iTunes Playlist Tuesday #186

This week's playlist is an ode to 90s Brit Pop!

Sometimes I really miss the 90s - music was just awesome in the 90s. If you didn't live it, you just don't know it.

1) Oasis

"Wonderwall"

2) Blur

"Park Life"

3) Pulp

"Common People"

4) Spacehog

"In the Meantime"

5) Elastica

"Connection"

6) Dodgy

"Good Enough"

7) Supergrass

"Alright"

8) Sleeper

"Swallow"

9) Republica

"Ready to Go"

10) The Stone Roses

"I Wanna Be Adored"

Who the Hell Are You?

So my little online portfolio project, the one I mentioned in my new year's resolutions blog, is coming along swimmingly (what a strange expression. Swimmingly? I just wanted to try it out). I'm very happy with everything so far. I had my share of technical glitches - mainly dealing with file hosting and my URL - but aside from that it's been great. I have a friend who's a student doing my design work for free  - she will have a real project for her portfolio, and I'll have a nice banner, logo and badges to represent my "brand." But to those of you with the ability to pay for a designer, please see Hanna Scott.

I've got my resume posted, my portfolio is mostly done, and my list of clients will be easy enough to complete (news flash, it's a short list - hence the new fancy website). The struggle I'm having now is my "About Me" blurb.

Am I colour?

Or Black and White?

Now I know that my "About Me" here is sarcastic, vague and not at all professional - but that was all done on purpose because I blog here semi-anonymously. Basically if you want to get to know me on this blog you really have to become a loyal reader and I'll connect with you outside of this forum. But for this new venture I am trying to market myself as a professional writer/editor - so I have to write a bit more about myself.

I understand that I need to include my education, my hometown, my work experience and credentials. But what extra little tidbits to you add? What do you leave out? I work at a coffee shop. I don't want to hide that fact (it's on my resume), but I also don't want to paint myself out to be a complete failure. I suppose I can mention some hobbies - running, crafting, reading etc. I want to come across as professional, but also creative and fun. I don't want to seem like I'm all business when I'm not.

So do any of you lovely people have any suggestions for a kick-ass "About Me" page? Help me! I'm a writer who can't write a simple blurb about myself!

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #185

Friday is Robbie Burns Day - a Scottish Holiday in celebration of the birthday of poet Robert Burns (of Auld Lang Syne fame). This coming Sunday I'm running the Robbie Burns 8k road race in my city. It's a really fun race from what I hear. People run in kilts and funny attire. I bought tall argyle socks and I have my grandpa's old tam.

This week's mix is Scottish bands and musicians.

Slainte (good health).

1. Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds - I really just know this one from The Breakfast Club.

2. This Fire by Franz Ferdinand - One of my favourite contemporary Scottish bands.

3. Sing by Travis - I used to like this song way back when.

4. #1 Crush by Garbage - Yes, Garbage is an American band, but lead singer Shirley Manson is Scottish. She was also my idol in grade 8.

5. A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins - If I ever get married I want to dance to this song.

6. No More I Love Yous by Annie Lennox - I don't even remember how or when I heard this song.

7. Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads - David Byrne is Scottish.

8. Run by Snow Patrol - While most members of this band are Northern Irish, they formed while going to university in Scotland. Scottish by proxy.

9. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers - This one hit wonder band hails from Scotland.

10. Auld Lang Syne by Red Hot Chilli Pipers - Not to be confused with the Chili Peppers.

My Instagram Crush

Mother Mother, June 2012.

Back in June 2012, I went to a local outdoor festival to see one of my favourite bands, Mother Mother. While there I took a couple cellphone pics of the show and Instagramed (Instagrammed?) them later. This is how to found my Instragram crush.

This guy too had been at the show and taken photos. I looked at more of his pictures and decided to follow him. He seemed cool. Yeah, he IS cool. In fact I feel like this guy would be my perfect match in many ways.

Since June he has photographed and posted so many things that I love - things that not many of my actual friends love. He loves bands like Broken Social Scene, Feist, Stars, R.E.M., The Tragically Hip, and the like. He loves the now-cancelled Jason Schwartzman show Bored to Death. He loves vinyl and plaid shirts. He likes hockey in a non-sports-obsessed way. He takes nice urban landscape photos as well as pretty pictures of the sky and trees. And he's not bad to look at either. Seriously? How is he not my boyfriend? Oh, yeah, and I think he has a girlfriend or wife.

Instragram I took 5 mins before posting this blog.

I know that the way we portray ourselves online isn't always the whole truth, but when do we EVER do that? What does my Instargram say about me? I'm an animal lover, I love nail polish, snow, running, mail, odd findings, old buildings, lakefront views, sunsets and more. They're all little fragments of my personality.

So this guy and I will likely never meet in real life, but a girl can dream...and stalk his photos online.

The World is Not a Playground

Ben Earwicker
Garrison Photography, Boise, ID
www.garrisonphoto.org

This post is an emotional response to a disagreement I had with my cousin recently over something I posted on Facebook. To my knowledge she doesn't know about or read my blog, but if she does perhaps this will better explain my position.

Yesterday morning a shared an image that Kim posted of a little girl in front of a painting of a dancer and posing in a similar manner. I thought it was so cute and worth a share. Because I generally don't post things about cute kids and babies on my Facebook, I prefaced the picture by saying: "I'm not a huge fan of kids...especially in galleries, this this is so cute!" I got a few "likes" in the morning, but by evening my cousin, mother of two, saw it and was offended.

I tried my best to explain that I didn't hate her kids and that it was silly to even think that - but it wasn't that that irked her. What bothered her was my suggestion that children do not belong in art galleries.

I'm all for introducing kids to a bit of culture - art, music, literature - but there are right and wrong ways to do this. There are plenty of kid friendly environments for this. In my experience children under a certain age get bored easily. They're thirsty, hungry, tired, have to go to the bathroom, and just want to go home. Most art galleries are in big rooms with high, echoey ceilings - not great for when a baby is crying or when a young one is having a temper tantrum. For me the experience of exploring an art gallery is a very private and quiet activity. There were moments when I was in the National Art Gallery of Canada where I was moved by the sheer fact that I was starring at famous pieces of art. Monet, Picasso, Pollack, The Group of Seven - all pieces I'd only ever seen in books. I know this probably all sounds terribly snobbish, but I really feel like if you're going to pay $10 or more to go into a gallery you should truly appreciate what you're looking at.

I can't tell parents not to bring their kids to art galleries, kids even have a cheaper entry fee at most I've seen, but I won't pretend like I don't cringe when I see a family come lumbering into a room, kids running all over the place, touching things. When I say art gallery, I mean just that - don't confuse them with museums with dinosaur bones and ancient Egyptian costumes, those are totally family friendly. I mean art galleries with walls of paintings, and sculptures behind glass. Fine art.

We have, in our society, created many safe, sterile, kid friendly spaces. Parks, arts and crafts programs, community centres, mommy groups and the like. The world is practically their playground. But I'd argue that adults need sanctuaries as well. Spaces that are adult only, but not a bar or strip club. Places that are quiet and peaceful away from the world of runny noses and poopy diapers.

Of course there are exceptions to every "rule" - I'm sure there are a few kids out there who also find peace and tranquility in a gallery setting. Like the little girl in the photo, one may find ways to interact with the works of art on a non-intrusive level. And to the parents of those wonderful little ones I applaud you for having a freaking amazing child. But I'd say it's probably pretty rare to find a kid who'd choose an art gallery over playing video games with his or her friends on a Sunday afternoon.

You are free to agree or disagree with me, but this isn't an argument - it's an opinion. One that anyone can freely reject. I'm not wrong or right, it's just what I think. It's how I feel about it.

Ancient Civilizations of The Future

Imagine being that first person to have discovered the Egyptian Hieroglyphs? The confusion. The wonderment. The unknown! That is sort of how I felt today while I was texting my friend Amanda.

I asked her if she'd received any texts with little pictures in them, kind of like emoticons but different. Sort of like dingbats. I didn't know what they were - I could see them but I couldn't reproduce them. I assumed it was an iPhone thing so I asked her since I have an Android phone. She didn't really know either and didn't know what I meant. I forwarded her a few text people had sent me using them and she said no one had texted her anything like that before. She Googled it and discovered that these are called Emojis and they come with the iPhone 5 (she has a 4). Apparently other iPhone and Android users can download them as an app.

"We're too old for this shit." she said. I agreed, but said that curiosity might lead me to download an app just to see for myself. I checked and there are way too many apps for this and I'm not even sure I'd bother using them. I'll stick with the few short forms I use (lol) and real words.

This to me just proves that what people have been saying for years about language is actually coming true - we are regressing. We've gone from the highest form of our language to contractions (they're, you're, I'm) to short-forms (lol) to single letters (u, r) to pictograms. It's as if we're reverting back to symbols etched on stone - only instead of stone tablets we're using iPads.

I have a friend who's a teacher and she says she's constantly correcting her student's work for using numbers in place of letters (ex: What would u like 2 do?). We are letting our internet language infiltrate our formal language so badly that some people can't even see the difference anymore. Will students be typing in Emojis soon? Are we incapable of explaining anything with just words these days? Emoticons used to just be like punctuation - a little something added at the end of informal text based conversations. But these Emojis have enough symbols to explain full thoughts without using many words. A picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.

So I discovered Emoji's today, but unlike the archaeologists who discovered ancient texts of the past, I have found something that's from the present and it's scary and not at all enlightening. What will the future bring?

:-S

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #184

This week's theme is 90s Rock Gods! Some are still popular now, others are gone but not forgotten.

1. Eddie Vedder

Jeremy by Pearl Jam

2. Dave Grohl

Big Me by Foo Fighers

3. Billie-Joe Armstrong

Longview by Green Day

4. Daniel Johns

Freak by Silverchair

5. Liam Gallegher

Roll with It by Oasis

6. Bono

Mysterious Ways by U2

7. Chris Cornell

Pretty Noose by Soundgarden

8. Thom York

High and Dry by Radiohead

9. Billy Corgan

Today by Smashing Pumpkins

10. Kurt Cobain

In Bloom by Nirvana

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #183

It's a new year, so that means a new you. This is a playlist about new beginnings and starting fresh.

newish |ˈn(j)uɪʃ| adjectivenewness |ˈn(j)unəs| noun
1) New Goodbye by Hey Rosetta!
2) New Fang by Them Crooked Vultures
3) Brave New World by Weezer
4) Tomorrow Starts Today by Mobile
5) Ready to Start by Arcade Fire
6) (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon
7) Begin by Ben Lee
8) Snow by Red Hot Chili Peppers
9) Walk by Foo Fighters
10) The First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes

2013 Better Be The Year of Allison!

I don't make many resolutions - but I do have some ambitions and goals for the year. Not many, but some. It's more of a To-Do list really.

1) Continue to run throughout the winter and up my performance.

New kicks for the 2013 running season.

In 2012 I ran in 6 official (timed) races and 1 charity fun run. I set new personal bests in both 5 and 10k races. For 2013 I hope to continue improving and working towards new race goals. So far I have signed up for the following races:

Robbie Burns Day 8k - January 27
Around the Bay 30k (done as a 3-person relay, so 10k each) - March 24
The Race for Chocolate 10k - May 12

I also plan on signing up for a few others - Maybe the Mercedes-Benz 10k on April 21, and maybe one out of province if I have the money.  I've been wanting an excuse to go back to Montreal, so I'd love to go for a race and stay for the smoked meat.

2) Develop a "brand" for my editorial work and buy a domain and start a professional blog to go along with it.

I had this idea just before the New Year that I'd work on a project to help develop my freelance "career." Some of you know this already, but I have a degree in Professional Writing and for a short time I worked for a small publication in my home town. After my job was deemed financially unnecessary (for the company), I worked as a barista and still do today. It's been a long and depressing haul and time is not on my side. I have grey hairs and no career to speak of. No way to be financially independent. This has to change.

I have an idea for an online portfolio/blog that would be more professional and not at all attached to this one. I have no idea how to execute this idea yet - as I don't really know what I want it to be. Of course I'm open to the opinions of you lovely people. As some of you are young professionals, what would you look for in a blog about writing and editing? I would want it to be a tool to promote myself but also be a forum for comments and opinions.

I'll keep this blog going of course. I need this place to vent and rant and share ideas and stuff I'm not comfortable talking about in real life.

3) Re-new my passport - the freedom to leave is nice.

Once I beat this awful cold I've been fighting for weeks I need to get my new mug shot so I can send off my passport renewal form so I can be free to flee the country if I feel a whim!

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #182

It's 2013 - New Year's Day - but it's also Tuesday! This is the perfect opportunity to do my Good, Bad & Ugly Albums of 2012 mix! This playlist comes from albums from my personal collection and all opinions are my own. I am only choosing from bands that I have full albums of for 2012.

Let's go!

1) Danny Michel's Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me
Best album recorded in Belize by a Canadian artist.
Song: Take My Heart and Run

2) Emma-Lee's Backseat Heroine
Best set of pipes on a vocalist.
Song: Shadow of a Ghost

3) Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel...
Worth the wait
Song: Hot Knife

4) Holly McNarland's Run Body Run
Decent but not fantastic
Song: Alone's Just Fine

5) Jack White's Blunderbuss
Best of 2012
Song: Freedom at 21

6) Metric's Synthetica 
Good singles, but the rest is forgettable
Song: Youth without Youth

7) Mother Mother's The Sticks
Dark, but fun album.
Song: Infinitesimal 

8) Mumford and Sons' Babel
Album I never really gave a good listen to
Song: Babel

9) Stars' The North
Slow Burn (took time to love)
Song: Do You Want to Die Together?

10) Whitehorse's The Fate of the World Depends on this Kiss
Best album from a band that is new to me.
Song: Devil's Got a Gun

What were your favourites? Disappointments? Albums that were just okay? Happy 2013!