LISTEN UP!

Though there's lots to see and do in the city, you may not want to spend 30 degree days in smog and traffic. So, why not road trip? We'll be posting stuff from our adventures in the Great White North this summer so keep in touch for updates. In the meantime, we've already found our second favorite road trip song! A little ditty by Peter, Bjorn and John called 'Young Folks'. Check it out!

IT'S FESTIVAL SEASON IN TORONTO!

So, we've been a tad delinquent on the blog, but we're having a busy summer! For those of you who might be in Toronto over the next ten days, do check out the city's first Luminato Festival of Arts and Creativity which features events from the worlds of dance, film, literature, music and visual in the form of installations all over the city.

I was downtown yesterday and whizzed by the R.O.M.'s opening of the Micheal Lee Chin crystal which was in full concert swing, Yorkville's Summer of Love for all you Bohemians out there and the very packed Muhtadi International Drumming Festival. Though the city was a very balmy 32 degrees, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the city was buzzing with activity.

The festival continues on through to June 10th so check it out! For more info you can visit:
Luminato.com.

FORM & FUNCTION

Dutch designer Frederik Roijé uses his imagination to transform everyday home necessities into chic interior pieces of art. Featured first is his collection Firefly, a series of lamps created out Roijé's fascination with the lightbulb. We are invited to create our own swarm of fireflies using the variety of shapes and sizes of lamps and bulbs.

Next is the designer's collection Storylines, which double as functional for storage and a highlight to a vacant wall space. A beautiful way to showcase and store items that might otherwise just cause clutter on living room tables and heavy wooden display shelves.

I WANT MY MONEY!

If you haven't seen Will Ferrell's comedy sketch Landlord, check it out. It's hilarious.

WHAT TO SURPRISE YOUR FAMILY WITH...AFTER YOU DIE.

Hmmm, gifts. So many choices, so difficult to decide. Friends, you don't have to worry anymore. Here's the gift that keeps on giving even after you're dead! Imagine a family member receiving a pencil from you post mortem, but not just any pencil, this one was actually part of you. Indeed, the pencil pictured above was made from the carbon of human cremains. Did you know you can make 240 pencils from the ash of one cremated body? Who needs inheritance when you can give pencils?

GO OUTSIDE!

I don't know what you've done today, but chances are the sun is now shining in your neck of the woods and if you're still in the house, YOU'RE A LOSER! Get out and do something! Take in some vitamin D instead of staring endlessly into the lonely, dark, depths of your passive aggressive monitor. Spring is here people! Find a patio, a beer and enjoy it!

BLACK POWER! I MEAN POWER TO THE PEOPLE! I MEAN...OH JUST FORGET IT.

Recently, radio DJ Don Imus found himself in hot water and jobless when he referred to the Black female members of the Rutgers Basketball team as 'nappy headed hos'. Imus was taken to task by the Black community with activists like the Reverand Al Sharpton (pictured with Imus above) spearheading the campaign. Now, in a very expected twist, the tables have turned and the debate rages on against the Black community with Whites asking, 'Why can't we use those terms to describe Blacks, if they use those terms to describe themselves in their rap videos?'

I think Whites have a point and by the way, I'm Black.

Unfortunately, many rap musicians feel that the words 'bitch' and 'ho' should be used in their music to describe Black women, citing that the usage of those words give authenticity and street cred to their message. This, in my opinion, is utterly ridiculous. It is possible to make rap music, without derogatory terminology, that still tells an authentic story. The fact is that if young Black males choose to describe young Black females this way, why wouldn't other cultures feel they have the right to do the same? Doesn't America stand for freedom of speech?

Rappers do argue that record deals are made and broken by White record executives who urge them to be 'more black' by using half naked women and crass terminology to describe those women, but pressure aside, if the Black rap community stood together and firmly refused to use those terms, the establishment would have no choice, but to make some changes. Also, there are many Black musicians who choose to do just that and send out a positive message and image about their community to the world, the problem is they do not receive the same airplay and marketing dollars as their down and dirty counterparts.

In the end I believe not only are the rappers and the executives to blame, but so are we. Gone is the era when Black music was made with respect and tact, that goes for most music actually. I'm not trying to be old fashioned, but just listen to the radio. Most of the artists are not genuinely talented, they are a product of studio sound equipment and lackluster producers who just want the next big hit. They keeping banging out sub par material and for some reason we just keep buying into it.

Here's my advice:

Black rappers, shape up. Black women are not fodder for misogyny and making them into big booty caricatures of themselves does not further any cause except ridicule. Get a bloody backbone and shut pushy execs down by standing together.

White execs, get a life, being Black doesn't mean bling, booty and bangin' rims. Your negative stereotyping may earn you dollars, but it destroys the image of a race to itself and the world. Slavery is over, don't use rap to revive it.

We the public, stop buying into bad music! You're only encouraging the music industry to make more of it! Take an active stand like the ladies of Spellman College in Atlanta, Georgia who protested the scheduled concert of the rapper Nelly at their institution because of his less than complimentary portrayal of women in his videos. The concert was cancelled and sent a message to Nelly that not every woman wants to 'take off all [her] clothes' for him, no matter how hot it gets. As consumers and listeners we do have a lot of power and a lot more taste than the music industry gives us credit for.

WE ARE ALL A GAPING VOID...SOMETIMES

Hugh MacLeod, cartoonist and marketer wrote one of the best rants ever written on how to be creative. A tongue in cheek look at the struggles all creatives go through and 31 ways to prevent utter creative decimation. Click here to soak up the brilliance.