus route that I was unfamiliar with. At Bathurst station I asked if this “express to exhibition” bus would stop at Fleet street. It obviously didn’t, but I was in a rush. The bus driver put his arm around me and said “eh.. eh yea jew know, fo you, I’ll a work somethin out". So I was kinda like, uh, yea? You sure? Should I just wait for the Bathurst Southbound Streetcar? And he was all like "shhh just don’t tell anyone eh! You know, if you don’t say nothin, then no one will know. I’ll work somethin out fo you. Justa get on yea? Shhhh”

So I got on. And by King Street he turned on the automated voice of God that tells you what stops are next. 10 stops later, the voice says "fleet street is next". So, thinking may be he had forgotten, I ran the dingy bell thing, got up with a smile and said thank you. But no… then he yelled at me for ringing the bell and blowing his secret under-cover courteous bus driver scam.

Ugh, anyways, this story was much more interesting in my head.

virginia gold by people you know

skull shot

Justin Bieber got hit in the face by a water bottle.

the busker

There was an old man waiting out front of the concert tonight. He was a short with a yellow shirt, a fedora and mismatched shoes. He sat on the floor with his eyes shut singing out some Mccartney hits. I heard him wailing "let it be, let it be..." so I said hi. We talked for a long time. I guess he couldn't afford a ticket so he came to sit outside of the doors to take in what he could.


He reminded me that nostalgia is a great feeling.

Shaq's a 12-year-old-girl

In probably the greatest transition ever, Shaquille O’Neal goes from talking to Vanity Fair about his friendship with Justin Bieber to his secret career catching cyber-predators by pretending to be a 12-year-old girl. And, yes, I’m talking about the large black man up there:

As long as you stay on the right side, you’ll be fine. For the last seven years, I’ve been a detective for Internet crimes against children. So if you ever see me, you know we’ve got you. If we come to your house, it’s all over. You’re going to be arrested. You’ve been having Internet conversations with me, and we’ve got all the evidence we need to take you down.
What’s your arrest catchphrase?
My catchphrase? Like a motto?
What do you say when you’re roughing up a perp? “On the floor, dirtbag!” “Book ‘em, Danno!” That kind of thing.
Well, uh. (Long pause.) My job is to be a little girl.
Come again?
I play a little girl on the Internet. So whatever name I’m going by, that will probably be my catchphrase. If I’m Tanya, then it’ll be something like, “Tanya says hello.” And they’ll be like, “Tanya who?” And I’ll say, “You don’t know no Tanya, huh? I’m Tanya. Let’s go.” And that’s when the cuffs get slapped on you.
I’d be less concerned with the handcuffs than the fact that a seven foot bald man just introduced himself as Tanya.
(Laughs.) Yeah, they don’t like that very much.

I’m pretty sure the last thing I ever expected to find out was that Shaq secretly pretends to be a lit- wait, did he just say Tanya? *chucks laptop in the river*

Thanks to Darwin Police who’d like you to take a seat right over there, please.

Photos: Splash News
(Source)

I wish it was Justin

There's an intern that comes in before me. Beebz. An awkward-looking, overly confident 22-year-old who's made nothing but bad impressions since day one. I ran into him on his way out and he was bragging about how he comes in 3 days a week (as opposed to 2).
Yeah.
Dang.
He says the news room is quiet so he can sit back and watch Star Wars. So I asked him why he'd come all the way here so that he could watch TV when he can just do that at home. He said to me "you just don't get it do you? (*this is where i cringed*) You're out of sight, out of mind. The more I'm here, the more I'm noticed." I kinda just gave him that I-don't-know-what-to-say look, as I often do when I don't know what to say. He asked about my pink headband then walked away awkwardly.

Lohan Maddness

Mr. Papa Lohan is on Larry King Live tomorrow night...

Lindsay goes to jaaaaaaaail!

sex + violence

I’m watching Christina Aguilara’s I’m Not Myself video right now and, after all the hype of her recent public interest in sexuality, all I see is a cheap synthetic imitation of Madonna's Like A Virgin decade. The PR blast into her "naked sunday's" couldn't have come at a better time. I’ll be the first to applaud Christina’s talent, she’s a diva vocal genius; but I’m Not Myself is lazy copy-cat video pulled from the Like A Virgin how-to book. Check it out so you can see for yourself – her dance moves were taken straight from her videos, especially Human Nature.







What Madonna did was revolutionary: she publicized sex and sexuality; publicly, shamelessly. Madonna’s sex movement can not be redone. Mimicking Madonna’s 1984 image just makes you look like a modern day pop culture prostitute.

This video was released at the same time that MIA’s Born Free shocked the news networks. This video hardly even made it to YouTube before they were pulling her video. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a gruesome expression of violence, equity and political freedom. No more violent then watching a movie.



Is Christina’s reclamation of the female body and sexuality is considered freedom of speech? If so, wouldn’t Born Free also be?

Sex and Violence, is one more valuable?

van bon bon

I had a conversation with a rah-rah lesbian today who was promoting "take back the dyke". An event put on by a drag-queen feminist activist who is against a corporate pride and wishes to reclaim the dyke presence in the Pride Parade (as she puts it).



Two things:

1) What's so horrible about a corporate pride? In my opinion, corporations bring in hundreds of workers and volunteers who otherwise wouldn't be present. And their presence is more than welcomed because we're inclusive, right? Thus, helping us in our mission to create awareness and promote acceptance. It's not like our GLBTTQQI2 presence/power declines as theirs increases. Also, they contribute millions of dollars, helping in making us one of the worlds larges pride festivals in the world.

2) A drag-queen feminist trying to reclaime the "dyke" presence in Toronto Pride. Have we ever had a presence? Is a male feminist really the one speaking up for us? Or is this their need for acceptance in a female community?



Anyways, may be the girl I was talking to was talking out of her ass and just wanted to be an angry lesbian. Pride is about loving. So please, my friends, think positively this pride. The G20 is over along with the "QuAIA" fiasco.

What is the happiness that has eluded our generation?

"I don’t get it. I was the first kid on my block to have a Nintendo. I got a car on my 16th birthday. I didn’t have to work a single day in college (unless you count selling homemade bongs at Phish concerts). My grandfather grew up with nothing. He had to drop out of high school during the Depression to help his family get by, earning money shining the shoes of drunks at a local saloon. Why is my generation, one of relative privilege and wealth, experiencing higher rates of depression than any previous generation?"

(...more)

prodigious prodigical prodigy child

i have a really talented friend


people you know finished recording our EP at The Orange Lounge this weekend. our producer (alf) and engineer (clynt) are two of the most talented people we've ever worked with.

so like hmmm... ok here, try this... you know how a painter or a hair dresser can create these artistic pieces and then later on they can see their final masterpieces complete? musicians don't get that same instant gratification. they rarely get to hear themselves played back in the truest most authentic form.

alf and clynt set up 17 microphones around my drum kit and left me in control. they added some amazing distortion to devon's bass, aimee played layer after layer of guitar and spat out some amazing vocals. shit that girl is so talented. so beautifully talented.

when this album is out, it will be the most honest and authentic replica of people you know's work.

lazy legged rock stars

i'm emailing you right now.

thanks man

where do you rehearse?

do you have a bass amp?

i was thinking that when i'm done recording and my drum kit is back at morgans, you + i should jam (if you have an amp).

i feel uninspired. unripe and suffering from a severe case of musical atrophy.

signed,

the paraplegic percussionist

this isn't happening fast enough

In 1913 the British took control of Iran’s Oil Fields though the Anglo Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). The British government controlled 51% of the company’s stock. In 1951, the Iranian people democratically elected progressive leader Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh.

Mossadegh ran a campaign whose main issue was the control oil fields. Even though Iran had a huge amount of oil, the Iranian people weren’t getting their fair share of the profits from the AIOC. So, when Mossadegh was elected, he made efforts to nationalize the oil fields. Something along the lines of, “Iranian oil for Iranians.” Not surprisingly, the AIOC wasn’t too happy about this.

In response, they funded SAVAK, the Iranian “domestic security and intelligence agency”, essentially a secret police infamous for its brutality. In another interesting twist, the CIA trained SAVAK forces and Washington DC gave them weapons.

In 1953, SAVAK helped Mohammad-Reza Shah Pahlavi take control of the government in a military coup, essentially overthrowing a democratically elected leader with a military tyrant. Guess what AIOC decided to rename itself forty years later? If you guessed British Petroleum (BP), then you guessed right.

But BP didn’t only destroy political stability in the past, but the environment and local people as well.




(source)

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER

“[A friend of mine and I] have paperwork, and we’ll bring it out soon, that will show what his wishes were and what he wanted. There’s a big fight going on with his parents and some other people involved, and after we bring this paperwork out, everybody’s going to shut up. Gary had certain wishes [excluding his parents]. I’m not going to go against a dying man’s wishes. … There’s a reason why he didn’t speak to them for 23 years.”

Todd Bridges, to ET on why he is going to go through with announcing Gary Coleman’s last wishes despite his parents’ disapproval.

What the hell do you think Gary Coleman’s last wishes were? I honestly cannot even imagine.

(source)

people you know

Get your own playlist at snapdrive.net!

marina and the diamonds

do you even know how good this song is?

don't you want to be having sex to this right now?



honestly, i'm so turned on.

constance is gay

I discovered this guy Henry Rollins last night. I had no clue what I was getting into when I went to his show - death metal? old school punk? (like my use of the word *smirk*) or what! Anyways he's a stand-up social commentary like commedian person. Funny and political.

This is him


He opened up with a rebuttal type skit about Ann Coulter then into the story of Constance - that girl who wanted to take her girlfriend to her prom so her school canceled the entire event.

I mean, if you're going to be homophobic, then at least own upto it and just flat out say "You're gay and I find you offensive and you scare me... and I think that your homo lesbian presence at the prom will traumatize kids and ruin the whole damn thing."

go ellen go ellen go!



I just overheard the worlds most aesthetically unappealing girl say that she's a pole dancer and was really looking forward to pole dancing tonight... *mini barf*...

...pole dancing... a sport or a crime?



HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

shit, the best part is that at the end of the night my teacher introduced me to her as HIS GIRLFRIEND. then i spat up my drink on both of them.

old school new shit

There's this whole over-use of the word 'old school'

Like the other day when I got into a great discussion about hip hop, politics and the black movement and I was like "I love K'naan for all of these reasons [insert cool stuff about k'naan]"

and the other person's all like "yeah i love old school k'naan" that's it that's all.

and i'm like, they boy's only got two albums... nothing "old...school..." Stop trying to get all trendy in a political cultured discussion about hip hop.

I get it, you're cooler then me!


I'm just colourblind! My wardrobe is made up of fashion mistakes and good guesses. I've been known to leave the house with two different shoes on and jeans i turned into shorts. I'm the last person you should be competing with over trendiness.




Anyways, here's some old school aesop rock. brilliant lyrics.

ksunnydoubleD

You know how that snot-nosed pre-pubescent Justin Beeeeebiiereerr kid got famous?? A couple years ago, he grabbed his mini-sac and sang along to Usher songs... then posted it on youtube and got superfamous for it.

These two Ottawa folk are exactly like him.  

...minus the pre-pubescent part.  K and D have been jamming together for a trillion years.  Now the youtube mini-stars post their home-recordings and link their friends to their channel - ksunnydoubleD's.  [click on the picture if you're an idiot and didn't figure that out already] Not a bad use of good talent and free shit hey?  They're pretty fucking good too.

Don't just take my word for it. Cus then when they're touring with Justin Beeeblzzlswler, I'll be all like "i totally knew KsunnydoubleD's way back when"

 and you'll be all like "whaaaaa??whooo??ehhh???? i suck" 

anyways, this is cool too

it's just a video of me - duplicated

17-and-under

My teacher today showed me how to make this. like i'll ever use this kind of thing in my life. I felt same way I did when i was teaching my grandma how to send an email and my dad how to use an ipod... but this time i was on the other side of things.

Don't we just hire 17 year olds to do this kind of graphic mumbo jumbo? On the plus -> he helped me get rid of that godforsaken picture on my myspace page!

have you heard this yet? no? well listen up. 

this DJ took a shit load of musical defecation and turned it into something worth listening to. thank you dj earworm. urgh, your name is still nasty though. you must be 17 and still think that's cool.

how many talented "17-and-under's" are there?

Tavi Gevinson of the Style Rookie is a 13-year-old fashion hipster/blogger/reporter/socialite. She is the rookie of the year in the fashion world and is taking over the runway.

She's been invited to more fashion shows and red carpet events than the Mulleavy sisters after their Rodarte launch.

After reading her blog i thought two things: either this witty, opinionated and well spoken kid is a fucking genius... or her mom is a tool and is trying to make her geeky daughter famous. either way, this blog is a fun read. go take a spin.

In the mean time i thought I'd release a youtube video showcasing all of my incredible worldy youthful talents. But I'm 21 now, so clearly I'm too old.

painting and break up's

what? oh my god!

"what is a "break""?
- a cop out. kinda letting go, but not so much. ooooh humming birds... you have humming birds out there.



We did the break up thing tho... we ate like large. and you gained a big tummy break up for me. You need to put more interesting magazines up in this joint.

"yeah I know man, take it easy, I just moved in. What are you painting?"
- A self-portrait.

"how do you spell portrait"?
- p.o.r.t.r.a.i.t.

"ok i got it"
- One side is of me in a Ferrari jump suit. Mechanic like. Pretty hot... and cute. And the other side represents what I could have been. A lost future may be. The metaphorical mirror of now and what-if?

Fuck. Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometer. Where the hell is the battery?



We're confused.

*no, morgan and i didn't break up. we're so totes in love <3

happy birthday rosie

family times...

Dear Rosie: You totally deserved the best birthday ever with several hot broads. You are loved. Mostly by me... but by others too ;)

Fat Velvet Shock Collars

Before your reply I called the Velvet to ask for directions. I told him that I was coming to see my daughter play... and before I could finish he said...

"Yes, she is really good"
"How did you know she's my daughter?"
"Your accent"
"...but..."
"She is younger and has that warmth in her voice, similar to yours... you should come see her, she's really good!"

I tossed a coin in a fountain yesterday night. Then, to seal the deal, I re-wished the same wish and tossed in another shiny penny.

Fat people on the bus really should take off their backpacks - they'd take up less space.

Nicole's talking a lot. She really annoys me. Sometimes I day dream that I'm throwing things at her... or that she has a shock collar on that I have the remote to.

dopamine

he's such a good drummer. My dad wants me to learn to play jazz. I don't because I don't want to deal with my potential. Looking beyond this drummers arrogance, his attentiveness to the needs of his instrument are sexy. Like if a kit had three clits: the time signature, the accent and the pick up's - he found all of them and made them climax in 100 different ways. He's definitely the kind of guy who's single but tells everyone he's got tons of broads. The pianist is my favourite; I think he's crazy. I think he goes home to a room full of inflatable dolls.

On stage these guys are geniuses - masters of their art. Athletes with endurance, pride and skill. Off stage they are socially retarded shadows. I guess like most masters. And me? I dunno, may be I should change sticks, close my eyes and lighten up? Or may be I'm destined to be a rock-n-roller, who gets drunk at a jazz club with my dad.

He just loves music so so so much. He can't help but let out a "yes"... "yeah!"... "you got it!"... and smile huge at every piano solo. Every tenor, alto, soprano. He's closing his eyes, listening so intently. He could have been a master.

I miss that release of dopamine. I used to listen to music. LISTEN. Now I'm a watcher. Sex + Music. We appreciate them in the same way. I'm a voyeur. I control, I like the intensity. I watch. I'm on top, one step ahead. The performance is 1/2 the enjoyment. I listen and play the melody, harmony and percussion. I let my entire body feel.