Rent is due--Here in T.O!!!

Yes friends, it's what we've all been waiting for. For the first time (okay second...but that one doesn't count because I had exams and couldn't go) since 1997/'98 , Jonathan Larson's rock opera-masterpiece RENT is FINALLY returning to Toronto. After having to make 2 trips to Hamilton because it's the closest it has come to T.O in 9 years...woo-hoo, T.O Rentheads unite! May 9th-14th at the Canon Theatre. I'll be there(maybe multiple times *hehe*) will you? It won't be the same without Luther, but we'll make do=).

P.S: The Rent movie is due out on DVD on February 21st Yay! If you, like me, were wondering why Anthony Rapp isn't releasing his book until then...now we know! 2 awesome Rent items at the same time. SO excited!!

Sometimes a little padding is a good thing...

Okay, so tonight I got sucked into the Hollister machine...I'll admit it, my shopaholic tendencies are stronger than my moralistic ones. Despite my morals I've been admiring the Hollister jeans that a girl in my class has so I decided to bite the bullet and go and buy some. I was all ready to come back and write about what a hipocrite I was, how ashamed I was for falling victim to the teeny-bopper fad-- That was before I tried them on.

It's true that I'm due to lose a few pounds but I can generally find a pants that fit. I consider myself to be a pretty average size but clearly not "average Hollister size." First of all the largest size they make is an 11 (I'm usually a 10 and let me tell you, these were no 11s)--Forget about buttoning them...I couldn't even pull them up! The sales girl did warn me that they fit small and that most people have to buy a size bigger than they usually do. My first clue should've been the stick figure telling me that she usually takes a size 3, but at Hollister she's a 5. So, tonight my Hollister experience has left me $92 poorer, and feeling fat. The good news is though...in exchange for my extra pounds I get my morals back...and my money.

I've definitely learned my lesson, and I've got another con to add to my Hollister list. WTF? who's bright idea was it to have the biggest size be an 11? Props to Old Navy for their size 20!!

I prefer my stores to not promote a lifestyle thankyou!

Since when do stores put lifestyle before product? I'm not saying that us little ole Canadians are immune to the corporate promotion of a "feeling" (yes, I mean you Starbucks) but never in my life have I been so bombarded with a store's "ideal" during my shopping experience. I am referring to the Toronto Eaton Centre's newest addition, Canada's first Hollister store. http://www.hollisterco.com/hol/homepage.html We were all intrigued by the elaborate facade before the store opened, but from the second the shirtless, buff, male mannequins appeared-- flanking the door to the cabana-style store, we knew something was a bit off.

Hollister calls themselves "the newest Southern Cali lifestyle retailer geared towards energetic guys and girls". Not only do they admit to their blatant attempt to market and brand kids by sucking them into their "lifestyle" ideology, once you walk into the store it is shockingly apparent that it exists only to act as a shameless marketing ploy. From the moment you set foot inside it is like being thrown into an episode of a WB drama like the OC. Loud music featuring bands that appeal to the young masses (All American Rejects, Bright Eyes, Sum 41 to name a few) plays over the loudspeakers, simulating some kind of a party feel and the interior, which is surprisingly huge for an Eaton Centre store, is made up of dark wood panels, decadent leather furniture, carpets and lush plants. To say the least Hollister is nothing like the brightly lit, somewhat sterile environments that most mall outlets offer. With the lights dimmed to create the illusion of a relaxed oasis in the middle of Toronto's busiest shopping spot, it can be said that the store provides an environment that is far nicer than any of our own livingrooms.

...On the surface anyway. Upon second look it is hard to notice the looming photographs of scantily clad couples making out on the beach, or the flat screen TV's bringing in live feeds of some of California's best surfing spots. Oh, did I mention that not one member of the flip-flop-wearing sales staff is less than perfect? Clearly retail sales experience wasn't the only thing on the Hollister hiring team's minds. In fact, unlike any store I've ever seen, a computerized copy of the Hollister job application stands at the ready for any young beauties who wish to sign their souls on over. Okay, so I'm being a bit harsh, I know everyone needs a job, and sometimes evil corporations are the only way to go, but honestly Hollister, just try to be a bit more subtle. I mean whatever happened to discreetly asking for a job application at the front counter?

The fact that every third person in downtown Toronto right now, is carrying a Hollister bag just proves that unfortunately, Hollister co. has nothing but an ingenious marketing scheme in their back pockets. It works so well that nobody seems to notice that they are paying exorbinant prices for badly made, low quality garments that are designed for people who live in Southern California. There's the flaw in the logic...no matter how convinced you get that the beach life is the way to go...we live in Canada remember? It's cold here!

NOTE: I would like to add that in no way am I criticizing Hollister Employees. As I said, I recognize the need for a job. These comments are completely directed at the Hollister company and the people who put together its ideologies, nobody else.

I'm older than I've ever been and now I'm even older, and as was pointed out to me -"I, I Palindrome"

Well that's it! I think I'm officially an adult. Whether or not I feel like one is another matter completely...but I've passed all of the milestones. At 18 I could vote...and buy porn (not that I have of course=p), 19 I could legally drink in Canada and FINALLY get into club shows without lying through my teeth, 20 I was no longer a teenager, 21 I could drink in the States, but 22? Hrm...time to pull up my socks I think. No doubt I'm still going to maintain my Neverland complex but here I am on my first day of adulthood. It's the beginning of my 23nd year...let's see what's in store.

Look, look, I'm published!!!

Well, it's finally happened, I've finally written something that I've had the courage to put out there for everyone to read! My friend Natalia is involved with a website called All Tomorrow's Concerts and she asked me to write some reviews of the albums that were my picks for best of 2005. Check out http://music.tron09.com/bestof.html for my reviews of The Ladies and Gentlemen's Small Sins and Luke Doucet's Broken and Other Rogue States. If all goes well this weekend and I can get my mountains of reading out of the way, I'll be polishing up my review of Andy Stochansky's 100 and adding it in as well...stay tuned!

What does your family look like on Christmas morning?

I know it's a bit late to be talking about Christmas but I just had to share this picture that my cousin took on Christmas morning...thanx Lana! My mom went to Morocco just before Christmas and brought everyone these traditional Bedouin robes. Your family might wear Christmas sweaters but not mine! Auntie Shelagh, Uncle Ian, Grandma and my mom...the first members of the Royce Christmas cult *hehe*.

What is journalism?

Well, apparently my creating a blog to improve my journalistic skills is pointless...because blogs aren't journalism. This is according to my online journalism professor anyway. We had our first class lecture tonight and she stated quite clearly that she thought blogs weren't journalism. Unfortunately she never did explain her point and so I am left with a foggy idea of what her feelings really are. In fact, she seemed to contradict herself quite a bit. First she said blogs weren't journalism but merely were someone's personal opinion. Then she said that journalism today often stems from online blogs as they are constantly bringing events into the forefront and or feeding the media new information. She also went on to say that journalists are always having to stay current and fresh, so therefore they no longer simply report on certain events but insert opinion etc. as well. I don't know, I am really impressed with this prof otherwise so I think if she had just explained herself a little bit more we would've understood why blogging should not be considered journalism. As of now though, I think I disagree. To me this sounds like a professional journalist creating an argument that is similar to the "high" and "low" culture debate. I may be new to the scene but last time I checked personal viewpoints and opinion was a huge part of journalism. Why is something that is written in the New York Times journalism and something that is written in a blog not? True there is a difference between musings and a carefully crafted article but can we not just put them in different categories of journalism? Say that one is approprite for one type of audience and the other appropriate for another? Is journalism not just words and ideas put together to form a story? Why do we bother to have different journalistic categories at all if something as important and current as blogging is just going to be unjustly dismissed? I think it is very irresponsible to think this way--Isn't it a bit presumptuous to assume you know what the root of journalism really is anyway?

Getting back into the swing of things...FINALLY!

We had our first coordinator meeting at work today. It was really good to see everyone again. I love how our meetings always end up being more like pizza parties than work, with everyone laughing all the way through. I think this semester is going to be really good. I'm really excited to start getting things underway and I'm really glad to have Kevin and Sabreen (our new coordinators) onboard. There's already so much to do. I still have to write our letter sabout the malfunctioning elevator in the Student Campus Centre and we dcided that all of the Community Service Groups are going to create a small campaign to try and encourage students to vote in the upcoming Federal Election. RyeACCESS is preparing a list of accessible polling stations and covering all of the parties positions on disability issues. It should be interesting, I look forward to reading all of the information that everyone pulls together. We're also screening the documentary Murderball at some point soon so we've got to start booking rooms and postering for that too. Oy, I hope I'm still standing by the end of this semester. I'm taking 7 classes AND working 15 hrs a week. This holiday definitely started to drag towards the end and I'm looking forward to having something to do again. Most of my classes look pretty good too. I'll let you know how I feel at the end of the week.

A little help from my friends

Well, here goes nuthin'. My friends have been telling me for ages that I should keep an online blog...to practice. See, I'm an aspiring journalist (second year in the journalism program at Ryerson University) but other than school assignments, I very rarely write anything. I really need to start getting used to writing in a public forum so I've decided to listen to my friends. For the first little while this will be a very casual thing, an online journal, a what's-going-on in Sab's life sort of thing. I might post a few of my fave articles here and there, I don't know! It's all up in the air at this point. I'm just going to leave it all up to chance.

Maybe I should tell a little bit about myself. I'll be 22 in a little less than a month (scary thought, I can hardly believe it!) I've lived in Toronto all my life but my dream is to live in New York City. I've always loved it there but after spending a good part of this past summer there I know its my future home. Like I said, I'm currently studying journalism (minoring in Sociology) at Ryerson University here in T.O and I work for the Ryerson Students' Union at one of its community service groups called RyeACCESS. RyeACCESS is the student-run community service group that deals with the non-academic needs of students with disabilities. This is my second year working there, last year I was Events Coordinator and this year I'm working as Student Advocacy Coordinator. It has it's challenges but it's rewarding more often than not. Along with my fellow coordinators I am working to break down both physical and attitudinal barriers on campus and helping to make Ryerson a more inclusive place. My education and employment at Ryerson has taught me a lot and helped me to meet a lot of great people. However, I'm applying to transfer to NYU in the fall...cross your fingers that I get in! Either way I'll find a way to get to NYC but going to school there would definitely help. My major pastime is going to concerts. I'm a total sucker for live music. I can't even count how many I go to a year. Yes, it definitely lightens my wallet but what can I say? I'm obsessed! I hope one day to turn it into a career and review concerts for a living. I have pretty ecclectic tastes, mostly indie-Canadian kinda stuff but I'm usually up for anything,except rap and hip-hop. I also love musical theatre and I'm a huge Renthead. I've seen Rent 12 times (5 in Toronto, 3 in Hamilton and 4 in New York) and I've already seen the movie twice! My other major fandom situation (though some will say that there are many more) is my involvement with Fruheads,meaning I'm a big fan of the Canadian band Moxy Fruvous. This takes up less and less of my time as the band has been on "hiatus" for 5 years but the friendships I've made are still going strong and we try to catch the boys' solo projects whenever possible--Mike Ford @ Hugh's Room May 13th 2006 everyone! I'm a great lover of art...specifically modern and pop art and I LOVE Andy Warhol,Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat. I collect their prints but I really enjoy visiting museums to view the real thing. I love to read but I have a tendency to buy more books than I could possibly get through. This is due to the fact that I'm a total shopaholic...what can ya do? I also make jewellery...mostly earrings and necklaces though I experiment with woven stuff. I've been doing it for years but I've just recently started to sell some of my work. I'd like to get involved in some craft sales in the future.

*For those of you who view my myspace profile I aplogize for the cut and paste but hey, it's a start!