Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Examination Fever
It's that time again...Final exams (EVER OF UNIVERSITY!!!) begin on Friday for me and I can't seem to bring myself to study for them. If only failblog.org did not exist :(
Get Addicted
Love RJ
Monday, April 13, 2009
rise of the Phoenix
This past week I traveled south to the Phoenix, Arizona. Being the kidnapping capital of the USA (second to Mexico City on a global scale), I was weary of city quality. To my surprise, it was a heck of a lot nicer than expected. Of course all cities have their slums but for the most part, Phoenix and Scottsdale (East of Phoenix) are fascinating places to visit.
Here's a visual tour of some of the highlights + must sees of the P-S area:
Old Scottsdale: North on Scottsdale Road is this touristy part of the region. The area is designed in the old-timey southwest style of way back when. The streets are filled with cowboy paraphernalia stores, Souvenir shops, restaurants, and art galleries. If you don't mind the kitsch, it's a nice place to walk around in.
Within this area, there are a number of different sub divisions. One can take a free trolley ride through all of the different areas too. Pretty cute. I'd recommend the Fashion Square for those who need a shopping fix. It's a large mall with the usual chains one would expect in an American Shopping mall. Across the road from it is an Urban Outfitters and some Boutiquey stores that are a bit pricey.
Around Main St. in Old Scottsdale is the hub of activity. What surprised me about Phoenix and Scottsdale in general is the central role of art in the design of the cities. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, one of the first groups of settlers in Scottsdale was artists. The scenery and climate attracted the bohos way back in the late 1800s. As influenced by the fairly large art community, a law was put in place demanding that for every building built, a portion of that budget must be for public art. In doing so, one can see a large selection of sculptures throughout the cities. I absolutely love this. I think that every city should celebrate local art in such a fashion.
Desert Botannical Garden: Not your typical gardens. This is one of the most enjoyable places to visit. We went here in between 4 and 8--the prime time to go. This way you see the garden in sunlight, sunset, and nightfall. Every kind of cactus you can think of is on site along with some other flowers and plants. The flora and fauna is situated next to a number of small mountains (or large hills?) making it an ideal place for sexy wildlife photoshoots.
Also in the garden is an incredible art exhibit by Dale Chihuly. The artist implanted giant glass installments throughout the garden creating an incredible synergy between art and nature. At night, the pieces were illuminated. It's nice to see art in different contexts outside of galleries.
Here are some pics from the garden:
Heard Museum: The only place worth going to in downtown Phoenix. There is absolutely NOTHING to do downtown otherwise but get to Heard because its pretty amazing. The museum is a collection of historical artifacts and art from Native communities across North America. It's nice to see that there is a celebration of Native culture. This makes sense within Arizona since there are currently 22 tribes living in the state. I find modern native art to be fascinating because it has many traditional elements while containing contemporary influences as well. A temporary exhibit entitled "Mothers & Daughters" featured clay sculptures by native women and their daughters. It was deeply personal and extremely interesting. Here are some pieces from the gallery (we were allowed to take pictures without flash...exciting!)
Tea in Carefree: North of Scottsdale is a little town called Carefree. With an intersection of Ho Hum Road and Easy Street, one cannot resist the charm of this little community. The highlight of the town is the Red Rose Tearoom; a little English tearoom equipped with an eclectic collection of British memorabilia, art, tea accessories and a trunk of classy hats for those yearning for the girliest tea drinking experience possible. My family and I are chronic tea drinkers. We will search far and wide for places to have tea and scones so finding this tea room was simply mahhhhvelous.
Mystery Castle: Hands down the most incredible place in Phoenix. So there's a little bit of history surrounding this house. If you don't want to read the whole story, here's the gist of it:
The castle was built by Boyce Luther Gulley in the 1930s after finding out he had TB. He abandoned his wife and daughter Mary Lou Gulley in Seattle in order to build an elaborate estate for them in Phoenix. Most of the house is made out of scraps and recycled materials which adds to the quirkyness of the house. Each room has a distinct function and meaning infused with a bizzare sense of humour (i.e. a room with a bar with uneven floors for drunks to stumble around in equipped with a bed to pass out on and a gravestone for those who don't make it out alive). Well into her 80s, Mary Lou still lives in the house today.
Everything about this place has a story--Every pot, painting, teddy bear, and pair of jeans (a pair was given to Mary Lou by John Wayne!!).
Here are some bits and pieces of the Mystery Castle in all of its glory
Right on the Castle's doorstep is South Mountin Park where you can drive through the winding mountain roads to find the best view of the city.
Get over there!
...But not in the summer because It's unbearably hot. The coolest places are those you find on your own accord. You don't need to stick to travel guides religiously. We wouldn't have found South Mountain park otherwise AND we saw a coyote as we drove through residential areas.
And there you have it.
Here's a visual tour of some of the highlights + must sees of the P-S area:
Old Scottsdale: North on Scottsdale Road is this touristy part of the region. The area is designed in the old-timey southwest style of way back when. The streets are filled with cowboy paraphernalia stores, Souvenir shops, restaurants, and art galleries. If you don't mind the kitsch, it's a nice place to walk around in.
Within this area, there are a number of different sub divisions. One can take a free trolley ride through all of the different areas too. Pretty cute. I'd recommend the Fashion Square for those who need a shopping fix. It's a large mall with the usual chains one would expect in an American Shopping mall. Across the road from it is an Urban Outfitters and some Boutiquey stores that are a bit pricey.
Around Main St. in Old Scottsdale is the hub of activity. What surprised me about Phoenix and Scottsdale in general is the central role of art in the design of the cities. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, one of the first groups of settlers in Scottsdale was artists. The scenery and climate attracted the bohos way back in the late 1800s. As influenced by the fairly large art community, a law was put in place demanding that for every building built, a portion of that budget must be for public art. In doing so, one can see a large selection of sculptures throughout the cities. I absolutely love this. I think that every city should celebrate local art in such a fashion.
Desert Botannical Garden: Not your typical gardens. This is one of the most enjoyable places to visit. We went here in between 4 and 8--the prime time to go. This way you see the garden in sunlight, sunset, and nightfall. Every kind of cactus you can think of is on site along with some other flowers and plants. The flora and fauna is situated next to a number of small mountains (or large hills?) making it an ideal place for sexy wildlife photoshoots.
Also in the garden is an incredible art exhibit by Dale Chihuly. The artist implanted giant glass installments throughout the garden creating an incredible synergy between art and nature. At night, the pieces were illuminated. It's nice to see art in different contexts outside of galleries.
Here are some pics from the garden:
Heard Museum: The only place worth going to in downtown Phoenix. There is absolutely NOTHING to do downtown otherwise but get to Heard because its pretty amazing. The museum is a collection of historical artifacts and art from Native communities across North America. It's nice to see that there is a celebration of Native culture. This makes sense within Arizona since there are currently 22 tribes living in the state. I find modern native art to be fascinating because it has many traditional elements while containing contemporary influences as well. A temporary exhibit entitled "Mothers & Daughters" featured clay sculptures by native women and their daughters. It was deeply personal and extremely interesting. Here are some pieces from the gallery (we were allowed to take pictures without flash...exciting!)
Tea in Carefree: North of Scottsdale is a little town called Carefree. With an intersection of Ho Hum Road and Easy Street, one cannot resist the charm of this little community. The highlight of the town is the Red Rose Tearoom; a little English tearoom equipped with an eclectic collection of British memorabilia, art, tea accessories and a trunk of classy hats for those yearning for the girliest tea drinking experience possible. My family and I are chronic tea drinkers. We will search far and wide for places to have tea and scones so finding this tea room was simply mahhhhvelous.
Mystery Castle: Hands down the most incredible place in Phoenix. So there's a little bit of history surrounding this house. If you don't want to read the whole story, here's the gist of it:
The castle was built by Boyce Luther Gulley in the 1930s after finding out he had TB. He abandoned his wife and daughter Mary Lou Gulley in Seattle in order to build an elaborate estate for them in Phoenix. Most of the house is made out of scraps and recycled materials which adds to the quirkyness of the house. Each room has a distinct function and meaning infused with a bizzare sense of humour (i.e. a room with a bar with uneven floors for drunks to stumble around in equipped with a bed to pass out on and a gravestone for those who don't make it out alive). Well into her 80s, Mary Lou still lives in the house today.
Everything about this place has a story--Every pot, painting, teddy bear, and pair of jeans (a pair was given to Mary Lou by John Wayne!!).
Here are some bits and pieces of the Mystery Castle in all of its glory
Right on the Castle's doorstep is South Mountin Park where you can drive through the winding mountain roads to find the best view of the city.
Get over there!
...But not in the summer because It's unbearably hot. The coolest places are those you find on your own accord. You don't need to stick to travel guides religiously. We wouldn't have found South Mountain park otherwise AND we saw a coyote as we drove through residential areas.
And there you have it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Communications Breakdown: a response
“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.” - John M. Richardson Jr.
Speaking of The Cord, an article was published last week in the paper criticizing the Communications department at Laurier. Upon first hearing about it I was mildly upset that my dear program was being picked apart but on second thought, and after reading the article I realized that everything said was 100% true. I have always been critical of the program so in truth, those who are acting out of hand are the ones that are angered by this piece.
Today I had the chance to talk to Kim Elworthy, the author of said article and apparently she's been getting some insulting messages via Facebook by angry Comm students. The article has also been brought up by professors and students alike causing quite a stir among students on campus. Even the department head has admitted to agreeing with a lot of what Elworthy had to say. Doesn't that speak volumes about the program and the students in it?
This is my Communications department theory (CDS):
10% of students are actually interested in the content of the program,
50% of students are Business drop outs, and
40% of students would rather be at a kegger but have settled for this "bird" major.
If you delve into the course content within the department, you will find some interesting and thought provoking information yet students refuse to dig deep. Kim faces a similar predicament in class where she is / I am one of the only people who participate in class. It gets to the point where my hand is up and the Professor looks around for other willing participants. It can be pretty embarrassing but when a quarter of your grade depends on participation, you'd think the class would be more engaged.
Wake up Communications students. If you're so passionate about your major, PROVE IT.
Student Radio Update
In a previous post I discussed the sticky situation our campus radio station, Radio Laurier, was faced with. I thought I'd update you with some good news via our student newspaper, The Cord Weekly. We are officially transitioning to Student Publications, the organization on campus in charge of, well, student publications (i.e. newspaper, magazine, yearbook etc...). We can all collectively breath a sigh of relief.
For details on our transition, read this article featured in today's publication of The Cord.
You can listen to the station online here.
Glad to see all of the hard work put in by our executives and DJs payed off.
Look what you can do with a little bit of Chutzpah. :)
Springtime's for musicals
Spring Awakening: ****/*****
I don't get to see musicals very often. They are way too damn expensive for students to see on a regular basis but this past Saturday I got my semi-annual musical fix--Spring Awakening.
Awakening interestingly enough premiered off-Broadway in 2006 but it wasn't always a song and a dance. A play of the same name was written by German Playwright Frank Wedekind in 1891 but was banned for its controversial (at that time) content; think abortion, homosexuality, suicide, masturbation etc...It was only in the past decade that Wedekind's work was adapted for the Great White Way.
Since hitting the Broadway circuit, it has received critical acclaim including 8 Tony Awards and a Grammy. Pretty impressive, huh?
I went into the theatre pretty uninformed about the plot of the production. I figured it was a cheery coming of age testament to way back when but it turned out to be a lot darker than I had envisioned it. This is not me being disappointed, just me dealing with a false understanding / lack of previous knowledge/ ignorance on my part…Much like the time I watched Pan's Labyrinth thinking it was a children's film. Rude awakening, I tell you. Anyways, the darkness proved to be a nice break from the happy-go-lucky style and content of most musicals I've seen.
On a side note: Not to get all reflective but we’ve come a long way since the über orthodox ideologies of even 20-30 years ago. We still deal with many inequalities but not even a fraction of what was considered taboo in the past.
Back to Spring Awakening: The show opens with a song called "Mama who bore me"—Great opener to a fabulous musical. One of the leads, Wendla (Christy Altomare), sings of her sexual curiosity. Her only knowledge of sex is of the stork delivering babies. The catchy rock ‘n’ roll number set a good pace for the rest of the show. The guitar-based soundtrack was a nice touch. It added some edge to the emotionally charged music. I love a good rock-opera [disagree if you will, but We Will Rock You is not included on this list]. The genre is a great way of updating the musical / expanding the viewer demographic.
The cast delivered a high caliber of talent putting longer-term residents of the Yonge Street entertainment sector to shame [see previous musical mentioned]. The set was simple yet impressive; enough to captivate yet not distracting from the performance itself. There were some audience members that were seated on the stage adding to the interesting mise en scène. They also threw some plain-clothed chorus members in there too which was a cute addition.
Of course the show was not without its campiness. From a flamboyant homosexual character [avec some man on man action] to 'cheeky' song titles like "the bitch of living" and "totally fucked", it celebrated the essence of musical theatre.
Definitely would recommend seeing the show if you have any appreciation for theatre [if you don’t, what’s wrong with you?]. Splurge on this one. It’s worth sacrificing two nights of drinking for.
To buy tickets / see cast and crew info click here
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