Things My Boyfriend Says

He says a lot of things.
But these two recent comments stuck out the most.

“You’re hair feels like something soft in a toilet paper ad.
Like the toilet paper, not the poo.”

“Eating yogurt lying down is always a bad idea. It’s all about strategy... and speed!”

It snowed. Finally!

"When the snow falls, you almost believe the world is clean again."
- Jeanette Winterson

Vancouver is having Olympic-appropriate-weather performance issues, and Toronto has Vancouver's weather. But who in the world has Toronto's weather?

Washington, I suppose.

Online Media: Is it Taking Over? (re-posted from school blog)

According to Clay Shirky, an American writer, the publishing industry is going to become extinct in the very near future.
He outlines his thoughts in the article Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable.

After newspapers die, readers will receive news online written by "excitable 14 year olds" rather than trained journalists.

Getting news online isn't a problem. Getting news from a potentially uninformed 14 year old is.

But there is hope yet for print journalists! We're not completely S.O.L.

"A lot of people still love the actual physical act of flipping through pages. They still hold that dear," said Kim Shiffman, senior editor of PROFIT.
Shiffman edits an online publication that posts reports and data. But she said that print is the vehicle for long-form storytelling. "It doesn't seem like people like to read that kind of thing online."

"As a reader, I like to hold things in my hand," said Megan Griffith-Greene, editor of Chatelain and Shameless magazines. On the weekend, Griffith-Greene likes to read the paper, but during the week, she gets her news online.

So, yes, the week-day newspaper is dead. During the week, everything will be online. It is fast and easy to access.
But, it is likely there will be a weekend newspaper. It’s part of a relaxing weekend morning for most people.

Shirky is right. We don't need news on paper, but we do need journalists. Journalists will survive. Newspapers won't.

NFB's Screening Room: Leading the Way for Canadian Content (re-posted from school blog)

The National Film Board of Canada's Screening Room launched last year, making Canadian films accessible to the world. But it's only a small portion of an already minute amount of Canadian content available on the web.

Michael Geist wrote about NFB in his article NFB Unreels Online Smash Hits.
"The NFB may never replace YouTube in the minds of most when it comes to Internet video," Geist wrote, "but a series of innovations have highlighted the benefits of an open distribution model and the potential for Canadian content to reach a global audience online."

Having a Canadian website, available to the entire world, showing intelligent, well-made and creative Canadian videos is great.

"There's a lack of Canadian content," says Willow Knoblauch, formerly the head of managing live videos on BlogTV.ca (now only available in the United States as blogtv.com).

Videos posted on sites like YouTube, MySpaceTV and BlogTV are often unintelligent or uploaded illegally by "excitable 14 year olds".

But YouTube and other user-generated-content sites can still include intelligent, innovative material. "For people that actually use it for what they're supposed to, it's a stepping stone to launch themselves into what they really want to do," says Knoblauch. That could be anything from acting to short films, animation or production. "It's a good platform for creative people."

So far, NFB's Screening Room seems like the best Canadian video site out there. Knoblauch thinks its a huge step in the right direction. "It's guaranteed, original, Canadian content."

American-Style News

From Adam Giambrone's university-aged side dish and his confession of multiple inappropriate relationships to Col. Russell Williams of The Canadian Forces being charged with two murders, Canadians have really gotten a taste of American-style news.

And the papers, broadcasters and bloggers have been eating it up.

It's tantalizing gossip full of stories about other women and the potential of a serial murderer.
It's almost a reflection the sensationalized-style news stories that appear often south of the boarder.

[Just to be clear, these things are not good. They're horrible, especially the women who were murdered. I hope for their families' sake that the police get to the bottom of this case.]

But my gosh they sure are keeping us all entertained.

Man, that was fast.

Giambrone quits mayoral race.

This doesn't mean I'm rooting for Rocco Rossi though.

Back Stepping

Adam Giambrone could have could have done magnificently if he'd completed this campaign. All of Toronto was watching, and he started off on the right foot. He would not have necessarily won, but he would have made a step in the right direction.


Royson James sums up the Giambrone-and-his-affairs issue perfectly in his column in The Star. He describes the situation quite eloquently. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hazel McCallion, Perfect Vintage

Joseph's Estate Wines will launching it's new line of wine later this month.
It will be named after Hazel McCallion, Mississauga's mayor.

And, with the launch of bottled Hazel McCallion, I have the perfect opportunity to explain why I love her.

McCallion will be 89 in a couple weeks. She has been Mississauga's mayor for 31 years, and she's done a damn good job.
She spends time with people, actually participates in local events, is always open to new suggestions and will talk with just about anyone.

She is the epitome of what a mayor should be.

She walks and shops regularly in her own neighbourhood, contributing to the local economy and making herself available for chats with local residents.

Not only that, but McCallion bikes everywhere! That is what I love most.

When you think of Mississauga, usually what you immediately think of is suburban houses and lots of cars. But they've had a Cycling Advisory Committee since 1994, and Hazel McCallion is a frequent cyclist.
So far as I know, for the past two, if not more, World Carfree Days, McCallion rode her bike seven kilometers to City Hall.

Imagine, an 89 year old that can ride her bike to work, while there are 20-somethings who drive their SUVs to the corner store.

When I'm 89, I want to ride my bike to work.

Shopping Spree at the VV

I love Value Village!

• -It's CHEAP! Affordability is a huge plus-- It's good for students on a tight budget or thrifty-shoppers.
• It's environmentally friendly-- It's exactly like buying new things, minus the gas it took to ship it to Canada from China or India or Turkey.
• It recycles! It gets rid of other people's old clothes, instead of sending them to the dump to rot.
• The stock changes all the time. This means you always have new choices.
• They help the community -- The store creates jobs. The clothes are affordable for those who don't have cash to burn. Money and clothes are donated to local non-profit groups, and many of the clothes are sent to developing countries

There are tonnes of second-hand stores all over Toronto so you don't necessarily have to go to a Value Village.

BUT I've found, by chance, a few really great big-name items at VV. (They're a little more expensive compared to other items at the VV, but they're obviously a deal.)
FCUK wide-leg jeans for $10.
Tommy Hilfiger navy wool blazer for $19.
Gap lilac wool wrap-sweater for $15.

VV is a good place to get essentials and basics, and if you happen to find a really nice brand-name piece, scoop it up.
Otherwise, to find those big-name pieces, check out MYEXCLOSET.

Please Note: I had previously wrote that Walmart owns Value Village. This is in fact a rumour and I took that line out of the post.