Hiatus

As you may (although likely have not) noticed, I've been slacking on the blog post from here. Between school ending, getting some more reading in, spending more time with friends, and (if I'm being totally honest here) my tumblr/reddit habits, I've been neglecting this blog. So I'm retiring/taking a hiatus from this blog for now. I'm still active on my tumblr, even if it is mostly (we're talking 99% of the time here) reblogs. I hope to get some more original content on there, but like I said in my very first post... I'm not going to promise consistency.

Farewell for now!

P.S. This post is just a few days shy of this blog's 2 year anniversary (and is my 236th post)! I never thought I would keep it up this long. Hmmm.

101 Places

Yesterday, having finished exams and sold back some old textbooks for a decent price, I found myself in the revamped UVic bookstore, aimlessly wandering through the aisles. I ended up getting this book:

For the last year or so I've been feeling gradually more and more guilty that, having lived here almost two years and passed through it basically every summer of my life, I have experienced very little of Vancouver Island. There's no arguing- Vancouver Island is beautiful, and I don't appreciate or experience it as much as I should. So, as someone who has never had a bucket list, and has a fairly poor record of following through with my goals, I've decided to give this a try: by the time I graduate (that'll be in another 2-3 years), I want to see at least 80 of these places, with photographic proof. So far, I've got two: Ford's Cove at Hornby Island, and the steps of the BC Parliament buildings. Some of the ones in the book are easy, like Chinatown and the Blue Bridge in downtown Victoria. With these ones, I could knock a few off my list in a day. Some of them, like the Sooke potholes, are a little further, but could be done in a day trip. The list goes all across the island (which I learned, on the first page, is about 454x80 km), and some of these are definitely going to require some serious planning. But the way I see it, I could have worse goals to aim for. Most importantly though, I'll need people to do these things with. So, if you are ever interested in doing some island exploring, whether it be a few hours or a few days, let me know! I promise, I'll be interested.

Frightened Rabbit

Who are these guys? Well, they're what makes me able to say, if I'm feeling particularly pretentious, "Yeah, I listen to some Scottish indie rock. You probably haven't heard of them." These guys are a band called Frightened Rabbit, a band which I know very little about, but which I have educated myself about in the last 5 minutes (thanks wikipedia!), and have been listening to ever since my cousin included one of their songs on her wedding invitation/cd combo (which, by the way, is an awesome way to make invitations memorable) a few years ago. I suggest you give them a listen, particularly "Modern Leper," "Nothing Like You," and "Floating in the Forth." Ahh, Scotsmen.

That Weird Part of YouTube

There are certain phrases in this world that make me smile. For example, whenever someone says "be still my beating heart," it inexplicably makes me smile, and usually suppress a giggle. Every. Time. I don't know if it's the fact that I momentarily picture them as a love-struck cartoon while saying this, or the fact that it seems so out of place in today's world, but I always get a kick out of people saying it. There's another phrase though, that pleases me even more:

"I'm in that weird part of YouTube again."

Oh yes, you know what I mean. It pops up most commonly as the most-liked comment on certain videos, and it makes me laugh every time. It's funnier than "that weird part of the Internet" because, well, most of the internet is weird. Usually boring weird. But to be weird on YouTube is an entirely different thing. There is perhaps no feeling more universal than that of being caught in what my brother and I refer to as "the YouTube vortex." One minute, you're watching a video of a girl covering "Rolling In The Deep." Next thing you know, minutes have turned into hours, Charlie is biting his brother's finger while auto-tuned, you've watched that damn Christian the lion video three times, you've seen things you didn't even know were physically possible and bam- you're in that weird part of YouTube. Again. Thought Catalog describes it nicely in this article: 

"True, you start off looking at clips which make you feel good, i.e. “cute kittens,” “fat people falling,” “girlfriend pranks,” but two and a half hours later you’re looking at an 11-year-old kid with a gravely undiagnosed personality disorder from Germany looking into the webcam at you for 6:52 minutes with 37 views from 2006, and you looking at him in a k-hole’d haze, your respective gazes forever six years apart, trying to find something in each other, the retina and video cam merging into the same point of isolation, but nothing."

 I think it can be best surmised with this:

So, what do you think about that weird part of YouTube? Where's the weirdest place the "related videos" bar has taken you? Post a link in the comment section, and be rewarded with high fives.

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" has been one of my favorite songs for years. The album that is first appeared on, Plans, was released in August 2005. I bought it for my dad the following Christmas, and my family still listens to it (I guess this means that I've been listening to this song since grade 8, wow). It still kind of echos the "slightly-emo-but-nothing-too-hardcore" music phase of '04-'06(ish) that I went through, but I honestly love this song. I have 4 versions of it on my iTunes, and I've long stood by the fact that it could make almost any "Top 5 Songs for _____" list I could make. I've blogged about it before, and I'll blog about it again. But just to get it all out of my system, I'll try to end it here, with 5 Situations to Play "I'll Follow You Into The Dark."

#1. Weddings
Okay, so this isn't exactly a "first dance" type of song. However, when the night is coming to an end, and people are exhausted from dancing so hard, tired from dancing for so long, and almost ready to go home, I think this would be a nice song to put on. As the night winds down, people can grab the person they love and dance slowly for a few minutes, to this calming song about forever.


#2. Funerals
 On the opposite end of the spectrum, this song is also funeral appropriate. To be fair, I will put it out there that I've never actually been to a funeral. However, I assume/hear that, at some point, when people have said what's to be said, a song is played to convey what people couldn't. At a wedding, this song is about the love. At a funeral, it's about the concept of forever. Does that make sense? Even if it doesn't, this song makes the concept of forever seem a lot more comforting.

#3. Campfires
 My family gets together for sing-a-longs a lot. Each time, if some one suggests this song before the end of the night, they are greeted with several glares and scoldings that "no, that song is for the end the night." Almost without fail, this is our closing song. My dad plays it on guitar and sings, and this is our sign that the night is coming to an end. When we sing this at campfires, this is the cue for people to start extinguishing the fire (so it gets dark. Get it?). Despite the fact that, after all these years, we still stumble of the line "In the blackest of rooms" (future reference for family: apparently it's rooms. Not blues. Take note), this is one of my favorite campfire songs. It's become habit, and it has a comforting sound when sung by my (admittedly vastly more talented than me) family.

#4. Post-Breakup
 That phase after a break up. You know, when all you want to do is blast sad songs and feel bad about yourself and cry and eat tubs of ice cream and all the chocolate, ever? Yeah, that phase. Crank this baby up and feel the sad, sad wave of despair and pity wash over you.
(*I don't recommend this or anything. I'm just saying, it's an option.)

#5. Awkward Power Outages
The lights go off. People are stumbling around. Start singing the chorus softly, and you'll be surprised how quickly people suddenly find their flashlights. Or matches. Or how flammable that house plant really is.
(*Works best with strangers)

You see what I'm saying? This song is versatile, and I love it to bits. I've also listened to it 7 times while writing this post.  

*BONUS USE: One time, in grade 10 planning, we had this assignment (during the "healthy relationships" unit) where we had to pick a song that depicted some sort of relationship, play if for the class, and talk about it for a minute or so. I picked this song. My planning teacher cried. It was awkward.

My Drunk Kitchen

Have you ever seen My Drunk Kitchen on YouTube? If not, you probably want to check it out.  Hannah Hart (aka MyHarto) posted the first episode of MDK almost one year ago, on March 16th 2011. Since then, she's made almost 20 more episodes. Each episode is about 5 minutes long, consisting of the host getting progressively more drunk while cooking food. While this shouldn't work as a regular YouTube series, it does. She fills each video with hilarious quips, food-related puns and metaphors, and general hilarity. I try to avoid watching them in public, as most episodes I end up laughing out loud embarrassingly to myself. Check out her Canada-inspired episode below:

My Drunk Kitchen, Ep. 10: Poutine


Also, she raps.

Cereal Killer.

5 Songs You Probably Don't Actually Want Sung To You

An often idealized and/or romanticized thought is that of being serenaded by someone who loves you and, hopefully, you love in return. It happens in movies, books, and approximately 14.2% of daydreams (although this number increases dramatically in the few days immediately following the attendance of most live music shows). Obviously, in these situations, song choice is key. Having someone rap "Baby Got Back," while I'm sure is thoughtful, is not really what most people picture when they imagine being serenaded. Some songs however, sneakily hide behind their lovely sounding melody and tune, trying to sneak themselves into some poor serenader's repertoire. And so I present to you, in no particular order, 5 Songs You Probably Don't Actually Want Sung To You.

#1. Landslide (Stevie Knicks/Fleetwood Mac, The Dixie Chicks)

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older and I'm getting older too
Oh, I'm getting older too

I love this song. God, I love this song. But this song is actually kinda sad. Sometimes things don't work out, time passes, and you need to move on. A lovely song with heartfelt meaning, but not exactly the kind you'd like sung to you.


#2. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (Aerosmith)

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

This is a not-too-subtle love song, crooned by Steven Tyler and his huge mouth. While at first you might think "Awww, that's so sweet," if you actually listen to the lyrics, this is one creepy-ass song. Despite what Twilight wants you to think, people watching you sleep is not romantic. It's uncomfortable. And if you miss someone while they sleep, maybe you should talk about boundaries. And their clinginess. Just maybe.

#3. I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Rait, Bon Iver)

'Cause I can't make you love me, darling
If you don't
You can't make your heart feel
Something it won't

Obviously, I would let Justin Vernon sing this song to me anytime, anywhere. In fact, I would pay many dollars for him to sing this to me. I've accepted the fact that we'll never be together, so I think I could handle it. However, if anyone else sang this to me, I'd feel a little different. This is probably the most beautiful sounding song I know, but it's not exactly a predicting a happy ending. Also, guilt trip much?

#4. Baby (Justin Bieber)

(I'm pretty sure this was in the midst of his voice breaking. Hehehe.)

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

I'm not gunna lie... I like this song. It has more than 130 plays on my iTunes. But the reasons that this is not a good song to serenade someone with are threefold:
1) The lyrics. If someone is going to serenade you, it'd be nice if they put the effort into a song with slightly more advanced lyrics.
2) If someone thinks that singing a song that was put out by a 15 year old is a good idea, maybe you should rethink your whole "dating a high school kid" thing. Unless you are in high school. Still, maybe reconsider.
3) If you actually pay attention to the lyrics, it's about how the Biebs' "first love broke [his] heart for the first time." So yeah, this is secretly a break-up song, hidden behind catchy choruses and happy sounding instrumentals. (Now if someone sings it to you after you dumped them.... no. Still no.)

#5. It Ain't Me Babe (Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash and June Carter)

You say you’re lookin’ for someone
Who will promise never to part
Someone to close his eyes for you
Someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you an’ more
But it ain’t me, babe
No, no, no, it ain’t me, babe
It ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe

I freaking love this song, but if someone sings this to you, I'm 90% sure you are in the process of being dumped. Sorry bro.

Do you have any other not-so-nice serenade songs? Any really good songs to have sung to you? Does anyone actually still serenade people in this day and age? Let me know it the comments!

Web comics

I'm a big fan of web comics. In the past years, they've gained popularity, growing larger and larger fan bases, all over the internet. What I think makes web comics different than, say, the comics you read in the newspaper, is that (at least to begin with) they are made completely independently of editors, publishers, etc. Pretty much any web comic was started because the author(s) wanted to share their work, not because they were looking to make money. Sure, some web comics evolve into full time jobs, but it's a slow process, something that comes after a lot of hard work, effort, and patience. The beauty of the internet, however, makes it possible for anyone to publish their work, by themselves, for free, and share it with the world. This gives the creator a certain type of freedom and anonymity that just doesn't exist in print media. There are literally countless different web comics out there, but here are a few of my favorites:

XKCD
Stick figure + nerdy jokes = lulz. My all time favorite xkcd strip? This one right here:

-If you've ever taken a physics class, you'll understand why.

Cyanide and Happiness
Where no subject is taboo, no offensive act left untouched, and no crude act left behind.... there is Cyanide and Happiness. As Wikipedia says, "Frequent topics of humor include disabilities, terrorism, rape, cancer, murder, necrophilia, pedophilia, sexual deviancy, sexually transmitted diseases, suicide, eating disorders, abortion and vehicular manslaughter." You feel kinda bad laughing, but usually it's just weirdly funny. Here's a not-so-crude one:

Poorly Drawn Lines
I just found out about this one a few days ago. Here's the comic that introduced me:

Ain't. No. One.

Three Word Phrase
When this one is funny, it's really funny. When it's not... it's okay.

Psychology jokes, hehehe.

And finally...
Hyperbole and a Half
This is more of a blog-web comic type thing, with illustrated stories and things. The first comic/story (at this time) is not the happiest one, but it still manages to tell a solid story, while illustrating it awesomely, with essentially microsoft paint. Last year, I plowed through every single post in the span of a few days, and probably at least 50% of them made me laugh out loud. While she hasn't been posting much lately, I highly suggest checking this blog out. It is hilarious. Here's one of her older ones, which tells the tale of how she accidentally poisoned herself while running:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-finally-got-to-call-poison-control.html