York Student Blogs

On February 2nd, the long awaited return of LOST season 6 is finally here. After waiting for almost a year since its season 5 finale, the cast of LOST is ready to come back to the island and finally solve all its mysteries and make things right. It is their destiny.

Over the past 5 seasons, we have travelled through the struggles and journeys of all of the different survivors from the plane crash on September 24 2004. This plane crash was the first thing which led to the unexplainable events which occurred on this island.

Make sure that you tune in to watch the final season of LOST on ABC on Tuesday February 2nd, 2010 at 8/7c. I included the trailer for this new season.

Braces are every kid’s worst nightmare, but today I am getting my bottom braces off!  About a month ago I walked into the orthodontist expecting to have a normal check up, and all of a sudden my orthodontist told me that I was ready to get my top braces off!  I was so excited that I screamed and ran out of the dentist chair to go tell my mom.  The whole experience of getting the braces ripped from your teeth is pretty uncomfortable, but in the end it’s totally worth it.  So in about an hour I am going to get my bottom braces off! I am so excited to finally be fully brace less!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking bad. Real bad. There may only be one other franchise in a worst position, the Edmonton Oilers. Brian Burke’s massive ego still hopes that the leafs will make the playoffs. Maybe if he wasn’t so focused with the US Olympic Men’s hockey team, he could make a couple trades to help us out. Our coaching has been questionable too – Oh what a coincidence, Ron Wilson is also working for that US hockey team. Our organization needs to have management and coaching completely devoted to the blue and white – rather than the red, white and blue.

Brian Burke has already saddened multiple Kovalchuk hopefuls in Toronto by stating that the soon to be UFA’s price tag is too hefty for the leafs. Players such as Alexei Ponikarovsky  and Matt Stajan have expiring contracts at the end of this season, and should be dealt at the deadline. Vesa Toskala is a UFA, and Jonas Gustavsson will be a RFA. He seems to want to return, and we seem to want to keep him, but one has to think that Burke wants a real, bonafide starter in goal. Curtis Joseph turned the Leafs into instant contenders back when he first joined the team (not the second time). Thomas Vokoun, who reportedly the Florida Panthers are shopping around, would bring in a veteran presence proven to be solid. As well, he is a “manageable” 5.7 million dollar cap hit next season.

Phil Kessel, our most recent savior, had about 31 point in 42 games this season, on pace for 51 in 70. That is not enough for a team with very little other scoring.

Kaberle, our biggest asset come deadline day, has already been told by Burke that his no-trade clause would not asked to be waived. If he is traded, he would make for a nice return of draft picks and prospects, possibly making up for the future lost with Phil Kessel – which may possibly go down as one of the worst trades of the decade, depending on Phil’s continued development.

What would you do if a 150 year oil-painting got destroyed. 

In April of 2009, 250 works of Pablo Picasso got displayed at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.  One of Picasso’s  oil paintings called “The Actor” measures 115cm by 200cm and worth $130-million.  Last week this painting was the victim to a clumsy art student.  As the student was going through the gallery he/she accidently stumbled into the painting and tore a 6 inch gash into the painting.

Many are wondering how can you fix a one of a kind Picasso.  Well it is not easy.  Art experts have come together to discuss how the painting can be fixed.  If the painting is to be fixed there are many difficult steps that are to be taken.  These steps include having to collect all of the loose flakes of paint, reweaving the linen canvas to secure the edges of the tear, and then sticking the threads together.  Once this is completed a new piece of linen will have to be matched as closely as possible to the original and fitted in the back so it can support where the tear was.  Then the linen will have to be patched back on by wax and the tears and holes will have to be treated. 

What about the cost of this painting?  It is estimated that the cost will cost a few thousand in Canada.  So what is in store for this painting.  Will it ever be put back together,  well it probably will be.

Before I begin, I’ll say this: I have yet to see Avatar. Yes, I know, it’s a movie that MUST be seen, since it’s “the best movie ever made,” but, I’ve been slightly incapacitated, thus making me unable to go to the theater to see anything. I have watched quite a few movies while I’ve been at home, and I intend to make a set of “mini-reviews” in the near future on a few of those.

But, back to Avatar. I’ve been hearing from many people who have seen it that it is one of the best movies ever made, it’s a visual spectacle, and that it’s completely groundbreaking in technique.

I have seen the trailers, and a few scenes from it, and, judging by that, I can clearly see that it’s completely groundbreaking in its use of the technology, and that it is clearly a visual spectacle. However, there are a few hesitations that I have about this movie that makes me not want to rush to the theaters to see it, incapacitated or not.

That first hesitation (and in turn, the one that leads to more or less everything else in my argument against Avatar) is James Cameron. I’ve seen a few of his movies, and, while they are ok, they are far from the best movies of all time, despite the fact that he currently holds both the first and the second top grossing movies of all time (the other one being Titanic).

As a director, he’s far from the worst one out there. He clearly knows what to do with his camera, and, it’s never that bad. But, as a writer, he has work to be done. Aside from the fact that he doesn’t exactly have the most original plot-lines out there (I’ll get to that shortly), his dialogue tends to be kind of rough, and his characters aren’t always the most developed.

Now, the plot. In some cases, his plots can be quite good (Aliens is an example of this, despite the fact that it is a sequel, so, technically it wasn’t all his idea), but, in the case of Avatar, this plot is (somewhat obviously) stolen from a few different movies. There are people (myself included) who sarcastically dubs this movie with the title “Pocahontas Meets Dances With Wolves… In Space!” and there is a reason why people do this. I saw a post a little while ago that had the plot of Pocahontas written out, with aspects (character names, places, etc.) crossed out and replaced by what it is in Avatar. Also, the general plot of a person going to a land unlike their own, and befriending people unlike their own (yes, I know this is a VERY brief plot-line, but, as I said, I haven’t seen it yet, so, I can’t go much further than this at this very moment) is one that has been done many times before.

Despite all this, something is clear: the effects and the visuals are groundbreaking, spectacular, and every adjective in between that can describe something of this caliber. From the minute I saw the trailer, I didn’t doubt for a second that this would win any visual awards that it is eligible for.

But, can a movie be judged solely by the visuals? Shouldn’t the acting, directing, writing, etc., all be aspects of what makes a movie great? In the opinion of a humble movie fanatic, I think that what makes a great movie depends on all aspects of the film, and not just the visuals. Just a week ago, this movie won Best Picture: Drama at the Golden Globe awards. This, I was admittedly not very happy with, because I know James Cameron’s writings, and I know the fact that this plot is overdone, and, shouldn’t a “best picture” be called “best” due to all aspects of it?

But, I digress, for the sole reason that I have yet to see it. I most certainly intend on seeing this movie in theaters, and, seeing that it’s been at the top of the box office for 5 weeks running, I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon. But, without seeing it, I think that this movie might be more than slightly over-hyped.

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Do you agree? Disagree? Post your comments and opinions below!

The downward spiral for this dysfunctional franchise that is Toronto continues with a loss to the bottom-feeding Carolina Hurricanes.

Our draft picks this coming offseason are looking great. TOO BAD THEY BELONG TO BOSTON! A slap in the face to every leafs fan is that the pain associated with every loss has no silver lining – the draft picks that get better with every loss are no longer under our ownership.

It looks like the Boston Bruins have a shot at a Taylor Hall / Cam Fowler / Tyler Seguin caliber player.

All we can do is wait and hope Kovalchuk comes to TO.

Top Gear season 14 has just ended, with the South American Special, – one of the best specials yet.

There has been 7 episodes this season. We have seen the team being sent to Romania with Jeremy in a Aston Martin DBS Volante, Richard in a Ferrari California and James in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, we have seen them attempt to build an electric car better than a G-Wiz and We have seen James May in an caravan airship. Top Gear will be back in Spring.

After a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Toronto Maple Leafs have seemingly returned to vintage, crappy leafs. Phil Kessel, a god among mere mortals on the goal-starved team, hasn’t scored in twelve games now, and has 1 A and a -8 rating over than time. The tandem of Jonas Gustavsson / Vesa Toskala has looked bright at times – but not bright enough to merit any sort of real compliment from Leafs fans. Toronto has had opportunities to move up the standings, playing teams such as Philadelphia who are similarly ranked – but have gone 3-8-2 recently.

There is not even a light at the end of the tunnel for the foreseeable future, as our first two picks of the upcoming entry draft belong to the Boston Bruins as part of the Kessel deal. Our biggest hope to turn it around next season is russian Ilya Kovalchuk – with a number of high price tags expiring such as Vesa Toskala, Matt Stajan, etc. Kovalchuk will probably go to a better team, a Stanley Cup contender, or even the KHL in Russia.

For now there is nothing to do for Leafs fan except sit tight and deflect chirps of Montreal and Ottawa fans, hoping that they turn it around soon and re-enter the post season dance.

Last night I saw one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, Avatar. Usually I am not a big fan of sci-fi movies, but Avatar’s captivating storyline and breathtaking visuals were absolutely intriguing.  Avatar’s level of originality is exquisite. It is not just another typical Hollywood movie, and the sold out theaters everywhere for two straight weeks prove Avatar to be widely popular. Avatar is about humans going to a planet called Pandora to mine a rock worth twenty million dollars a kilo to bring back to earth. However, the humans soon discover that the Omaticayas, the aliens living on Pandora, live right on top of the most abundant supply of this valuable rock. In order to convince the aliens to move the humans create avatars, alien bodies controlled by human minds. Avatar evolves into a magical love story about a paralyzed ex-marine being put in the middle of two worlds, the humans and the Omaticayas.

The amazing special effects and visuals separated this movie from most other movies. Avatar took fifteen years to make, and some of the technology needed to make this film was not even invented yet fifteen years ago.  All of the nature, technology and Omaticayas on Pandora look extremely lifelike and the movie’s vibrant colors are truly eye-popping. I saw this movie in IMAX 3-D, and it was like no movie I have ever seen before. With the complex animation, sound effects and characters coming right into the audience, it felt as if I was in the movie as well.  I would recommend for others to see Avatar in IMAX 3-D as well to get the best possible experience.

Besides the stunning modern visuals, the plot was also very moving because it drew many similarities to events in history. This has brought Avatar attention and controversy. The storyline particularly reminded me of when the Europeans came to North America and killed or forced all of the Natives to move in order to take their land and resources. Avatar showed the dark side of humans and technological advances, but unfortunately what happened in Avatar is not so different than events that keep repeating in history.

The entire two hour and forty five minute movie does not have any slow moments, and keeps viewers fascinated until the very end. I would highly recommend this movie because I think it is one of the best movies of the year and think there is a high chance of it receiving numerous Oscar nominations.

                For the past three seasons I have watched American Idol, seeing past winners Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks and Kris Allen perform. When I lived in Switzerland, every Friday night my friends and I would watch American Idol to support our favorite contestants. Even when our favorite singer did not win, we would still always enjoy the constant arguing between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. However, it was announced a few months ago that Paula Abdul will not be returning to American Idol next season, and that Ellen DeGeneres will be taking her place.

                The hilarious fighting between Simon and Paula is one of the reasons why American Idol has become so popular. After each contestant sings and it is time for the judges to comment, viewers can always count on a humorous disagreement, so it is difficult to know how Ellen DeGeneres will change the balance of the show. Currently, Paula Abdul’s decision to leave American Idol has drawn a lot of media attention, leaving many upset that she will be gone. Her positive attitude always brought encouragement and hope to the contestants while Simon and Randy, another American Idol judge, often had much harsher comments. Ellen DeGeneres has not had any professional musical experience, so unlike Paula, she will be able to provide an opinion that the audience may be able to relate to more easily. Will having judge’s input from more of an audience’s perspective be fresh and unique or will it drive viewers away? We will find out soon on January twelfth, the season ninth’s premiere.

                Even though the famous book series, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Conan Doyle have been made into films many times, this was by far the most youthful and action packed portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. The movie begins when Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Dr. Watson, find Lord Blackwood, a mass murderer, killing and torturing a woman with his “black magic”. It is then decided by the police that he will be hanged as a consequence for his multiple murders. However, the day after Lord Blackwood is executed he is seen coming back up from his grave, back from the dead to continue on with his mission take over the world with what appeared to be imposing his “black magic” on London. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson jump right back on the case and search through London to capture Lord Blackwood before it is too late.

Overall, I enjoyed this fast-moving movie, and the casting was very good.  The two principal characters, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law), were well suited for their roles. The funniest part of the movie was the distinct contrast between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The majority of the time, even though he was a genius, Sherlock Holmes was a complete mess in terms of his personal appearance and the unkemptness of his home, whilst Dr. Watson, a more ordinary character, always made sure that Sherlock Holmes kept together.

 In my opinion, too much of the movie was spent fighting as I would have expected more humor and detective analysis.  The scenes where Sherlock Holmes displayed his incredible intuitive detective abilities were by far the most captivating. For example, he was able to tell just rom a man’s unusually green colored eyes and peculiarly shaped ears that he was Lord Blackwood’s father. No ordinary person would be able to retrieve as many details about a person from so few clues. It was also amazing how Sherlock Holmes could often deduce how an event either had happened or even would play out. An example of this is when Sherlock Holmes was fighting a man twice his size in a bar, he carefully planned out exactly how would win the fight in his head, and then seconds later went through with his plan and won the fight. Being able to see what Sherlock Holmes was thinking definitely enhanced the movie by allowing people to see what Sherlock Holmes did that made him such an amazing detective.

All in all it is an entertaining movie that lacks some of the intrigue that one might have expected to see.   This movie set the stage for more possible Sherlock Holmes to come as his arch rival Professor Moriarty lurked. I would definitely recommend this movie even though it was different that I expected it to be.

in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there!

It’s almost Christmas (8 more days!), and I still have to do most of my gift shopping! I can’t believe I’ve left it so long, but it’s been so busy these past couple of weeks. Christmas shopping is one of my favourite parts of the holiday season; it’s always so lovely to give presents to others and see their faces light up! This season, I’ve tried to be a bit more original about my gift ideas. I want my gift-getter to be surprised by my gift, but hopefully they’ll also love it! However, this means that I have to do a little extra thinking– but that’s what Christmas spirit is, right?

There are so many options! But I’m definitely looking forward to shopping and spending the day at Yorkdale or the Eaton Centre!

If you are trying to decide on what to cook for the holidays here are some ideas. 

If you are sick of having turkey there are always other alternatives.  There are also alternative recipes for those who are vegetarians. (All of the following recipes are from the Food Net work)

If you are wondering here is a recipe that I found from the food net work and hope that this recipe will be great for those who are sick of turkey or would like to have something either than turkey.

 Crown Roast of Lamb

Ingredients

• 2 racks lamb, 6 to 8 ribs each, approximately 1 1/2 to 2-pounds each
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To french the racks of lamb:

Make a cut on the fat side of the ribs, perpendicular to them, about 2 1/2-inches down from the rib ends. Cut through the fat down to the rib bones.

Turn the rack on end, with the bones facing up and push a knife through the flesh between each rib, using the initial cut as a guide for the knife. Cut down the side of each rib to remove the excess fat in between each rib. Using strong kitchen twine, wrap the twine around each rib at the base, nearest the meat and pull to remove all of the remaining fat and sinew from the rib bone.

Bend each rack into a semicircle (meat side in and fat side out) and using kitchen twine tie them together at the base and center, in order to hold the racks together. The rib ends should be pushed outward to create the look of a crown.

Rub the lamb with the olive oil. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and coriander and press all over the lamb. Place the roast in a Bundt pan with the center of the pan coming up through the middle of the roast.

Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. This is approximately 8 to 12 minutes per pound. Remove from the oven, transfer the roast to a rack, cover with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for 20 minutes. While the meat is resting add the sherry vinegar, mustard and rosemary to the juices that accumulated in the Bundt pan while cooking. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed. Cut the string away from the roast and place cooked stuffing, rice or barley in the center if desired. Serve the warm sauce with the roast.

Now if this recipe is something you are not looking for that you should try a vegetarian alternative.  For those who are vegetarians there are many recipes all over the food net work.   Not only are there recipes for the holidays but there are some for off the holidays.  But I would like to give you a recipe that I found that sounded good.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth

Not only do I love to have great main courses, but I love to have good drinks to go along.  For me I just like the classic Hot Chocolate but I have found a great recipe for hot chocolate.

Chocolate-y Christmas Cafe au Lait

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 ( 2-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 1 strip orange peel, about 1/2 inch by 3 inches
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups hot brewed strong coffee
• 1/4 cup cold heavy cream
• Ground cinnamon, for garnish
• Cocoa, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, 2/3 cup of the sugar, and cocoa until smooth. Add the cinnamon sticks, orange peel and cloves and bring to a simmer, stirring, to dissolve the sugar and prevent the cocoa from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whip the cream with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar until thick and frothy, and peaks form. Set aside.

Strain the milk mixture into a coffee pot or carafe and add 2 cups of the hot coffee (2 1/2 cups for stronger coffee flavor, to taste). Pour into cups or small mugs and top each with a dollop of the sweetened whipped cream.

Serve immediately.

 The holidays is also a time to give or make cookies.  Personally I enjoy pepperming and I have found a great recipe for a desserts with peppermint on the Food Net Work and hope to bake them myself.  What makes this recipe great is that it combines all of my favourite aspects of what makes a great dessert into one easy recipe.

White Peppermint Snowballs

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-ounce) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, room temperature (recommended: Pillsbury)
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (recommended: McCormick)
• 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, plus more for garnishing
• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the cookie dough into 8 pieces. In bowl of electric mixer, on medium speed thoroughly combine the dough pieces, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Arrange, 2 inches apart, on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cooling racks.

Add 1/2 cup of the remaining powdered sugar to a small bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and serve.

As the cookies cool, they will flatten slightly.

Variation: Peppermint Candy Cane Twists

• 1 package (18-ounce) refrigerated sugar cookie dough, room temperature (recommended: Pillsbury)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (recommended: McCormick)
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the roll of cookie dough in half. Put the halves in separate large mixing bowls. In 1 bowl, thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of the flour and the peppermint extract into cookie dough. In the second bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and enough food coloring to make a red dough. Mix well with gloved hands until the color is well blended.

Divide the white and red dough into 24 pieces each, (for a total of 48 pieces). Roll each piece into a rope 8 inches long and about 1/4-inch in diameter.

To shape candy canes, arrange 1 rope of each color side by side on parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently twist together and shape into a candy cane. Repeat with the remaining pieces, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest, about 5 minutes, before transferring the cookies to racks. Gently remove them from the cookie sheets with a long metal spatula and cool on cooling racks.

Yield: 24 cookies

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes per batch

Ease of preparation: easy

The Personal Project is a project that every grade 10 student participating in the MYP program is required to complete. The project, in case you are unaware, starts in March of grade nine and finishes in December of grade 10. This project lasts for around nine to ten months. You are required to come up with a question and figure out a way to answer it. You can assume the depth we have to go into with the amount of time we are given to write it. As well as handing in the finished product or how you answered the question, you hand in process journals which consisted of a summary of what you are doing, what you have done and what you will do. Lastly, you hand in a four thousand word essay whereby you analyze every possible thing about every single decision you made.

It is December 17th 2009. It is the last day before the holidays and I have just finished, and handed in the final copy of my personal project.

If you have not participated in the project yourself, you can only imagine the relief and the utter joy that fills a student once they are finished. Throughout this project I have experienced the height of stress, the height of boredom, the height of frustration and finally the height of being totally, one hundred percent confused. I can also tell you that I have learnt the importance of not procrastinating and that I have not procrastinated since – but this would be a lie. I was to have posted five blogs on this website by the end of term and the term ends today -so being me I posted my last two within the last 48 hours.

This part of the year might just be my favourite time of year. All of the holiday spirit going around. As I sit here writing this blog I smell freshly baked Latkas from my kitchen. To me, the food is one of the best parts of the holiday. Every year, my family spends Christmas with our old family friends who now live in Sinsinatti. Even though my family is not Christian, we cut down a Christmas tree, decorate the tree, eat Christmas cookies and exchange presents.

The next thing I love about holidays is all of the decorations. As you walk in the doors of the York School, the first thing you see is a huge christmas tree (fake of course) and a table with a hannukia and dreidels. Also, as you go up on the higher floors, you see snow flakes hanging from all of the walls and ceilings. Sure it might be a little bit tacky, but it gives you the sense of winter, and holiday and joy.

I’ve always been a massive fan of the Arctic Monkeys, a British band that’s sort of got a style in between indie, rock, and alternative genres. Recently, they released a new album, Humbug. I was so excited to see some new music from them, that I immediately downloaded it!

The Arctic Monkeys are from Sheffield, UK, and formed in 2002. The lead vocalist is Alex Turner, with Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley, and Matt Helders on guitar, bass, and drums. They became super-popular after their first single in 2006, I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor, and have now set out their third full album.

One of the things that attracted me to this band’s music was the funky, sort of punky songs that had unique vocals and guitars (I love Alex Turner’s voice!). A lot of their songs are really catchy, and a lot are upbeat and happy! That said, I was a tad disappointed after I listened to Humbug. I was hoping for a similar happier mood, but was surprised to notice that this album was a little darker than previous ones! I’m not saying I didn’t like it, it’s just that you have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

Humbug has a lot of mysterious, more ominous songs. I especially like Crying Lightening and Secret Door. I thought it was sort of similar to the style of Last Shadow Puppets, another band that Alex Turner formed as a side-project. I’m also a big fan of this band, and would definitely recommend it to any fan of spy movies! I’m not sure why, but whenever I listen to them, I always picture James Bond in my head!

Yes that’s rite I had sex with tiger woods. . At 20 – 75 grand an interview   why wouldn’t I say I had sex with tiger woods? (I am waiting for a cal from ET or National Inquirer any day now)  the current number  of people who claimed that had sex with tiger woods is now up in the teens. (alleged numbers vary from 11-18) .  The one thing I love about the case is the message transcripts with all the ellipses… and  [square brackets] witch show implied speech and missing portions of a quote.  So the actual transcript can be as so:

I hate how people can be mean to dogs – Domenic

But I can be quoted a such:

“I hate… dogs” – Domenic

Or in the case of tiger woods quoted on entertainment tonight

Tiger- “Do you want to have…[sex]?”

Finally the most perplexing part of this whole fiasco is how in the name of god did a car crash turn into this. The one thing I am dying to know is what in the world was tiger’s wife doing with  a golf club, it cant possibly be that he is a world class golfer and possibly has one in his crashed SUV.  It must be that his wife was chasing him with a golf club because he had an affair.  Like a woman on foot would actually distract you enough to cause you in a big suv to crash.

Every year as the holidays begin, I start to compose a list of New Year’s Resolutions. Usually by New Years day I have forgotten every single resolution I have committed to and have already failed with keeping them. I doubt this year will be different but nonetheless I will make a list simply to get into the spirit.  Dissimilar to the list I made last year, and all the years before that, I will compose a list of things I would like to do this holiday season as a replacement for resolutions. I am yet to perfect my list but here are a few ideas: Skate at Nathan Philips Square, night ski whilst it is snowing and go tobogganing on a wooden, traditional toboggan.

For the past four years of my life I have spent New Year’s at a ski resort somewhere in Quebec. This year, my family has invited the Turners, family friends of ours that we usually ski with, to visit our ski chalet in Collingwood. Like most years we have spent New Year’s day skiing and as a result we find ourselves exhausted. This is not because we are lazy and skiing is too much physical excursion for us. The Turners stay in Canada for one week and in case you are unaware, England, which is where they live, almost never experiences snowfall. They only have one opportunity a year to ski and that opportunity is one week between December and January. We make sure that every year we make the most of every hour we have skiing together. So back to my initial point of how we find ourselves exhausted, in case you have not yet made the necessary connections – we often start skiing at ridiculous hours such as 8 am and continuing until the first person falls and gives up or the lifts close at 4pm. This year, as the tradition is taking place at my chalet in Collingwood we have taken into account the rule at Blue Mountain that you can night ski until 10pm. So, to end this long and tedious blog post I am telling you that this year I will have the chance to have fun on New Year’s night without being exhausted because we will not need to wake up and ski at ridiculous hours such as 8am.

In these days of computer generated music, it seems that musical themes and ideas are being re-used and recycled more and more, to the point that original music is often hard to come by. There is however, a band that goes above and beyond the general musical expectations and originality of modern music:

Apocalyptica, the Finnish metal band.

Three young cellists at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki joined a band that specialized in playing all genres of music.  All three of these friends shared a love of heavy metal, and decided to form their own band. The group played at student dances, performing unique arangements of songs that were, for the most part, by the ledgendary metal band Metallica.

The band that would become Apocalyptica made their first big debut playing Metallica covers at a metal club. As luck would have it, a record company businessman was in this very audience, and was so astonished by the band’s new takes on classic metal songs that he instantly offered them a contract.

Though the band had low expectations of themselves, the record was an “overnight success” in Finland. Metal-heads and classical music fans alike appreciated the seemingly awkward combination, and as one band member later reflects “People in both worlds love good musicians”.

Apocalyptica spent the rest of the 90′s earning a reputation as a “jaw-dropping” live act, and released their second album in 1998, with their three first original songs. By the time 2000′s album ‘Cult’ came around, the band decided to move away from cover songs and produce nearly a whole album’s worth of original material, setting the band’s great reputation in stone.A successful collaboration in 2003 with the drummer from Slayer (Dave Lombardo) brought a new angle to the band – a rhythm section – and they soon hired their own full-time drummer.

The band’s latest release – 2007’s “Worlds Collide”-   is a good mix of this band’s older styles, and introduces many unexpected new ideas. World’s Collide includes collaborations with Stone Sour/Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia, 3 Days Grace vocalist Adam Gontier and again their long time friend and collaborator Dave Lombardo.

When it comes to I’m not Jesus though, I think that the song’s meaning is quite profound, though it might not seem that way the first time you listen to it. In my opinion, the song’s religious affiliations are not specific to Christianity (or Jesus), but to belief in a god in general. I believe (and bear with me here) that believing in God can be quite misleading, and that people don’t need to have good intentions to pray. People will attach themselves to the notion of “God” because it is constant and unchanging, and many people spend their lives searching for stability. The song is interesting as it addresses the issue, as well as bringing in several others.

I highly suggest looking up the lyrics when listening to this song – I believe it makes it quite a bit more interesting. And, as far as Apocalyptica goes, give them a chance! They’ve made some pretty incredible accomplishments musically on instruments never-before-seen taking the stage in metal.

To Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k491GjjFr7A

Over the holidays I will be heading to Florida with my family. Every year we go to Florida because Brenda doesn’t like the snow. I don’t mind it but I don’t really like it either, it just doesn’t feel christamacy to me. So we go to Florida and after Christmas everyone leaves except for my sister, my parent and I. Two New Year’s in a row we went to Disney world, but Brenda doesn’t really like roller coasters so we don’t do that anymore. Last year I spent my new years playing waiter for Brenda and Terry and Deb and Dick and once I was done that I watched the Disney channel New Year’s countdown special… it was a blast!

Hopefully this year will be better, Haley is going to be in Florida during New Year’s really near to me so I’ll probably spend it with her and that’ll be much better than spending it with Deb and Dick.