I can't stop listening to these guys! Pretty much every single song of their's is absolutely amazing. Tonight's last call:
Strings- Young the Giant
Enjoy.
Goodnight world.
Strings- Young the Giant
Enjoy.
Goodnight world.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Last Call: Wake Up
I know it's counter-intuitive to have a song called Wake Up as a Last Call, but I absolutely adore this Arcade Fire track. Enjoy.
Good night world.
Good night world.
Farewells are (were?) in Order
I woke yesterday expecting my day to be filled with sombre quietness and undertones of parting anxiety. It was a day of farewells: to Jack Layton during his state funeral and to a very close friend, who is moving over 4000km away. I know the comparison is not quite precise, but in the pleasant chaos during the course of the day, the two seemed to run parallel.
When I arrived at Nathan Phillips Square that morning, what instantly struck me were the chalk messages written by members of the public from all walks of life and corners of the nation. The plethora of wishes and memorandums were strewn all across City Hall; covering every nook and cranny and converting the concrete into a giant colourful mural of not only text but also drawings of hearts, doves, and 'staches. It was beautifully overwhelming to see such an overt outpouring of love and affection. After so long- it seemed- apathy was no where in sight.
The size of the crowd that showed up was enormous! I'm not sure if 'enormous' even cuts it. Thousands of people poured out onto the streets and thousands more witnessed it all occurring live at home. Almost everyone had something good to say him. At a moment like that, you can't help but wonder how many people have you touched? How many people love/care about you? With everyone (old, young, rich, poor, English, French, etc.) collectively accumulating in the city centre to mourn a loss, you cannot help but admire his far reach and marvel the life he lived and the person he was. As Jack intended, most people left the funeral with a renewed sense of inspiration to help others, hope for the future, and appreciation for the present.
I have known my friend for over 10 years now. 10 years, a lot changes in that time. From barely exchanging two words to being best of friends, a lot has changed. Just as I had witnessed earlier in the day, I learnt that there is nothing like the departure of a beloved to bring people together. The night may have been ordinary, but there was nothing ordinary about the company. Spending time with such awesome people, as we left the gathering, even if we were a bit too scared to look into the future, we most definitely left with an appreciation for the present.
As the day approached culmination, it was evident that the only major difference was that one was an amazing man and the other still is. And I have no doubts that he will continue to be so for years to come.
Farewell...
When I arrived at Nathan Phillips Square that morning, what instantly struck me were the chalk messages written by members of the public from all walks of life and corners of the nation. The plethora of wishes and memorandums were strewn all across City Hall; covering every nook and cranny and converting the concrete into a giant colourful mural of not only text but also drawings of hearts, doves, and 'staches. It was beautifully overwhelming to see such an overt outpouring of love and affection. After so long- it seemed- apathy was no where in sight.
The size of the crowd that showed up was enormous! I'm not sure if 'enormous' even cuts it. Thousands of people poured out onto the streets and thousands more witnessed it all occurring live at home. Almost everyone had something good to say him. At a moment like that, you can't help but wonder how many people have you touched? How many people love/care about you? With everyone (old, young, rich, poor, English, French, etc.) collectively accumulating in the city centre to mourn a loss, you cannot help but admire his far reach and marvel the life he lived and the person he was. As Jack intended, most people left the funeral with a renewed sense of inspiration to help others, hope for the future, and appreciation for the present.
I have known my friend for over 10 years now. 10 years, a lot changes in that time. From barely exchanging two words to being best of friends, a lot has changed. Just as I had witnessed earlier in the day, I learnt that there is nothing like the departure of a beloved to bring people together. The night may have been ordinary, but there was nothing ordinary about the company. Spending time with such awesome people, as we left the gathering, even if we were a bit too scared to look into the future, we most definitely left with an appreciation for the present.
As the day approached culmination, it was evident that the only major difference was that one was an amazing man and the other still is. And I have no doubts that he will continue to be so for years to come.
Farewell...
Monday, August 22, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Last Call: Antissa
Tonight's last call:
Antissa- Es Posthumus
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Good night world.
Antissa- Es Posthumus
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Good night world.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Last Call: Where I Can't Follow
Amy Kuney started off her career on Youtube, and from there, she's now signed to a record label, released 2 albums, had her song featured on One Tree Hill, and even contributed a song to an album produced by Sophia Bush (star of One Tree Hill) to raise proceeds to help out individuals affected by the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. She has such an amazing voice; sort of reminiscent of a mix of Adele, Joss Stone, and Fiona Apple. Tonight's last call is the first single off her new album, Onyx.
Amy Kuney- Where I Can't Follow
Enjoy.
Goodnight world.
Amy Kuney- Where I Can't Follow
Enjoy.
Goodnight world.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Last Call: Young Cardinals
I'm much too tired to write much about them is that for 10 years they have been awesome and today they split. With the title track off possibly their last full-length EP, today's last call is Young Cardinals - Alexisonfire. I absolutely adore the video!
Goodnight world.
Goodnight world.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Last Call: Welcome
I couldn't stop listening to this song all day today! Short-listed for the Polaris prize two years in a row, I think Hey Rosetta! is absolutely brilliant. Did I mention they're our very own home grown pride? Pretty much all their songs are amazing, but tonight's last call is Welcome. Enjoy!
Goodnight world.
Goodnight world.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Top Three Underrated Feelings In Our Society
Hey there,
Being a human involves our ability to feel. Feelings help us consciously realize how our body's feeling towards a particular situation and helps us make decisions. We can't control how we feel but we are all parts of groups that amongst other things tell us what's okay to feel, and what's not. Example: our workplaces tell us it's okay to feel competitive but not horny (sexual harassment classes, etc). What I want to share with you today are 3 feelings our society makes us believe are not "okay" You ready? Let's go.
3. Fear: You've heard it before: "don't be afraid", "the only thing to fear is fear itself" and other cliches.Fear takes many other shapes than "feeling-scared-ness", fear is also denial, insecurities, nightmares, stress and anxiety on some level. Writing this I can't help but feel like we are pretty much afraid most of our day. Sounds scary? Well, feel it. And I do hope sooner or later you realize that fear is a part of us.
My saying is simple "don't be afraid to be afraid". Feeling truly afraid allows us a glimpse into our unconsciousness and helps us discover new things, figure out new ways to deal with old things, draw, write, paint, love, and more.
It's a sucky feeling yes, and you know what else? It's underrated.
2. Gratitude: It's not that our society tells us it's not okay to feel grateful, it's that it doesn't even mention this one. If I hadn't spent much of my teenage years around recovering addicts, marginalized youth and yoga enthusiasts, I wouldn't even have known what this feeling really meant. It's one of my firm convictions these days that hte difference between a good life and a great life is acknowledging when we feel this.No one can tell you how or where or what to feel grateful for, that's all up to you.
This is probably my favourite feeling. To feel grateful is to understand that I have it better than I could have had. Boy, what a realization that is. You can't help but start thinking about faith, the people you love, how good it feels to really be alive, ah.
One related observation I've made is that there is a genuine difference between not taking things for granted and feeling grateful. As always, I don't like spelling everything out for the readers but I encourage you to try to figure out what I mean by this.
1. Wrong: Feeling wrong is probably the hardest one to feel even on a deep unconscious level, it's no wonder our society doesn't promote this one. We all hate being wrong on some level. To acknowledge feeling wrong is to voluntarily take an ego-bruising. It's to recant and admit someone else knows something more than I. Many of us would rather go to the jail, commit crimes, lie, cheat, steal ... than admit that we are ... simply put... wrong. Feeling wrong in our choices reminds us of math classes from elementary school where we tried our hardest but damnit, we got a 0. We are not good enough, etc etc. That's the perspective many of us walk with unknowingly everyday.
But feeling wrong is to open the flood gates of unlearning and learning. Admitting our mistakes means feeling regret, shame or embarrassment, but it also means chance to do something truly right. It means listening to someone. It means to accept humility. This post is already long or else I'd elaborate on how many companies and health care systems have found the way to eliminate errors is to encourage their employees to start admitting when they did wrong (ie. made mistakes in their professional life) You want to know why science gets things right so often? It admits when it gets things wrong too.
Whether you like it or not, you are going to be or do wrong in the future, often times. Try to feel it, it's gonna suck, but it's really going to make a difference in your life, in your perspective of yourself and others.
Tell me if you think I am wrong, I'll be grateful for it,
Romil
Being a human involves our ability to feel. Feelings help us consciously realize how our body's feeling towards a particular situation and helps us make decisions. We can't control how we feel but we are all parts of groups that amongst other things tell us what's okay to feel, and what's not. Example: our workplaces tell us it's okay to feel competitive but not horny (sexual harassment classes, etc). What I want to share with you today are 3 feelings our society makes us believe are not "okay" You ready? Let's go.
3. Fear: You've heard it before: "don't be afraid", "the only thing to fear is fear itself" and other cliches.Fear takes many other shapes than "feeling-scared-ness", fear is also denial, insecurities, nightmares, stress and anxiety on some level. Writing this I can't help but feel like we are pretty much afraid most of our day. Sounds scary? Well, feel it. And I do hope sooner or later you realize that fear is a part of us.
My saying is simple "don't be afraid to be afraid". Feeling truly afraid allows us a glimpse into our unconsciousness and helps us discover new things, figure out new ways to deal with old things, draw, write, paint, love, and more.
It's a sucky feeling yes, and you know what else? It's underrated.
2. Gratitude: It's not that our society tells us it's not okay to feel grateful, it's that it doesn't even mention this one. If I hadn't spent much of my teenage years around recovering addicts, marginalized youth and yoga enthusiasts, I wouldn't even have known what this feeling really meant. It's one of my firm convictions these days that hte difference between a good life and a great life is acknowledging when we feel this.No one can tell you how or where or what to feel grateful for, that's all up to you.
This is probably my favourite feeling. To feel grateful is to understand that I have it better than I could have had. Boy, what a realization that is. You can't help but start thinking about faith, the people you love, how good it feels to really be alive, ah.
One related observation I've made is that there is a genuine difference between not taking things for granted and feeling grateful. As always, I don't like spelling everything out for the readers but I encourage you to try to figure out what I mean by this.
1. Wrong: Feeling wrong is probably the hardest one to feel even on a deep unconscious level, it's no wonder our society doesn't promote this one. We all hate being wrong on some level. To acknowledge feeling wrong is to voluntarily take an ego-bruising. It's to recant and admit someone else knows something more than I. Many of us would rather go to the jail, commit crimes, lie, cheat, steal ... than admit that we are ... simply put... wrong. Feeling wrong in our choices reminds us of math classes from elementary school where we tried our hardest but damnit, we got a 0. We are not good enough, etc etc. That's the perspective many of us walk with unknowingly everyday.
But feeling wrong is to open the flood gates of unlearning and learning. Admitting our mistakes means feeling regret, shame or embarrassment, but it also means chance to do something truly right. It means listening to someone. It means to accept humility. This post is already long or else I'd elaborate on how many companies and health care systems have found the way to eliminate errors is to encourage their employees to start admitting when they did wrong (ie. made mistakes in their professional life) You want to know why science gets things right so often? It admits when it gets things wrong too.
Whether you like it or not, you are going to be or do wrong in the future, often times. Try to feel it, it's gonna suck, but it's really going to make a difference in your life, in your perspective of yourself and others.
Tell me if you think I am wrong, I'll be grateful for it,
Romil
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