iTunes Playlist Tuesday #203

I am soooooo not feeling this today.

1) Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots

2) Beautiful Nothing by Danny Michel

3) Zero Orchestra by Matthew Good

4) White Blank Page by Mumford and Sons

5) Minus Me by USS

6) Back to Black by Beyonce & Andre 3000

7) Black Hole by She & Him

8) White Shadows by Coldplay

9) The Lonely End of the Rink by The Tragically Hip

10) Leave by R.E.M.

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #202

Sometimes a song is just mindless and fun - the entire pop genre is built around this idea. Then sometimes music carries a clever, deep, amusing and/or profound message. On a rare occasion a song can be both.

This is an ode to great songs with great lyrics.

1. Merry Go Round by Serena Ryder - "Sundown, merry go round. Too young to leave this town. Someone's playing your song. Feels good singing alone. What could go wrong?"

2. Just Looking by Emma Lee - "I've hitched a ride with an absolute stranger, I've jumped head first into probable danger, but with you I'm just looking."

3. Land Locked Blues by Bright Eyes - "If you walk away, I'll walk away. First tell me which road you will take. I don't want to risk our paths crossing someday. So you walk this way and I'll walk that way."

4. Roses and Bluejays by Buck 65 - "I'm a lot like my dad, I would have to say. He's been wearing a beard ever since mum passed away. She would have hated it."

5. Crooked Teeth by Death Cab for Cutie - "You're so cute when you're slurring your speech, but they're closing the bar and they want us to leave."

6. The Water by Feist - "The harbour becomes the sea. And the light in the house keeps it collision free."

7. Every Single Night by Fiona Apple - "The rib is the shell, and the heart is the yolk and I just made a meal for us both to choke on."

8. Smoke Baby by Hawksley Workman - "In your underclothes you went out for a smoke, I called you in just before the storm begin."

9. I've Been Asleep for a Long Long Time by Hey Rosetta! - "Blond hair to brown and brown to white. My mother is buried beside my dad and I was asleep for all of that."

10. I Can Learn by The White Stripes - "I don't know any lullabies, I don't know how to make you mine, but I can learn."

Jewellery Designer? Me?

A few week's back I was contacted by a PR person for Shopbevel - an online jewellery shop that's sort of like Threadless, in that people submit designs and they're voted on and the best ones get made and sold by the shop. At first I was skeptical, but I did some research and the company turned out to be legit.

The contest I entered was the "Arm Candy" category. The PR rep had seen my Mint & Lace bangle on Etsy and encouraged me to enter it.

Today voting began and I'd love for you guys to support me by voting! You may need to sign in, but you can do that through Facebook. It's a pretty neat site for buying jewellery too.

http://www.shopbevel.com/vote/arm-candy/1723-mint-and-lace/

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

Why I HAD to go to the Movies Alone & Why it Was Better that Way

A year or so ago, when I first heard about The Great Gatsby film, I knew it was a movie I wasn't going to miss. I knew it was going to be a beautiful piece of art - with the 1920s vibe paired with director Baz Luhrmann's unique style. Romeo + Juliet was one of my favourite movies during my tween years and still remains a favourite and Moulin Rouge was a visual masterpiece. But my reasoning wasn't strictly cinematic, I'm also a bibliophile who happened to have read and loved Gatsby in High School.

It's recently come to my attention that I am a difficult person to be friends with. I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of it - but I have a personality that doesn't suit everyone's wants and needs. I can be bitter and petty, stubborn and emotional, and controlling and insensitive. I'm not a monster - but I do like doing things a certain way and I don't often apologize for it. I'm not sure I have to - but that's another story.

I push away people who seek me out to hang out. For example, I was invited to a bon fire Friday night by a girl I haven't seen in years. I politely declined. At the same time I chase down people who politely decline my invitations. I can't really be mad because like I said above, I do it to people all the time.

So wanting to see this movie as badly as I did, and having no luck luring anyone to spare 2.5 hours to see it with me, I made the tough decision to go alone.

That's right, I had a me party - a party by myself.

I was terrified. 'Cause even though I can sometimes be a shitty friend, I have crippling social anxiety that makes me get all blotchy on my chest whenever I'm faced with an uncomfortable situation where I feel like I'm being judged by people I don't know. I used to hate sitting alone in mall food courts because I hated the feeling that people were watching me eat and thinking, "oh how sad, this girl has no friends."

This is how I viewed going to a movie alone. But the reality is that it's a stupid social construction. If you think about it, unless you're on a date with a boy who will hold your hand if something scary happens, a movie is a very private and personal experience. You are to remain quiet - if you don't want to be rude, so really you don't get to talk to your friends until after the movie is over anyways. I always like discussing movies after I see them, but I worry that the person I'm with didn't "get" it or didn't like it. I feel like I need to make sure they enjoyed themselves and I take it personally if they didn't - as if it's somehow my fault they didn't enjoy themselves. I felt like this when I dragged my now ex-boyfriend to see The Muppets.

So, today I drove to the movie theatre. I bought my ticket for one. I got a bag of peanut M&Ms and sat off to the side in a section with only two seats. I took the outer one so no one would try to sit next to me and I watched the movie just like everyone else. When it ended I got up, walked out and didn't feel all the weird at all. I didn't feel empowered exactly, but I didn't feel judged. I took away my opinions of the film and didn't have to explain it. I saw the movie I wanted to see and wasn't disappointed because the only person who could have disappointed me would have been myself.

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #201

I seriously debated just not posting one today. But It didn't feel right to just abandon the whole thing. I do feel like I'm running out of ideas though.

This week's playlist is inspired by The Gatsby Soundtrack that came out last tuesday. Here are ten songs off of movie soundtracks I love.

1) Man or Muppet by Jason Segel & Walter - One of the greatest movie moments! Also this won an oscar! This is obviously from the Muppet Movie.

2) Another Way to Die by Jack White and Alicia Keyes - From the Bond movie Quantum of Solace. It's a pretty bad ass song.

3) Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Once is such a beautiful film and this is such a beautiful song.

4) #1 Crush by Garbage - This was from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack. I listened to this over and over and over when that movie came out.

5) Over the Love by Florence + the Machine - I can't wait to see Gatsby! Until I do, I'll settle for listening to the music.

6) Hero by Regina Spektor - From the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack.

7) Jai Ho by A.R. Rahman - From Slumdog Millionaire.

8) Across the Universe by Fiona Apple - This Beatles cover was on the Pleasantville Soundtrack.

9) Sugar High by Coyote Shivers - One of my favourite movies...Empire Records.

10) Stay by Lisa Loeb - My favourite movie EVER is Reality Bites and this is just a classic.

ROUND 2: Nugs vs. Al (NHL PLAYOFFS STYLE)

Welcome to round 2 of our NHL Playoff Picks. Some interesting and surprising things happened. The Sharks devoured the pathetic and declining Vancouver Canucks. Montreal and Ottawa beat the shit out of each other in Game 3 - basically everyone on the ice got a penalty. The Islanders almost knocked out the Penguins. There were also some not-so-surprising things, such as Chicago being pretty much pure awesome.

My Habs did not make it, but the Rangers did - so Nugs is happy. During the HABS/SENS game 5 I told her to message me "Have a strong drink" if we were winning and "Have a really strong drink" if we were losing. Unfortunately, I needed to pour a double because we were receiving a serious beating. That's sports for ya!

To the lost!

Round 2

Allison's Picks:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

 PENS vs SENS

I'm basing this purely on my round one observations. The Pens did not destroy the Isles as I had originally predicted. Yeah, they won the series, but NYI really did put up a fight. The Sens were extremely determined during their series against my beloved Habs. They pretty much killed us. There was no mercy. Sens are coming off of a pretty awesome win, and Pittsburgh is coming off of a struggle - I'm giving this one to Ottawa.

BRUINS vs RANGERS

Now that the Bruins have embarrassed the Leafs successfully, I can go back to hating their stupid faces and throw this one to the Rangers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

HAWKS vs WINGS

Chicago will win the cup. P.S. Toews is hot. That is all.

KINGS vs SHARKS

I have no effin' clue. I really didn't pay much attention to either of these teams much. Sure, let's go LA - why not?  Chicago will kill either of these teams in Round 3.

Nugs' Picks:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

PENS over SENS in 6

I totally overestimated the Pens- or underestimated the Islanders- and had them demolishing their opponents in 5 games in the Quaterfinals. While the Pens ultimately won the first round, it was an uphill struggle, with the Isles definitely outplaying them in a couple of games. While the Pens' Crosby-Malkin line is still arguably the most formidable on the ice, Fleury proved to be less than stellar in the net once again and wound up getting pulled in favor of their back-up goalie. Meanwhile, John Tavares and his Isles struck a significant amount of fear into the Pens and their fans- look for them in many more postseasons to come. 

Many still seem to think that the Pens are on their way to what would be their second Stanley Cup in under 5 years. GM Ray Shero is making the correct moves, starting Vokoun in goal for tonight's first game at the Consol. 

The Sens, however, are a crapshoot- did they advance due to their own athletic abilities or because the Habs played like total shit? Sorry Allison- I know you love them, but I watched a few of those games. Except for that one matchup where everyone on the ice got in a fight, which was amazing, I really wasn't that impressed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7me3yqWrXp8

One thing the Sens do have in their corner is their goalie, Craig Anderson, who had a 1.49 GAA and is a Vezina Trophy finalist. Also it helps that when you add a letter to their name, "Sens" doesn't come out as "Penis."

Just sayin.

Also "Sens" and "Pens" rhyme and that's funny.

Based solely on my observations of both teams in the Quarterfinals, I'm going to give this to the Pens. However, it will go to a Game 6.

BLUESHIRTS over STUPID BOO-URNS in 7

This is not a biased answer because I die for the Rangers and loathe the Bruins. It happens to be a formal, educated guess based on my knowledge of the sport and my observations of Round 1. 

And it's also a biased answer because I die for the Rangers and loathe the Bruins.

The Bruins could barely get out of a Quarterfinal round vs. the Leafs. I mean, really? Everyone was predicting a sweep and they went into an OT Game 7. The Bruins are generally very good but they almost fell to a team that hasn't won anything in almost 50 years and doesn't even realize that "Leafs" isn't even a real word. Well played, Boston. Well played.

Meanwhile, my boys succeeded in giving me another stroke this year by being forced into seven games again; fortunately Game 7 against the Craps barely even registered. We totally schooled Ovenchicken and his stupid Crapitals, and we're definitely ready to take on Boston. If they could hardly triumph over the Leafs, there's NO CHANCE they'll be victorious against us.

What concerns me about this matchup is that in Round 1, both of us struggled to defeat teams that we should have eclipsed in six games or less. This will make for a solid Round 2, and will cue a string of small heart attacks for me.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

HAWKS over WINGS in 6

Chicago is the team in the West that most NHL fans and analysts believe have a chance to take home the Cup. They lost 12 games all season and dominated Minnesota in the Quarterfinals. 

Now that they're matched against postseason stalwarts Detroit, expect at least 6 games in this series. Not only do the Redwings have a couple of unnerving forwards in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but their defense is getting scarier as well. 

The Redwings are also very familiar with the NHL postseason, having made 22 consecutive appearances. Both teams are recent Cup winners- the Wings in '08 and the Hawks in '10- so they're both used to playing to win. This will be a very competitive series, but ultimately, the honor will go to the Hawks.

KINGS over SHARKS in 5

I have no idea how the Sharks, perennial playoff chokers, totally swept the Canucks in the first round. That was probably a mistake. Maybe they'll win one game against LA, but there's no way they're advancing past the Semis.

Total score After Round one:

Allison - 4

Nugs - 6

Snippets and Snaps

I haven't been really blogging much lately because I have been so bored with life recently. Here are a few of the very small, and insignificant things I've been doing.

1) New Shoes!

I'm obsessed with how beautiful my new shoes are. So obsessed that I haven't run outside with them yet because it's been raining and I don't want to get them muddy...yet. I wanted to wear them to the race I have Sunday, but they're not broken in yet and I'd hate to race in unfamiliar shoes. 

2) Chevron Painted Canvas

I very carefully taped off a chevron pattern using painter's tape and roughly painted it using a mustard yellow colour. I'm very pleased with it. I'm debating whether or not I should leave it as is, or stencil an image on it - flowers or some sort of bird maybe?

3) I Bought a Sun Hat...then it proceeded to rain for days and days...

I really wanted a wide brimmed sun hat for sitting outside, and maybe for some daytime outings if I feel like it. It's a bit tight because I have a giant head. 

Also, check out what the tag says:

It says it's "100% Paper" - it totally isn't! It's quite obvious that the hat is not 100% paper. Oh Target and your hat made in China.

4) I Hurt My Hip...because I'm 90

No, seriously...I hurt my hip running. In fact it's been making it awkward to walk as well. It's not a bone or joint issue (I don't think), but a muscle thing. A lady I run with is a physiotherapist and she suggested I buy a foam roller.

"What's a foam roller?"

"Like a pool noodle, only harder"

"What do I do with it?"

"You roll over it."

Foam Roller

So I got a foam roller from a local running store and it is pretty much what she described. It's a big foam cylinder. I laid out a yoga mat and put the roller on top. I then followed the suggested positioning for my particular injury and rolled my body so that the roller was massaging the area. This was not easy. Not only did it hurt, but it was hard to balance on it and roll up and down.

Here is an awkward self-portrait of my crotch to show you how I was balancing on it.

5) Painted My Nails

Just because it's the weekend and I wanted to. I also got my eyebrows waxed today, but I won't be showing you that because I have no makeup and messy hair right now and don't feel like it.

iTunes Playlist Tuesday #200

This is my 200th playlist! What do I do now? Do I continue this for however long I can keep it going? Or do I end it like this? Please let me know in the comments.

The theme of this playlist is simple: Songs I'm Loving Right Now.

1) Love is Blindness by Jack White (U2 Cover)

2) What I Wouldn't Do by Serena Ryder

3) Gang of Rhythm by Walk Off the Earth

4) Devil's Got a Gun by Whitehorse

5) Suit &Tie by Justin Timberlake

6) Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men

7) Black Hole by She & Him

8) I Dreamed a Dream by Anne Hathaway (just saw Les Mis)

9) Stubborn Love by The Lumineers

10) We Want to Be It by The Tragically Hip