My favourite TedTalk to date — you tell ‘em, Larry:
Why you will fail to have a great career
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New music mix for chilling and illing
The inspiration: Bonobo — Days to Come. (PHOTO FROM WEBSITE)
As if there were any other way.
This started as a moody chill out mix and turned into a ‘now playing’ with decidedly peppier parts — just go with it.
1. (Sexy as all hell) Bonobo — If you stayed over ft. Fink
2. (Hip shit) Toro Y Moi —Divina
3. (No words, no problems) The Radio Dept. — It’s Personal
4. (My new love song) Little Dragon — Scale It Back
5. (Good-mood moody) The Radio Dept. — Heaven’s On Fire
6. (New summer party jam) Grouplove — Tongue Tied
7. (Oldiebutagoodie) Justice — On’n'On
8. (A must listen!) Django Django — Default
Play with money in your spare time
Five whole dollars.
It’s always been a secret hobby of mine (even before debit and VISA cards ensured I would never see physical money again) to roll coins. The methodical stacking, the focus required to keep count, the mess at the bottom of your purse turning into cash — it’s like a runner’s high. I imagine.
This stress-free, mindless task means I’m not checking my email, not working from home or researching affordable housing in Vancouver. And at the end, you’re left with the financial fruits of your labour. Win, win, win.
Now that the penny’s days are numbered (Feb. 4), it’s time for everyone to pick up some free paper coin rollies at the bank, clear a half hour in your schedule and get your hands a bit dirty! Actually, they’ll get a lot dirty, as pennies are filthier than you’ve ever imagined. Don’t think about work for a second or you’ll lose count and make sure to wash those hands before you eat! Have fun!
Because everyone deserves a holiday
This whole year has flown by, in large part, because I took zero breaks. With vacation time, it’s ‘use it or lose it,’ so I took December off (two sundays and a week at Christmas) to work on sleeping more and eating dinner before 10 p.m.
The results have been awesome! I haven’t had any stress dreams about work and my grandma has done a great job of fattening me up over the holidays, so I’m plump and healthy again. Never underestimate the power of a day off, and time away for yourself — and away from Twitter and Facebook and your blog.
My holiday highlights:
My first meal at grandma’s house, a.k.a. grandma’s not-so-subtle attempt to put some meat on my bones.
In my Vancouver apartment I have a one-foot fakey that I got from Dressew for $5. This is why I come home for the holidays.
Meet Dilys, my amazing grandmother. She can do anything, except swim and wear hats. She refuses to wear hats.
Speaking of hats, here is my brother reluctantly sporting the hat of the season in Rudolph Red.
Happy Holidays!
If a young Rod Stewart were in a cool contemporary indie band
Can’t stop listening to this one! And don’t let the Rod Stewart put you off, although it shouldn’t, this guy’s smokey voice sounds rad and the track is a catchy little ditty, upbeat enough for those rainy walks to and from home.
Late-night living room dance party (solo mellow edition)
Sometimes you just feel like dancing alone in your living room.
Getting ready jam
This gem comes from a background track in Magic Mike of all things. And it’s not stripping music, it’s jazzy and fun. A new beat, if you will.
From bottles to britches
Waste<Less jeans from Levi’s (Photo: Levi’s)
Britches are pants right?
Levi’s has far outdone my efforts to upcycle, turning 3.5 million recycled bottles into JEANS with its ‘Waste<Less’ collection, launching spring 2013.
To turn throw-aways into threads, bottles and food trays are collected, sorted by colour, crushed into flakes and then made into polyester fiber. I’m sure there’s a DIY for that somewhere on YouTube. Oh, and there is. (You just need a factory or two.)
The post consumer pants will retail for US$70 to US$130. Wonder what they’ll sell for here with our on-par exchange rate…
source: Taxi
Songza selects
There is no denying it, I have fallen hard for Songza. What other app selects songs for me based on my obscure music moods? If I could date their music concierge, I would. He obviously gets me. For example, right this minuto, I’m listening to Wednesday late night, floating through space, psybient — just for fun.
Picking songs by mood has really expanded my ear territory and over the past week I’ve fallen in love with the following:
(My new favourite! “I got my bad luck shoes and every excuse to dance these blues away — ain’t comin’ home.”)
CATCHY Ellie Goulding tune “My blood.”
Also, she is dating Skrillex and they have the SAME haircut.
Skrillellie. Or is it Skrellie?
Ultimate Upcycle Challenge gets press from Upcycle That and The Vancouver Sun
As a journalist, being written about is both weird and exciting. And unless I get back in the papers for something else (pie eating contest most likely), this probably won’t happen again, so I’m shamelessly documenting it.
Check it out!
- Vancouver’s Ultimate Upcycling Challenge from UpcycleThat.com.
- The Vancouver Sun’s Upcycling hits the home show.
My Mintage piece!