It's kind of weird how people feel the need to make lists of the best/worse of each year, and make such a big deal about a new shiny year, when really not a whole lot changes. However, I guess it's nice for people to have a clear cut date to start their new goals/plans/procrastination.. or something.
And in case you were wondering (which I'm sure exactly zero of you were), yes, that is a greenpeace calender. We get one in the mail every year and they have pretty pictures, so I like it.
Anyways, 2010 was a good year, and I'll be a little sad to see it go (completely contradicting my above sentiments). There were lots of first and a couple lasts, and I can honestly say I think it was my best year so far (Because, yes, with a solid 18 and a half years behind me, most of which I don't remember, this is such a tough choice).
In no particular order, I graduated high school, moved away from home and started university in Victoria, survived my first term at UVic, went to basketball provincials in Kamloops, experienced the Olympics right here in Vancouver, met my cousins on my dads side, spent the one of the best week on Hornby ever with them, went up to Vernon for my cousins wedding (which, actually, was my first real wedding that I remember... and it was a great one), saw Lady Gaga in concert, met/got to know some really cool people, flew to visit friends in Montreal (for the first time), and managed to wear my grad dress to a Gaga themed party. Those are some highlights, and I'm sure there were more I've momentarily forgotten.
So, yeah, 2010 was a good year. And although 'twenty-eleven' doesn't roll off the tongue quite as nice, here's to another great year: Happy New Year!
Heyail to the Soul Sister- Train vs Beatsteaks Mashup (by mash-up germany)
Ps. You all remember DJ Earworm's 2009 Billboard Top 25 Mashup (here). He's released the new one! Not as good, but worth a listen, just to say you've heard it. Let's just say that it really shows the, ah, originalityof today's top music. To be fair though, it kicked 2007 and 2008's butts.
Hopefully everyone survived the holiday madness, successfully burned a good sized hole in their wallets during Boxing Week shopping, and gained at least a good 4 to 5 pounds while stuffing yourself with delicious holiday food.
Personally, my house is full to the bursting with all types of food, both gifts and home-made. Delicious, yet so so bad. And by bad, I mean delicious.
Also, my family managed to attain the entire 1st season of Glee, the first part of the 2nd season of Modern Family, a DVD of a U2 concert, and several other TV shows on DVD. So yes, this means I have been sitting in my comfy recliner, eating chocolate, and generally being a big huge lazy blob.
Ah, gotta love the holidays.
Cutecutecutecutecute little boy!
But seriously, I hope that your holiday season has been good so far, and yes... I still have nothing of particular interest to tell you people. Yesterday my family had a huge family (and friends) dinner with 18 people, including one adorable little 4 year old. He got a playhouse for Christmas, and put on a lovely little puppet show for us all. Man, kids are cool sometimes. Also, note that, as seen in this picture, he is the best dressed 4 year old I have ever met. Seriously, last night he was wearing an vest, matching tie, blazer, and a sweet little hat to match.
Anyways, having successfully taken up a good chunk of your valuable loafing time (PS does anyone else know what else I mean by 'loafing'? Or is that just a phrase my cousin made up?), I shall reward you with a song, which I have no affiliation with, nor can I take even a smidgen of credit for. However, I like it, so here goes...
Old Man by Neil Young
Oh! For sticking with me here, I have a treat for you (kinda? maybe?). If you're like me, youtube is great for finding and listening to new music. This site here (bang) is awesome because it makes it super easy to get songs off of youtube onto your ipod/computer/mp3 player (hey, some people still live in the early 2000's I suppose). Enjoy!
Merry Christmas dear reader(s)! I hope you all had the loveliest of lovely Christmas Eve's, with lots of family and friends and, of course, yummy food. And music. Music is good too. Personally, my Christmas eve, as per tradition, involved some rowdy versions of 'Hotel California' (correct lyrics not mandatory), 'Ring of Fire' (hand clapping mandatory), 'Case of You' (for those who insist on hearing at least one decent sung song), and, last but not ever forgotten, 'Santa Baby,' sung by two very reluctant twenty-somethings. Ah yes, my family is in fact very nerdy when it comes to singing songs in large groups.
Anyways, just wanted to say Merry Christmas. Have a good one!
(we listened to this on the way home tonight, and it's a fabulous song. That I may have mentioned before. Oops.)
My family decorated our Christmas Tree today. It's always kinda nice doing this, mostly because we get to reminisce over the vast assortment of various ornaments we have accumulated over the years. (Hm. That sentence was wordy and a bit pretentious. My bad.) Also, as a sort of related phenomenon, our tree ends up looking vaguely like a giant craft project every year, due to the fact that it's mostly decorated with home-made painted glass balls, popsicle stars, and copious amounts of glitter glue, in various forms. Overall, I think it gives a nice homey feel (as long as you don't look too hard or too long).
On a sort-of-but-not-really related note, I tried a few more times with my home-made bokeh shape (christmas lights are pretty ideal for testing it), and although I still don't quite have it down, I'd say that my results are improving. Part of the problem is that my little heart shape is a little too small I think, and very rough around the edges. This makes the hearts not very neat, and the left side of the picture usually ends up being a smudgy black mess (which fortunately is easily cropped out). The middle four pictures (see left) all have the little heart shapes in the background, so it kinda worked! So, I'm
fairly pleased with that.
In other news, mostly for my interest and because these pictures took up a lot of space (so I feel the need to write at least enough to match how much room they're taking up), recently my aunt burned all our family's old VHS home videos onto DVDs, which is awesome on a lot of levels, mostly because rewinding and fast forwarding through VHS tapes is a huge pain. First off, I'd just like to say that my brother was just about the cutest little cubby-cheeked ginger kid ever.
Seriously. I dare you to find a cuter kid. Anyways, while browsing through these videos with my sister, we stumbled upon a clip that I had completely forgotten/blocked out for a long time. While this video use to literally make me leave the room in embarrassment, twelve years have slowly eased the humiliation and made me realize that it's actually pretty funny. Still awkward in that it makes it pretty obvious that I was a very awkward, spacey kid, but that's alright. Anyways, if you're looking for new moves to bust out on the dance floor, take notes:
Tiny video!
Yeah. You don't need to tell me, I know you're jealous. Maybe it's my sweet retro moves, like "the window wipers," "cartwheeling monkey," or "kickstand leg tap." More likely, it's the sweet combination of my bright yellow t-shirt that does, in fact, have MULTIPLE dancing bears wearing ballerina clothes, and my glow-in-the-dark, peace sign boxers, and the curly bob-like hairstyle I'm rocking. Between all that, all I ask is that you try to contain your envy that you didn't have my childhood. And, please don't point and laugh. Other than that, next time you hear the good ol' Spice Girls music blasting, feel free to bust out a few of my moves (hopefully with more enthusiasm than me), and briefly enjoy that awesomeness that was 90's.
Anyways, I know/think that my music choices have been a bit lacking lately, and I do apologize. Kind of. It's not my fault I'm too lazy to put a lot of effort into it. (Find your own music and tell ME about it, how does that sound?) Anyways, here's a song for your pretty little ears to enjoy:
[Disclaimer: if you're like me, the first time you give this a listen, you will be underwhelmed. Try to give it a chance, like a nice Canadian should.]
So on my mac, there's a "stickies" application where you can essentially litter your desktop with virtual, multi-colored, sticky notes to yourself. I usually have one lurking around reminding me why I should try to be productive with my life and stop wasting time on the internet. It goes by the fitting title "Reasons Not to go on Facebook." A few days ago, my friend gave me another good reason just why I shouldn't waste any more or my time. Look right, and you too will be enlightened. Of course, this is the precise reason many people enjoy facebook, but hey-- might as well keep it in mind next time you're looking through all 957 pictures of the guy you bumped into that one time at a party a few years back instead of doing your homework.
If that little blurb wasn't enough to catch your attention, good for you. You were probably too busy thinking about facebook to care anyways. Here's a song that my friend showed me a while back and, even though I didn't really fancy it the first time, it grows on you. And you can't argue that it's not at least a little chill.
Winter Song- Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
T-minus 10 days until Christmas Eve!
This means it's time to finish (start?) the Christmas shopping and listen to Christmas music. This can either be good or bad, depending on your grinch-o-meter of the day. Personally, I enjoy christmas shopping in cheesy christmas-themed malls, but who knows... maybe that's just me. Anyways, here is a decidingly un-Christmassy picture for all you grinches out there, and a two versions of a Christmassy song for you people who like some christmas cheer(ish). The U2 version is on a christmas CD that's about as old as me, and has christmas songs by Run-D.M.C, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Madonna, and a bunch of other random fairly know artists. It's an extremely cheesy and not very traditional Christmas CD, but for some reason it's pretty much the only one in my house and my family listens to it every year. Anyways, check it out:
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- Death Cab For Cutie
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- U2
Happy Christmas shopping kids!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Creepy snowman? Weird shaped lights? Sounds about right. Happy Saturday, and hopefully you are having a more exciting night than me.
Side note: if you are curious, the picture of the lights is my attempt at using a home-made bokeh shape. Clearly, didn't exactly work. Oops.
Cookies! Who doesn't love them? (Don't answer that, please.) My mom just happens to make the best Christmas baking (possibly ever) and these gingerbread men are what I came home to yesterday.
I've long come to term with the fact that the Christmas season = baking = excessive indulgence into all sorts of sweet and tasty things. Despite knowing this is not healthy, I really don't care. Cookies are wonderful, and that's that. This break might as well be PigOutFest 2010 for all I care... I'm a little tired of res food and must take advantage of this food while I can. That's sounds reasonable.. right?
In other news, I know I'm back home to the North Shore, as it is currently monsooning out my window and I'm a little scared to go outside in case I drown. Ah, Blueridge, how I missed you and your excessively rainy weather.
Now for you guys who are looking to increase your hipster status/find cool things to look and listen to/live in Victoria and want to know about all sorts of events/like to spend time on the internet, you can amazingly get all of these things here. A few of my sisters friends have this site that I mentioned a while back but I figure it's worth a mention again. It's 1/4 blonde who contributes some good music, 1/4 beard who contribute some sweet videos and occasional manliness, 1/4 guy who I don't know but seems pretty chill, and 1/4 girl who writes some seriously hilarious stuff (and about food, so really how can you not be at least a little intrigued).
'My god Marjorie, did you see that boy James
Franco? I swear, I nearly fell off my chair!"
Hey little study monkeys!
Hope exams are going well, and all that jazz. I finished my last exam today, so I get to feel unduly smug for the next few days. Yess. (?) For those of you still living and breathing library air and textbook dust: keep calm and carry on! Soon enough, it'll all be done and you can go back to watching How I Met Your Mother, or some other less funny but still enjoyable show, or whatever you do with your time. I understand though, that studying can sometimes get you down. Sitting in solitude are reading about the same things you thought you had drilled into your head during midterms is not only boring, it can get a little depressing (but stick to it, and do something useful with your life you silly kid). I don't know about you, but study breaks can be helpful in that they give your poor frazzled brain a rest and your spirits a boost. Don't waste too much time, but I know that there are three things that will always make me a little happier with my life:
1) Cute fuzzy things
2) Pretty things
3) and this.
Alright, you see what I did there? I can justify all three of these things for why they are good for your mental health. First, slow loris is just plain adorable, despite what my sister says. Just imagine giving that guy a little tickle and- yup, I see what you're doing- there's a tiny little smile. As for James Franco, he's just plain pretty, and a whole lot nicer to look at than your facebook homepage, or a textbook. The last picture, I'm not too sure why, makes me laugh every time. Why? Maybe it's the fact that you know that's exactly what an ugly black bird would be thinking in that situation, but hey- everyone knows birds can't talk, silly person who made this pic... I don't know...
For those of you who are all like "Liar, I'm still not smiling, and this chapter won't learn itself!" I have nothing for you. Perhaps you should CHILL OUT. For those of you who are like "why you waste my study time?!"... Just keep in mind: you came to this blog in the first place. Clearly, you were looking for any study break you could get.
Also, I posted the song 'Erase Me' by Kid Cudi and Kanye West a while back, and I just want to point out that you should still be listening to this song on a hourly/daily basis, as it is still more awesome than you.
Also (again), Glee did a cover of the song 'Valerie' by Amy Winehouse last week, which I hadn't ever heard of before, which is too bad. It's actually really good, and here's the video for it that is kind of weird because
a) it has a guy rapping at the beginning that really has nothing to do with the rest of the song, and then he just disappears for the rest of the video
b) it's kind of a bit of a copy of Bruce Springsteen's video of 'Dancing In The Dark' (you know, the one that Courtney Cox makes an appearance in when he pulls her onstage) ...in that the guy also pulls up girls to sing for the song. Who can blame him though, lots of guys aspire to be like The Boss (which, PS, is a stupid nickname).
c) finally, Amy Winehouse's vocals are there, but she isn't, apparently because she was too messed up from all the drugs (what? she like drugs??). Hence, various girls are lip syching to her vocals for the entire song, and they make a half-enthusiastic attempt to make them resemble Ms. Winehouse
Anyways, hopefully this has successfully been a nice break from studying (or not studying, whatever you're doing), enjoy:
Valerie- Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson
For those of you that I'm sure were just dying of curiosity about where I came up with this title, don't get your knickers in a twist. It's from a song, because apparently I am channeling my inner grade seven self today. You might remember me mentioning The Cat Empire a few months back, because I know how much you love keeping up-to-date with every song artist/band name I throw out there. (Actually, in the off chance you do remember this, it's probably because they provide some good listening). Anyways, it's from a song called Sly by The Cat Empire and I like it and it makes me smile, so you probably should listen to it too.
In other news, today was the last day of classes at UVic (and most other universities.. but not for U of A or any high school- suckers), so I feel obligated to mention it. (Hey, at least I'm not filling up your facebook newsfeed with this shocking news, right?) Also, there was a memorial today in anticipation of the 21st anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre that happened in Montreal on December 6th, 1989. A few speakers talked about the inequalities and violence towards women in today's society, how you have help stop it, and a memorial plaque was unveiled at the ECS building.
On a happier note, it's my friend Jason's birthday today, and he's finally turned 18 (he's in Alberta, so this is a bit bigger of a deal)! He has quite the taste in music, and has shown me a fair number of songs over the last year or so, so happy birthday to him, and happy listening to you guys:
What is this? And what's with the Austin Power reference? Truthfully, it's a combination of a poster of a monkey wearing headphones and thinking pensively, a laser pointer, and some wasted time. With a pinch of iPhoto editing. Instead of studying sociology (which, honestly, can be a bit dull), I dick around with my camera and my $2, fast food restaurant laser pointer.
More importantly, it's December! Which means gray, chilly weather, soggy shoes, present shopping, and christmas music! (See, it's not all bad, don't go feelin' all depressed yet!) Christmas time is all sorts of nice, and you don't even need to juggle it with school. But, for those of you who wish you could just fly off to somewhere hot and sunny that doesn't understand the meaning of the term "slush" or "west coast snow," you can listen to this song instead. It won't really help you on your journey south of the border, but maybe you can relate. Or something. Worst comes to worse, you can support a local Victoria artist by enjoying his lovely music! I just heard of Vince Vaccaro recently, as he was in the Peak Performance contest (along with Said The Whale and Aiden Knight, whose music is also worth listening too). He's in the top three, and he grew up in Victoria (I think). Other than that, I don't actually know a whole lot except that he can kind of pull off facial hair, and has a lovely voice.
Catch A Fire- Vince Vaccaro (skip to 0:55 for the song)
Isn't BC pretty?
"Wait a second!" you might find yourself saying. "How on earth does this relate to getting away from cold weather and winter blahs?? I want my money back!" Well, first off, I didn't take your money and I'm sure not giving you any of mine. And, unfortunately, I can't refund time either. But I will answer your question: It doesn't actually. I meant to post this song, but got distracted by the peak performance contest mention. So listen to that one too, enjoy the lovely music, and stop whining.
