Space Cadet

I'll say. :( They haven't done a proper Canadian tour in over two years, since before anyone knew who they were. And they're CANADIAN. Please, please, please guys... don't be like every other band that makes it big internationally and forget that the east coast exists. :cry:

In chronological order as best I can remember it: Matt Mays and El Torpedo The Trews Bedouin Soundclash Broken Social Scene Juno Awards Ceremony (Yay Coldplay!!!) People in Planes Wintersleep (x2) Pilate (now known as Pilot Speed) Sam Roberts Band The Junos were one of the highlights of my entire LIFE. How often even at a concert do you get to be about a foot away from Chris Martin when he's performing? And I saw Michel Buble (sigh), and Broken Social Scene and Bedouin Soundclash again, and even Nickleback are pretty cool in person, even if I can't stand their music- the flames warmed me right up after standing outside in the windchill for so long. Broken Social Scene - like watching living art. I was flabbergasted. I guess just having so many people up on stage playing... and it was like watching a big family reuinion, because they hadn't played together in a bit, and it was one of the rare times that every single one of them was there. The highlight for me was watching Amy Millan of Stars fame, and Feist back to back playing air guitar together in the middle of one of the songs- it was cute. :nice: Pilate- great band, but memorable gig for the wrong reason. What sort of idiot sprays pepperspray into the air vents anyway? Wintersleep - I saw them open twice. They're great live, and the lead singer has such a beautiful voice. Acutally better live than on their albums. "I'll be a killer whale when I grow up..." Sam Roberts Band - really, really great solid fun gig, possibly my favorite, and everyone was singing along at the top of their lungs. :D I couldn't hear for three days afterwards, but it was so worth it (at least once the ringing stopped, anyway). Also the debut of a nice, big, brand new, all ages venue, so hopefully it will get some more bands out to our side of the country, cause I'm getting really jealous of TLo here. ;) You'll notice that pretty much every band on the list is Canadian. Would someone please tell whoever is in charge of booking gigs that there is more of Canada east of Montreal? Because Montreal is a full day's drive away. Not happening.

This morning. Me, Mel Gibson, Borat, and Beck were all in a car together on some sort of a road trip. Mel was in the back seat acting rather embarassed by the whole situation, and pointedly trying to be unnoticable. Borat had the mustache on, though he was out of character... he and Beck (who was driving) spent most of the trip talking to each other- very quiet intelligent conversation, mainly about nothing... it doesn't really make sense anymore- my dreams rarely do upon waking, though they did within the dream world. Weird how that works. And there was something about a haunted house, but I don't remember what. Let's just say that if the real Beck is anything like the dream one, he would be a very good person to have with you in a haunted house. Wow. I guess that was weirder than I remember.

And yet a certain American friend of mine moved up here because he thought that the REPUBLICANS would initiate the draft soon... :dozey: ...can't win, eh?

Random video for the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZaWFs1-QeU Matt's piano playing at the end there blows my mind. :cool: I've heard that he's self taught on the piano too... :stunned: It's no fair- I took lessons for years and I can hardly play a simple tune.

Your Blogging Type is Pensive and Philosophical You blog like no one else is reading... You tend to use your blog to explore ideas - often in long winded prose. Easy going and flexible, you tend to befriend other bloggers easily. But if they disagree with once too much, you'll pull them from your blogroll! What's Your Blogging Personality? http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourbloggingpersonalityquiz/

I like it :nice: I HATE rap as a general rule- don't ask me to complare it to the black album or blah blah blah whatever. I wouldn't be able to sit still through the first song. I just can't get my head around it. But this one has the rather amazing distinction of being the first rap song that I've actually been able to connect to the rap part of it in any way. Add to that the fantastic melodic bits, and Chris's voice at it's most interesting that I've heard it in a long time, and you've got yourself a rap track I sat through. More than once. I'm stunned. :stunned:

Well it always depends on tastes, but if you want something a little random, a couple of somewhat local bands I really love are In-flight Safety (favorite song: Surround), and Wintersleep (favorite song: Orca). In-flight Safety: http://www.inflightsafety.ca/ http://www.newmusiccanada.com/genres/artist.cfm?Band_Id=9289 ooh... just found a clip of them on MTV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OetgnL13XUM Wintersleep: http://www.wintersleep.com/ http://www.newmusiccanada.com/genres/artist.cfm?Band_Id=10623

I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. jk :P Would it actually make the video any better if you knew?

I'm not very good at heavy duty studying... I never needed to in highschool, and English exams are usually in essay format. But, when I have a subject that I do need to study for, usually what I will do is go over my notes and the text, and create a study sheet for the points that I'm having trouble remembering. I usually keep it condensed down to one or two pages, and when I come across something important during my reading, I jot down a little note of it on the sheet. The idea is to focus on the essence of what I need to know rather than getting freaked out by all of the little details. Then, when I'm doing last minute studying later, I can glance over the sheet knowing that I already know the broader stuff.

That sun makes me happy :nice: I haven't changed mine in ages because I have so much trouble thinking of what to have. Besides... Lost and Homestarrunner... does it get any better? :)

...there are days I'm really glad I don't know designers... :dozey:

And Kate had married Mal! Man, between the Hobbit and the Browncoat (and the other hobbit's little brother), she's really racking up the geek points. :smug2:

Agreed on the hiatus bit. But after that ending, I really don't want to wait for February...

I voted for 00s. Why? Well, it certainly hasn't been a very great decade as far as new stuff goes. Hip hop has completly taken over, and not even interesting hip hop either- completly paint-by-numbers. Add to that a music industry in turmoil from it's own inability to effectivley adapt to changing technology and listening habits, and you've got a big mess. BUT, this is for the first time, a decade where any layman can have an unprecidented access to music- any place, any era. I can come on here and say how fantastic Wintersleep is, and how amazing they were live when I saw them last Saturday opening for Sam Roberts, and someone in Japan or Brazil or Russia or Austrailia or wherever can look them up and get an idea of who they are. If I were to go back to the 60's because I liked the music so much, I may have direct access to the whole era, but no one would know what punk rock is. I may love 90's britpop, but I couldn't balance all the arrogance out with a bit of Coldplay when the 90's were actually happening. I don't know anyone who used to be into the older stuff that I like now, so I couldn't find out about it that way. Oldies stations only play what was really popular. This is the first era where all of music's history is openend up for exploring. I can listen to Stars, The Clash, and a bit of Chopin all in one sitting if I want to. Most importantly, I don't have to rely on the radio to tell me what to listen to anymore. This is Canadian music's golden age in many ways, but hardly anything worth listening to actually gets attention on the airwaves, in spite of Canadian content laws. Right now, I can find whatever it is on my own. :nice: And that's what I love about this decade.

Anyone like Olive? "Beyond the Fray" and "You're Not Alone" are great songs.

I have OK Computer and The Bends. Both fantastic albums. In fact, I'd say that OK Computer is my second favorite album that I've ever heard, second only to Coldplay's AROBTTH. Listen to it on a good pair of headphones, and you'll understand why. If I had any spare cash to go buy cds, I'd be off to get Kid A and Amnesiac in a flash. If you're poking around on youtube, make sure you go through their music videos- they've done alot of cool ones, and imho "Just" is one of the best videos EVER. (It's also by the same guy who did "The Scientist") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzEdITdGht4 some other random favorites: Pyramid Song (Amnesiac) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCqKq1kCtc There There (Hail to the Theif) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HbL5jOK-6s Karma Police (Ok Computer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD3uHLgMy24 Knives Out (Amnesiac) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umA9kO5Or6M (Michel Gondry is awesome!) Street Spirit (The Bends) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otfmeWU4YM8 No Surprises (Ok Computer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho8peKM48LE Fake Plastic Trees (The Bends) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-F5L1S7LKU

Roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious! :nice: I know because they just came out of the oven. I may be too old to trick or treat, but I still love carving jack-o-lanterns- getting all gooey is fun. And what's halloween without snitching large quantities of chocolate out of the candy bowl? I was going to dig my medieval style elven dress out of the closet to answer the door in, but the kids started showing up before I got a chance. My poor cat, though... he's scared of strangers and hides whenever the doorbell rings, so a night like tonight is torture for him. He might be happier outside, but it's not exactly a safe night for a black cat to be out roming on...

The Prestige- 9.5/10 (and I avoid high marks) Christopher Nolan is brilliant. I haven't been so sucked into a plot in a very long time.

er... getting back to the original question, as a target of some pretty traumatizing bullying when I was in elementary school, I can certainly comprehend how the internet can be used to take that kind of crap to a whole new level, with some pretty devastating results. Most of the cases that I've heard about where the school got involved over out of school things were in cases like that- because they do in fact have a big impact on school life and safety. At my highschool, you could get kicked out for things like going to a party where alcohol was present, but it was a private school and that was part of the deal to go there in the first place- if you don't like it, don't come here- that's what public school is for. Sure there were plenty of people who didn't like the policy, and some who got kicked out for breaking it, but they went into the school agreeing to the terms. I'm surprised public schools are allowed to get involved in things like that- some girls pretty much wear lingerine to school as daywear, and the parents throw a hissyfit if the schools try to do anything about it. I suppose it is interesting from a socilogical pov... The government allows freedom of expression, which is possible because most people have traditionally not been inclined to use or abuse it to it's full potential. Now that this is becoming more commonplace, and parents are less involved on average in their kids' lives, schools and employers are stepping in to fill the gap. Sure you can have freedom of expression, just don't expect us to employ or educate you if you choose to use it. Kind of disturbing, really.

Though I'd certainly agree that Kid A is their best album by far- probably the single most beautiful album I've ever heard- I actually like Amnesiac better. Am I crazy? (that's rhetorical by the way) But the way I see it, it's like having really fancy silverware. You really don't want to use them every day. It feels akward like you should be sitting down to a fancy meal if you do, and they get all banged up and tarnished from over use. The second best set meanwhile can put up with day to day abuse and are probably more appropriate for kraft dinner, so you can pull out the good ones on special occasions and appreciate the artistry that went into them. Kid A is full of variations on this one mood that gives the whole work this incredible feeling and artsy consistancy, but listening to it everday and getting put in that headspace does something to my head. Amnesiac has this great warmth and variety to it that Kid A doesn't. I really like it- it's less coherent, but more versatile as a result. Does that make any sense, or is it just me?