All of my life I wanted to write, be a journalist, and eventually work/make an impact on the lives of children around the world. Thus far, I have gotten the chance to dip my toe into a world that helps families in several countries in Africa thanks to my efforts with Engineers Without Borders Canada (www.ewb.ca), went to school (till I got too ill) at my DREAM university (UofT), and kept writing whenever I could. Mostly I wrote little love stories and/or wishes (?) but here I find myself being Active Editor of this wicked site about where I am from. Pretty freakin’ COOL!!!
Now, after healing up some, I am making a fresh start right here thanks to my best friend and boyfriend Patrick, the owner of TCL and so far… So far I have had an interesting time on the job! Met some neat people too…
Also, I have made a best friend in his kitty cat Oliver, my ‘other’ boyfriend… : D They both have reminded me that just because things get tough that doesn’t mean it’s ‘over’. Thank goodness for my two favourite boys!
This job has allowed me to put forth ideas and just talk about what matters most to me and so many people I know. I intended to go off and become a human rights worker IN THE TRENCHES but my time is not up — maybe there will come a CURE FOR MS and you will find me in the middle of a conflict zone one day! You never know, right????? Damn right, lol. A girl can dream after all…
Anyhow, I just want to say ‘THANK YOU’ to all of the new+old readers and please keep on reading and participating. We have more to come! With more ways to reach out, to participate, post new pics, rant about whatever floats your boat, and just have a laugh or a smile, things should get MORE interesting!
Challenge us, message us, and we just might be wherever you are. : D
Posted on
August 24th, 2009
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Comments Off on One in five sexually assaulted by Mondays!
So, let’s have a look at what we have here, shall we?
Have Mondays ever assaulted you or touched you in inappropriate ways?
Every week. I think Mondays should be illegal. (21%)
Does "inappropriate" mean my wee-wee? Because if so, then yes. (17%)
The entire week should be lined up against the wall and shot. Viva la revolucion! (14%)
Umm, you do know that by allowing multiple answers the results will be meaningless, right? (12%)
Not really. I enjoy Mondays because I work for myself. (10%)
Mondays are days. They can't hurt you! That's silly! You're silly! (10%)
Not really. I enjoy Mondays because I'm clinically and dangerously psychotic. (7%)
Mondays are neither here nor there. Now Wednesdays...those ya gotta watch out for. (7%)
What does that even mean?! None of this even makes sense!! (2%)
Most readers say: Every week. I think Mondays should be illegal.
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First of all, ignore the percentages shown above. The -41% thing would suggest that, perhaps, they’re not entirely accurate.
So, out of 42 votes cast the highest percentage (21%), believed that Mondays should be illegal. A further 14% cast a disparaging glance at the rest of the week too — something about shooting the weekdays while we’re at it? Crazy gun-nutty Americans :) Most shocking, however, are the serious allegations of impropriety on the part of Mondays, with a whopping 17% of you (that’s nearly 1 in 5), reporting that Mondays have made unwanted sexual advances toward you. Only one vote was cast for the whole poll not making any sense, and I cast that one, so we can safely assume everyone understood the question. Except me.
But who cares? Isn’t that shocking?! I sure do hope the local media pick up this story.
My own experience with Monday is one of pain. I woke up today in some discomfort, having finally attended Dream in the Park.
The discomfort portion of the story, I’m ashamed to report, is one-hundred percent me.
They do recommend bringing a blanket, jacket, and bug repellant. I did not. To complicate matters further, I had biked to High Park, pushing it up that final bitch of a roadlike a real man:
Then walking the remaining half of the hill like a real tired man.
By the time I got to the top I had worked up a good, healthy sweat. As I may have mentioned before, the seating for Dream is literally on the ground. The stage is simply a wooden platform and the audience sits in an amphitheatre cut out of the hillside in front of it. Luckily, I did have something between me and the moist earth, but I hadn’t planned on the chill wind that swept down into the valley that night. If the play hadn’t been so engrossing, I would’ve picked up and left. But those assholes were so damn good that I ended up with a sore back!
Okay, so it’s Shakespeare. Yeah, it put me to sleep in high school too. English; borringest subject ever. The Tempest; *sticking finger down throat*. But people actually brought their kids to this!
I don’t want to sound like someone’s paying me to say this because, alas, I remain sponsorless, but this is really a show to see. With the Pay-What-You-Can pricing, it’s always affordable. You’re encouraged to bring snacks and anything you want to make yourself comfortable. And I can assure you that whatever your equivalent of the suggested $20 donation is, the feature-length show will be well worth it.
The beauty of this production is that it’s been taken back to its roots. No, not rag-adorned, unwashed, Elizabethan showmen; I’m talking about the people for whom Shakespeare wrote his works for. Unfortunately, the language isn’t quite as up-to-date as it once may have been, but the actors make up for this through their modern intonation, great acting, and physical improvisation. They really bring out the comedic, entertaining nature of the play. And even though they’re all speaking at a fair clip, the whole story is completely intelligible. It’s almost like you’re a filth-covered Shakespearean commoner out for a night on the mud.
I had never actually read The Tempest. I knew the gist of it; banished wizard-Duke Prospero, big storm, deserted island, yadda yadda; but never the nitty gritty. I’m fairly certain that the glaring Gilligan’s Island overtones present throughout the Dream version are not part of the original story, but it did help to set the context.
Prospero was replaced with Prospera (Karen Robinson), and Ariel (Audrey Dwyer) did a couple of Lion-King-inspired musical sequences, presumably to give the show a softer touch. Nothing over the top, mind you; old Willy’s work is still kept pretty much intact. Just enough to break up the slow parts. Worked for me.
The music and sound effects worked with the trees, bees, and birds around them rather than trying to fight it out. The crickets started to sound like cicadas after a while. You kind of got the feeling you were actually on Prospera’s island:
Yeah, I really liked it. A modernized classic that was genuinely entertaining. Can’t say any of that about any movie I’ve paid to see lately.
Okay, time for me to get back to the heating pad. Mondays …
Posted on
August 4th, 2009
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Comments Off on A Midsummer Night’s Burn
Phew!
What a weekend. As you’ve probably already guessed by the previous posts, I spent much of Saturday at Caribana ingesting all sorts of solar radiation, and much of Sunday recovering from heat stroke and examining the contents of my stomach. Today, I feel like a new man:
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... with pictures
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... with opinions
... that's shorter
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