The Crazy Train of Thought...

Winnipeg is home to both the worst winters and the best local...

Wed, 29 May 2013 08:31:34 -0700

Winnipeg is home to both the worst winters and the best local music scene in Canada. This is not news. But in this trailer, two of the best guitarists the Peg has to offer, Grant Siemens and Luke Doucet, tell us why.

Fact: Winnipeg is home to 12% of [Canada’s] musicians… even though it makes up just 2.25% of the country’s population.”

Learn more about Mike Latschislaw’s documentary, “If I Could Only Leave Here,” here.

Sidenote: I left… maybe that’s why I can’t play an instrument. Sigh.

A GIF Guide for Anyone and Everyone Who Has Ever Debated Moving to NYC or Wondered What It's Like

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:33:18 -0700

Seriously, this is spot on.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/a-gif-guide-to-moving-to-new-york-city/

Bravo, Madison Moore. Bravo.

“Fuck you Kenny Loggins.” That just might be the...

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:20:10 -0700

“Fuck you Kenny Loggins.”

That just might be the best Facebook comment EVER.

Full Disclosure: This whole thing made me laugh way more than it probably should have.

DOES THIS COME IN RYAN GOSLING PLEASE SAY IT COMES IN RYAN...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:50:43 -0700

DOES THIS COME IN RYAN GOSLING PLEASE SAY IT COMES IN RYAN GOSLING.

the parents of a 21-year-old who was killed in a car accident...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:58:21 -0700

the parents of a 21-year-old who was killed in a car accident while texting and driving released the screen grab of the text that killed him.

the photo says it all. it’s as tragic as it is telling.

i’ve always considered myself “a good text-and-driver.” i now realize that’s like saying you’re a good drunk driver.

no more.

i will never text and drive again.

it will be harder for me to quit texting and driving than it’d be for a pack-a-day smoker to give up cigarettes. but i will. because i don’t want my phone to become a news story.

if i can do it, you can, too.

Photo

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:16:11 -0700

Above: Pawluck’s Instagram post of Montreal street art...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:13:00 -0700

The Instagram post that got a 20-year-old from Montreal arrested

Katsu's "Status Update" in NYC

Above: Pawluck’s Instagram post of Montreal street art depicting a prominent police officer with a gunshot wound to the head, and Katsu’s recent installation in New York’s Lower East Side.

If you use Instagram — or post pictures to Twitter or to Instagram’s sister network, Facebook — you should be paying attention to what’s happening in Montreal right now.

The notoriously overzealous police in Quebec’s major city have arrested a 20-year-old for posting a picture of street art to Instagram. Jennifer Pawluck didn’t create the piece and claims she didn’t even know who the police officer depicted in the wheat paste illustration — Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafrenière — was, but cops showed up at her house yesterday and charged her with uttering threats to a police officer.

NOTE: She added #ianlafreniere #ianlaffreniere tags to the post, so I don’t really buy her claim that she didn’t know who Lafrenière is. (As you can see in the image above, Lafrenière’s name wasn’t fully visible in the original piece.) But that shouldn’t matter.

Hashtag-happy Pawluck also added #acab (all cops are bastards) and #SVMP (the acronym for Montreal police, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal) to the post, effectively making sure the police saw it.

And saw it, they did. Police showed up at her home Wednesday, took her into custody for questioning. She was released several hours later, and is scheduled to appear in court April 17.

This case ties into freedom of speech, freedom of expression, AND online privacy… and we should all be paying close attention to it.

Pawluck has (rightly) called the charges “ridiculous” and plans to plead not guilty to the (ludicrous) charges. She has also noted that she considers the arrest a form of “harassment.”

The officer shown in the poster, Lafrenière, heads communications for Montreal police, and many consider him to be the face of the po-po’s opposition to the massive (and massively controversial) student protests in Montreal last year. Pawluck was arrested three times during those demonstrations, but was never charged under the criminal code.

CBC broke the story, which has been picked up by outlets on both sides of the border, including HuffPo, Montreal-based Vice, and Gawker.

Patrick McGuire of Vice succinctly summed up my initial reaction:

Jennifer is not the only one who posted the image, as any search on Instagram using the right tags will tell you, so why is this a punishable offense? If I drew a picture of Ottawa’s Parliament buildings burning, with Stephen Harper running out in flames, and an ambulance turned over on the lawn in front of an extinguished centennial flame—and then someone took a photo of it—would we both be send to federal prison? This kind of censorship and police intervention is unacceptable. Hopefully, somehow, this does not set a recurring precedent.

I have tons of photos of street art on my phone (and lots of them have been posted to my Twitter and Facebook accounts), including shots of a burning gas station — it was part of last fall’s “Regarding Warhol” exhibition at the Met” — and the planter in my East Village neighbourhood with “Art is My Weapon” stenciled alongside a machine gun. Does me taking and sharing photos of these works equate to me threatening to burn down a gas station, or, I don’t know, bring a gun into an art gallery? (Hey, I’m trying to be as ridiculous as possible, here.) OF COURSE NOT.

This whole thing has also made me wonder about the recent Katsu installation in the Lower East Side. “Status Update” shows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with a black eye and missing teeth. No, it’s not a bullet to the head, but the street art does imply violence. Still, unlike Montreal police, similarly notoriously overzealous NYPD haven’t made any arrests.

Oh, right: There’s this thing called FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. Perhaps the SVPM should look it up.

Photo

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:09:56 -0700

File this under “It Could Be Worse; I Could Be THAT...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:12:00 -0800

File this under “It Could Be Worse; I Could Be THAT Girl.”
Sigh. On the bright side, this doesn’t make me look desperate at all… :S

“Melissa Arseniuk, 30, isn’t leaving her dating life to chance.

She’s a paying member of the dating website HowAboutWe and also uses the mobile app SinglesAroundMe. Arseniuk, a writer in New York, plunged into both about six months ago after the end of a three-year relationship. She says the phone app is particularly handy.

“I could be at a coffee shop or meeting a girlfriend and she’s running late, so I could fire up the app and see who’s around,” she says. “It’s kind of a good supplement to the more traditional Web-based dating sites. It’s about exploring all avenues and putting yourself out there.”

As online dating revolutionized romance in America over the past decade, the proliferation of dating apps is now taking love to a whole new level, remaking an industry that’s expected to reach $1.2 billion this year. The mobile dating segment is projected to double its revenue over the next five years…”

Valentine's Day #Fail

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:51:00 -0800

My dad is almost 60, and he’s pretty on top of things. He emails to remind me of my grandparents’ birthdays (even though I’m a good grand daughter and have them plugged into my google calendar) and has a well-deserved reputation for being a guy who doesn’t miss all that much.

Still, Valentine’s Day seems to evade him — as evidenced by this email exchange, which took place yesterday:

Me:

Valentine’s day is on thursday! don’t forget to order flowers in advance!!!
PS: Serious bonus points if you send flowers to her mom, too.
And YOUR mom, obviously.
:)
Your loveless, flowerless daughter Melissa

My Dad’s Reply:

Holy crap! Thanks for the heads up!

… Sigh.

If my dad — my sweet, thoughtful, rugged-yet-sensitive dad — forgets Valentine’s Day, anyone can.

So if your +1 forgets to send you flowers or treat you extra right on Thursday, do not despair. It’s not because they don’t care; it’s because guys really, truly aren’t programmed to holidays other than the 4th of July, Halloween, and New Years Eve.

Hmm.

Maybe if V-Day featured fireworks, sexy costumes, or booze, more boyfriends, husbands, and hook-ups would remember it. Wait. According to my book, every Valentine’s Day should have plenty of fireworks, sexy costumes, and booze.

Seems like the onus is on us, ladies.

Cheers to making this Feb. 14th a Valentine’s Day to remember…

XO! M

New York’s weather man is a drama queen.

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:49:36 -0800

New York’s weather man is a drama queen.

My dry cleaner somehow managed to spell my last name properly,...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:07:18 -0800

My dry cleaner somehow managed to spell my last name properly, yet completely butchered my first name… ?! Explain that one to me…

So… if I understand correctly, this Canadian...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 13:01:32 -0800

So… if I understand correctly, this Canadian millionaire’s formula for happiness is:

Ignore Haters + Stay Single/Self-Centered + Tell Yourself That Everything Else Can Wait = Focus —> Courage —> Freedom —> Happiness.

Agree to disagree, bigshot.

Um…. what?! This crazypants ad isn’t the product of...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 11:40:39 -0800

Um…. what?!

This crazypants ad isn’t the product of Islamic extremists; it was paid for by the anti-Muslim fear mongers at the so-called American Freedom Defense Initiative.

Apparently “freedom defense” is code for “conservative hate speech.”

This awesome display of BS is currently on display at the West 4th St station’s A-C-E platform. Still, this ad is not alone. There are similar ones in 38 other subway stations, according to this excellent article in Time. (The story also points out that AFDI previously sued MTA for refusing to run similarly obnoxious ads.

Meanwhile, props to the person who didn’t just call BS on this disgusting ad, but put a “Don’t Buy This” sticker on it.

Call me crazy, but I think it might be time for the MTA to review its advertising policies and, idk, maybe think about banning the use of the BURNING TWIN TOWERS in banners that will be displayed throughout the subway system (!?!). Just a suggestion.

Happy birthday to meeeee

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 11:03:07 -0800

Happy birthday to meeeee

That little voice inside your head is actually inside a...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:00:43 -0800

That little voice inside your head is actually inside a bottle… and the booze genie never I MEAN ALWAYS lies.

Not sure which ad agency Microsoft hired for this campaign, but...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:06:33 -0800

Not sure which ad agency Microsoft hired for this campaign, but they hit it out of the park IMHO. As one coworker said, it sure beats the current standard for tablet ads (shots of fingers touching, pinching, and swiping) … and makes me feel old. But does it make me want to but a Microsoft tablet or download the new IE? Hmm, no, not really. But car ads never make me want to buy cars, and beer commercials never make me want to buy beer, either.

Photo

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 11:06:00 -0800

hilarious. esp. considering i don’t have an iphone and...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:07:36 -0800

hilarious. esp. considering i don’t have an iphone and don’t use instagram. #BlackBerry4Life

Hilarious. Terrifying, but hilarious. God bless America.

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:06:00 -0800

Hilarious. Terrifying, but hilarious. God bless America.