TED talks

Someone had mentioned TED Talks to me this past weekend, and I had to check it out to remind myself that I had indeed watched a talk before.
And yeah - they're good.
I've been watching a couple talks over the past couple of days and while they all have a nice take home message, some have been more moving than others.
Two that stood out so far are "Benjamin Zander on music and passion" where I outright laughed at his deceptive cadence comment (I think I'm guilty of doing it too) and "Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight".
I'm looking forward to watching some more talks and am in awe, of course not only of their message, but of many of the speaker's public speaking capabilities. This is something that I'm trying to improve upon.
Anyway, I'm enjoying listening to the talks and am happy to have yet another outlet for procrastination.
It's a shame Randy Pausch didn't have a chance to speak.

Market strategy for recessionary times

In order to curb my enthusiasm at the market, I've devised a plan. I've got a $20 bill to spend and that's it.
Makes it easier on so many fronts. No need to constantly be fishing around for my wallet. I know that I'm not going to overspend. I know that I'm going to get the stuff that I want the most. I know that I'm not going to get more stuff than my shopping bag can carry.
It's only been one week so far, but I figure it'll actually help me save money because I'm not swift enough to spend exactly $20 so I'll always be under budget.

Pretty

I really like living close to the water. I like it even more that I can kinda see the water from my place.
People who have been living in the city nonstop may guffaw at all of the waterfront renos that they say are going to happen, but in my short time living in the city, I'm happy with what I see and I do see changes taking place.
Today, the Simcoe Wave Deck was opened up, and it is nice to look at. I don't know if a wavy deck was necessary, but I appreciate the effort. And as my post title suggests, it is pretty.
I am, however, looking forward to seeing rollerbladers, skateboarders and bikers tear up the space and do amazing things.

It worked out

So I had the intention of buying some jewelery, but ended up getting ice cream instead.
So I guess it's official, my ice cream season for the year has begun!
I really was hoping to pick up a necklace from SOOS, but nothing was calling out to me.
Instead, I went to The Big Chill. I was trying to diversify, so what else is out there, but I'm sorry, my heart still belongs to Greg's. I tried the ginger ice cream at The Big Chill, and although it did taste right, it didn't blow me away like Greg's does. I was told to try the pomegranate ice, but unfortunately, I think it was one of the worst things that I've tried. I ended up getting Polar Bear Paws which was some sort of mix of white chocolate, dark chocolate, truffles and raspberry and I was quite happy with it. Did it inspire me? Not really, but it was okay.
Next time - Greg's.

Chasing Harry Winston

Chasing Harry Winston, by Lauren Weisberger

Obviously, another piece of chic-lit, but you know what? I didn't like this one too much.
You expect these kinds of books to leave you with generic endings where everything works out perfectly and I'm not trying to ruin the ending for anyone, but I just didn't like how it finished.
I was happy, along the way, with how the book was progressing, but it was just that ending that I thought was a little bland.
This book had both the fashion and love components to it.
Anyway, it's an okay book. Another quick and easy read, but it should not be on a chic-lit reader's "must read" list.

- picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca

Something Borrowed

Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin

This book is you generic chic-lit book. It was perfect to pass the time. Wonderful, mindless reading.
Not a lot of stress on the fashion side of chic-lit, this one was all about love.
Even though, you know that these types of books will have a predictable ending, as I was reading this one, I seriously wasn't sure how it would end up.
For chic-lit, it was pretty good. I would sum it up as being a good, sit in the sun and relax on a weekend kind of reading.
What more can you say about chic-lit?

- picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca

A Complicated Kindness

A Complicated Kindness, by Miriam Toews

This book won a bunch of awards, but I don't really get it. I think that may have something to do with the fact that I look a really long break from the book halfway through, so I kind of forgot what was going on, but I'm not really sure I get the point of the novel.
It seems to be about a Mennonite girl and we get a glimpse into how she perceives the world and the story makes you question your perceptions of their culture. At least, that's my take on it.
From that point of view, it's kind interesting, because it really did show a different story to what my stereotype of their culture to be, but the book just didn't seem finished to me and that's probably why I'm left wondering if I missed something.
It seemed to be quite an easy read (which is always a good thing for me) and I suppose I enjoyed the fact that it made me reconsider what I know about Mennonites and their lifestyle.
The book left me indifferent. I'm glad I read it, and I'd recommend it to other people, but I'm obviously not passionate about it.

- picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca

Since I don't like to read...

I like this photostream. It gives me a vague sense of what's going on in the world as I'm not too good at reading newspapers and such (although, I have to say that I've kind of been following what's happening with Air France's flight 447).

Finally cracked it open

I finally started writing in my book.
This is the book that I wrote about here, here and here. I tend to make a big deal about silly things.
I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do it, but I took the plunge and started writing some lists.
I was happy with the way that my chosen pen was writing on the page. It's a perfect size and it does the job I want it to do. Black as black is supposed to be, inky and stuff.
And then I turned the page to start my next list.
My pen bleeds. Crap. I've left the pages in for the moment, but I might be tearing them out once everything gets settled.
So now, I've turned to a crappier black pen that definitely won't bleed through pages, but doesn't write as well. And it's too long for my book.
I'm not too sure what's next.

Gack!

I didn't realize that Art and Sole – Customized Keds by 24 Canadian Artists and Designers was an exhibit, or else I would have gone to see it. For some reason I just thought that it was a one night event.
Blerg. I would have liked to see what all of the different artists did with the Keds.
I'm bummed.

LuminaTO 2009

Another festival is here!
Luckily, the great weather is here (to stay?!?) and I'm sure the festival will be just wonderful.
The events that I've already penciled into my book are:
- 1,000 Tastes of Toronto
- A Thrilling Ride Through KOOZA
- Cirque du Soleil Finale Performance
- RedBall Project Toronto

Today at the market...

Okay okay, it's true. The market is much better the earlier you go. Sure, you can't get ridiculous deals ("Here! Take all of the carrots I have left for $2!"), but there's a lot more choice and all of the vendors are still there.
What did I buy today, you ask? Let's see:
- asparagus
- broccoli
- brussels sprouts
- lettuce (not arugula - frowny face)
- sweet potatoes
- sweet potato cookies
- Swiss muesli and raisin bread
I shared a candied apple, and I think it was the first time that I've ever had one. Let's just say, it might not be the last...uh oh.
The market was wonderful as always...strawberry season is coming. I think I'm going to make plans to go picking. As much as I love the market, picking fruit is always a fun outing.

Worldwide Short Film Festival

I've never attended the Worldwide Short Film Festival, nor do I know much about it, but I'm considering going to one of the screenings of this programme. I'd assume that it won't sell out? I'll have to make a mental note to remember to look into it closer to the date.

SYTYCD Season 5

OMG, I'm having mini heart-attacks in front of my youtube screen. I can't even begin to...eeeeeeeeeeee! And West Side Story during Vegas week? Aaaaaaaaaah! I'm never going to school. This is crazy. I have to leave now or else I will die! Stop the madness!

Lovely

I smiled through the entire read.