tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71624120928707298612024-03-13T05:47:18.071-07:00lost and found."To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson.Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-62045907047696192012013-06-09T13:50:00.001-07:002013-06-09T13:50:05.468-07:00All But The End. <div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">One
of the most important skills one can master is the art of understanding the
power of change. I have known a change is needed for a while now but have not summoned
the courage to bring it into fruition.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Until
now. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">My engagement
to writing is, like most others, unstable. It is constantly teetering on a thin
line between finding joy and self-esteem, and bored disillusionment at the
material I create - a relationship indicative of artist and art; the all too
self-conscious maker of things. Lately I've been stuck in a rut where I don't
find the things I produce interesting, nor do I have investment in the process
of its creation. Lost and Found was the product of many other failures in
blogging and a stubborn keenness to get it right. When I finally landed on
something solid that made sense to me, I began to stretch it to its
limitations....Which is where I am now. On the crux of something old and
expired, screaming at me to change direction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I must
listen, but first I must break if I am to listen intently. Lost and Found, as
successful as it has been to me personally, is at a point where its horizons
have been met and further expansion is impossible. My decision to retire this
blog rests not on being fed up, but predetermining its decay and giving it a
respectable funeral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pG-VaKj4vc8/UbTodaOpMrI/AAAAAAAAAxg/uE-evHrtoV4/s1600/Carcross+Desert+%252819%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pG-VaKj4vc8/UbTodaOpMrI/AAAAAAAAAxg/uE-evHrtoV4/s320/Carcross+Desert+%252819%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wilds of Canada - Where I Belong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Thus I shall
take a temporary hiatus from blogging, three weeks in length, to focus on my
new venture, "Aaron UnCanadian" - set to launch on July 1st -
Canada Day itself. I am dedicating myself to the form of writing I feel best
suited for and find the most passion in - story writing and capturing. Themed
on an ambitious 16 month endeavor to save, organize and embark on a journey
across Canada, "Aaron UnCanadian" is promised to rearrange everything
we think we know about The True North - both good and bad. This is not a blog
about igloos and maple syrup, but a pushing of authentic Canadian people,
stories, things and events into the fore of our county's people....and the rest
of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">So, for one
last time on Lost and Found.....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Safe Travels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Aaron Turpin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-55430842026061254172013-06-05T07:09:00.000-07:002013-06-05T07:09:17.194-07:00Breakfast, Redoux at The Whippoorwill<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">What?
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Whippoorwill – a new brunch/dinner joint at Lansdowne and Bloor. Sandwiched in
between the gadabout shops and mismatched cafes is the classically redesigned
restaurant, formerly known as the Bloordale Pantry. The Whippoorwill
specializes in taking ordinary brunch fare and transforming it into whimsically
extraordinary dishes. While the seating selection isn’t superior, the service
and food surpasses par. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnV51ivU4OY/Ua9GM1O1veI/AAAAAAAAAxM/u8TOJ4W48VY/s1600/whipp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnV51ivU4OY/Ua9GM1O1veI/AAAAAAAAAxM/u8TOJ4W48VY/s320/whipp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whippoorwill's version of an eggs benedict. Giggity! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My first experience here was on my last
birthday; the Whippoorwill is a short walk from my new apartment, which is
either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at a fairly
overweight yet satisfied Aaron. We had poached eggs on a buttery biscuit (soooo
buttery) with hollandaise and asparagus. The biscuit took this meal into the
realm of taste-bud euphoria, but it was the second half of the meal that became
a highlight. Referenced as the ‘breakfast bruschetta of the day’, an
unbelievable combination of sweet and savoury atop a slice of toasted French
stick etched a memory on my taste buds. Ours had apricot, cream cheese,
dandelion, roasted pine nuts, and a bunch of other things I can’t remember
because this was three weeks ago. Bottom line: get the breakfast bruschetta. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, I also had a mimosa. Cause it was my
birthday. So what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Where?
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Whippoorwill is another perfect example of gentrification on this stretch of
Bloor. As development from either end encroaches, small indicators of a
changing neighbourhood pop up; the Whippoorwill is no exception. No longer
considered a ‘seedy’ part of Toronto, ‘Blansdowne’ is now clustered with hipster-esque
establishments and old Portuguese bakeries. For a community in transition, it’s
a great stretch to go at any time of day or night as a non-destination
area…(yet). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Go
Again? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes
– as one of the few joints in the area that specializes in breakfast, this
place is a must go. I would try their dinner menu, but wouldn’t hold it to the
awesomeness bestowed upon me during the meal earlier in the day. Although
brunch doesn’t start until 11am, I would make sure I get there early as the
venue is small and packs up easily. For a meal that defies normalcy, the
Whippoorwill has made its mark on breakfast cuisine in an area that screams for
something different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-17622201603984599862013-06-02T09:58:00.001-07:002013-06-02T09:58:44.663-07:004 Bush-Inspired Activities for the City<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is a proven and accepted fact that
long term isolation in rural areas can easily lead to mental instability,
depression and severe anxiety. I’ve written about my first hand experiences
with the cognitive effects of my own journeys into the bush, recalling moments
of moroseness and temporary insanity while I slip into the state slanged as
‘bushed’, but what of the opposite? Can one experience similar consequences
after prolonged periods of time <i>away </i>from
nature? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While cities offer access to many
important facets of life - education, healthcare and social support, etc., what
they sometimes lack is a close relationship to the big wide world beyond the
hinterlands. Just as we tend to go a little crazy when separated from the
comfort of our devices and the luxuries of the modern world, it is also true
that a lack of wild places can lead to major stress. Balancing urban life with
nature can be tough, and I’ve responded with a list of scenic reprieves easy
accessible within Canada’s largest city, so that in between shopping sprees and
fine dining you can:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Hike the Humber River<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kyQu1oSRp_4/Uat1URLnCEI/AAAAAAAAAwg/Lzeyy-H3wHs/s1600/humberfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kyQu1oSRp_4/Uat1URLnCEI/AAAAAAAAAwg/Lzeyy-H3wHs/s320/humberfall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humber River in Fall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hiking is the perfect outdoorsy
activity. Fully accessible and friendly to all ages, there’s no better way to
experience a little nature than on foot. Henry David Thoreau, the forefather of
modern environmentalism and wilderness romantic, quotes on his work <i>Walking</i>: </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">‘We
should go fourth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying
adventure, never to return’. So, if HDT said it, you better go for a damn walk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">And what better place than the </span><a href="http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/18/101000041518.html" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Humber
River</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">? With a variety of trails to enjoy, including paved for bikes and
families or off-path for the more adventurous, the Humber accommodates all, with
the added bonus of being freakin’ huge. From its summit in Toronto’s North End
at Steeles and Islington the river and surrounding parkland runs south to
lakeshore, yielding a plethora of options for trailheads and access points. If
hiking is your game, Humber River is the name.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Tree Plant in Rouge Park<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Achieving oneness with nature doesn’t
always have to involve doing yoga on a mountaintop. Trade in your spandex pants
and smelly roll mat for a garden shovel and pair of gloves and get ready to get
dirty. The <a href="http://www.rougepark.com/">Rouge Valley</a> in Toronto’s
East End is a perfect place to escape and offers plenty to recreational
activities. Did I mention this is Canada’s LARGEST urban park?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7eW1GISr-8/Uat1cIetD4I/AAAAAAAAAwo/PosMNb9uACM/s1600/rouge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7eW1GISr-8/Uat1cIetD4I/AAAAAAAAAwo/PosMNb9uACM/s320/rouge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rouge Valley River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Planting programs are abundant in the
area and include the <a href="http://www.10000trees.com/aboutus.html">10,000
Trees Project</a>, <a href="http://www.rougepark.com/unique/restoration/index_restoration.php">Natural
Heritage Projects</a> and other park-based planting programs. They are easy to
get involved in and help keep Toronto’s urban wild areas sustained. While you’re
taking advantage of parkland, why not contribute?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Take in the View from the Scarborough Bluffs <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PVAmyUSSEV8/Uat1n0kE0BI/AAAAAAAAAww/ifbSdSGyS0c/s1600/bluffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PVAmyUSSEV8/Uat1n0kE0BI/AAAAAAAAAww/ifbSdSGyS0c/s320/bluffs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up to the Bluffs from Bluffer's Park Beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Looking for a little romantic getaway
but not interested in leaving the city? Or perhaps you want a workout beside
the perfect beachfront scene? Welcome to the Scarborough Bluffs – a naturally
eroded carving in Toronto’s lakeshore landscape that borders Scarborough along
Lake Ontario. A network of trails and parks can be found near the water, both
above and below the gorge, each offering unique activities. Places like </span><a href="http://www.toronto.ca/parks/featured-parks/guildwood-park/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Guildwood
Park and Gardens</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> inject a little history into Toronto’s East Lakeshore
where a well-manicured setting surrounds hundreds of displaced artifacts, all significant
to the establishment of the area.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Further West is <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/parks/featured-parks/bluffers-park/">Bluffer’s Park</a>,
complete with a wharf and beach boardwalk that winds all the way to Ashbridges
Bay. Climb the Bluffs for a wonderful panorama of Lake Ontario or discover the
unique ecosystems and tide pools at the water’s edge – the Bluffs are a ‘something
for everyone’ activity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Get Schooled in High Park<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nature has a crapload of things to teach
us, and at an environmental education hub at <a href="http://www.highparktoronto.com/">High Park</a>, there’s no end to what we
can learn. Close to downtown and just off the trendy Bloor West area, High Park
reaches from Bloor Street to the Gardiner Expressway and can be accessed via
subway. While you’re visiting, drop into the <a href="http://www.rougepark.com/unique/restoration/index_restoration.php">High
Park Nature Centre</a> for a nature walk or see what’s growing at the <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/parks/featured-parks/high-park/childrens-garden.htm">High
Park Children’s Garden</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Other great on-site locations are the <a href="http://www.highparktoronto.com/zoo.php">High Park Zoo</a> and <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/culture/museums/colborne-lodge.htm">Colbourne Lodge
Museum</a>. Take a walk around Grenadier Pond or check out the amazing Cherry
Blossoms – only in bloom a few days during each spring! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kg361KuJnYo/Uat4AqVItyI/AAAAAAAAAw8/blUwgkxpJ20/s1600/highparkcb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kg361KuJnYo/Uat4AqVItyI/AAAAAAAAAw8/blUwgkxpJ20/s320/highparkcb.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The elusive spring cherry blossoms in High Park.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although this short list does not nearly
encompass all things nature-related in Toronto, it is meant to acknowledge the
wilder parts of the city; and the places we go to distress. Next time you’re
bogged down by city life, take some time to reconnect with Mother Nature. The
results might surprise you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-90667318558290538092013-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:002013-05-26T13:16:32.248-07:00Behind the City Scenes at Doors Open Toronto<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">What?</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen/2013/">Doors Open Toronto</a>! An annual
city-wide event that grants one-time access to buildings and locations not
normally accessible by public. For urban-nerds like me, it’s an opportunity to
get a behind the scenes look at how Toronto operates and the people/things that
keep the city running. Doors Open Toronto has celebrated this 14<sup>th</sup>
season this weekend, showcasing ‘over 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings
across the city’. The Toronto version of Doors Open is the original prelude to <a href="http://www.doorsopenontario.on.ca/">a province-wide event</a>, now larger
than ever with cities and towns all over Ontario participating. The best part:
everything is absolutely <b>free</b>. Just
show up and get ready to enter a world beyond the day to day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_7T4HOoJaxU/UaJs9Zne7CI/AAAAAAAAAwI/JSRi0n1FfMM/s1600/DSCF1129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_7T4HOoJaxU/UaJs9Zne7CI/AAAAAAAAAwI/JSRi0n1FfMM/s320/DSCF1129.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Endless rows of documents at The Toronto archives</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Where? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We visited three sites over the period of one day in Toronto: <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/archives/">The Toronto Archives</a> at Spadina and
Dupont, the <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/culture/museums/spadina.htm">Spadina
House</a> (aka ‘Spadina Museum’) just above Davenport, and Lower Bay Station.
We had to pick and choose but you really need two full days to cross off <i>everything </i>you are interested in – and
even then it would be difficult to do as most locations don’t open until 10 –
11am and close at 5pm, and many are only available for one day. Our advice is
to really focus on the top 3 – 5 places in your list and keep a few more in
case you find yourself with some buffer time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I can say with confidence
that I could easily spend an entire day at The Toronto Archives – a municipally
operated storage and archival centre for all things City of Toronto. Copies of
original Toronto maps dating to the early 1800’s can be viewed, council notes
read, artifacts from significant locations available – you can even do research
on the history of your house, including who owned it first and when it was
built. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Spadina House (aka ‘Spadina
Museum’) was also a wonderfully preserved piece of Toronto History, but kind of
dragged on throughout the self-guided tour. Unless you’re a detailed history
buff, old houses kind of all look the same, regardless as to how many rooms are
actually shown. Lower Bay Station, an unused subway station below the current ‘Bay
Station’ and the stuff of folklore within urban exploring circles, was fun for
about 7 minutes until you realized it just looked like a subway station. But
knowing some of the most popular films featured scenes filmed on-site made it a
little more special.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Pp23SZxtTY/UaJtRy-pVpI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/ZYzGimoec0k/s1600/DSCF1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Pp23SZxtTY/UaJtRy-pVpI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/ZYzGimoec0k/s320/DSCF1154.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Bay Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">How? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">A TTC family day pass is probably your best bet – allowing for
unlimited public transit use for multiple riders at a time at the relatively
cheap price of $10.75. If you plot out a route to maximize your time you get
the most from Doors Open.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt;">Go Again? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I would definitely give Doors Open another
crack (how punny!), especially because I had a positive experience this year,
not only with the sites but the helpful and knowledgeable staff. I’d obviously
choose different locations. Whether you’re new to Toronto or a veteran citizen,
there’s always something worth learning at these events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-1070099991727588672013-05-24T11:53:00.001-07:002013-05-24T12:00:27.508-07:005 Betcha' Didn't Knows: Toronto<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Toronto: a city of many
identities, cultures and approaches to life. A place that never really gets
tired of itself and continually finds new ways to recreate its fabric. But like
any established urban area, Toronto holds onto little known facts and secrets
that charm the people and communities within its ever expanding boundaries. The
more intimate you become with its grid-iron history and financial bourgeois,
the more you learn about each little quirk hidden behind the surge of life in
The Big Smoke. Below: some of the lesser known aspects of our fair city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Front Street was
Toronto’s Original Shoreline<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s kind of a scary thought when you
consider that everything South of Front Street (Harbourfront, The Port </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lands,
The Rogers Centre, The CN Tower and Lakeshore, to name a few) exists on infill
land that was not so long ago covered in lake water. I mean, seriously…The
person that decided ‘Hey, I think we need </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">more
</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">space in Toronto…Why don’t we just </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">create
more land?</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">’ and then proceeded to direct people to throw a shit ton of dirt
into Lake Ontario until a large portion of it disappeared must have had some
pretty ridiculous sized gonads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uhsw6Dw68rE/UZ-1J1WwigI/AAAAAAAAAvo/6ckVJapRZeU/s1600/shoreline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uhsw6Dw68rE/UZ-1J1WwigI/AAAAAAAAAvo/6ckVJapRZeU/s320/shoreline.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look closely, you'll see them mounted on a steeple.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This <a href="http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/about_us/history_and_heritage">massive
campaign to extend the shoreline</a> began in 1850 and lasted over <i>100 years</i> until we can only presume it
was decided that we didn’t want to live any closer to Americans. Today, little
evidence exists proving just how far we actually got, but if you walk from
Union Station to The Esplanade and imagine what it would be like to swim that
same distance, you’ll probably build an appreciation for one of Toronto’s
biggest engineering feats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Junction was Under Prohibition Until 2000<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s hard to imagine what prohibition
was like, especially because most people on earth weren’t around during its
heyday. Rather unfortunately, for the good people living in Toronto’s Junction
Community, many don’t have to stretch their imagination too far. Here, <a href="http://citiesintime.ca/toronto/story/murder-made-/">the ban of alcohol
sales and consumption lasted until late into the 20<sup>th</sup> century</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4v9m79o1Fz4/UZ-1sG-oVnI/AAAAAAAAAvw/iQuBxdZszxg/s1600/Prohibition-Photo-Main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4v9m79o1Fz4/UZ-1sG-oVnI/AAAAAAAAAvw/iQuBxdZszxg/s1600/Prohibition-Photo-Main.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AND caused one of the most hilarious protests ever.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This restriction is partially
responsible for rapid economic decline during the post-industrial age of the
1970’s and beyond – around the same time Toronto was all like ‘screw you, poor
people!’ and successfully annexed The Junction, furthering the marginalization
of this community. The commercial areas along Dundas West were all but alive
until prohibition was lifted in 1997, causing an influx of local bars and
eateries and (inevitably) hipsters to help re-boost its economy. And people
wonder what good alcohol can cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">‘Little Italy’ Isn’t Italian<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It would be silly to name an area after an
ethnicity that isn’t actually prevalent there, no? One might assume so. Turns
out you assumed <i>wrong. </i>Welcome to
Toronto’s ‘Little Italy’, a place that couldn’t be more Portuguese, <a href="http://www.urbancentre.utoronto.ca/pdfs/researchbulletins/CUCSRB35Teixeira.pdf">according
to Census Canada</a>. Now take a walk along College Street West and <i>really</i> pay attention to the signs and
advertising alongside gelato shops and bakeries; most are owned and operated by
people of a Portuguese background. In fact, a fairly large area that should
rightfully be named ‘Little Portugal’ would span South of College to Queen and
Northwest to St.Clair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Which begs the question: why the hell is
it called ‘Little Italy’? Actually, there’s a (not necessarily <i>good</i>) reason: marketing. When it comes
to attracting tourist dollars, ‘Little Italy’ translates to suave, lush and
authentic when ‘Little Portugal’ doesn’t really translate into anything.
Branding communities like this, while ultimately economically viable, doesn’t
always represent its members accurately, so watch out for those misnomers and
don’t let a name influence your perspective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">‘Cabbagetown’ isn’t Irish.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In another twist of misinformed irony, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Canadian#Irish_in_Ontario">recent
demographic studies</a> show that the Toronto jurisdiction currently known as ‘Cabbagetown’
(usually an alias for a place that is dominantly Irish) is actually devoid of Irish
people. In fact, the original Irish settlers in Toronto occupied what is now Regent
Park, Moss Park and Corktown - South of the aforementioned area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You see, similar to the plight of ‘Little
Italy’, ‘Cabbagetown’ was the victim of a marketing scheme designed for profit
instead of accuracy. Because Regent Park was a virtual slum for thirty years
before its current redevelopment project, ‘Cabbagetown’ was relocated – only the
people remained in the same place and the more expensive properties to the
North assumed the new name. While it remains an attractive prospect to live in ‘Cabbagetown’
today, you’re actually just moving into an area full of non-Irish, old white people.
But go ahead and decorate your lawn with shamrocks, anyway. It’s not like there’s
any Irish people around to get offended. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_BZzKj_v0bc/UZ-2Sjv6y1I/AAAAAAAAAv4/stV8EyCqv_s/s1600/regentpark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_BZzKj_v0bc/UZ-2Sjv6y1I/AAAAAAAAAv4/stV8EyCqv_s/s1600/regentpark.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally a place people want to live.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">There’s a Cemetery Full of Babies Under Yorkville.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So many dead baby jokes could be made
right now. It’s completely true, and gravely apparent (zzzing!) during almost
every construction project when little baby skeletons are unearthed by
bulldozers. Before Yorkville was paved and spattered by condos and upscale
boutiques, it was a <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/2007/10/08/no_secret_where_bodies_are_buried.html">secular
cemetery for families that couldn’t afford proper burials</a>. Known as ‘Potter’s
Field’, an estimated 6700 people were laid to rest there, including many
prematurely deceased babies. Not creepy at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Look behind closed doors and secrets
become apparent. In Toronto, there’s no end to the things you can learn if you’re
interested in digging a little. Just don’t dig in Yorkville.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-44345051576268491392013-05-19T12:55:00.003-07:002013-05-19T12:55:53.966-07:00Garage Sale-ing in Swansea Village<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dDwRrGMdH0c/UZktMGr6siI/AAAAAAAAAvY/zRF4zCvPLbE/s1600/garagesale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dDwRrGMdH0c/UZktMGr6siI/AAAAAAAAAvY/zRF4zCvPLbE/s320/garagesale.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">What?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> A favourite
pastime of Canadians of all backgrounds living in cities: the garage sale. Yes folks,
get ready for dozens of miscellaneous baskets filled with useless trinkets you
hoard in your basement until you yourself host a garage sale. North Americans
aren’t always given the opportunity to haggle, but when it comes to garage
sales you better get your bargaining on or you’ll wind up with a bed spread
that you paid for half over the depreciation value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Where?
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Swansea
village, just below Bloor West and beside High Park. A community full of white
people anxious to turn their front lawn into a gypsy market. Roam the streets
off Windermere and Runnymede on a Saturday morning and you’ll find dozens,
lining the sidewalks with electronics from 1950 and crime mystery novels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">When?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Some
unreasonable hour in the morning, usually during the summer months and on
weekends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Who?
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
be completely honest, I was visiting my Grandma who I am certain was a wealthy
salesperson in a previous life. Give this woman a marker and random house junk,
then watch as the magic of selling things that could have been donated to
Goodwill anyways lands you tens of dollars after an eight hour day. We all love
it when Grandma holds garage sales because she also feeds us hot dogs and wine.
This is one person who takes selling household items seriously, and has it down
to a <i>very</i> fine art. We love you too,
Grandma. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-32048146991607306452013-05-15T05:45:00.000-07:002013-05-15T05:49:06.642-07:004 Great Things People in Their Mid-Twenties Can Still Get Away With <br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a child, the world seemed infinite and powerful. Everything was worth
exploring and your quest for learning was never complete. Then you awkwardly
stumbled into your teens and began to understand society as
a parasitic cesspool of evil people trying to take all your money,
make you miserable and punish you with irrelevant rules you were desperate to
challenge. Once you finally tasted freedom after crawling from the terror
gauntlet known as 'high school' you began to take gratuitous advantage of
things like legal drinking and credit cards....That is, until all the people
your parents warned you about who were <i>actually</i> trying to take
all your money, make you miserable and punish you with irrelevant rules succeed
in doing so.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWaJCkw3PBo/UZN8rVr4bTI/AAAAAAAAAuU/01EWsxDW1rU/s1600/goodadult.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWaJCkw3PBo/UZN8rVr4bTI/AAAAAAAAAuU/01EWsxDW1rU/s320/goodadult.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Words from my favourite TV show character. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Enter your mid-twenties: a time in your life when you can make decisions
with the wisdom of earlier years <i>and</i> have fun without all the
serious repercussions. It's arguably the best part of your life with the least
amount of responsibility, and that makes a whole lot of awesome. While I
hit my exact mid-twenties this week, I am apt to speak of all the things we
quarter century old humans are ripe to take advantage of (and <i>get away
with</i>). The list is just wonderful, and can include things like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1) Mooching</b></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Times have changed in the most mind-bending, absurdly different ways, as
they tend to do while humans continue to surmount
every impossibility ever. One great way things are way different
than they used to be lies in the case of young adults, many of whom are recent
grads entering the workforce and trying to sketch some sort of path in life.
Because of the recent emphasis on post-secondary education over the past few
decades, 20-something year olds are spending more time in the classroom and
less time in places like wedding chapels, full time jobs and namely vaginas (at
least <i>unprotected</i> vaginas).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HYQZEAJQL9Q/UZN9hP8EbPI/AAAAAAAAAug/Jy5QI_VoQ24/s1600/moocher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HYQZEAJQL9Q/UZN9hP8EbPI/AAAAAAAAAug/Jy5QI_VoQ24/s320/moocher.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Please, sir...I want half my tuition back'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because of our current tendency to settle down much later in life,
we've been given the social normative nod to stay more
financially dependent throughout this stage of life. It's still okay to
take money from older people who actually have a decent credit rating and
something called 'disposable income'. We may not be operating on the most
liberal budget, but the generation of young adults in the 21st century has a
hell of a lot more they can do than their much more limited predecessors.
There's no shame in accepting some support in doing what you really want.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>2) Partying</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tjekyy9HAhU/UZN-zyQdsVI/AAAAAAAAAuw/u1snzW-kZGU/s1600/party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tjekyy9HAhU/UZN-zyQdsVI/AAAAAAAAAuw/u1snzW-kZGU/s320/party.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes I really question Google Images.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yes, our youthful bodies are still amazing
capsules absorbing alcohol and pizza at a rate that will not sustain
itself later in life. Remember this the next time you're downing jello shots
like they're absolutely essential to your being on earth. Our recovery times
consist of a sleep in and greasy breakfast and we're primed for a new night of
turning our bodies into a jar of sanitizer. In ten years that shit will
take an entire week before we've totally purged ourselves after a night of
binge drinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Partying also serves
an equally important function for us (other than turning into the worlds best
male belly dancer): social networking. Indeed we go out because we're at the
height of our social lives and combining a hip venue with excessive drinking is
the best way to broaden your connections. This urge won't last forever because
other things become more important, but when you have the time and energy to
invest in this aspect of life you'll want to squeeze out every drop of
relationship-building-ness. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>3) Travelling</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Young people make excuses for this one plenty of times over, but for
most people in their twenties travelling is completely feasible. There won't be
any other time in your life when you'll have this kind of mobility, so take
advantage of it and go where you've always wanted to. Secondly, the <i>type</i> of
travelling your body can afford at this point isn't going to last forever. If
you wait until you're old and falling apart to go anywhere, chances are you'll
be watching the world pass from a wheelchair inside a climate-controlled old
person tank. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jnznira0RsM/UZOAdtDBCEI/AAAAAAAAAvA/mYE14yNJCd0/s1600/oldpeople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jnznira0RsM/UZOAdtDBCEI/AAAAAAAAAvA/mYE14yNJCd0/s1600/oldpeople.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the other hand, this is <i>totally</i> a bus I'd want to be on.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">That fear you feel when you know you can drop everything and go
somewhere far away is usually what stops you from embarking - that's usually
where the excuses come from. But I've never heard any traveled person
tell me they wished they hadn't gone and stayed home and settled down early. That
just doesn't happen. In fact, generally ignoring any want of travel now results
in lots of regret later on, so what are you waiting for? GET OUT THERE!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>4) Risk-Taking</b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNxSyGIj8Bc/UZOBAASJWkI/AAAAAAAAAvI/RMhDs1dRBUc/s1600/Croc+Pond+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNxSyGIj8Bc/UZOBAASJWkI/AAAAAAAAAvI/RMhDs1dRBUc/s320/Croc+Pond+(3).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then again, I'm probably <i>not </i>the best person to be<br />
advising on risk taking. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps scariest of all is our ability to take
risks. Now is the time to try as many new things as possible, experiment and
learn about yourself. Our quest for self-knowledge is never
as pertinent as it is in our twenties, but with great learning comes
great risk. Luckily, at this point you probably don't have that much
collateral, and having little to lose means your options are plenty. Yes, there
is always a chance you'll pull and epic failure and fall flat on your face; but
at this age, your recovery is minimal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Much of your success here will rely on resiliency - something that may
be a bit of use when you're older, too - so why not build it early? Heck, if
you can't take a few hits, what kind of stories will you have as a senior? Your
grandchildren will think you're a smelly old boring fart because you always
listened to your parents and followed all the rules. Please....don't be THAT
guy. For your sake and your grandchildren's. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've hashed out a small list with a big impact on your mid-twenties. There's
certainly more to add, but currently I'm too busy mooching, partying,
travelling and risk-taking to write out the rest. Let's hope you are, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Safe Travels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aaron Turpin<span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-63069026764247956472013-05-11T11:29:00.001-07:002013-05-11T11:29:40.216-07:00Google Maps: My Virtual Love Affair<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Human
kind has, throughout its own history, attempted in many ways to challenge both
time and space through various medium for the purpose of ‘species introspection’;
knowing more about the ourselves by leaving our own environment. Perhaps one of
the most telling examples of this abstraction is the map - a tool used over the
past 3000 years by humans to gain a new understanding of the world, fueled by a
universal desire to see a place in its entirety. Maps have been created and
used in every corner of the world and have changed form and shape over time.
Our modern maps are dramatically different to the scrawling cuneiform once
produced by early geographers and cartographers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On its own virtual surface, a mapping
system like Google Maps seems one-dimensional and unchanging. Insert your
desired coordinates, point and click and you’re given direction. But a more
intense critique of this online interface uncovers its many layers as a
landmark tool of human interaction. Select street view for an interactive 360
degree display of your neighbour’s front lawn or the Burj Khalifa or even the
Great Coral Reef and Grand Canyon (both new locations to explore on Google
Maps). Google earth transforms the map into a topographic representation of the
world, including towering mountain ranges and deep canals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iE6_kOJsiUI/UY6NPHRijpI/AAAAAAAAAtw/TE0QZxEsP_U/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iE6_kOJsiUI/UY6NPHRijpI/AAAAAAAAAtw/TE0QZxEsP_U/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An image that perpetually fascinates me - Earth at Night.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I fell in love with Google Maps after I
began to travel Canada and would use it to plot itineraries and en route
destinations. Identifying an approximation of the duration of your trip,
including traffic, weather and road conditions while also learning about local
attractions all in one website was (and still is) incredibly helpful. Fueled by
an amateur geographer like myself, Google Maps is the perfect place to better understand
a place like Canada. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Recently, Google maps has opened its
program to anyone interested in an effort to openly share knowledge on places
and things in every corner of the earth. Users can now upload photos, write
reviews and create videos of their own travels, building a network of media-savvy
explorers who can connect with each other’s experiences. This trend, known as ‘Post-modern
Cartography’ by academics, is rearranging our traditional ideas on what a map <i>is </i>and what it can <i>do</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/N8-11InLotY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The effect of seeing the earth
holistically gave human kind an appreciation that could not have been
experienced before the creation of maps; the planet we experience from above is
not marked by borders, but geographical diversities, light pollution and vast
deposits of land and water. From this vantage point a place like Canada is vast
wilderness blotched with cities and towns. This phenomenon – known as ‘The
Overview Effect’ – is the exact sensation teased out after spending some time
in a place like Google Maps. Philosopher David Loy describes this rush: ‘To
have that experience of awe is, at least for the moment, to let go of yourself;
to transcend the sense of separation.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the case of Google Maps, we find
plenty of examples of how nature and humans are interpreted and re-interpreted
by users and creators, forming a map that transcends mere topological
information. At this juncture the opportunity for a platform that becomes
subject to its users has the potential to change shape throughout time. I do
not wish to frame Google Maps as intrinsically good or bad, but a technology
that absorbs the values we project unto it. Interactivity in map making broadens
its use as a reciprocal tool, having impact on both the user and the used. The
future of Google Maps depends on this new form of engagement, and just how it
will continue to change is increasingly subject to <i>who</i> is behind the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-69198390991250520402013-05-09T17:11:00.000-07:002013-05-09T17:11:10.769-07:00Desmandre! Mark Yan at La Revolucion Mexican Bar.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Who? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Singer/Singwriter
Mark Yan and friends performing on the back stage at La Revolucion bar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Where? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">2848 Dundas
Street West - just east of Keele Street and in the heart of the Junction - a
place known for superior local bars and eats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-frRc160LJRI/UYw62wQGcwI/AAAAAAAAAtg/pAKb5Kxnzls/s1600/larev.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-frRc160LJRI/UYw62wQGcwI/AAAAAAAAAtg/pAKb5Kxnzls/s320/larev.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">This place
fits perfectly into the junction scene - an unassuming appearance and laid
back vibe that only complimented the melodic selections from Mark Yan and
company. Yan kept an audience attentive by offering many acts throughout the
night and sharing the stage with talent from across Toronto. While you're enjoying
the tunes you can also indulge in the delicious Mexican food options served
late into the night, including mountains of nachos, taquitas and fresh
guacamole. La Rev is also one of the few bars in Toronto that serves a Mexican
beer called ‘Tecate’ that is a great pair with the filling dishes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Recommendations? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I had
the ‘El Burro’ and would definitely re-order. The wrap wasn’t small, but it
wasn’t the size of a freakin’ body pillow like other places. It comes with your
choice of beef, chicken or veggies (I had the herbivorian special) and is
nicely seared for an optimal seal and crisp. I’d also recommend the Enchiladas.
For you drink-only visitors, try the margaritas. I could have eaten a bowl of
the rim all by itself. Is that gross?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Go Again? </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I can and I
will. Mark Yan is a regular host at the bar and is sure to put on a great show.
Not to mention the Junction is a great place to bar hop in general and La
Revolucion is a must en route. A mere three days before Cinco de Mayo and I got
my fill of Mexican food and hospitality…But, as the good folks at La Rev would
remind you, it’s never too late to celebrate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-32807585634858962262013-05-05T10:25:00.001-07:002013-05-05T10:25:22.226-07:00Moving In (Out)<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Moving.
Is there anything more sucky?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We don’t always consider what goes into transferring
everything you have from one place to the next, even if everything you have isn’t
that much to begin with. Safe to say I was reminded of the many headaches
involved when you decide you want to do <i>everything
in one day, </i>which always sounds logical in theory but never ends up being
easy, especially when U-Haul sends you to a distributor who doesn’t even rent
trucks anymore and you’re stuck standing on the side of Dufferin Street on the
phone to a customer service lady who can’t quite figure out why you would book
with someone they cut ties with long ago even though the website gave no
inclination of this. Not like that happened to me or anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W5ajzYLyeJQ/UYaU3G1EZsI/AAAAAAAAAtU/RKsB1QM0f-0/s1600/people-moving-weston-florida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W5ajzYLyeJQ/UYaU3G1EZsI/AAAAAAAAAtU/RKsB1QM0f-0/s320/people-moving-weston-florida.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"...and THIS box is for when I throw up!'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On the other hand, there’s nothing like
moving to remind you of all the stuff you <i>didn’t</i>
think you accumulated between now and the last time you moved. The trinkets
purchased at Goodwill, school books that were too expensive to throw away and
all the kitchen equipment that sounded like a good idea when you bought it but
just ended up sitting in the dark chasm of some cupboard for eight months. <i>Those things </i>are usually haphazardly
thrown into rickety cardboard boxes from the grocery store and wind up broken
by the time you unpack them at your <i>new
place. </i>Which reminds me – why do you think we end up producing so much
garbage by the time we’re finished moving? Why couldn’t I figure out that all
the stuff we threw away on the day we moved was garbage <i>before </i>putting them in boxes? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">All said, we’re in and we’re not going
anywhere for a while, because I will die if I have to move again anytime soon. We
often underestimate how long it may take us to acclimatize to a new space – at least
for me the effort can be long-term. If an environment is what you make of it,
we’re sure to create a loft that represents our character. But getting used to
a new place is totally different and involves some sleepless nights and a month
of forgetting where I put things. Once I’m over that phase, though, our loft
becomes a home – and thank the moving Gods for when that happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-50004079562346323192013-05-05T09:55:00.001-07:002013-05-05T14:51:59.266-07:00Ain't Yo Mama's Pancakes at the Caledon Family Restaurant<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">What:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Caledon
Family Restaurant, previously known as ‘Flapjack’s’, but recently changed after
the original owners sold it. <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/821E1" target="_blank">Google Maps doesn’t even know this</a>, and I am told
the name change was about the only thing that was made different here – same staff,
food and service that has attracted people for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Where:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">On
Highway 10, about 45mins North of Toronto and close to the terminus of Highway
410. Literally in the middle of a farm. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: this </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">isn't</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> even </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">in </i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Toronto, to which my
response is simple - close that blithering trap of yours and fill it with food
at The Caledon Family Restaurant. You’ll see why I wrote about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WtZ6TP2RkTg/UYaN1TKi5RI/AAAAAAAAAtE/8034KZ7MzUw/s1600/flapjacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WtZ6TP2RkTg/UYaN1TKi5RI/AAAAAAAAAtE/8034KZ7MzUw/s320/flapjacks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ohhhhhhhhh sweet sweet God. </td></tr>
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</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Eats:
</span></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Three
words: All. Day. Breakfast. We had Eggs F</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">lorentine</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">, a Spanish Omelette and the
‘Breakfast Special’, complete with home fries and pancakes to cure our
hangovers. The portions were generous and they even gave us an extra pancake
after the kitchen ‘accidentally’ made more than the order. This was a very good
thing, as we found out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Best
Parts: </span></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Holy
Gods of the batter kingdom unite; these pancakes are </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">off the chain</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">. Easily the best flapjacks </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">I've</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> eaten, and I’m not a
huge fan of them. The homemade mix is
buttery, light and fluffy beyond my wildest dreams. Combined with their
homemade strawberry jam compote, I think I died and went to a very delicious
world of country breakfast foods. The rest of the meal was also rather
appetizing – rich hollandaise topped poached, runny eggs, fried potatoes and
perfectly brewed coffee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What <i>really
</i>added a tone of goodness, though, was the atmosphere. This place reminded
me of the mismatched breakfast spots in middle-of-nowhere locations along the
Trans-Canada Highway, despite its close proximity to Toronto. Genuine country
hospitality presents itself in the friendly service, oak furniture and tacky
wall decorations. I was taken back to rural Canada and the places I miss when in
the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Go
Again? </span></b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Absolutely,
but I probably won’t get to because I don’t own a car. The only drawback of The
Caledon Family Restaurant is it’s inaccessibility to commuters, but a getaway
to the Greater Toronto Area’s wilder places would make a perfect excuse to stop
here. For nature lovers, the restaurant is close to great conservation areas and
parks worth exploring like the Cheltenham Badlands, Mono Cliffs and Forks of
the Credit. You can even visit after a night of camping illegally, which is
totally not what I was doing. Regardless, this place has garnered a reputation well beyond Caledon and has even been featured on </span><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/shows/you-gotta-eat-here/show.html?titleid=272440" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">You Gotta Eat Here</a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">. Next time you're </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">cruising rural GTA, make sure you stop by The Caledeon Family Restaurant. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-61699658831677941012013-04-26T13:12:00.000-07:002013-04-26T13:12:28.513-07:00Wheelin' with March of Dimes Canada<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s not every day that a project comes
along with the potential to not only change what we assume accessibility looks
like, but rearrange our whole paradigmatic thinking on disability and what
exactly it constitutes. At March of Dimes Canada programs are set in place to
do exactly this while promoting independence and dignity in their clients. The
Vaughn Congregate Care Unit is now their most ambitious endeavour in the
Greater Toronto Area, providing supportive housing for a number of people
living with complex care issues. While this has been a plan over twelve years
in the making, they are finally set to open doors this spring at the already
established Reena Residence in Vaughan, just north or Toronto. Their support
team has been in intense training for the big move and are now caring for the
clients during pre-transition, housed in various locations and care facilities
across the city. I should know – I am part of said staff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npd1UutiSVw/UXrfCbhTyLI/AAAAAAAAAss/ithj_yr-E58/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npd1UutiSVw/UXrfCbhTyLI/AAAAAAAAAss/ithj_yr-E58/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PLUS there's hospital clowns. Yeah.</td></tr>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Heading into the complex care until at
the Holland Bloorview Kids Hospital is like entering a world that is slowly
becoming more and more familiar to me. In between the countless tubes, hospital
beds and ventilator alarms are our newest clients, all of whom have spent a
majority of their life in this facility. They are, most understandably, excited
and nervous about moving into a new apartment. Our job right now is to reassure
them that this is a change for the better; it is an environment that allows for
more independence and freedom. As we get to know each person more intimately,
we begin to realize the true scope of this move. <i>We</i> have to stay confident so <i>they</i>
can stay invested in this decision. This is no easy task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because of the dynamic nature of this
program, our skills must broaden beyond just basic medical care. We must be
able to respond to a variety of situations when multi-level support isn’t
always available, establish a close relationship with each client to understand
their individual needs and concerns, and build a community that values mutual
support and social inclusion. This is why Vaughan Congregate Care is different
and has the potential to force newer, more appropriate perspectives of
disability. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For now, we’re still in the early stages
of this innovative program. As I become better acquainted with my role at March
of Dimes and my learning curve becomes steeper, I will blog my thoughts and
experiences here – a new fish in a big sea. It’s about time I did something
actual. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-24876504370040608822013-04-19T09:24:00.001-07:002013-04-19T10:52:35.173-07:00The Mandatory 'I Graduated' Post<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-poH2OMU9WsE/UXFuTfcLUqI/AAAAAAAAAsg/L0vv3jo7IUc/s1600/YORKU17387-D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-poH2OMU9WsE/UXFuTfcLUqI/AAAAAAAAAsg/L0vv3jo7IUc/s320/YORKU17387-D.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look close enough, you'll see how<br />
I am actually freaking out inside. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">They say growing up is hard to do. I’ve
learned that the process of becoming an adult happens fast and </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">doesn’t consider
if you’re ready or not. It invades your life and forces complicated decisions
that don’t always make everybody happy. As the soft-spoken hairy Italian
photographer prunes my robe and details the cap before gingerly placing it on
my head, a flood of life surges through my legs and up my spine. Six years and
I’m sitting on a stool attempting to hold a smile with some fake diploma held
across my trunk. I feel absolutely silly and can’t wait to leave the cramped
meeting-room-turned-photo-studio as my awkward levels reach a boiling point.
Also, this is the first time things r</span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">eally
</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">start to hit hard: I am graduating.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Six years of post-secondary…..over. Now
what? I mean, I kinda know the answer, but I still find myself caught in my
first real existential crisis while I attempt to untangle the experience of
college and university and everything in between while trying to simultaneously
figure out what I want to do with my life. In the past month I’ve finished two
jobs at PARC and CDS, wrapped up the last projects and classes I’ll ever have
to deal with as an undergraduate student, started training and working with the
March of Dimes Canada, found a loft I can call home on May 1<sup>st</sup>, and
slid – nay, collided face first – into adulthood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">And how the hell do I sum everything up?
Three words: I know nothing. Of course, I know <i>some </i>things, but really…<i>really,
</i>I know nothing. That is what all this learning has taught me. The more I
know, the more I realize <i>I don’t really
know anything</i>. This isn’t a self-deprecation nor a self-pity psalm, but a
realization of the world and my puny insignificance that pushes me forward.
Only the most ignorant think they know everything, and I’m happy to be placed
in the category of little to no comprehension of things, for the earth has `so
much more to teach me. University changed me, and now I am ready embark on a
new scary adventure as an empty vessel of nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thank you, university. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Safe travels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aaron Turpin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-11974839223607607782013-04-12T09:40:00.000-07:002013-04-15T09:09:57.890-07:00What Happens when Spirit and Action Collide?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The act of ‘waking up’ is taken for
granted in North America. It is an act we follow on a daily basis, a movement
into controlled consciousness, thought and action. We are no longer caught in a
dream-state; instead we find ourselves on earth and begin to live within it as
human beings. But ‘waking up’ is far more than transitioning between sleep and
consciousness. It is the complicated task of realizing that you exist in what
is referred to as ‘here and now’. It requires the efforts of a plethora of
functions in your body working in beautiful unison to come out of a slumber,
yet we do it on a very regular basis. So, what does it <i>really </i>mean to ‘wake up’? Some say North America currently is in a
deep sleep, not figuratively, but as a collective. We have let go of our inhibitions
as humans and as active citizens and separated ourselves from our bodies and
our spirit.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tfa8N0cN0-w/UWg4JV6ouoI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/nYyVUQmqmSk/s1600/classic_occupy_wall_street_protest_signs_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tfa8N0cN0-w/UWg4JV6ouoI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/nYyVUQmqmSk/s320/classic_occupy_wall_street_protest_signs_09.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;">If there’s anything I’ve learned in
university, it’s that philosophical approaches such as the aforementioned </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;">must
be compared to real moments in human interactions. The issue is this: how do we
frame activism in North America and what does that say about the constitutions
of social change? If you get paid, are you still considered an activist? If it doesn’t involve marching down the middle
of Main Street chanting ‘fuck the system!’ and holding signs with cliché
remarks, can we qualify it was activism? Can our spirituality be included in
this?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Spiritualism has many manifestations as
a vehicle for social change, but it is this exact diversity that in turn
strengthens the movement. By embracing self-reflexivity, activists in North America
can both improve their level of impact and become more creative in their
approach. Imagine recreating something like our traditional manifestations of
‘education’ in the global South as a tool for social change and spiritualism instead
of enforcing status quo. Remove all notions of competition, classism,
exclusivity, hierarchy or power abuse and examine what is left: an educational
structure that values common voice, participation and social transformation.
Yes, students can be activists, too – both inside and outside the classroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do I sound hopelessly naive in this
post? I hope so. I can already sense the scoffing of some of my readers as
I jump off the deep end. I used to do that, too – turn my nose up at every
radical idea I stumbled across, until I realized that I was taking the easy
route. I stopped being idealistic. I stopped dreaming. All because I was told
it was wrong; it was better to beat the pulp out of every well-intentioned
do-gooder with an idea that seemed far-fetched. My mind was diseased with
analysis paralysis. Now…..I am an activist. Are you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This post was inspired by Alan Watts’
lecture on nothingness:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-84131460748431092152013-04-07T10:06:00.001-07:002013-04-07T10:06:48.333-07:00Lost and Found's Guide to Post-Grad Employment<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So apparently I <i>am</i> good at job hunting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In early January I posted an article
entitled ‘</span><a href="http://letsgetlostandfound.blogspot.ca/2013/01/happy-new-fear.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Happy New Fear</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’ that was
supposed to reflect my anxiety on formulating some kind of post-graduate career
plan amidst a plethora of under-employed former students. As it turns out, it
was the same gut-wrenching apprehension of joblessness that motivated me to
ruthlessly search for a position that suited me and my interests. Oh, and it
paid off – with a full time position as Personal Support Worker with </span><a href="http://www.marchofdimes.ca/EN/Pages/default.aspx"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">March of Dimes Canada</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But not without a steep learning curve
and plenty of job hunting mistakes made in previous attempts, which begs the
question: how could I <i>not</i> write a
post about post-grad employment? Below: the five biggest lessons I’ve learned
on my journey not being broke and homeless and sad after six years of
post-secondary madness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Let Other People
do the Work for You<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">It sounds silly, doesn’t it? I mean, if
you could outsource your own job hunt, </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">wouldn't</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> you want to? Welcome to the
real world, Watson….It </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">exists</i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfM_P23QzpQ/UWGmDVfP3PI/AAAAAAAAArw/vyDVySDAwK0/s1600/watson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SfM_P23QzpQ/UWGmDVfP3PI/AAAAAAAAArw/vyDVySDAwK0/s320/watson.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's elementary.....Ahem, <i>job sourcing</i>, dear Watson.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">During my search for a
life-after-university plan, I had <i>two</i>
different employment agencies who knew my name, interests and field – one was a
private head-hunting company and the other a temporary agency run through York
University. Although I didn’t have to use them in the end, I was confident in
their ability to find me a ‘fall back’ plan because I had personally introduced
myself and had made sure they knew I was a dependable person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But it doesn’t stop there – especially
for recent graduates. Universities all have career centers with job boards,
resume and cover letter workshops and sometimes even job counselling.
Government agencies are also interested in getting young educated people into
the workforce, that’s why they have placement agencies in many locations. Share
the load and connect with these services – you may be surprised at the outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Shake some Hands<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the world of online everything, it
can be so incredibly easy to hide behind your digital resume. </span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57527660/how-online-job-searches-worsen-the-job-crisis/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Online
application systems are now the primary input source for prospective employees</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">, and while
filing off dozens of resumes online may be an easier alternative, <b>nothing beats doing it in person.</b>
Please, <i>please </i>believe me on this. My
personal mantra during my last job hunt was to bypass as many online
applications as possible and meet someone from the company – a secretary, HR
rep, whoever – <i>before </i>showing them my
resume. I am certain this is the main reason why I was offered my new position.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Doing this puts a face to the name and
shows the employer <i>just how serious</i>
you are about working for them. The effort of travelling to a place of business
pays off quickly – as a networking tool and motivational technique that is sure
to give you a strong leg up on your competition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Meet People and
Network the Hell Outta Them<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We all hear about how important networking
is and how it leads to so many jobs. While this is especially true today, I <i>still </i>don’t think graduates understand
this. Networking should be a process started far before you enter the ‘real
world’, and universities are teeming hotspots of opportunity because they
naturally attract professionals from all different kinds of fields. If you
don’t take advantage of this, you’re missing out on some great potential job
openings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But I’m not <i>just </i>advocating signing up for conferences or events. The fabric of
the professional world has changed over the years, and the lead-in to jobs is
getting more and more informal. My best piece of advice is this: view <i>every </i>new encounter as a possible
networking opportunity, regardless of where you are or what you are doing.
Friends, family, relatives, co-workers, peers – they’re all untapped
opportunities to wiggle into a job of your dreams. It sounds ruthless, I know –
but it works. The better you are at forming new connections, the greater your
chances of working in your field. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Learn from
Rejection<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is a tough one, especially for us young
adults – failure can be detrimental, but it is a necessary part of improving a
skill like job hunting. If anything, know this: when it comes to the Canadian
job search, you will <i>always</i>
experience more failures than successes. I know it sucks to hear that a
majority of your applications as a new grad will end up in a trash can with
barely a skim, but it’s the rotten truth and the best thing we can do is learn
from it. There are plenty of ways to do this, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Oaf-EausS9A/UWGmzsymoVI/AAAAAAAAAsA/Bp8pCv7Ho-U/s1600/rejection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Oaf-EausS9A/UWGmzsymoVI/AAAAAAAAAsA/Bp8pCv7Ho-U/s1600/rejection.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you’ve found yourself on the wrong
end of an application group, ask why you weren’t selected for an interview or
given the position. At this point, there’s really nothing to lose and many HR
departments are happy to provide a little feedback. It shows that you are
interested and helps you improve your next attempt. If there’s one hard lesson
I’ve learned, it’s that no one can ever have the perfect resume/interview/cover
letter. Bettering oneself in the job market is an infinite process – the more
you learn about yourself, the easier it becomes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Be Stubborn and
Stick With It!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Stubbornness gets a bad rap these days.
It shouldn’t when it comes to job searches, because the more we get our name on
peoples desks, the more we increase our opportunities for employment. Job
hunting can be incredibly de-motivating, but don’t let a few turned heads drag
you down. Remember – this is <i>your </i>future
and you shouldn’t stop until you’re truly happy with it. It pays to be
resilient, so build your tolerance to the negative parts and you’ll surely
succeed. It takes time and effort to land employment in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century and patience is a virtue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Good luck grads of ’13!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-50265327786194692112013-03-31T11:26:00.000-07:002013-03-31T11:26:25.930-07:00Confessions of a Tree Planter: An Interview with Adam Turpin<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
that time of year again. No, not the annual spring barbeque where Uncle Larry
dips into the mimosas and takes off his shirt to go Sasquatch hunting. I’m
talking about <i>planting </i>season. <i>Tree planting</i>, to be precise. All around
Canada people are digging out their mini shovels from the basement and heading off
into the bush for weeks of painful labour, supplying our fair country with
oxygen (and wood, and pulp, and paper….as I understand it) at pennies a tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But those pennies can add up. Just ask veteran
tree planter and Toronto native Adam Turpin as he begins his umpteenth season,
now foremaning his own team set to tromp around in northern Alberta’s
wilderness in early May. You may think you know, but <i>you have no idea. </i>Enjoy: an interview with a man who is <i>intimately </i>connected our wooden giants. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tell
us about yourself. Who is Adam Turpin, in a nutshell?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElieggNXeC0/UVh95xIuqMI/AAAAAAAAAq8/Y-DxHMggRgg/s1600/profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElieggNXeC0/UVh95xIuqMI/AAAAAAAAAq8/Y-DxHMggRgg/s200/profile.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who wouldn't want a piece of this? Honestly?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ll try to make the nutshell as small
as possible; I find it’s difficult to describe myself when I really sit down
and think about it. I can start by saying I’m a soon-to-be York graduate who
studied Kinesiology. I’m 25, and love long walks on the beach. Oops, wrong
questionnaire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
Seriously though, I’m a tree planter. This upcoming summer will be my fifth
year doing it, and I’ll do my best to give you the most accurate picture of
what it is we do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
initially interested you in planting and why the hell would anyone want to do
this?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s been so long that it’s hard to
tease out the particular reason why I chose to go. An acquaintance of mine at
the time, (a friend now) had gone and I was briefly told about it, and it
sparked an interest. She spoke of the nature, the money, the drunken
debauchery. It all seemed too unreal to believe so I had to try it for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ERnByoHd_Jg/UVh-JZf56FI/AAAAAAAAArI/pByv5Gx8KMA/s1600/shed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ERnByoHd_Jg/UVh-JZf56FI/AAAAAAAAArI/pByv5Gx8KMA/s320/shed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paradise for planters, hell for pretty much everyone else.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I had previously done a mix of indoor
and outdoor work, and I much preferred being outdoors. You’ve got to deal with
the elements, but it’s more <i>real…</i>and
planting most definitely has shown me the elements! Bugs, rain, snow, heat, mud
- it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to give it a go, given the
difficulty level. But that’s the beauty of the job. It really shows you what
you’re capable of by the end of a season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Planters will give you different reasons
for their motivation, but it’s a known fact that employers want people who are
motivated by making money. Planting can be a <i>very</i> lucrative seasonal job for the student (if you’re willing to
work hard at it), so I think that’s a big reason why people start (and
continue).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
understand that a very specific culture exists around planters and what they
do. Can you lend a little insight into what this is and how you fit into it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s a great question. 95% of people I
talk to about planting either know absolutely nothing about it, or they’ve got
a friend who talked their ear off about it because they went themselves. We
certainly like to talk about our job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">From time to time, I hear about our
stereotype though, that is, we’re all just a bunch of tree-hugging, pot-smoking
hippies in the bush. While some planters may fit this description, others are
your everyday Joes (and Jills). You wouldn’t be able to pick out a planter from
a crowd just based on looks. I wouldn’t
call myself a hippie, but there are certainly aspects that we have all drawn
from that subculture, such as having the utmost respect for your fellow person
and knowing when to work hard and when to play hard. I can’t speak for all tree
planters, but that is what I have seen. I can tell you we most certainly aren’t
lazy! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
does it take to be a (successful) planter? Would I make the cut?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">No. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MpfmBdnDvrQ/UVh-g6ByyxI/AAAAAAAAArM/1l59REGg5cc/s1600/adamteam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MpfmBdnDvrQ/UVh-g6ByyxI/AAAAAAAAArM/1l59REGg5cc/s320/adamteam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adam and his team en route to a site in Northern Ontario</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ha, just kidding. I’m fairly certain
you’d be successful at it, but that doesn’t mean I think most people would. It’s
a very difficult job, although I think most are capable of it if they really
put their minds to it. You look at the people you know and think “Hmmm, I
wonder if you could last an entire season.” I guess it’s impossible to tell,
unless they actually try it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A successful planter is always going to
have to draw from two components. The first is the physical requirement. It’s
physically demanding work. You often eat up to 6000 Calories a day and drink up
to 10 litres of water when it gets hot. The terrain can be arduous, and don’t
forget that we’re carrying up to 50+ pounds of trees on us at once. And of
course, you’ve got to bend over every seven or eight feet to put a tree in the
ground. Needless to say, if you have any prior injury, this job will aggravate
it. And if you don’t, well, your body will still hate you in more ways than you
can imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course, physical labour isn’t the
whole thing; there’s still a huge mental component to the job as well. Doing
this job is tough, but doing it while there’s a cloud of blackflies in your
face and boots that are full of water is in a whole other category. Sometimes
it can be hard to keep your sanity. Actually, the truth is, you lose that about
two weeks in. I swear, every year I give in faster and faster, that’s called ‘bush
crazy’. I think it makes the whole
experience a little easier to get through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Storytime. Give us your best anecdote of being in
the bush while planting. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is probably
the most difficult question to answer, because I can give you a plethora of
stories, given enough time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YLM4VGVqUmc/UVh-3gtW1BI/AAAAAAAAArY/VITQruk1c88/s1600/heli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YLM4VGVqUmc/UVh-3gtW1BI/AAAAAAAAArY/VITQruk1c88/s320/heli.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some plots are only accessed by helicopter - you have to be<br />air lifted in and out every day! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last season,
while dropping off garbage at the dump, another foreman and I were surrounded
by about five black bears. It was terrifying at first, but they were pretty
tame and only wanted our garbage. It was exhilarating haha. Another favourite
quip about tree planting is the ridiculous outfits we pick up at the thrift
shop. I’ve seen planters in Santa costumes, banana suits, tu-tus, jogging
suits, dresses, fur coats… you name it, we’ve seen it. I almost don’t think it
would be quite the same experience without all the silliness that happens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Is there life after planting for you, or will you
just perpetually shove things into the dirt until you die or fall ill?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1L9L5Qdw7Zc/UVh_QPefnVI/AAAAAAAAArc/cSujli6NxAk/s1600/558639_10100952095639990_389679845_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1L9L5Qdw7Zc/UVh_QPefnVI/AAAAAAAAArc/cSujli6NxAk/s200/558639_10100952095639990_389679845_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Go forth, Adam! Plant those bitches!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s a good
question, and I’ve been asked it before. It really depends on my plans in the
future. If I go back to school then I’ll be planting for a couple more years,
but I hate making long term life decisions. It’s very possible, but I wouldn’t
want to limit myself from doing anything else, even if I do love the job so
much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 405.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cool. Thanks for the interview!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-1641928275691153232013-03-24T12:45:00.000-07:002013-03-25T12:35:20.168-07:00Under One Tent: The PARC Night Market<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqoPLFNN1_s/UU9XLlDs4qI/AAAAAAAAAqM/fTphS42Wl2A/s1600/DSCF1105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqoPLFNN1_s/UU9XLlDs4qI/AAAAAAAAAqM/fTphS42Wl2A/s320/DSCF1105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s late Monday
morning and I’m sauntering across Queen Street West in the heart of Parkdale,
attempting to shake off a post-St.Patty’s hangover. Coffee in hand, I make my
way into the familiarity of the main floor of the Parkdale Activity-Recreation
Centre – usually the beating heart of street life in these parts, but not
today. Today there’s an eerie absence of hubbub, a vacancy where life normally
presents itself in ordered chaos. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I climb the wooden
staircase to the second floor to the tune of a thousand creaks as the worn
wooden floor absorbs my weight and I make my way into the ‘Healing Room’, where
behind closed doors I hear the hum of hungry sewing machines and the quiet
tattering of voices. Through mounds of cloth, waves electricity permeate the
door and glide through my body. I smile and turn the knob: this is it.
Production week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNIjWhc2mYQ/UU9XZK95muI/AAAAAAAAAqU/vl5t_0EW9Gg/s1600/DSCF1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNIjWhc2mYQ/UU9XZK95muI/AAAAAAAAAqU/vl5t_0EW9Gg/s320/DSCF1119.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice - a production team favourite - and her puppet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fast forward five days
and although most of my week has been ‘business as usual’ I find myself
anxiously anticipating its end. Stepping off the Landsdowne bus on Friday
afternoon I am, unlike my past weary half-drunk self, excitedly rushing across
the street and back to 1499 Queen West where I run into Michael Burtt, Director
of Making Room Community Arts and the ringleader for the evening. Michael has
had no problem taking me under his wing over the past seven months, integrating
me into his program and consequently exposing me to a world far beyond the sidewalk
life of Parkdale. Though everyone is in a caffeine fueled turbo charge, Michael
seems to have met his own personal apex of pre-event frantic as he quickly
delegates set up procedures and I, now completely high off of the shared craze,
quickly go to work preparing the drop-in centre for a spectacle like no other:
the PARC Night Market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What comes to mind when
you think of a night market? Abundance of tasty culinary delights? Eccentric
figures selling you clothes and jewellery? The feel of a busy evening market is
its own euphoric sensation: smells, sights and sounds blend into one and you
are locked in a transcendent space where magic becomes life. Aiding in the
transformation of PARC space into a night market didn’t taint this experience
for me; only heightened my awareness of what it really was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhq5BWT4WkA/UU9Xrd4w1nI/AAAAAAAAAqc/EVZlQrxIEkA/s1600/DSCF1082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhq5BWT4WkA/UU9Xrd4w1nI/AAAAAAAAAqc/EVZlQrxIEkA/s320/DSCF1082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The incredible musical photo boxes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And so, by 7pm sharp,
we had successfully transformed PARC space into something out of a whimsically
drawn picture book or ancient tale of gypsy dance and carnival characters. We
were complete with a memory canning station, live band, fortune booth, embroidery
table, clay puppets, hand-crafted jewellery, painted canvasses, and – the project
I had the most impact on – the creation of kaleidoscope picture boxes complete
with a victrola-esque music pipe. The ceiling was decorated in rags and
lanterns. In the middle sat our canoe – built in a previous PARC lifetime and a
vessel for memories. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over 200 community
members and PARC staff participated in the Night Market, crowding the spaces in
between exhibits and moving to the rhythm of the live music. At the end of the
night and after striking (production language for 'cleaning up the giant mess we just made'), five staff remained in a bar across the street – some
still in costume – staring into our beers with permanent smiles etched across
tired faces. PARC – Sand in Water – had finally culminated, but in the most
appropriate way possible. From across the table, Michael breaks the silence: ‘what
do you think we’ll do next year?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-42410133096545253282013-03-17T12:07:00.002-07:002013-03-17T12:08:37.616-07:00I'm a RoMANtic<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I like romance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There, <i>I said it. </i>I am a man, and I enjoy a good love story more than I
would normally like to admit in any social situation. I also refuse to believe
that I am an anomaly. We males have too many ways in which to mask this,
standing behind a social norm that would be as inaccurate as when </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqYSgdrci68"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">sloths mistake their arm for a branch
and fall to their deaths</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">. It’s time to rise – a collective of man-romantics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mWWO2F7Y5is/UUYT_5RYeMI/AAAAAAAAAp8/2AOHSZ1eBSQ/s1600/fugitive+pieces.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mWWO2F7Y5is/UUYT_5RYeMI/AAAAAAAAAp8/2AOHSZ1eBSQ/s320/fugitive+pieces.JPG" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was recently involuntarily subjected
to read </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Michaels"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anne Michaels</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’ </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugitive_Pieces"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fugitive Pieces</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> for a class
this semester, and, while the book is a beautifully stylized natural history
marvel, I’m pretty sure my favourite parts were the subtle injections of
romance. Now, I’ve tried this before: with nothing left to read and yearning
for some literature, I forced myself to take on a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Roberts"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nora Roberts</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> book entitled
The Three Fates last summer. Despite being a so called ‘romance novel’, I
wasn’t aroused in the least. I thought my story-book romance days were over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But Micheals does something completely
different and much more to my liking. <i>Her</i>
version of a romance isn’t some smutty, overly-detailed repetitive patriarchal
half-porn, but a classic in descriptive beauty (without all the graphic parts).
I so appreciated her ability to describe the essence of a character though
another character, allowing for her poetic writing style to bleed elegantly
across each page. Romance wasn’t the centerpiece but a component part of a
larger story, told through the eyes of a fictional post-World War Two first
generation immigrant to Canada who struggled with identity, mental health and forming
a healthy love interest. It was beauty at its finest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So why do I feel like the only man on
the interwebs to support the creative talent of romance media everywhere? Just
buck-up and admit it: we’re all suckers for a good love story, and there isn’t
anything wrong with this. So all you self-identified males who front an
emotionless manly-man guise can start acting like real dudes with hearts and
feelings and mushy stuff. After all, feelings are called feelings because <i>we often can’t control them</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So let’s foster the feelings of males
everywhere, and put the MAN back in roMANtic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*Looking for a little romantic inspiration? Buy Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Fugitive-Pieces-Anne-Michaels/dp/0771058837" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-59356541914507158032013-03-09T10:26:00.001-08:002013-03-09T10:32:36.426-08:00An All-Canadian Road Trip Playlist<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When you think Canadian Road trip,
what’s your soundtrack? There are the obvious picks from home-grown greats like
The Hip, Rush, Neil Young, perhaps a little Morissette for good measure…Indeed, when it comes to
tunes that pair well with tarmac, Canada certainly isn’t shorthanded. Now, I’ve
already written about <a href="http://letsgetlostandfound.blogspot.ca/2012/07/normal-0-false-false-false-en-ca-x-none.html">Canada’s
top ten road trips</a>, so I <i>could </i>make
up a road trip playlist that includes every big hit from famous bands that
emerged in the North like some thoughtless pedestrian blogger. Or, of course, I
could instead create a <i>different </i>mix
of Canadian bands/songs that are equally as deserving of your car stereo (but
more unexpectedly so). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yeah, I’ll do with the latter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Stars:
Take Me to the Riot<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ll start with the well-known Canadian
pop-rock collective <i>Stars</i> and their
enegetic single <i>Take Me to the Riot. </i>This
diverse music machine from Toronto and Montreal will soon have you chanting
‘take me to the beer store!’ or ‘take me to the in-laws! (but sedate me first!)’ or
‘take me…..just take me anywhere goddamnit!’. Turn it up or get out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hey
Rosetta!: Seeds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Newfies: people born for road trips and
road trip tunes. This example is no different. The eclectic rockers from
St.John’s have created yet another piece we can enjoy cranked loud behind the
wheel. This song was actually <i>written
about being on the road. </i>How the hell can you ask for anything more
perfect?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q52Idj7DGao?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Land
of Talk: Quarry Hymns<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">You need to vary your roadtrip playlist.
While the above two selections say ‘DRIVE, motherfucker, DRIVE!’ this one in
particular be all like ‘drive, but relax yourself. Be the car. Breathe it in.
Flow with the road. Eat a fruit salad. Pee in the cornfield.’ Allow lead singer
Elizabeth Powell to sooth that travellin’ bug and transcend into a world of
open air and ridiculously expensive gas stations in the middle of nowhere. This
is a hymn for the road-weary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Strumbellas – I Ain’t Tryin’ to Die<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We’re in need some serious country
infusion here, but not the ‘I shot my horse in the leg’ kind of country music.
Nay – only the indie country delivered by six-piece folk band <i>The Strumbellas. </i>Nothing really makes
more sense on a roadtrip than some good ol’ foot stompin’ yee-haws and a
“Hallelujah” for freedom. Tis a toast to the road; just not when we’re driving.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">*The Strumbellas are so awesomely indie
I couldn’t find a video of this song. Instead, here’s a </span><a href="http://thestrumbellas.bandcamp.com/track/i-aint-tryin-to-die-its-just-my-style"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">link to the
Soundcloud version</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">
of <i>I Ain’t Tryin to Die. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Great
Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">An ode to Canadian landscape, tastefully
likening it to a sexy ass woman. That’s what you get with Great Lake Swimmers –
polite, articulate…but master seducers nonetheless. Originally from the small
town of Wainfleet, Ontario, the Swimmers continue to crank out melodic folk
rock that was built for the travelling person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Arcade Fire: Keep the Car Running<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ah, another under-celebrated Canadian
great: The Arcade Fire. Other than producing songs that are just epic, the Fire
continue to embrace their astonishing creative scope by producing music that
fits all kinds of descriptions and categories. It goes with the territory when
you have a million different musicians in one band who are all riding on a
neverending rainbow of innovation. This time around, you’ll want keep your car
(and its stereo) running. Loudly.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Tokyo
Police Club: Favourite Food<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Road trips are perfect opportunities to
take a trip down memory lane, and Tokyo Police Club offers you a perfect mental
vehicle. This group of youngsters from Newmarket have grown recent notoriety for
their fast-pased, post punk style with catchy riffs and light-hearted lyrics. “Favourite
Food”, originally released on their first LP entitled <i>Champ</i>, is a departure from the aforementioned formula, but
a perfect piece for the road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Weakerthans: One Great City!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Road trips are for seeing the unseen and
escaping life in the smog dome. Winnipeg natives <i>The Weakerthans </i>are all too accustomed to the daily routine,
perfectly summarizing life in the city with their working-class antithesis <i>One Great City!. </i>Insert ‘Winnipeg’ with
your home town, hop in a car and let the Weakerthans sail you out of the
concrete jungle and into open air. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-70606809911667366392013-03-02T19:43:00.000-08:002013-03-04T05:32:19.676-08:00Breakfast in Tweed<br />
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My hypothetical online dating profile wouldn’t have an exhaustive list of interests: biking, traveling, writing and…..breakfast. I. Love. Breakfast.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w0L5HbUEqU4/UTLGaw0Oj6I/AAAAAAAAApg/TECxxm6i604/s1600/DSCF1027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w0L5HbUEqU4/UTLGaw0Oj6I/AAAAAAAAApg/TECxxm6i604/s320/DSCF1027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noms. Breakfast in Tweed: Vegetarian Style.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I mean, how can you not? Sunday mornings were meant for greasy, delicious and hearty foods. In breakfast we find the answers to life’s most important questions: what’s a high-energy solution for starting the day off awesomely? Breakfast. What’s the best remedy to shake off last night’s drinks? Breakfast. How do I avoid an awkward morning with what’s-her-name I just woke up beside? Walk of shame, then breakfast. How can you ask for anything better?</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
So when I was given the opportunity to eat at one of Southern Ontario’s best breakfast joints while en route to Ottawa last weekend to see family, the answer was easy. We would deviate from the monotony of Highway 401 and head northeast from Belleville, stopping just before the road meets highway 7 in the small town of Tweed, Ontario. While this tiny collection of farmers, small businesses and local restaurants is a typical rural settlement full of quaintness and familiarity, tucked in the main drag is a breakfast joint that rivals the best: The Gateway. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o64_H2YHNPI/UTLGrd25xxI/AAAAAAAAApo/0DTNHZG-COw/s1600/DSCF1031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o64_H2YHNPI/UTLGrd25xxI/AAAAAAAAApo/0DTNHZG-COw/s320/DSCF1031.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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My early morning culinary adventure began as I stepped from the snow-covered sidewalks of Victoria Street on a Friday and into the interior warmth of the Gateway Family Restaurant. While I’d like to imagine that I fit in well with the locals, I’m also pretty sure my polished leather Clarks and flannel print scarf beamed an obvious ‘city folk’ label the minute every other patron acknowledged my presence. “Never mind”, I told myself, “we’re here to get our breakfast on”. And getting our breakfast on we did. Three eggs, multiple cheeses, two slides of toast and a pile of fried potatoes later, I was as satisfied as I could have been after demolishing everything on my plate.</div>
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Though the food was exceptional, the enjoyment of a meal at the Gateway doesn’t end there. What I appreciated most about the experience was how unapologetically normal this place was. The flashiness of breakfast spots in the city is all but alive at the Gateway. Instead, wood paneled dividers and cheaply framed photos create an ambiance of plainness that refuses complication. Everything is straightforward and real. No bullshit. A breakfast that fills your hunger and expectations without the fireworks show. I liked this place immediately. </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
So next time you’re driving route 36 towards Ottawa, be sure to stop in the small town of Tweed for a breakfast you’ll not soon forget. We recommend the Gateway special. </div>
<div>
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Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-463769397844621752013-02-24T12:44:00.000-08:002013-02-24T12:44:09.580-08:00Taking the INSIDE OUT at the MABELLEarts mid-winter Parade<br />
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s approaching Saturday night,
mid-February, and a classic Canadian snowstorm has fastened its frozen-hellish
grip on Toronto. Through the windows of a westbound subway pulling out of
Kennedy Station I can see the early brew of rough weather through the twilight
of a cloudless setting sun. Tonight I am traversing the Bloor line and back –
in its entirety – to bare witness to the MABELLEarts third annual
inside/outside mid-winter parade. Also, I have been commandeered to help out;
just exactly how I am unsure of at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DAnM9yv2crY/USp6wf53DtI/AAAAAAAAAos/YuNxNtCSNcM/s1600/mabelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DAnM9yv2crY/USp6wf53DtI/AAAAAAAAAos/YuNxNtCSNcM/s320/mabelle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mabelle Park in summer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The high-rise, high-density
neighbourhood of Mabelle Park, located a five minute walk Northwest of
Islington Station, mirrors countless other subsidized housing projects
instigated by the Toronto Housing Corporation (THC) in the 1960’s and 70’s
throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Characterized by high rates of crime and
living conditions close to squalor, places like Mabelle Park would generally be
on a list of locations to avoid on a Saturday night. But not this Saturday
night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When a community becomes segregated from
vital resources and falls into poverty, its members are either forced to live
their lives hand-to-mouth or relocate (an option that is also off the table for
many due to strict economic pressures). At Mabelle Park, a third solution was
created after its residents became too fed up with political ignorance and
social marginalization: build a new community foundation, based on inclusivity
and self-expression, to allow for an outlet to ‘make art, tell stories and
creatively transform the place that is Mabelle’. In 2007, MABELLEarts was
founded under the name ‘Pigeon Creek Collective’ to give that voice back to the
people living in the area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gv3cG9n5YpM/USp7J9d_TvI/AAAAAAAAAo0/N6FTBTd37D4/s1600/DSCF1004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gv3cG9n5YpM/USp7J9d_TvI/AAAAAAAAAo0/N6FTBTd37D4/s320/DSCF1004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drummers warm up before the parade.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">MABELLEarts has since unashamedly
proclaimed their place as a vibrant community arts group in Toronto, holding
several events each year and programming weekly with both Mabelle residents and
community artists from around Toronto. On this particular night of inclement
weather, we flooded onto the stoops and front doors of Mabelle Park and took
the inside outside, marching along snowy sidewalks with a drum ensemble around
an outdoor living room and jars of preserved memories. At the end we all
enjoyed hot food and cider made by MABELLEarts members. Because our group at
PARC joins in the process of transforming space and transforming lives, they
were there too. It was a night for celebrating amidst the whiteness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RbRRQHM_OuY/USp7WBtGQII/AAAAAAAAAo8/X--u46aR_Zs/s1600/DSCF1012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RbRRQHM_OuY/USp7WBtGQII/AAAAAAAAAo8/X--u46aR_Zs/s320/DSCF1012.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For MABELLEarts and PARC members, these
are the things that make them feel a part of a community. The motivation to
construct and plan a night of this capacity becomes the dedication of individuals
who may have never before been involved in something of this scale. The passion
behind <i>everything </i>is unobtrusively
present. The lives of people right in front of you, hanging in a bed strewn
under a tree or radiating around a desk lamp set in the snow. You are caught in
the moments of someone else’s life bleeding into your own. It is as close to
pure magic as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-23192863146634881092013-02-16T10:31:00.001-08:002013-02-16T10:31:30.097-08:00Old People: Why We Need 'Em<br />
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</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s9BdoU0CZL4/UR_Og1Lhe4I/AAAAAAAAAnw/Yv42WMRCwzY/s1600/coolold.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s9BdoU0CZL4/UR_Og1Lhe4I/AAAAAAAAAnw/Yv42WMRCwzY/s320/coolold.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We give ourselves to our youth – through
meticulous parenting, with the millions spent on their education each year, in
the organizations dedicated to eradicating the poverty, suffering and abuse of
our little ones; all good endeavours indeed. But what about the elderly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The big questions remain in many a North
American family: who will take care of our elders after they cannot take care
of themselves? What is to be done with our aging population, as the ‘baby
boomers’ retire en masse and consider full time care facilities (most of which
are already overflowing)? Moreover, <i>who </i>will
stand up to support these wrinkled people? Not droves of us, as we so clearly
see with those who aid the other side of the age spectrum. It is the absurd
conundrum of an ignored demographic – one that has the potential to change our
harmful ways…If only we would listen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbF0l-WDIzY/UR_Onop2TrI/AAAAAAAAAn4/WTKoopHf9so/s1600/oldvideogames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MbF0l-WDIzY/UR_Onop2TrI/AAAAAAAAAn4/WTKoopHf9so/s320/oldvideogames.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old people playing video games and whatnot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Old people are our history in the flesh
– nay, <i>temples of infinite wisdom </i>that
we so commonly turn our backs to, discharge as a bunch of outdated prudes who
have fallen into the so called ‘generation gap’. All the while we repeat our
mistakes as if completely blind to the lessons waiting to be learned from
yesteryear. We seek answers to all of life’s questions yet fail to consult
those who have done the most living. These are the people who are most in touch
with the past, who have beautiful stories of an era behind us, of an age we
only romanticise as being ‘simpler’; more sophisticated and dusted with an air
of all-together-ness. We are so terribly far from the truth but too stubborn
and selfish to admit this to ourselves, never mind other people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Being wrapped up in the present doesn’t
have to mean we forget where we came from. Everyone has roots; everyone was
created from a lineage that survived the circumstances which led to their
existence – <i>your </i>existence. We are
bound to this history whether we know it or not – it lives in our blood and in
the people who are still around to tell you about it. Other cultures feel it
rightfully appropriate to respect and revere their elders as ‘repositories of
cultural and philosophical knowledge’; the Cree (one of the largest groups of
First Nations/Native Americans in North America) rely on these members to pass
down wisdom and stories - the backbone
of their culture – to the younger populace. West African tribes such as the
Ogoni people of Nigeria or the Benga in Guinea rely heavily on their elders as
spiritual protectors and for assistance in raising children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We must end the ignorance of those who
have lived a life we claim we know everything about yet still struggle for harmony.
The oldest among us have the capacity to help us find meaning, direction and
even happiness, so why do we shun them into the corners as mere social and
moral responsibilities? We can locate ourselves within those who have lived
long before us – all we have to do is slow down and pay attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u2TMHevd97o/UR_PKXqXB7I/AAAAAAAAAoA/k9ZznYOBTyQ/s1600/DSCF0996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u2TMHevd97o/UR_PKXqXB7I/AAAAAAAAAoA/k9ZznYOBTyQ/s320/DSCF0996.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy 100th Birthday to the beautiful Vera Nicholson!<br />Sending love to you, my dear, for making the world a much brighter place to live in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-86695142508357060242013-02-08T10:27:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:27:04.146-08:00Why I Love Macaws (and you Should too)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7zB9gh6Gsc/URVCA9ttHaI/AAAAAAAAAnE/-2Av4gyJhG4/s1600/macawmates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i7zB9gh6Gsc/URVCA9ttHaI/AAAAAAAAAnE/-2Av4gyJhG4/s320/macawmates.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlet Macaws in the wild.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">John Berger’s timeless article entitled <i>Why Look at Animals </i>brought forth to the
scientific community an extremely important paradigm for how<i> </i>humans understand non-human animals.
This paradigm was explained by Berger as a dichotomy of perceptions; on one
side, the physical animal is represented. Its flesh, natural habits and
ecosystem are embodied in the reality that plays out in front of us and is
something that can be studied, analysed and predicted. The other side of this
dichotomy represents the <i>symbolic </i>characteristics
of an animal; be it the spiritual and mythical manifestations of an animal or
its use in folklore. When comparing non-human animals to humans, Berger (1977)
states that ‘Animals are born, are sentient and are moral. In these things they
resemble man. In their superficial anatomy – less in their deep anatomy – in
their habits, in their time, in their physical capacities, they differ from
man. They are both like and unlike’ (Berger, pg.6). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have a thing for Macaws because Macaws
are freakin’ awesome, no exceptions. Since the inception of the Spanish
Conquest and European Exploration into South America, macaws have been revered to
the Western world as some of the most beautiful and stunning species of parrots
on earth. Often referred to as ‘rainbows with wings’, spotting the macaw’s
trademark patches of brightly coloured feathers and large beak is not very
challenging, especially if one ventures into the thick of the Amazon in early
spring during their mating season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But what really blows my mind is that not
only do wild macaws generally mate for life, most macaws will also be observed
in the wild alongside their mating partner and this close relationship will
usually last their entire lifetime as macaws are incredibly social creatures
that bond together for extensive periods. Macaw researchers have also observed mortality
rates in macaws and have noticed an interesting trend between partners after
either male or female has deceased: usually within two to five months after one
partner has <i>died the other partner will also
die</i>, and scientists believe this phenomenon is linked to <i>macaw depression in post-mortem</i>. This
act of complete dedication can be reflected on traditional monogamous values in
North America; the profound relationship shared between macaw mates can be
perceived as an ideological aspiration, deep-rooted in Western notions of
commitment and devotion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GASjbnHf2bk/URVCCFowKBI/AAAAAAAAAnM/JwwkFgdsGhc/s1600/hyacinthe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GASjbnHf2bk/URVCCFowKBI/AAAAAAAAAnM/JwwkFgdsGhc/s1600/hyacinthe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hyacinthe Macaw 'couple' in flight,</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately, because ecological
degradation is now the leading cause of species loss in the Amazon, the slowly
declining rates of macaw populations in Central America are currently low enough
to deem this animal at risk. Scientists fear that the fragmentation of macaw
habitat will eventually isolate certain populations and consequently weaken the
number of species beyond feasible restoration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But the case for Macaws is now being
fought on a multi-front level as Macaw poaching and chick selling has become
uncontrollable between Western and Central American economies. Because poachers
can make large amounts of money from the sales of living macaws, a great deal
of pressure has been put on locals to generate revenue by capturing and
promoting these animals as domestic pets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cno0zOg2YNo/URVB-ccp39I/AAAAAAAAAm8/y_fccT641Vk/s1600/Mausoleum+%25286%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cno0zOg2YNo/URVB-ccp39I/AAAAAAAAAm8/y_fccT641Vk/s320/Mausoleum+%25286%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Limited mobility, lack of companions or
mates and low stimulation are all factors that contribute macaw depression
during domestication. It is our concepts of entitlement that have prevented us
from realizing that these animals should not be kept as pets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A development in education initiatives
to raise awareness on the effects of macaw domestication in North America while
ensuring that the illegal pet trade can be greatly reduced via strict
monitoring programs is imperative to ending the abuse of this incredible animal.
Secondly, successful conservation strategies in Equilateral South American
communities should be used to model the future of macaw protection in their
natural habitat. Adopting a principal of local ownership and knowledge-based
leading will be essential to reaching this goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The macaw represents a plethora of
values and connections to the human world and developing strategic conservation
authorities is crucial to the survival of this amazing creature. Full macaw
conservation will not be achieved within the next few years as programs
dedicated to this mission must have a far reach and be made permanently
sustainable. The case for macaws might be a tough one, but the preservation of
this species is important to both the human and non-human worlds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-77156638512392140742013-02-04T10:21:00.000-08:002013-02-04T10:21:52.013-08:008 Unexpected Covers (That are Actually Worth Listening to)<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If there’s one
thing we’ve learned from </span><a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_15117_the-20-worst-cover-songs-in-pop-music-history_p3.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Korn’s
cover of <i>Another Brick in the Wall</i></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
it’s that quality music just can’t escape the tainting of unimaginable creative
slaughter after it finds the hands of some angsty teen’s pants eruption of a
‘band’ with an oversized ego. Let’s face it: in the world of musicians playing
other musicians stuff, the majority of covers aren’t even fit for Hillary
Duff’s IPod. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But there are
exceptions. In some far flung corner of the musical universe, people are making
sense of what it means to recreate a musical masterpiece, and the results are
ear-gasmic. Get ready for a cover apocalypse: 8 re-does you’ll want to re-do <i>again and again</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1) </span></b><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Bon Iver covers Bonnie Raitt’s <i>I Can’t Make You Love Me</i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In an off the floor studio solo take,
budding alt-folk musician Bon Iver appeases his fans by beautifully modifying an
early 90’s classic. The song, originally sung by Bonnie Raitt but made famous
by Bruce Hornsby, is elegantly stripped and simplified by Justin Vernon (under
the pseudo name of ‘Bon Iver’), yet somehow also elevated by the powerful
vocals set beside a grand piano. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We receive another small treat during
the last moments of the song as Vernon incorporates a snippet of ‘I Found
Love’, another (great) Raitt hit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nW9Cu6GYqxo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The cover:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2) </span></b><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Youth
Group covers Alphaville’s <i>Forever Young.</i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We’re moving backwards in time to the
German ‘synthpop’ band <i>Alphaville </i>and
their less famous original single ‘Forever Young’. Although the band couldn’t
attribute their success to this piece, a plethora of covers would arise during
the subsequent two decades, most of which were total crap and included people </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1nbvplgElw"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">merely rapping over the
original</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> (thanks, Jay-Z, but <i>no
thanks</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Insert
Australian-native band Youth Group. After being asked to cover the song by
American T.V producers from <i>The O.C</i>,
which is a terrible series with an amazing soundtrack, Youth Group responds
with an actual quality rendition. Infusing Australian rock-pop with retro
roots, Youth Group almost one-ups Alphaville…..<i>Almost.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cover:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">3) Tokyo Police Club covers Kelly Clarkson’s <i>Since U Been Gone</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So perhaps
this example won’t fit into the ‘musical masterpiece’ category, but that
doesn’t mean it can’t turn into something awesome. Here we have one
contemporary artist borrowing from another, although both are from <i>completely different and opposing genres</i>.
Tokyo Police Club, a four piece post-punk/pop band from Newmarket, Ont.,
decided in their latest cover album that selecting radically dissimilar songs
to play would be a good idea. One such outcome was a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s
‘Since U Been Gone’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Whether you
like it or not, it’s hard not to admit how TPC has transformed this pop
annoyance into something a little more tolerable. And kind of funny, when you
think about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The original
(listen at your own risk):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cover: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">4) Sun Kil Moon covers almost an entire Modest Mouse
Album (and <i>still </i>keeps it classy).</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Modest Mouse
fans are usually surprised to learn about how Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek
pretty much reformatted an entire set of their works in his 2005 album ‘Tiny
Cities’. All eleven songs from this era are Modest Mouse reworks including
covers of ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’, ‘Tiny Cities Made of Ashes’ and ‘Dramamine’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Listen as
Kozelek tampers the eccentric nature of a Modest Mouse tune and wraps each song
in his authentic bliss. This selection is but a snippet of his work but is a
personal favourite of mine – enjoy ‘Tiny Cities’:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cover: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">5) James Vincent McMorrow covers Steve Winwood’s <i>Higher Love</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Anyone who grew
up in a household that included a radio auto-tuned to any station boasting ‘today’s
hits, yesterday’s classics’ will instantly recognize the aforementioned song. This
chart topping hit from the mid-80’s once preceded the likes of Madonna and some
other band called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananarama">Bananarama</a>,
and will forever be etched into the minds of young adults who were forced to listen
to it in their youths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fast forward a
quarter of a century and meet Irish singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow,
an indie folk artist with the larynx of an angel. In true JVM style, <i>Higher Love </i>is usurped and transformed into
a chilling piano cover and thrown into the eardrums of many lucky listeners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5bcSoHoJh0c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cover:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/c__noWWtdZg/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c__noWWtdZg&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c__noWWtdZg&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">6) Moneen covers Alexisonfire’s <i>Accidents </i>while Alexisonfire covers Moneen’s <i>Passing of America</i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">For the early
21<sup>st</sup> century punk rocker in all of us, this little treat is a
must-have. Moneen and Alexisonfire are known industry buddies, often making
surprise guest appearances at each other’s shows or, in this case, covering each
other’s songs in an EP cleverly entitled ‘The Switcheroo Series’. The 6 track
album includes two covers of each respective bands songs and an original by
both Alexisonfire and Moneen. The results are both creative <i>and </i>hilarious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Moneen’s ‘Accidents
are on purpose’ (original Alexisonfire song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFGkN3EUs7I">here</a>):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uEpViVmMYBk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Alexisonfire’s
‘Passing out in America’ (original Moneen song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_icG4JKqAzY">here</a>):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ee3AuFhIbuM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> 7) Yael Naim covers Britney Spears’ <i>Toxic<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Again, not an original we’d quickly
throw on the awesome shelf. On the contrary, if there’s anything we’ve learned
thus far it’s that sucky music doesn’t have to stay that way if someone far
more talented can get their hands on it. My next example: Yael Naim’s
completely creepy and memorizing version of a Britney Spears song that came
straight out of the local sewage treatment facility (a place vaguely familiar to
Spears). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I honestly have a hard time reaching
the end of this cover. Not because it isn’t great, but because I start yearning
for faux leather spandex and a life size Russian doll at about the first
chorus. Let me know if you feel the same way or, you know…Just me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The original (GAAHHHHH DON'T DO IT! DON'T DO IT!):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/yoJln6oSjJE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The cover:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ETh0Kfxk2BY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> 8) The Postal Service covers Phil Collins’ <i>Against all Odds.</i></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our final cover finds its way out of a
side project from the guy who made nerdy kids everywhere a desirable demographic.
Yes indeed, Ben Gibbard is taking a slice from one of the best percussionists
we’ll ever know, and he’s going Postal. Deal with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The original:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wuvtoyVi7vY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The cover:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oevdCrECyek?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This list is by no means exhaustive. In
fact, you probably don’t agree with every entry. Hey now, there’s a comment
box! Look at that. A place to voice yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7162412092870729861.post-2889792871468612722013-01-28T20:14:00.000-08:002013-01-28T20:14:36.399-08:00Freelance Whales on Life<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Last
week, I was lucky enough to experience Freelance Whales live in Toronto at the
MOD club – an evening that easily pushed this band to the top of my favourites
playlist (and, if there’s one thing I am outwardly proud of, it’s my musical
collection…Which will knock the balls off yours. Trust me.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-emEInOzRb3E/UQdLZGDcC0I/AAAAAAAAAmE/xQYz0QBhWXk/s1600/20100509-155741-803862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-emEInOzRb3E/UQdLZGDcC0I/AAAAAAAAAmE/xQYz0QBhWXk/s320/20100509-155741-803862.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After
having my head blown off by the level of musicianship I encountered that night,
I began to ponder over the lyrical genius also inherent in a Freelance Whales
song, only the arrive at the conclusion that the writing is so far beyond an
average intelligence level that most listeners would have great difficulty
deciphering any subliminally encoded messages. Fortunately for you, the simple
act of stumbling upon this page has granted an opportunity to bypass the
ambiguous rhetoric and move into deep understanding…You know, because I claim
to have superiority over your ability to comprehend the lyrics. Below, my
easily confused friends, are 6 carefully selected excerpts from Freelance
Whales song writing that will be forever framed in the light of pure truth via
my thorough interpretations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Shut
me up with your long tube socks, they don’t scream ‘Hey, let’s just be
friends’”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ah, yes, the perfect
start to our virtual Freelance Whales guidebook: the opening lines to
‘Starring’, a band favourite if I do say so myself. While we find the writer
taking the first-person perspective of a smitten, gleeful romantic that had
radically changed their outlook on their lover-to-be, many other layers of lust
are explained throughout the piece. Here, the subject participating in the mere
act of wearing high socks has given the writer an erection. Clearly, someone is
obsessed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s be frank here:
tube socks cannot speak nor do they have sentience. On the other hand, seeing
their crush <i>in</i> tube socks has left
the writer speechless. Amazing is the power of socially-constructed axioms on
the human mind, especially in the case of outward appearance. If tube socks are
what get you off, then tube socks <i>on </i>that
person you’ve been stalking is guaranteed to give you some bedroom material for
a long, long time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Don’t
fix my smile, life is long enough, we will put this flesh into the ground
again”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s shift gears now
and study the final words of ‘Generator: Second Floor’. What social
implications are being discussed in this example? The cyclical nature of life
on earth? The pressure associated with having the ‘perfect body’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is clear that Freelance
Whales is quite anti-plastic surgery (at least in the case of aesthetic
purposes). Honestly, at this point, they sound like hippies. But cool hippies,
like the kind that still have jobs and are productive members of society. They
preach a gospel that drives against North American values of body image and
fake ba-jube-jubes, finding happiness in the natural and unscathed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“ohh-weeeeee…..”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Found in almost every
Freelance Whales song, it seems as through <i>actual
words</i> don’t always cut it when you’re creating a masterpiece. Sometimes,
it’s just better to bust out in some melodic non-sensical mouth noises instead
of singing with real words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do
me this solid if you would, pretty lady – please grab your martini and meet me
on the balcony”</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who doesn’t like a nice
martini for those nights spent socializing on a balcony? Not ‘Hannah’,
evidently, or this song wouldn’t be named after her. Hannah seems like a fairly
awesome person if she partakes in these activities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moreover, Freelance
Whales have stayed classy by finding time to both compliment a female <i>and </i>feed her drinks whilst enjoying the
outdoors. No need to worry about mislead intentions here – the song continues
to explain how the writer desires to make a ‘light show’ and questions whether
or not Hannah is ‘outside-in or inside-out’ (obviously <i>not </i>sexual references). This tots danceable musical creation is one
of their best and most admired, if only to celebrate the fact that Hannah is
about to endure one of the wildest and forgettable nights of her life
(depending on what was put into that ‘martini’). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But
oh, you caught me sleeping in the power sockets, you caught me mildew in the
tiles of the bathroom.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yeah….I have no idea what’s going on in this one.
Your guess is as good as mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “..your cello bows, we stole your hair to make
them…We’re sorry for the iron shoes we nailed to you and stuck you in the rain
alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, we arrive at
one of the most poignant selections in the Freelance Whales artillery: ‘Broken
Horse’, a song about animal rights, human/non-human relations and a fairly
mistreated steed. From near-skinning a horse for musical instruments to shoving
a metal half-ring into its feet, Freelance Whales warns a desensitized youth of
the perils in animal domestication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sifting through the
deep-rooted words of Freelance Whales is a taxing but necessary process if one
is to complete the circle of post-folk wizardry. I hope my simplifying of said
works has helped you to establish a well-rounded picture of this powerhouse
indie team. Please enjoy responsibly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Safe travels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Aaron Turpin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Aaron Turpinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671555767682757311noreply@blogger.com0