[2015] reflection

Well. 2015 is coming to a close, so what better – albeit cliche – way to end the year than to reflect upon it. Based on a general outlook on the year, I think this has been one of my most progressive years yet. For those curious, bored, or are here for God knows why, 2015 brought the following achievements:

  • Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
  • Found a job I am enjoying (shoutout #PBC)
  • Successfully purchased my first car, all on my own
  • Began learning to appreciate where I am
  • Signed up for courses at Sheridan (Continuing & Professional Education)
  • Began venturing out of comfort zone one step at a time

2015 was also a year for festivals. I said yes to attending more, and feel this was a great decision; experiences definitely add value to one’s life. Some events worth noting:

I also have to touch upon the books of 2015. Oh reading, you are simply the best thing in life. Although not nearly enough books I desired to finish, I will accept 18. (more like 17.5, but let’s go with 18). Favourite reads were Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, The Girl on the Train and of course my pal Dean Koontz (finished many Odd Thomas books). Dirty Wars was by far the biggest task but most rewarding read.

BooksRead2015I’m hoping 2016 follows a similar path. I will not jot down resolutions for 2016 as I feel that this is something that can be started on any day… I will however have a general attitude towards the year: That it will be another year of transformation.

Cheers 2015. You’re one for the books.

 

Product Placement: An Opportunity for Canadianism

While capitalism continues to exist, audiences will find themselves subject to an increase in product placement, as it is an effective practice for television and movie industries to fund their projects. This paper will analyze product placement specifically in the Canadian television industry because there is little funding available for Canadian producers, hence why product placement is a better alternative in order to generate Canadian content for its citizens. Since product placement will not disappear in the near future, it is important in how it is interwoven into television and movies, so that users are not irritated by the images. To illustrate branding in television, two shows will be considered and the ways in which they address product placement by their use of overt “product integration.” Product integration takes product placement a step further by actually merging the brand into the story, where the product becomes separate from the background (Wenner 113). The first show that will be analyzed is Being Erica, which was unsuccessful at integrating the Ford Focus into one of their episodes which led to its decrease in weekly viewership. Contrasting that, Corner Gas has been successful at integrating products into each of their episodes since an environment was created that made it possible. Therefore, Being Erica and Corner Gas will demonstrate the need for product placement in Canadian television to ensure that there is subsidizing available to keep these shows on the air, as well as identify when product placement is effective and when it is not. Continue reading →

Wednesday Listens E23

So I may not have posted music last week… but I have a great lineup for you today.

Oh hey Neighbourhood. Glad you are back with a solid album. The verses alone had me.

Miike Snow is starting the month off great with this track. Super catchy base – as always – with some clever (albeit controlling) lyrics.

I absolute adore this album from The Wombats. This song, plus “Greek Tragedy” are my favourite. It’s something from the pure emotion that gets me.

Wednesday Listens E22

Coldplay is back with a strong single. Love the groove to this song, lyrics are on point, and the beat is sick.

If this doesn’t get you dancing, then you have no joy in your life. Saint Motel are a hidden gem, can’t wait to see big things happen for these guys!

Driving home to this song is powerful. Seriously, try it.

Wednesday Listens E21

People that don’t think rap is music, need to reevaluate their life choices. I sure can’t carry on a rhythm and come off as cool as these people. Maybe you just aren’t listening to the right people?

This mixtape is for FREE here.

Childish Gambino’s lyrics can get pretty vulgar, butttt doesn’t stop me from listening to his amazing skills. Donald Glover is just so cool, who wouldn’t want to be his bff?

Love the sampling used in this single, and the whole song is just too catchy. Favourite verse: “Make yourself like k-fed and let yourself go”

 

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lastepisode

We made it to the finale, and oh boy were we left with questions. fsociety initiated their big hack, and it most certainly left people in trouble. Of course, the masses were happy because now they were living debt free… but for big corporations, they are now in deep shit.

Overall, this was a good opening season for Mr. Robot. Some episodes were super crazy with lots of information to process. There were many twists that I did not see coming, but there were also some parts in the series that were not so surprising (like Mr. Robot being a figment of his imagination).

It will be nice to see where they go with season two, as the audience is of course left on a cliffhanger.

It you are looking for an offbeat, smart show to bingewatch, Mr. Robot is the show for you.

All my reviews can be found under this tag.

Wednesday Listens: twenty one pilots [Case Study]

Wednesday Listens will be taking a detour in the form of a case study of twenty one pilots.

Can you tell that I love music? My tastes range anywhere from rap to classical. What draws me to particular musicians? Well, I’m attracted to raw talent, powerful beats, and strong vocal range. I have recently come across twenty one pilots and my god, is their music important.

twentyonepilotsLyrics are a biggie with music. Most of Top40 is simplified lyrics so that it can apply to a wide mass of people. It’s those niche bands that concentrate on certain aspects we should all be paying attention to. Just sitting their listening to their sounds, you often will get goosebumps. This is twenty one pilots. They can go from piano, to techno, then from rap to ukulele all in a matter of a few songs. And they play each genre so well, and the songs still somehow flow? After spending the last week listening to many of their songs, I’ve come to realize that they focus on recovering from mental health issues. I feel this is so important to put out there, as music is a way people deal with their emotions.

Look back at certain situations that you went through in your life. Was their not a song that you played endlessly to get through it? And when you revisit these songs, you think about how far you’ve come.

“Holding on to You” deals with overcoming depression. An important song to put forth, as society does not know how to handle mental health. Look at it this way: When there’s a physical injury, we know that we should go to the doctor, it’s treatable, and you will have something tangible to fix the injury. Mental health on the other hand, cannot be seen physically, therefore people become uneasy when discussing it. It’s seen as something taboo, which should not be the case.

I’m taking over my body, back in control, no more shotty / I bet a lot of me was lost, Ts uncrossed and Is undotted / I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got

As you can tell from the title of the song “Stressed Out” deals with the society that we live in. It discusses the sad realization of the differences between when we were younger, to now being “real adults.” When we were younger, we were told to dream. But, when we finally become older we are told to “wake up, you need to make money.” I’m just going to let that sit there.

I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink/
But now I’m insecure and I care what people think.

Just listen to this song. It makes the listener feel that it’s okay they have the same thoughts. They hear someone going through it as well, and will listen because someone can put it into words.

Scared of my own image, scared of my own immaturity,
Scared of my own ceiling, scared I’ll die of uncertainty,
Fear might be the death of me, fear leads to anxiety,
Don’t know what’s inside of me.

Master of None

So as any good person would do, I binged watched Master of None this weekend. I felt that Master of None was a great summary of Modern Romance, and featured many of the same topics in the book.

Master of None follows Dev (played by Aziz Ansari) living his 30s in New York City. The title of this show does a good job to speak about how most will feel about life. “Master of None,” we don’t really know what we are doing while living. We make our way through life trying our best to survive what comes at us.

This show dealt with many topics that I feel are avoided in mainstream television. We look at relationships – AND ACTUAL relationships – what the protocol is about messaging, dating, etc. Feminism is another topic covered, this episode was well written and did an excellent job comparing the lives between men and women living. Aziz Ansari has commented before that he is a feminist with help from his current girlfriend. Race is also addressed and is the main subject for one of the episodes. Other episodes deal with relationships with parents, seniors, food, etc.

Overall this series is refreshing! I enjoyed many of the jokes, LOVED the shoutout to Cumberbatch, and just feel it has a realistic take on living.

cumberbatch

Now Netflix, doooo we actually have to wait a year for season 2?

Wednesday Listens E19

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This is what it is.

Andrew Belle. Your lyrics are magically, and let me space out. Thank you kind sir. Your voice is so soothing.

May come off as a pretentious band, but I like their sounds. Their new single “Love Me” is also a good song to check out. It’s 1975 meeting the 80s.

Bloc Party will always have a place in my heart and playlist. They are without a doubt, a great band. Sad to see changes to who’s in the band currently, but I’m sure they’ll come out with new great stuff. Intimacy is one of my favourite albums. Each song flows into the next, and Kele Okereke has a great voice.

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More spoilers in this review. I suggest watching this amazing series before proceeding.

mrrobotmirroringehhohhhhh calllled this from the beginning! Total Fight Club moment with Mr. Robot. Now, it was a big surprise when they dropped the whole “this is your dad” moment on us last episode at the last minute. This episode takes that major revelation, and runs with it. We learn that Elliot is not in a great frame of mind, and has had episodes like this before.

This particular episode deals with Darlene and Angela trying to find Elliot, after he obviously runs away. They finally discover him talking to himself at his father’s gravestone, moments after Elliot’s father tells him that they will only try to take him (Elliot’s dad) away from him (Elliot) again.

Everything is leading up the season finale. We are unsure just how long Elliot has been planning fsociety’s big plan to make everyone debt free.

On the other hand, Tyrell’s life is one big mess. His wife – fortunately – delivered the baby okay, but has decided she will be leaving Tyrell if he does not get things back in order. Tyrell has just been fired from E Corp, and the detectives are still on his case (rightfully so, as he did in fact kill her).

What a mess.