Starbucks’ Ethos is My Ethos
Dear Starbucks, I love your coffee. While puffing away on my morning cigarette, your Pike Place beans skip caffeinated pleasantries across my tongue like a still pond on a bright spring day. I often wonder what I’m more addicted to – your coffee or nicotine? I know I need both to consider myself a functional...
The Homeless Problem
A British advertising agency, BBH, is piloting a project that has homeless people acting as wireless hotspots. Yes, seriously. The service costs two dollars per fifteen minutes of use and the proceeds apparently go to the vagrants, bums, and hobos themselves. While helping the homeless is surely an under-emphasized priority through most of the western...
They Really “Like” Me – LYP@H pt. 2
Siri: What is the meaning of life? I don’t know anymore is what she should say. Instead, she (it) just spouts back “Lord Vader, you’re holding me. The iPhone 4[ish] is the best lifestyle addition you could possibly have. Through my easy-to-use system you can access an ever-sprawling selection of applications and music to keep you...
Tears or Fears
When my grandmother died, I got mad at my mom. While I have great sympathy for those going through vulnerable periods in their lives, I don’t have much patience for bullshit. And here my mother was, crying hysterically after the service despite having shared detailed tales of animosity toward her parents with anyone who’d listen...
The Good Folk of Meanwood
Often associated with cowboys and hillbillies, country music was an energetic form of folksy expression through most of the 20th century. Subsequently trampled on by the likes of Garth Brooks and Shania Twain in the 1990s, some people may have been left to feel as if the best of country had hung its hat in...
2012: The End of the World
After narrowly avoiding not 1, but 2 of Harold Camping’s Rapture predictions in 2011, one might stop and wonder “When is it coming?”. The answer to this inexplicably important question has been in much debate over the past few weeks. Due to upcoming end of the Mayan b’ak’tun, the last stage of their long-form calendar,...
Getting Jigy-Jigy with Jumple
Jumple is the kind of band that can take the art of rock music and blend it seamlessly into a world of fun. This past Friday’s release party for their new EP Jigy-Jigy was a prime example. Dozens packed the narrow stage area at the back of Rasputin Vodka Lounge and let loose to the...
TTC Etiquette and The Tale of the Dodo
Day 1 Eastbound on the St. Clair streetcar from Oakwood, I feel as if I’m part of a pack of refugees desperately trying to claw their way onto the last caravan toward salvation. People push their way in through the back exit two stops in and, as the car is already packed, the latest additions...
Mad Am… I mean Mad Men… I mean Pan Am
Pam Am, the new ABC serial drama that follows a group of flight attendants in the 1960s, left me with an overwhelming feeling this past Sunday afternoon while I was getting to know it; a distinct yearning that I couldn’t quite pin down until around episode 3… I would rather be watching Mad Men. Despite...
I Might Settle for You
According to a recent surge of advertising, online dating is reaching new heights of success. One Match.com ad claims that 1 in 5 new relationships are started through such virtual means. While this stat is exaggerated, there is definitely a burgeoning interest in the world of internet mate-matching. Though, hesitance is still prevalent, and there...
PP Votes: Strategically (For the Liberals)
As a self-proclaimed socialist, the colour of my voting preference is generally orange. I’ve voted for the NDP in every election (provincial, federal and municipal –while the latter does not function within party bounds, you hopefully know who/what I’m talking about). However, this year I’m voting Liberal red. This is for a number of reasons…...
A Note From The Future About Facebook