NO MORE!!

I need people to stop sendding me these things and tagging me!! They make my brain hurt! I am convinced a certain person is doing this on purpose just to drive insane.

This particular one took me over 2 hours to do. I clarify - questions 1-3 and 5-20 took me 5 minutes, question 4 took me over 2 hours. I need to let it go, so here are my answers.

1. Who is your favorite band/musician?
Duh – Broken Social Scene

2. What was your first concert?
James Taylor

3. What was the first CD/album/8 track/tape you bought?
The Game (Queen)

4. Who would be the musicians in your “ultimate super group?”
Hmmmm, this is a thinker. This particular group would have a really unique/weird sound, and would have to be a freakin humungous.
Vocals: Amy Millan, Dallas Green and Caleb Followill
Guitar: Whitey, Brian May, Lindsey Buckingham
Bass: Rick Danko, John Deacon
Percussion: Levon Helm, Justin Peroff, Taylor Hawkins
Keys: Chris Martin, Larry Gowan, Garth Hudson

5. If you could meet any music celebrity, dead or alive, who would it be?
Henry Rollins

6. If you could see any band/musician no longer playing, who would it be?
Easy – Queen (not the Paul Rogers version, the real thing).

7. What is your favorite music movie/documentary?
The Last Waltz

8. What band/musician/song is a guilty pleasure?
Musician: Gowan
Song: Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson)

9. Do you play an instrument?
Piano and flute, but sadly neither well enough to make it my life’s work.

10. Have you ever named a child or a pet after a song, musician or musical reference?
I had 2 goldfish named Freddy and Mercury as a teenager, but if I had kids, my daughter would be Ophelia (after the song by The Band) and my son would probably be Brian (after Brian May). My daughter wouldn’t stand a chance on the playground!

11. What or who was an influence over your love of music?
My dad, my first band teacher - Doug Manning.

12. What is the best concert you have ever seen?
How am I supposed to answer this? Can’t pick just 1, assuming that no one wants to read a list of Toronto BSS gigs, we will go with 3 categories.
1. Best: Broken Social Scene – Olympic Island 06
2. Most surreal: Stevie Wonder – ACC 07
3. Funnest: Kid Rock – Molson Amp 08

13. Have you ever missed work/school because of music?
Yup

14. Have you mistaken the lyrics of a song to be something other than what they actually were?
I’m quite sure I have, can’t think of any specific ones though.

15. If e-bay was the only place you could find a copy of your favorite song, how much would your maximum bid be?
I couldn’t put a price on a favourite piece of art, music is priceless. I’d go without food sooner than I’d go without music.

16. Is the ring tone on your phone a music download? If yes, what is it?
Yup – Windsurfing Nation (BSS)

17. What song title best describes you?
Feel Good Lost (BSS)

18. What was the last song you listened to?
4 3 2 1 (k-os)

19. What band/musician would you like to see be “the next big thing?”
I would not wish that fate on any artist.

20. If you could own any piece of music memorabilia, what would it be?
Levon Helm’s kit or Brian May's Red Special.

This is why. Any questions?

Cocaine Skin

25 Random Things

After all the time it took for me to do this on Facebook (thanks a lot Robin!) - I am gettin all the mileage I can out of this sucker.

1. People always think I am joking when I say that I want to be a Roadie when I grow up - but dude - I'm dead freaking serious.
2. I may have to start a 12 step program for my Nestea addiction.
3. I wish I was fluent in Spanish.
4. All of my favourite memories involve the same person. I met him when I was 9 and he changed my life.
5. The doll house my Grandpa built for Claire and I is the most beautiful piece of furniture I will ever own.
6. I would like to go to Spain.
7. I have many regrets.
8. Light switches and telephones baffle me.
9. I miss Elissa every day.
10. I am afraid of swimming in the ocean.
11. There are things about my life from 1992-1994 that I don't remember but my sister does.
12. I have 5 tattoos and am not done yet.
13. I wish I could sing - REALLY sing - not the sad facsimile that I subject children to on a daily basis.
14. I have had a reoccurring nightmare since I was young that while skating a child in hockey skates runs over my fingers with their skates.
15. I would pay money to learn how to sleep in.
16. I find most children's books far more interesting and funnier than adult fare.
17. I do not love Toronto, but I will never leave.
18. 15 years later I still need to leave the room to get away from the smell of oranges.
19. I hate socks and shoes.
20. I might actually have a heart attack if I ever lost my iPod.
21. I did not own a cell phone until my sister gave me one for Christmas a year ago.
22. I trust too many people.
23. There is something about strawberries that just makes me feel better.
24. I love cooking my Grandma's recipes.
25. 80% of the time I would rather talk to a 3 year old than anyone else on the planet - they're funnier and smarter than all y'all.

Holy fuck!

So this is mostly a rant directed at the College where I received my Diploma from and I will be nice enough not to include the name of said so-called post secondary institution.
I attended the Career Fair for students poised on the threshold of graduation which awaits them in a mere 3 months as a potential employer for the 5th year in a row. Half of the 30 teachers that are employed at my school are graduates of this particular insitution including myself a number of years ago. I like to think that I am a fairly reasonable person, however, I am absolutely disheartened at so many things that transpired this afternoon.
First of all - if I was attending a Career Fair - where I would be expecting to network and make connections with employers in my field of study, I would dress as though I was attending a job interview. I however am alone in that inclination - it seems that all of this years studens thought it OK to attend in tear away track pants, dirty sweatshirts and the very few males present even sported baseball caps. In a field of work that struggles every day to gain the respect and recognition of a society that sees us as glorified babysitters, what the hell were they thinking? Though the individual students do need to take responsibility for their own actions, I feel that the College let their student body down by not preparing them properly for the event in terms of encouraging them to present themselves in a professional manner.
Secondly, only about half of the students who approached our booth actually brought their resume with them. TO A CAREER FAIR!! How stupid can you possibly be? And honestly, if you are that stupud - no, you can't email me your resume tomorrow - you are not the calibre of teacher we are looking for.
Thirdly - if you are three months away from graduating with a College Diploma in Ontario - it should be a requirement that you can speak English well enough to string together at least one sentence - for example to inquire if we are currently hiring. I am not saying that everyone in the field has to speak English as their first language, but come the fuck on people - you are looking to work with young children acquiring language for the first time in their life - how hard is it to say "Hello, my name is ________________ and I was wondering if you have any positions available and if I could leave you with a copy of my resume?". That should be the minimum requirement, but sadly, even that was too much for most of the 'applicants' (I use that term very broadly) that even approached us. I hold the College entirely responsible for this shortfall - how is someone who can't even string together a sentence gaining acceptance to your program, let alone graduating after 2 years of study with you?
Which brings me to the fourth issue - most of the students walked by each employer's booth so quickly without even looking up, nevermind approaching us, asking questions about our programs or philosophy, or taking a look at the written material we provided. Frankly, they could not have looked less interested if you paid them.
How are we supposed to fight for professionalism in our field when these apathetic students are the only weapons available for our defense? I am ashamed to say that I am a graduate of this pathetic College and fear for the future of our young children if these are the feet at which they will spend their early childhood. What an embarassing display.
I think I'm finished now - apologies to those who read all the way through this - hope I didn't pass along the bad mood.

Addictive

Happiness is . . .

The best news I've heard in 2009!

Courtesy of Arts & Crafts
"The Happiness Project Live Dates Announced.
Charles Spearin, best known as long-time member of Toronto-based bands Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene, will bring The Happiness Project to life, in a select few engagements all in unique and intimate settings in Toronto, Montreal and New York this March.
Performing with Charles for these events will be: Ohad Benchetrit (guitar, sax), Dave Clarke (drums), Julia Seger Scott (harp), Michael Barth (trumpet), Leon Kingstone (sax), Julie Penner (violin) and Tania Gill (piano)."

Smack in the middle of Canadian music week, to be followed by Gentleman Reg and Young Galaxy - so far looking like a good week to be a Torontonian!

Classic nostalgia

Feeling nostalgic for when kids TV didn't suck.