TWC: Favourite Will Ferrell Quote

Jenn:
MEATLOAF, FUCK


Cam:
"oh my god! that would be the greatest. sex with no women. that would be like the best of both worlds. and i like women, don't get me wrong. i just find them sexually... repulsive."

- the story of the world's first two gay men.


Benji:
This was hard to narrow it to one...

Here's the deal I'm the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and i piss excellence."

-As Ricky Bobby in Talledega nights


Ellisa:
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
I haven't actually watched the entirety of this movie, just parts. My dad and I may have peed our pants when watching this snipped with my brothers.

Ricky Bobby:
Dear Lord baby Jesus, or as our brothers in the south call you,jesuz, we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Dominos, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family. My two beautiful, beautiful, handsome stricking sons, Walker, and Texas Ranger, or TR as we call him. And of course my red hot smokin' wife Carley, who is a stone cold fox.

Fun Fact: Will Ferrell was one of the writers of this film.


Warren:
Funerals are insane, the chicks are so horny... it's like fishing with dynamite ...


Danes:
"I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite"


po:
it's so good... once it hits your lips... it's so good
re: funnel beer in old school... mostly it's the look on his face.


Bradley:
It's so damn hot... Milk was a bad choice.

What is Stephen Harper Reading?

This is an excert from one of the letters that Yan Martel wrote to Stephen Harper on his site:
What is Stephen Harper Reading

"So, self-knowledge—must I write?—is useful not only in writing but in living. And solitude bears fruit not only for the one who aspires to write poetry but for anyone who aspires to anything. Whereas, to take a counter-example, I thinks it’s rare that advice to do with commerce has much use beyond commerce. Our deepest way of examining life, of getting to our existential core, is through the artistic. At its best, such an examination has nearly a religious feel."

~Yann Martel

TWC: Post Secret

I've cheated on my boyfriend before.

I love Sausage McMuffins and Britney Spears.

i was once forced to dance with scarves... it just wasn't right for me at the time.

I keep a reserve stock of Q-tips in my top nightstand drawer.

I actually enjoy watching Sex in the City. As much as I say it's just because my girlfriend made me watch it... I can honestly say that I got into it. I mean I will never get over the fact that Carrie cheated on Aiden. Come on Carrie, you guys were meant for each other! And you left him for Big! What were you thinking. Anyways, it's complicated.

I have a extremely large space between my big and second toe, so muchso that my own mother is repulsed by looking at my feet. That is why you may see me in flip flops, but hardly ever in bare feet.

I really like the song "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguileria

when i was on the road once, i happened to pass through this town called cranbrook, close to kimberly, where i used to live. i wandered into a pub and sat down and drank many pints of beer and smoked many cigs. started checking out this girl playing pool. as i looked closer at her i realized it was an ex-girlfriend of mine. went over and said hello and hugged her. we talked for a bit then went off to another bar. then another. at the end of the night she invited me to stay at her place. i figured this was better than sleeping in the car again, so i agreed. along the way i told her i was sorry that our relationship hadn't worked out, because at the time she had acted really heart-broken. she said, "that's ok. i was actually sleeping around on you all over the place." when we got to her apartment she tried really hard to get it on with me, but i wasn't really into it anymore. she gave up on me and went to sleep on the couch leaving me alone in her bed.
later that night i woke up standing in a dark place, pissing. i knew it wasn't the washroom. looked around for a light and finally found one. i was in a big walk-in closet in her hallway pissing all over her clothes. i mean all over. like, probably a couple litres worth. i choked. felt terrible for about five seconds. then i was over it. shook, put it away, went back to bed. woke up the next day and she had gone to work. she left a note and told me to make myself comfortable and she'd make us a nice dinner when she got home. i showered, got dressed and split. hopped in the car and drove to nelson. never saw her again. don't think i've ever told anyone about that.

Gibberish and Dre Correlation

Graph displaying relationship between gibberish and forgetting about Dre

TWC: Things that: chap your ass, grind your gears, or bust your balls.

Piqué:

You're at the grocery store/clothing store/book store/record store/coffee shop. You've been waiting in line for a few minutes... now you're second from the front. The person in front of you is at the cashier--it's their turn to pay. And when the cashier tells them how much it's going to be, they realize, "Oh yeah, maybe I should start thinking about working on getting my money out to pay for this!". They then proceed to fish through their purse for the correct debit card to use. Oh wait, they also have air miles--hold on, the card is somewhere in there... Oh actually, foget debit, they think they have enough cash to pay. Now they've forgotten... umm... how much is it again? ... Oh goody--If they can just find a dime and a penny they think they might have exact change!! How convenient (for everyone)!

Quebec. Why you gotta be so different? And whay you gotta constantly remind me of it? You gotta have your own place on my beer bottles? You can't just go along with the rest of the country? You gotta set your own deposit price and announce it on my beer bottle label in big writing? Why don't you go fcuk yourself Quebec?

People that dress their dogs up should be shot.

Wax paper muffin wrappers. I'm pretty sure their proper name is "Baking Cups". First of all, they prevent the muffin from cooking evenly. Everybody knows the top is by far the best part and the bottom is third rate (note: yes I know there are only 2 parts to a muffin). Do people not know that these wrappers are unnecessary?! Don't bakers at least know that? Muffins can be baked without the fucking wrapper people. They're not going to burn or stick to the pan. Plus the wrappers make it work to eat a fucking muffin.Shouldn't eating baked goods should be efforless and totally pleasurable? The worst is when you try to remove the baking cup and half the fcuking muffin sticks to the paper.

I hate people that wear Santa Hats at Christmas time and think they're being cute. You're not cute! I don't care if you love Christmas. I don't care if you fancy yourself a jolly, generous, festive person. You're not Santa. So get that fucking red thing off your head you fcuking muppet. I hope you have children so I can kick them in the fucking face or something... and then you can feel the pain I feel when I look at you.

Kevin:

1. I hate ignorant people who think they are better than you because of a title or job position.
2. I hate the fact that shit in the world is not getting done NOW. We know the world is suffering from climate change and global warming..blah blah blah...but everyone just looks at the problem and says, "well yea, we need action." fuckin' A buddy.
3. I hate sprinting the length of a soccer field in the attempts to get a pass on the fly to either score a goal or lay off the ball to someone who can score but then reach the end of the field, calling and yelling for the ball and not get it!! pretty much I hate that!! When high effort = NO Payout!!
4. The amount of plastic bottles that get used EVERY SINGLE DAMN DAY!! and I dont even mean globally, or nationally, but let’s keep it simple...think of BC and how many plastic bottles get used in a day.
5. I don’t have statistics but I’m sure it’s a lot...too many. It really gets my goat. Cooking yourself dinner, or ordering a meal at a restaurant.....only to find out it's cold. I can't STAND that. Cold hot meals.


Benji:

1. Waking up before 10am
2. The entire SFU business faculty (students, teachers, faculty, everyone)
3. Varsity athletes in SFU sweatsuits
4. slobish eating (I know I eat slobish, I mean real slobby- straightup piggish)
5. People who ask the question "Whats your favorite band?"


Big E:

It was really hard to narrow it down. Who knew I had so much detest in my life?

5. Chicken. This aversion stems from two sources: 1. consuming enough chicken breasts in my first two years of University to circle the earth and 2. seeing chickens being trucked to their death and the chicken processing plant on Hastings and Commercial (not to mention to caustic smell). I am willing to say that I could go the rest of my life, never missing chicken.

4. Bouncers. I had to stereotype, but let's be real. Almost all bouncers and meat-head jocks who can't add 2 + 2 and get 4. All they have going for them is their mass and extra testosterone. They exert power over us poor bar-goers stuck in line like they were the reincarnation of God herself. What really grinds my gears though is that as a patron you have absolutely no other option than to bow to their "muscle-flexing" (if you want to get in that is.) While freezing in line outside a half empty - and most likely barely half decent - club, I find myself silently wishing that those arrogant blockhead's soon suffer an unfortunate gym accident.

3. Bad manners. This is most definitely a Laura-ism. Whether it is at the dining room table, on the bus, or walking down the sidewalk, I expect good manners. I am no stuffy English High-Priestess (or modern day Miss Manners) but everyone should engage in a respectable level of etiquette! Call me crazy, but bad manners immediately turns me off. I can hardly stand being in the vicinity of the person committing acts of blatant incivility and, if possible, make sure to limit as much future contact as possible. Annoyance quickly turns to disrespect which is mighty close to dislike.

2. The SFU Business Faculty and the incompetent morons they employ. (Don't even get me started on Business Students...I could write a book). Every semester I am hopeful that my classes will prove useful and the faculty will be adequately skilled to teach and every semester I am supremely disappointed. You would think I would stop subjecting myself to routine let-downs and frustrations, but by the time you figure out what they are doing (stealing your money and providing worthless classes that pain you to attend) you are in too deep. They leave you with no chance of switching faculties and graduating in under five years.

1. Mowing the lawn. I abso-fucking-lutely detest this chore. It immediately puts me in a bad mood that will last for hours. This deep hatred stems from many childhood sunny afternoons spent pushing a lawn mower for hours. I am providing no more details because just thinking about it is causing me to unconsciously raise my pulse and clench my jaw.


Danes:

5. Anything to do with strategic planning, flow charts, process plans, mind maps, and conception diagrams.

4. When people crack the spine of a new book, fold the pages, or, general misuse or disrespect of books.

3.Emails that are one solid chunk of text riddled with shortcut spelling that is not for effect but rather laziness and terrible punctuation!!!!!!......???!!!??.... To be quite honest I often won’t read your email if it fits the above description.

2. Frodo Baggins. I fucking hate Frodo. Also, Elijah Wood- it is a bit of a chicken/egg dilemma.

1.How, when you are picking up a prescription, they make you wait for fifteen minutes while they talk to each other behind the counter instead of printing off a label, grabbing the box off the shelf and handing it to you. This bothers me so much so that I cannot be rational about the situation and accept it; instead I must stand, like an asshole, at the pickup counter staring at the pharmacist the entire time, subliminally sending them “I know you are wasting my time on purpose” hate vibes with my eyes which causes them to take even longer to prepare my prescription.


Bradley:

5. Aisle Seats
4. Mowing the Lawn
3. Tamara Taggert
2. People who say "libary", "chickmunk", or "katchup"
1. City Birds (Pigeons, Crows, and Seagulls)


Jillian:

must i really stop at 5? in no particular order, because really, how can you evaluate hate...

5. alberta, ontario, sometimes quebec. my anger towards these three provinces is divided approximately 65-25-10. in a perfect world, canada would consist of b.c., saskatchewan, manitoba, and the maritimes. the territories could opt in if they wanted to. actually in a really perfect world, b.c. would be a country all on its own. i've often wanted to start a bc separatist party. anyways, i hate alberta mostly. if i had superpowers, i would pick up the rockies and pierce alberta's heart with their most pointy peak. then, i'd remove it from calgary's heart, attach it to jerome iginla's stick and pierce his heart. then, edmonton could just wither away. sidebar - i hate pragmatists who must crush my dreams of separation... and everything else.

4. 30 something mothers who live in condos and invade granville island market with their 3 ill-behaved children and s.u.v strollers, who then proceed to order 3 warm, but not too hot hot chocolates for said children and a large non-fat extra hot 2 pump vanilla latte from jj bean. FIRST OF ALL, get your kids out of the fucking strollers, they're too big. better yet, just leave them at home. nobody wants to deal with them. secondly, when you get an extra hot coffee beverage, YOU ARE DRINKING BURNT MILK! that is disgusting. and so are you. and if you have to get vanilla in it to take away the taste of good espresso, just go back to tim hortons where you belong. also, you don't need a large. you're fat.

3. oprah and every single last thing associated with her. especially that c**t nate berkus.

2. umbrellas. it's just water. you're not going to die. umbrellas make people walk like assholes... even more so than they usually do.

1. andy warhol and those obsessed with him. yes, i know. and no, i don't care.
this will continue...

In the News...

Sugar Ray Thrilled To Be Playing In Man's Head

SAN DIEGO— After nearly four years without a major live show, alternative rock band Sugar Ray announced Monday that they were "thrilled beyond words" to be playing inside San Diego resident Robert Waldie's head.

Sugar Ray headlined the forefront of Waldie's mind through much of Monday afternoon, playing the chorus of their 1997 hit "Fly" seven consecutive times before segueing into an all-hum rendition of their second-most popular single, "Every Morning." Sugar Ray then played the refrain from "Fly" an additional four times before closing their set.


Study Finds Working At Work Improves Productivity:

WASHINGTON, DC—According to a groundbreaking new study by the Department of Labor, working—the physical act of engaging in a productive job-related activity—may greatly increase the amount of work accomplished during the workday, especially when compared with the more common practices of wasting time and not working... Similar findings were reported in the areas of avoiding work, putting off work, complaining about work instead of actually working, pretending to work, and fucking around.


Fashion tips for women from a guy who knows dick about fashion.

"The only thing that goes with Crocs is social ostracism. "

"I don't know what this style is called since every retailer comes up with their own "clever" name for it, so I'm just going to call them tit curtains because they look like curtains draped over your tits... I don't get it. If I had boobs, the last thing I'd want to do with them is cover them up with curtains, though I'd probably eventually cover them with curtains when I'd exhausted everything else (oil, soap, other boobs, my hands, the lid of a photocopy machine, the mouths of other lesbians, etc). Quit disrespecting your chest hams."

30 reasons why I am awesome

So, perhaps it is self absorbed to write a post titled: "30 reasons why I am awesome". I figure this is an improvement from: "Why I am F'ing Sweet" which is what I was going to title it. Mostly, I just wanted to brag about all the incredible concerts I have seen since April. Thank you to those that joined me, so many amazing times!

1. Modest Mouse- Two sets of drums, great live sound

2. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – boundless passion for performing

3. Peter, Bjorn and John – Before the concert I had only ever heard “Young Folks” and was blown away by the Swedish awesomeness, ps. the video is pretty cute

4. The Arcade Fire - WOW - I complain that I will never get to experience Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, but the Arcade Fire, I believe, will be a cultural artifact from our generation.

5. Architecture in Helsinki – So fun, great energy
Opener: YACHT – Strange but cool I guess, music on laptop accompanied by dance

6. The White Stripes – Intense. Life altering. Dana=altered

7. Cary Brothers – I fell a bit in love
Opener: Mother Mother – pleasantly surprised- check out "Verbatim"

8. John Fogerty – lifelong dream come to fruition

Bumbershoot – Best consecutive 3 days of my life

9. The Shins – Winsome, lovely!

10. Kings of Leon – very rock, dude wore a vest

11. Gym Class Heroes – terrible

12. Wu-Tang – F’ing sweet... dollar dollar bill y’all

13. Andrew Bird – INCREADIBLE, I love whistling in songs. Would marry him tomorrow: Dana Bird

14. Joss Stone – aggravating, too much chatter on stage, I don’t want to hear about your life Joss.

15. John Legend – not my style but props to him for a good show.

16. Tokyo Police Club –can’t get into cheering for a bunch of screaming teens.

17. Devotchka – awesome experience, man drinking directly from a bottle of wine and woman dancing in huge tuba like instrument covered with red twinkly lights. Plus, Devotchka is just amazing...Little Miss Sunshine...

18. Barrington Levy – SO FUN – true performer... More and More and More and...

19. Rodrigo y Gabriela - beautiful

20. The Aggrolites - What a party, best live energy ever, how can you go wrong with a bunch of guys wearing jail suits and singing reggae!?!

21. Fleet Foxes – the next Neil Young

Bloodhag – Kidding, I wish I saw Bloodhag

22. Spoon – FUCK!!! SPOON!!! Maybe one of my best musical moments ever
Opener: Black Joe Lewis – the perfect lead in to Spoon...I love blues and SPOON

23. Shiny Toy Guns – the chick was sweet -she should do all the singing or get a new band.

24. Peter Bjorn and John – not as intense as the first time

25. Fujiya and Miyagi – although they aren’t Japanese they are brilliant.
Opener: Project Jenny Project Jan – very cool openers, great stuff, bought the cd

26. Shout Out Louds – Great instruments...they create great music

27. Final Fantasy – Sweet, I loved the projector show, plus I love the violin.
Opener: Great Lake swimmers – meh, kinda whiny

28. Joanna Newsom – delicate and enchanting

29. Caribou – great show, battling drums and a front man who is maybe the most talented guy I have ever seen...also they feature the recorder in one song.

30. MIA – still to come

TWC: Top 5 BEST Combos

J-Bones

1. chocolate ice cream and milk- oh chicrème
2. stars and guitar music
3. spicy food and hot tea
4. celery and the whiz (cheese)
5. mittens and string



po:

5. teak mid-century dining furniture + hot pink
4. blackberry + basil
3. off-white black and white stripes + mustard yellow
2. ceramic bowls + wooden spoons
1. pimms + ginger




Benji:

1. fries + gravy+ cheese curds
2. Neil young and Crazy Horse
3. Ranch+ bacon bits+ baked potato
4. Wings and beer
5. Campfires and smores in summertime



Biggah:

Here are my answers (all are favourites, no particular no. 1)

Yogurt (the cloud kind), homemade granola and fresh berries.
Apple pie and cheddar cheese
Tomato, mozza and basil
Chocolate and mint
Pinapple, sour cream and brown sugar



Grecs:

1. Hookah and Tea
2. Moccasins and Housecoat (that's right folks... I own both)
3. Steak and Lobster
4. Coffee and Bailey's
5. Music and Marijuana




B*Rad:

My top 5 best combos: In order of how addicted I am. 5 representing a mild addiction. 1 representing; can't stop, binge-worthy, navel snorting, dirty acts, I need rehab treatment immeadeately addiction.

5. Salt N Pepa
4. Marijuana and Twin Peaks
3. Batcaves and Chinapple Hats
2. Jan and Victoria Bos
1. Hookers and Blow

***Hopeful combo of the future: Pigeons and Extinction




TheDanes:

5. 5pm, setting sun, front stoop, gin, tonic, lime
4. Jim and Pam, Jan and Victoria Bos, Quinton and Uma
3. Brown and turquoise
2. Whistling and songs
1. Hookers and Blow



Prokopios:

watching sports & drinking beer
good pizza & cold beer
nice cars & nice girls in bikinis
chocolate & peanut butter
t & a



Kevin:

1. Jam and Cheese. If you've never tried it, do it. Preferably on a bagel!

2. Cheese cake and Baileys!!

3. Steak and Gorgonzola!! mmmmmm....really take any type of red meat,it may work for chicken...cook it...BBQ would be my suggestion, andtop it off with blue cheese (be sure to melt it!). HEAVENLY!

4.Sun and Beer!! Who can argue that one!! haha. Hot summer days and anIce cold brewskie!!!

5. chocolate and Hazelnuts

I know what you all are thinking, this fool likes cheese too much !!It really is a world wonder!! But once I reached #3, i decided to tryand expand my thought process to exclude cheese!! Haha

TWC: Strange and Unconventional Quirks

I have this strange and unconventional quirk that is somewhat bizarre and 100% unique:

I... sneeze when I look at the sun. It's a medical condition you know!

I... have the capability to cook amazing food from barely any ingredients, but am incredibly modest about how good the fixings actually are.

I... will throw out anything that I own if a spider walks across it.

I...am deathly afraid of cityfowl, especially pigeons; also, I have a thing against most shoes and blue pillar candles.

I...hate capital letters.

I...dislike showering and was severely traumatised by the fact that because my father was cheap, throughout my childhood we could only watch one channel at a time.

I...have an ardent passion for and devotion to reggae music

Caribou

Caribou on Tuesday night was phenom and also educational.

I learned a few things:

1. More bands should have two drummers
2. Drummers should more frequently be up front
3. A sheet and light show can really kick it up a notch.
4. Even if you are tired and have already had two fun-filled nights and it is only Tuesday and you are thinking that maybe you should just stay home and sleep... resist the urge...as what you are missing could be as genius as Dan Snaith (and not just because he has his doctorate in math from Cambridge- so I learned from LastFM).

A sip of tea and all that it can encapsulate

Isn’t it amazing how a smell or taste can transport you? I was reading at my desk in my office today listening to Feist and Catpower. I had a cup of tea steeping beside me. I reached over to my big blue mug, the one that I have been a devoted slave to for the past mmm 3 years - Wow that is remarkable. I have used the same mug, basically daily, for almost 3 years.

Anyways, I reached over- cradling it like an extension of my own being, brought it to my mouth, allowed it to warm my hands and fill my my nose with its familiar floral scent.

When the Earl Grey hit my lips I was back at the Delta house, wrapped in a toga blank as I used to do as a result of the sub zero temperatures. I was wearing my slippers- of course, as well as my over sized sweatpants that were a gift from my Acadia Alumni friend Jenny. I was perched on one of the crappy and uncomfortable black chairs `borrowed` from SFU residence and I could see various brown tiles peeling off the floor.

The table before me was covered in whatever art project I had been toiling at for the past month that I couldn’t seem to motivate myself to finish. A notebook of Pia's sat attentively across from me with her unique and very recognisable writing style. Several old newspapers were strewn about open to pertinent articles about technology, language or Stephen Harpers latest abomination; also abandoned in the chaos is a random To Do List of Tracey’s which would always crack me up as they included items like “Eat Lunch” and “ass cream” the latter I would have snuck onto the list laughing at my own comic genius.

Tracey's computer proudly dominated some of the kitchen table real estate, along with random pantyhose, a crossword completed by multiple members, a dillion pens, burnt cds and other miscellaneous objects.

I think about who I was then. How I have changed. How we have all changed. I think about that life and the goodness it possessed, the richness of it all. The excitement, the parties, the mess, the ranty conversations, the boys, the neighbours, the deck, the ideas, the hangovers, the books, the fashion, the music, mostly just the experience of it all. It was a whirlwind and it played out in our kitchen.

I think of my life in the same way as the geological time periods. Each era has major players, defining characteristics and strengths and weaknesses. I find comfort in my own continuity, I reflect at my good fortune. I have always loved geology, something about how time and pressure can bend and fold that which appears to be unbendable and unfoldable. I embrace and acknowledge the times that were and look forward to the times that will be. It is dangerous to be caught in the past, and I try to ensure that I keep my eyes fixed forward but my brief trip back to the Delta house yeilded a pleasant moment of warm refelction; a celebration of open minds and adventurous spirits.

TWC: PoTaToEs

Piqué:

5. Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4. Rosemary Roast Potatoes
3. Perogies
2. Aloo Paratha
1d. Curly Fries
1c. Potato Wedges
1b. Poutinea
1a. French Fries


Danes:

5. Double stuffed potatoes – bake ‘em, scoop out of the skin, mix with fabulous things like garlic and cheese and chives and bacon bits. Then return the mixture to the skin put back in the oven and bake again.

4. Campfire potatoes - this is a baked potato kicked up a notch as you burry it in the ash of a campfire pit then build the fire on top. After a few hours when the fire has died down you dig them out and fix them up in your preferred manner. They seem to melt in your mouth and have a Smokey quality that is to die for. Don’t go easy on the butter.

3. Potato Volcano. My sister Tara’s signature move. She makes the most insanely wonderful gravy then shapes her mashed potatoes into a volcano like structure, filling it with gravy lava. yummm

2. Brick O’ Fries – I f’ing love French fries. Especially fresh cut ones with the skin still on purchased from a man in a van or booth. At Bumbershoot they maintained their deep-fry-basket shape hence the name “Brick”.

1. Fried potatoes – the next morning take your leftover boiled or steamed potatoes and slice them up very thin. Fill your fry pan with glorious amounts of butter and then lay out the thin slices in the pan. Cut up green onions and add heavy doses of salt and pepper. They will become crispy, taste delicious and cause you to gain 5 pounds as well as clog all your arteries immediately upon eating.


Gerry:

#1. Baked - in a campfire with lots of sourcream
#2. Scalloped - I think this one is seriously under-rated
#3. Mashed - with Gravy
#4. Boiled - Boring
#5. Canned - didn't know these were real until my 75 year old grandfather gave us a can for X-mas.


Cam:

5. poutine. but you gotta use real gravy and real cheese curds. and double-fry the chips. that's important.

4. jacket tatties. you have to bake a large potato til the skin is fairly crisp, then you slice it in half down the middle and mash up the insides, using the skin as a bowl. then you add butter, garlic, cheese, etc. anything, really. a typical british fast food.

3. korokke pan. korokke is basically meat or shrimp or vegetables packed in mashed potatoes and then rolled in egg and flour and breadcrumbs. then you deepfry it. the "pan" part just means it's stuck in a bun, like a korokke sandwich.

2. perogies. with sour cream. 'nuff said.

1. bangers and mash. gotta be good bangers, though. lamb sausage is my favourite. and leave the damn skin on the potatoes. it's good for you.


po:

5. in home made pirohy... with feta, dill, and lemon dill sauce.

4. mashed, made into a volcano, with delicious, salty roast chicken gravy spilling out like lava.

3. sliced, doused in olive oil, wrapped in tin foil with pearl onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano.
2. deep fried pomme frites with a steak at jules
1. smashed potatoes... boiled red nugget potatoes, smashed with a fork, drizzled with olive oil, mixed with salt, pepper, and minced garlic, then put in the oven at 425 for about half an hour... they turn out sooooo creamy on the bottom and CRISPY, oh god, CRISPY on top. mmmmmmmmmm.


Biggah:

HATED:

5. Potato Salad (with a creamy dressing). Starch and fat all mushed together resulting in a heavy, yellowy tinged mass. Gross.

4. Baked. Firstly, it is extremely boring to eat a potato this way because most times all you have is butter and sour cream to ease the pastiness. Secondly, many people try and put fake bacon bits on baked potatoes as well, which is absolutely repulsive. A little throw-up just crept up my mouth thinking about the smell of fake meat. Eww.

NEUTRAL:

3. Hashbrowns. No love or hate for these. Fried potatoes with cheese and green onions make a yummy compliment to an egg breakfast. But I could live without them. This apathy most likely stems from my inability as a child to enjoy these little potato morsels with a healthy topping of "red death" (according to Laura)

LOVED:

2. Mashed. Creamy, garlicky goodness. I love them whipped and hot with a nice glob of butter melting on top of them. So good. And they are mold-able, aka fun food.

1. Potato Dumplings (with plums in the middle). These are one of my grandmother's signature desserts. Potato is used as the binding agent for the dumplings and creates an absolutely sumptuous dessert. Warm Italian plums, nestled in a thick potatoe and bread crumb crust. Yumm! A little white sugar on top and you are in heaven for the 1.25 minutes it takes you to eat your portion.

Benji:

1. french fries clearly
2. roasted (garlic and herbs!)
3. baked (bacon bits and ranch)
4. breakfast home fries (the shredded kind)
5. mashed


Brad:

5. Raw; Ruthie Arp, my Grandmother's best friend eats a raw potato every morning. This is the same woman who smokes two cigarettes at a time when she is not winning at bingo, or if she is winning. She also is able to pee standing up, like a man. A story for another time. You are probably reading this thinking, "Wow, what a character". But in actuality she is quite a boring sad balding old lady.

4. Baked; Working at a fast food restaurant that prides itself on it's baked potatoes, and subsequently being burned by the "potato oven" almost every shift, you begin to develop quite a hate for those damn things. The baked potato and the work involved around it was the bane of my Wendy's existence. However, potato wars were fun.

3. Fries; They are quite tasty, but to be honest they are killing you.

2. Mashed; what a treat when someone decides to make mashed potatoes! It sure doesn't happen enough. And leftover mashed potatoes are so good.

1. Nugget/New Potatoes. From my Grandma Betty's garden, they are so tasty, for any occasion. Plus "taties" from my Grandma's garden remind me of my Grandpa, who had a song to sing about anything and everything, including potatoes,

"Have you ever seen the devil, with his little wooden shovel, diggin' taties in the garden with his nightgown on?"
Thanks for that song Grandpa, you were pretty rad. I will never forget it.


Jennybones:

MOST FAV: stuffed potatoes
2. baked potatoes with chives
3. scalloped potatotes
4. mashed potatoes
5. french fries

et c'est tout, in potato love


Rogue Wave:

5. Country Mash- No one can argue a good potato mash!! but it has to be done with the skins still on the potatoes..or at least some of the skins. Best prepared with small red potatoes which have a lighter skin!! Boil up the spuds, add sauteed garlic, butter milk, sour cream...salt, pepper, assorted herbs, chives...maybe green onions finely finely chopped for the adventurous...then mash it all up!!! mmmmmmmm

4. Plain and Fried!! sometimes simple is all you need! all you need is to peel and boil some spuds...you could leave the skin on, but quarter then when u boil them. DO NOT over boil!! drain when finished. Fry each side to golden brown in hot olive oil infused with garlic...this is done by leaving a clove of garlic whole, and unpeeled, but crushed under hand weight to sit in the olive oil as the potatoes fry!! lightly salt after frying.

3. Potato Salad. And i do not mean potato salad with any form of Mayo in it....that's just gross. Potato salad with may should never exist and should never be eaten. I do the good old fashioned German influenced potato salad which is based with mustard and vinegar..it is really upped when cucumbers are added as well!! I can not reveal this recipe though...goes down through the ages and you may have the privilege of me making it for you one day if u ask very nicely!! I will tell u it has white vinegar, a good mustard, dijon or a good Austrian mustard works best!!.....and after letting sit for a few hours a cucumber salad is added for extra crunch and crisp freshness!!!

Serve chilled...and the longer it sits in the fridge the better it tastes!!!

2. Honey Mustard potatoes. Perfect for a beef roast or pork roast side! and these kind of potatoes are very easy to make. Once potatoes are cooked by boiling, have them cut to desired size for consumption and place in fry pan with hot olive oil. Instead of adding already prepared honey mustard, its so much better to make your own on spot. add salt and pepper to the spuds. herbs....im not sure if rosemary will work with this but it may..try it out. add honey right to the potatoes and mustard...to your liking...which flavor do you favor the most!! splash of vinegar (literally) stir it up...as bob marley says.....and there u go!!

1.Breakfast Hashbrowns A La Kevin. the best of the best.....easy and great for breakfast.....may be time consuming if you;re not organized. recommended for a morning where u do not have to rush off quickly...ie/ a hung over morning!! sautee onions, garlic, bell peppers and mushrooms quickly...can add hot peppers for taste.....add potatoes...hopefully precooked...left over potatoes work well or microwaved spuds...u can use raw, but ensure they are cut VERY thin and small to speed up cooking times. Add lots of BASIL, Oregano, salt and peper. Cook to crisp. NOT burnt...brown and crisp..the finer the potatoes the closer to hash browns they will be!! these are by far my favorite way to make potatoes!!

TWC: Guide to the Class of '92

Gerry:
1. Jessie Spanno: I believe I saw her last Wednesday turning tricks on Hastings and Main.

2. Zack Morris: Works for the NYPD.

3. Lisa Turtle: After a brief stint in the fashion industry, Lisa took turn for the worse and spiraled into a coke addicted depression. Lisa was last seen in a police shootoff when a liquor store robbery went sour. May she rest in peace.

4. A.C. Slater: Married Kelly Kapowski and is now living at the Shady Pines Trailer Park. Currently unimployed.

5. Kelly Kapowski: Gaining "a few" pounds after highschool, Kelly developed an unfortunate addiction to Slim Fast diet shakes. Although her insulin levels remain dangerously low her lust for life continues to soar.



Kevin:
1. Cindy C. This name just popped into my head when I looked at her face. Shes the kind of girl that does not present her last name to anyone. She is just simple Cindy! Middle class New York city background Cindy tries desperately to be thought of as upper class by painstakingly paying attention to her looks. If asked where from, she will give a short reply of "Malibu" accompanied with a cute giggle and hair flick to draw attention. Cindy has no time for cheerleaders or other girls. She is way too cool. Cindy wants to be a nurse, so she can help others! Go get it Cindy!

2. Jon Bon Jovi. Need I say more……….

3. Maria Provokativa. Oh Maria…..que pasa? You speak good English now. And your hair looks so very nice. How is your family doing? Are they settling into their new home in southern California? Oh…they live with your 2 uncle's as well? You must be glad to be out of there finally and here in school! Maria has a tendency to be quite aggravating from time to time. But it is well countered with a perfect smile, which does not always come out in those stupid year book photos we have to take. Maria loves to skip down the hallways in between classes and she really does not like blondes.

4. "LaRock the Jock", "Maverick", "Mr. Suave" were just some of the names are old friend Bob Baker went by through high school. Quarterback of the high school football team, captain of the men's cheerleading squad, two time elected "most sexy" of the swim team are just some of the experiences which pepper his resume. How did he ever find time for all those sports and accompanying girls? Ah yes, I understand now…….."Ill take fries with that Bob…no no…the curly ones…Thanks man!!!"

5. Sarah Timmins. Or should I say Dr. Sarah Timmins. Thas right you guessed it! There had to be one success story child in this bunch. Sarah did it. She fought off the consistent badgering and teasing for being the smart one and now pulls in a six digit pay cheque. Sarah was always a timid girl but love sending time out doors. Like all girls, she ogled at Bob and had an eye on Jon bon through out high school but was really too shy to speak up. Weekends were spent at home, usually studying or helping mother with house hold chores. But little did everyone know that she also had a fancy for her Dad's old 1969 Mach 1 ford Mustang!! It now sits in her garage and is under repairs a la Sarah.



Cam:
the girl on the far left is liza lipschitz. a trust-fund girl from jersey, her interests included shopping at bloomingdales, listening to her rick astley records and finding new ways to use the word "like" in a sentence. unfortunately she developed lung cancer at a young age due to hairspray inhalation and died.

next in line is billy anderson. head of the football team. set the school record for touchdowns, keg-stands and date rapes. very popular with the ladies... right up until his grad year when his penchant for sniffing athletic-supporters was made public, after which he faded into miserable obscurity. his favourite words and terms include "gnarly", "bogus" and "fuckin' A".

next we have juanita hernadez, an exchange student from argentina. as a child, she was kicked in the head by an alpaca and suffered minor brain injuries that unfortunately permanently damaged her sense of symmetry. head of the knitting club, further interests include chastity, the virgin mother and self-righteousness.

the boy with the heart around his head is dallas kneller. dallas had a rough childhood. his neglectful parents left him to watch hours and hours of terrible after-school television, including his favourite program, "the fresh prince of bel-air". a mixture of inhalation of solvents, masterbation and general over-exposure to sit-com drivel lead to a strange "Will Smith" fetish. eventually he could only get it up for men with protruding ears and goatees.

the girl at the far right is janis o'malley. this is her yearbook. poor janis was hopelessly in love with dallas.



PK's Guide to the Class of '92:
Pat is a hot bitch. I mean that in a good way. Can't you see her looking at me with that cheeky smile and those fuck-me-eyes?

You can't really tell from this photo, but Kevin is actually cross-eyed. His "favorit class" is Phys. Ed.; his "werst" is math. He has a rockin' smile and he knows girls think he's hot.

Fashionable Vivian is shy but confident. Everyone loves her plaid turtleneck and "fun" pigtails. She comes off as consciencious because she doesn't like to party, but soon everyone will find out that she focked nine guys in her grade 11 year.

Girls love Brendin. They think he's "so cute" and "such a nice guy"--and they LOVE his puppy dog eyes. Despite this, he struggles with girls throughout high-school. They don't take him seriously. He tries steroids, hoping he'll bulk up and that the girls will start to respect him. The roids make him ill-tempered and give him bad acne and his struggles continue...

Jennifer is a major go-getter, miss popularity, and is a gossip. She is smart and polite and all the teachers love her but people close to her describe her as "moody" and, soon after high school, will be diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder.



Dana:
Tammy: The one that everyone’s parents hated. Had a mother who was never around so anytime you needed to avoid curfew her house was the place. She “developed” early and had knowledge of sex and the male anatomy more so than the “Health Class” teacher, and often delighted at enlightening the other girls when the opportunity arose.

Favorite song: Like a virgin - Madonna
Last Words: “If you can’t be Good, Be Good at it”

Kimmy: Vice-President of the Cheer Squad! Dating a socially well placed linebacker on the football team. Enjoys cooking and sewing and has aspirations of having a family someday. Never uses language like fuck or cunt.

Favorite song: When A Man Loves A Woman, Michael Bolton
Last Words: All you need is Love!

Garrett: His stylish mullet made him a favourite among the ladies of Roxette High. He was a natural athlete and was the star of all the sports teams. He was also a natural asshole and was very skilful at hiding the fact that despite his 12 years of school “he can’t read good”. He is known by his buddies as “the stallion”.

Favourite song: the Stroke, Billy Squire
Last Words: “Just a man and his will to survive"

Don- A member of both the wrestling team and the track team and a decent student Don surprised everyone when he was arrested for stalking Catlin as well as assaulting Joey Jeremiah from the series Degrassi Jr High.

Favourite Song: Miss You Much – Janet Jackson
Last Words: “Joey doesn’t deserve you Caitlin”

Kristy- Was really into animation however was never taken seriously by any of her peers or teachers. Had a bit of a temper problem and was a regular at anger management classes. Was suspended in her senior year for flying into a rage and pushing a Costco size bottle of pink hand soap out of a third story window; thus creating a veritable cement slip and slide on the pavement below.

Favourite Song: Deeelite – Groove is in the heart.
Last Words: “When you grow up, your heart dies”

Dana's List of the best things in life....

It has taken me a considerable amount of time to compile this list. The entire experience was rewarding as it really forced me to acknowledge the things that I hold close to my heart, and gave me an opportunity to reflect on the person I am and what in life is truly important to me.


So here it goes...


Dana's List of the BEST things in life

Morning sunshine, pink painted toenails, cute undies – calling them undies. Retro bikes- and giving inanimate objects nicknames.

Black tea with a splash of milk after dinner. Fine tip markers that are good for colouring on things. The smell of rain on pavement in summertime.

Photosynthesis.

Bellybuttons. Clean sheets and shaved legs. Starry nights. Boys with backpacks full of gear. Spitting sunflower seeds while driving on a winding dirt road. When forest fires make the sun glow pink.

Apprehensive kisses. Music that encapsulates a moment. Wanton splatters of paint that you discover days later. Popcorn at the movies. Getting ready for dances in junior high.

Coffee and a good mug that you can wrap your hands around. Postcards. Cake for breakfast. Making crafts. Drive in movies. Pussy willows, stuffed animal wars, fern fights and tree houses - innocence.

Travel stink – and everything else that goes with traveling.

Used books and used book shop jungles. Tan skin and the smell of coconut lotion. Freckles. A cat’s attitude. Make-up as an art form. Gnarled trees and Brad’s enrapturing stories.

Aquamarine.

Playing Tag in the dusk until your mom calls you home. Crickets providing the soundtrack to the summer. The simplistic beauty of sea shells. The ugly factor of sturgeon. Fingers -especially my boney ones. Thinking about how mountains were formed.

Daydreams. Dancing at Honey. Falling asleep when the sun is already awake. Adrenaline. A gorgeous pair of high heels. Pushing a button (especially a red one) you don’t know the consequence of.

Capricious and impassioned singing in the car with the closest of friends.

Warm clothes out of the dryer. The fuzz on peaches. Campfires. The ambiance created by burning candles. Being the cause or catalyst of a beaming smile.

Secret languages between friends.

Thick, sweet smelling lotion. Reading on my front stoop-front stoops in general. Homemade salsa. The stamp on my forearm- evidence of last night’s debauchery that I forgot to scrub off before work.

Sleepovers.

Metaphors.

Red wine in a Bordeaux glass. A witty retort. Woolly slippers. My Granny's jewellery. Organic yoghurt that tastes like clouds. All encompassing hugs that melt worries. The excitement of talking to boys on the phone.

Jenn’s hair and how it’s always evolving. A boisterous card game that results in playful shouting and cursing. Long luxurious sleep-ins and a good morning stretch. The sound a pen makes when it scratches on paper.

Errant smiles tossed at strangers.

Curls as they crawl down a boy’s neck when his hair is getting a bit too long. Large glamorous sunglasses. Fervent and ranty conversations. Fuzzy caterpillars. People that work in coffee shops.

The feeling you get when you think you may be out of control running hard down a hill. Snuggling under a blanket. Watching the same movies repeatedly with your sisters.

Raucous laughter! -almost pee your pants laughter.

Treasures that cost a dollar. Polka dots. The way a summer dress can make you feel. Peeling a grapefruit, bugging Ben about his mom peeling his grapefruits. Documentaries.

Holding hands. Swirly doodles. The taste of the glue on stamps. TV theme songs from childhood. Birthday cards. Icing- especially when it is turned blue with food colouring. Bunny rabbits. Discussing life with my mother.

Passion.

Bum dimples. Dystopian novels. Nakedness. Smoke rings. Hosting and attending theme parties. Dressing up. A beautiful notebook. Silk scarves tied around necks. The boots I bought in Rome, the boots I couldn’t afford in Florence.

Short yet complex puzzles. Poetic lyrics that inspire. Smoothed blue or green glass you find on the beach. Burying my toes in warm sand. Watercolours. The dizzy euphoria created by the hooka.

Music in Tarantino movies. The Sexy Eyes. The sound shell earrings make when you sway. Brush strokes in impressionists paintings.

The smells of: freshly cut grass, coffee grounds, and cedar.

Friends that are life enduring. Being a big sister. Concert t-shirts and t-shirt irony. How, many years later, I still have all the lines to the movie Dazed and Confused memorized.

Being waterlogged from eating an entire watermelon.

History.

Gin and tonic extra lime. Anything really sour or really spicy. Reading the paper on a Saturday morning with coffee and friends. Visits to the hair dresser.

Private jokes. Live music. Aspirations.

Change.

James Joyce’s passage on snow falling in Dublin. Crossword solving with my roommate. Diction, especially the words: vermilion, papillon, effervescent, crux, intrepid, esoteric, liaison, bliss, rad, mirth, juxtapose....

Saying the same thing as someone else at the same time. Waking someone up with Butterfly Kisses.

The Unknown. The Known.

Misshapen chaos of well seeming forms. Fireworks. Original Nintendo. Lavender.
The rock star face.
Monkeys.
Looking someone deep in the eyes and trying hard not to be the first to look away.

Learning always learning. Chocolate. Fresh flowers. Precious moments captured on film. Mix tapes -even though they are on cd.

Whistling in songs. “That is what I hope I like I old.” A cosy cardigan. Silver rings with sparkly jewels. How sweat pools on my lower back in yoga.

The last sentence on the last page of a book.

Love, sweet love.

TWC: Favorite: dirty, smutty, salacious...

...sensual, unchaste, erotic, bawdy, fleshy.... line from a song.


Lindsay Flem:

Although this might not be the most sexually explicit song ever written, I think it disturbs me more in its subtle, yet disturbingly obvious description of oral sex. While the innuendo is obvious to the discerning ear, poor young girls and boys were completely oblivious to its hidden meaning and continued to sing along to the song in their blissful mid-90's teeny-bopping ignorance. Not to mention that the video is an absolute abomination - seriously, the intense homoeroticism and creepy 9 year old pre-thug who finds the B44 View Finder in the trash are such an awkward and unnecessary combination. The whole song is ridiculous, but the best/worst line is "Im gonna make you come tonight .... (deliberate extended pause) .... over to my house!" bahahaha I'M ON TO YOU B44 you sneaky spikey haired devils!!


Get Down: B44

If you get down on me
I'll get down on you
I will do anything
That you want me to
It's a game of give and take
To make it through
So if you get down on me
I'll get down on you tonight


PK:

"This one is pretty clever. And honesty is sexy isn't it?"

OutKast - Hey Ya!

"Don't want to meet your daddy,
Just want you in my Caddy.
Don't want to meet your momma,
Just want to make you cumma.
I'm just being honest.
I'm just being honest."

I can't choose only one. Honourable mention to this random song:
It's a techno song and that's the only lyric (repeated 3 times throughout the song).

Klubbheads - Work This Pussy

"Work this pussy you big ugly bean-eatin' ass son of a bitch. Yooo!"


B*Rad:

SEXIEST SONG EVER! TONI, YOU DIRTY GIRL!!!!!

Toni Braxton - I Get So High

I'll always think of you
Inside of my private thoughts
I can imagine you
Touching my private parts
With just the thought of you
I cant help but touch myself
Thats why I want you so bad
Just one night of Moonlight,
with you there beside me
All night, doin it again and again
You know I want you so bad
Baby, baby, baby, baby


Big E

This song line is from the TH18 glory days. Cellar anyone?"

Lil' Jon & the Eastside Boyz - Get Low lyrics

To the sweat drop down my balls,
To all these bitches crawl.


Cam

"Big Ten Inch Record" - Moose Jackson

I cover her with kisses
and when we're in a lover's clinch
she gets all excited
and she begs for my big 10 inch...

record of a band that plays the blues
she just love my big 10 inch
record of her favorite blues

my girl don't go for smokin'
and liquor just make her flinch
seems she don't go for nothin' 'cept for my big 10 inch...


Danes:

CSS: Art Bitch

Lick Lick Lick My Art Tit!
Suck Suck Suck My Art hole!

TWC: You know you are from Vancouver when...

You know you are from Vancouver when...

Big E:
...you wear black lulus as dress pants.

Jenny:
...when you think that its ok that clothes come in size 00.

Benji:
...you make over 500,000 a year and still cannot afford a decent place to live.

Ange:
...the mention that someone is from Surrey automatically turns you off.

Kevo:
... a non-raining gray sky lifts your inner spirit!

PK:
...you talk about the erratic weather constantly.

Dana:
...you know Squire Barnes and believe the name to be as irritating as the person.

Brad:
... you can justify kicking a paraplegic in the nuts.

A Junktastic Response ~ By Bradley, (Friend/Curler)

Commercials, advertisements, and society in general are all aimed at glorifying "things" and selling them as "Things". That is the need to propel a product or an idea into such prominence in one's life, that being without, would be like being without a soul, or a sense of being. This tactic can be applied to anything from a Saturn minivan to an Egg McMuffin. Western culture's obsession with "things", limits the value held in contentious or pivotal issues (and dare I say, traditional values as well). Instead of wanting a healthy family, or a stable home life, we want an I-Pod. Instead of reading the newspaper, or even watching the news; we turn to magazines, gossip websites, and reality TV.

Is it that one is so scared of reality we try and escape into fantasy worlds? Or is a portion of the population simply oblivious to the changing dynamics and the impending horror of what the world is becoming?

The question of image is a tough "nut to crack". When it boils down to it, EVERYONE has an image. You have to choose something, or a smattering of somethings. People that try so hard to be "imageless" are the most obvious of all. The typical Commercial Drive hipster, who only wears hemp, composts in their bedroom, and hates anyone who wears a leather jacket or owns a TV, are the easiest to spot. I sometimes wonder if they think, "Who am I, and how did I assimilate into this culture of "poor aristocracy". Pointing your nose up at every person unlike you who walks the street is just as bad as rich people not bothering to communicate with the "commoners".

Don't get me wrong, I think it is completely okay to hate Wal-Mart, America, and Television, but is it NOT okay for people to actually like these things? One can try and hold up the ideals important to them, but why bash others for expressing what they like?

I have thought in the past that a certain group of people are just simply more aware of the plight of the universe, whereas others are completely oblivious. I sometimes envy the oblivious, however, WE ALL BUY INTO SOMETHING.

It is essentially about, us, as humans, in a rich country; trying to find the right (or maybe righteous) path, and being so fucking confused along the way.

The Western/First World "culture" disgusts me, but I would never want to experience third world hardships.

Why do we complain?

Sincerly,

A Consumer.

A Junktastic Ideology - Part 2

For most of us a “junktastic ideology” and a “product drunk culture” is not new and startling information. We all know our society is escalating out of control, sometimes it feels like preaching to the converted. But how converted are we? I know that I am guilty. I can still fall madly in love with a dress or a pair of shoes - inanimate things that should not have such power over me. I struggle to find ways to manage the clutter rather than downsizing it. I am selective in my efforts. What values am I espousing?

I turn my nose up at those that spend exorbitant amounts on labels for the enhancement of their cultural capital. No matter if your clothes are purchased at Holt or at Value Village we are all cultivating some sort of image when we dress in the mornings, no matter if you understand it or not what you put on speaks about your person. Just like the books you select to read, the films you chose to watch and the events you attend all weave together to form the image you wish to project.

It doesn’t matter if the things you chose to consume are highbrow or lowbrow you are still consuming- and that is what gets me.

Lately I find myself struggling with authenticity. I walk down the enlivened Commercial Drive which I have come to love for its chaotic communal atmosphere. I see a vibrant counter culture that celebrates an alternative and retro revival. I am not confident however that the mainstream fashion rejection is rooted in a vehement refusal of mainstream norms but rather that it is just another way to consume. The problem for me lies in the fact that the progressive lifestyle ideas are imbued with this fashion choice when in actuality the price tag on a vintage dress can be the equivalent of a new one. Somehow the alternative style has become intertwined with socially conscious humans and I think that this is a hugely flawed generalization. You would be hard pressed to find someone who will tell you that they buy vintage clothes because they are against the creation of more needless items – hence why Mintage sells both vintage and designer duds.

Am I the only one that finds it ironic that my street is called Commercial Drive? Just wondering?

The “Drive” is just a counter culture - a pretty good one at that, and hey we all must exist somewhere... but my problem is that we express ourselves by trashing mainstream culture; I know many of us are educated or in the process of becoming educated, socially aware, well-read and for the most part- financially overextended. What bothers me is the elitist views we take as though we have it all figured out and can chastise the rest of the world for their lifestyle choices. And yes, I know that I am the ringleader of the “I hate consumerism and mass culture Club”, so maybe this sour tang I find in my mouth is a result of my own inability to reconcile my beliefs and dislikes about our world knowing that it is not my place to judge.

Maybe I am just a hopeless hypocrite.

What I have always felt about consumerism is somewhat Orwellian, in that the Proles were distracted by the lottery, I feel like the masses are being duped by the needless pursuit of finery. I feel like instead of tackling the major problems in our world we are content to be distracted by material things and all I can say is thankfully we were born here because the other end of the spectrum is not faced with questions like dark or light denim but by much more meaningful and urgent things, like survival. Do we allow the system to continue because we are all waiting for our opportunity to ascend to the upper echelons -where we can exist in opulence or is it because we believe with the purchasing of one more hat or coat or plasma screen TV we will achieve contentment? When and how did we come to connect the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of objects?

I guess within my own community I don’t like to see people falling into the same traps that they use on the masses, I guess I just expect more from us. I guess I had assumed that us auspicious ones would take our positive circumstances and use them for the betterment of human kind rather than celebrating our own good fortune. I guess I was naive- and now, I’m just disheartened.

So...Havana’s anyone? Pitcher of sangria on the patio- we can criticise what everyone else is wearing. I will be the girl toting a classic and pivotal piece of literature, a bag displaying the buttons from the bands and social movements I currently support, in a dress I bought up the road. I will laugh and joke with my friends and complain about all the things that are wrong with the world -but don’t worry I won’t mention my own inaction, I won’t face my own demons.... they are so last season.