Birthday Blog

Sorry about the lack of posts in the last while (Music Mondays aside). I've been on the busy side, researching for my blog posts on the Grid, working lots, and then travelling to Vancouver and Victoria. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Victoria has been rad, suffice to say. Brought a friend over who had never been to the Island before, so I got to play the part of tour guide for a day or two. Went to a Janelle Monae concert (again), and she was simply astounding (again)! Covered "You Only Live Twice" and "Goldfinger," among others. And then it was my birthday, so I went to see the peacocks and we chased ladies together. I'll have picture later, I promise.

Now I'm taking a quiet day off, sitting at my laptop and writing one of those aforementioned Grid blog posts. One down, one to go: due date is tomorrow! After that comes a week for reviews and edits, then it'll go live... uhm... July 11th, I believe. I'll have that link here on my personal blog, don't you worry.

So with that, I better get going! Tomorrow is Canada Day, so I already know I won't get anything done at all. Cheers!

Photo by Will Clayton

Music Monday - The Musical Stylings of Janelle Monae

I first mentioned Janelle Monae a year and a half ago, introducing her video for "Many Moons" with this phrase:

"In the meantime, please enjoy the musical stylings and rad dance moves of Janelle Monae."

For this Music Monday, I'd like to share more of these "musical stylings," though the rad dance move will be absent. Not unfortunately absent, as she replaces those slick movements with an emotional passion for her lyrics that is sure to leave you taken aback. And in a good way.

The song in question? "Cold War." It's arguably my favourite track from her most recent album, The Archandroid. At first I loved it for the song itself. The music, the vocals, the lyrics. And then I saw the music video. Immediately, I knew this was something to be shared. Odd, though, that I've waited this long to do so on my blog.

So please, take a moment to bask in the audiovisual experience that is Janelle Monae's "Cold War."It is probably the most honest portrayal of a musician I have ever seen. Enjoy.

Music Monday - Who else is nutty over Metric's "Synthetica?"

There's absolutely no way to properly introduce this post, I just have to state the facts.

Guys. Metric's new album, Synthetica is everything I ever wanted and more.

To those of you unfamiliar with Canadian indie rock icons Metric, you have some serious catching up to do. Synthetica comes on the heels of two perfect in every way albums: Fantasies, their 2009 release, and Grow Up and Blow Away, a re-release of the band's very first recording. Suffice to say, Synthetica had extremely big shoes to fill.

And it delivers.

As tends to be the case with Metric albums, the first few tracks are my absolute favourites. Emily Haines' vocals are spot on, as usual, and the rest of the band performs expertly on drums, guitars, and synth. There are also a few horns at one point, in the climax of the title track.

But you really shouldn't be listening to what I have to say. Metric has been kind enough to upload the entire album to Soundcloud, where you can stream each and every song for free. I would highly suggest nabbing yourself a hard copy, though, as the cover booklet is an innovative piece of artwork in itself. I won't spoil any surprises, you'll have to find out for yourself!

a Photoblog: Views from Knox Mountain Park

 photos by me

Music Monday: Gréta Salóme & Jónsi do Eurovision

Every once in a while I become totally enamoured with a song, and have it on repeat for several days at a time. I came across one such song last week, and, on the day I first heard it, I listened to it a total of fifteen times.

And just what song is this?

It's Iceland's entry into the 2012 Eurovision song contest, "Never Forget" by Gréta Salóme & Jónsi. This more well-known version is actually an incredibly well done translation of their original track, "Mundu Eftir Mér."

If you're not quite sure what Eurovision is, don't fret. It's basically a song contest open to any European nation (plus a few others, as Israel usually participates along with former Soviet bloc countries, like Azerbaijan, that are technically in Asia), where the participating nations elect a single representative to perform and then vote on a winner. It's a bit of a popularity contest more-so than a talent contest, but whatever. It's a good time, and the acts get a tonne of exposure. Win win?

Anyway, Iceland came 20th this year. Somehow. I really don't understand how Sweden won, or how Russia came second, or how Jónsi didn't charm his way into the hearts of every European.

The videos of their performances are below. The first is the English version, performed in Baku for Eurovision 2012, and the second is the Icelandic version, performed for the Iceland Eurovision qualifiers. Or whatever they're called. Enjoy!

Professional Blogger

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook may have noticed that I've been posting links to a website called Global Site Plans, a branding consultancy for environmental design, civil engineering, and urban planning firms. For those who read my last post on graduating, you might remember me saying I had more good news to share, but that it deserved a post of its own.

Well, this is that post.

On the day of my grad, I was offered an (unpaid) internship position as a writer for Global Site Plans' blog, the Grid. I've been doing the paperwork and preliminary write-ups (one paragraph autobios are tough!) over the weekend, and soon I'll receive a crash course in WordPress and professional blogging. My internship is set at six months, but I can extend that if I choose. Over those months I'll be contributing 12 posts/articles to the Grid, which may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that these will need to be researched and revised, not just spur of the moment postings.

So, uhm, that's about it! I'll still be posting on here, and you'll probably see links to my posts for the Grid when they're available. Cheers!

photos by photosteve101 and Global Site Plans

Officially Official

That angsty blog post has been sitting at the top of the page for too long, so here's a bit of good news to replace it.

I'm officially graduated now! Just had my convocation ceremony yesterday afternoon, complete with gown and mortarboard, at UBC's Okanagan campus. Walked the stage, got my photos, and accepted a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies, Minor in Geography. In total, there were six of us graduating from the Cultural Studies programme, but I was joined by 436ish Arts and Fine Arts graduates who attended the ceremony. Biggest grad class so far at UBCO, I believe, in all faculties. Guess I'm an alumni, eh?

There's a second piece of good news, but you gotta wait a bit for that tidbit. Sorry!

photo by the University of British Columbia