Archive for August, 2007

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

People Who Sit At Starbucks and Publicly Write on Their Laptops

Aug
06
2007

Starbucks LogoI live in part of Toronto where there are approximately 20 Starbucks locations within a 5km radius — 7 of which are in a short walking distance of each other. It’s that type of situation where you’ll ask someone to meet you for coffee at the local Starbucks, and after giving them the major intersection they say, “Which one?”

Independently-owned cafes are becoming harder to come by as more and more Starbucks keep popping up in urban areas like dandelions. Don’t get me wrong, I love their Double-Chocolate-Chip Frappuchino® with whipped cream, but I’m not one to shell out $5 everytime I have a craving for it (it contains over 400 calories after all).

The Starbucks boom of recent years has mind boggled me, somewhat. Especially when I know people who purchase $3-5 coffee drinks there every day, even multiple times a day. That’s almost equal to one semester of college tuition! I seriously think that Starbucks might be spiking their drinks with “Starbucks Caffine” to keep customers buying their beverages.

Now to the main question of my post: Why to people go to Starbucks by themselves and just sit there with their laptops and a 1/2 empty cup of coffee? Sometimes they end up paying a lot for wireless service for Internet connection. Why not just sit in the privacy of their own home to work on whatever it is they’re working on? The question makes sense, especially if the people of this “Starbucks-laptop” culture have the nerve to complain about the noise that kids from a family that’s just entered the cafe might be making, or when someone trips over and unplugs the extension chord to their laptop.

It seems that I’m not the only one who has wondered about this trend. A repeat episode of Family Guy had me laughing, because there was so much truth in it:

YouTube Preview Image

If I feel the need to go out and people-watch, or hope that some hot guy will notice me typing on my (non-existent) laptop and strike up a conversation… then yes, I would go to Starbucks for that sole purpose. But I rather a nice, cost-efficient Iced Cap and Honey Cruller from Tim Hortons to go.

Posted in Rants & Raves | 3 Comments »

I Feel Like Inline Skating Today

Aug
05
2007

So I bought a pair of Nike N-Dorfin 6 inline skates at Canadian Tire back in early June.  Why is it that only today, I’m taking it out of the box with the intention of actually using them?  Yes, it was one of my impulse buys… but I wouldn’t deem it as an unecessary purchase (although I waited until the end of summer to use them), because they’re a good investiment… especially if I want to keep fit.

They only cost me about $119 on sale.  They’re really comfy and seem very durable.  Now all I gotta do is actually wear them outside.   Mind you I haven’t used inline skates since I was a kid, and I’m more used to skating on ice… I had no idea that there was only one brake pad on a pair of skates!  Now I’m afraid to go outside and use them!

I have wrist guards, but it looks like I may need to invest in more protective gear.  :)

Posted in Random | 1 Comment »

The Boondocks Season 2 Preview

Aug
05
2007

All I’ve got to say is it’s about time.  According to the grapevine, 20 new episodes of Aaron McGruder’s show, The Boondocks, is slated to start airing this Fall.

This hit cartoon series, stemmed from the popular satiric comic strip of the same name, was Adult Swim‘s highest-ranked series premiere, when the show debuted in Fall 2005.  This is a lot more than just a cartoon series based around Black characters… it’s show that goes much more deeper than that.  It used humour as a tool to speak on social issues and expose the irony that exists in it.  Nothing is sugar-coated in hopes of being real (including the use of the N-word on the show).  Hopefully viewers understand this a look a little further under the surface to see what smart writing exists and understand what points are being made.

If you haven’t watched an episode of The Boondocks as yet, here’s the premise:

When Robert “Granddad” Freeman becomes the legal guardian of his rambunctious grandkids, he moves the family from the south side of Chicago to the quiet and safety of “The Boondocks” — aka suburban Woodcrest — in hopes that he can ignore the kids altogether and enjoy the fourth quarter of his life in peace.  But neither Huey, a ten-year-old leftist revolutionary, nor his eight-year-old misfit brother, Riley, are thrilled aobut he new environment.  Although the boys torture each other and provoke the neighbourhood, they are sill no match for Granddad, who is eccentric even by “crazy-ass-old-black-man” standards.

Here’s a clip from some scenes from the much-anticipated season 2:

YouTube Preview Image

Tags:
Posted in Television | No Comments »

Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

Aug
05
2007

The Bourne Ultimatum - Photo from bourneultimatum.comIt’s very rarely that I’ll watch a sequel and say, “Wow… now that was a great sequel”. Okay, I don’t actually say that, but The Bourne Ultimatum certainly lived up to, if not surpassed, the success of it’s predecessors.

The film follows amnesiac Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), who is struggling to fit together the pieces of his violent missing past, as well as stay one step ahead of the agency that wants him terminated. Now I never pegged Matt Damon as the action type, but after the Bourne Identity he’s proven to audiences that he’s a well rounded actor. The film is complemented with strong performances by David Strathairn, Joan Allen and even Julia Stiles.

Not only is the acting superb, but the cinematography is well-executed. The camera-work actually makes you feel like your there on the run with Bourne, and the scenes of the many international locals adds to the rush.

The action sequences will have you hooked with excitement. If you stick around for the end credits you’ll realize how much choreography and stunt-work actually went into making this film one filled with incredible chase sequences and fight scenes. The amount of international stunt people involved is probably 6x the amount of the actual cast.

If you enjoyed the first two Bourne flicks, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. It leaves the trilogy with a sense of closure, yet open-endedness that will leave the audience wondering if another successor will rise to the surface.

Tags: ,
Posted in Movies | No Comments »

40th Caribana Festival

Aug
04
2007

There will be no jumping up for me today at Toronto’s 40th annual Caribana Festival. I spent most of my day cleaning up my apartment. :( Right now my little sister is using my place as her own personal hair salon.

The party is probably still going on, and it’s a great day weather-wise for it, but Caribana just isn’t like it’s used to be in my opinion. Even though the wonderful Carribean music, delicious food and multicultural crowds are still there, Caribana has been marred in recent years with negative stereotypes. Caribanshouldn’t be viewed as some type of Mardi Gras festival with men filming women degradingly, or a place to be wary of possible gunfire.

Caribana has to be more than just a parade. More history and culture needs to be reflected on, especially by the youth. More than likely, I’ll probably end up going next year. I may even reach Caribana Village tomorrow (the event that normally took place on Olympic Island) at Ontario Place.

Aside from the actual parade going on today, Harbourfront is also hosting their Island Soul Festival this weekend (until Monday) as part of their World Routes event. There’ll be a reggae & dancehall dance showcase, tons of ethic food, and several concerts including Jamaica’s dubbed #1 reggae singer, Barrington Levy, performing with his band on Sunday night. Visit the Harbourfront website for more info.

Posted in Events, Festivals | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »