cheryl santa maria

… And the event was pretty cool. I’ll be writing about the whole thing in detail tomorrow, for Quiet Color. But here are my initial thoughts:

1. As I said earlier this week, Chill on the Hill is a summer snowboarding event that was put on by the good people at Nestea. Three hundred pound blocks were chipped up to create fine flakes of snow that were used to cover one of the runs at the Glen Eden Ski Resort in Milton, Ontario. Having a snowboarding competition in the middle of summer is a pretty cool idea, but it’s a shame the weather didn’t cooperate. First it rained, and then it was blazing hot. Then it rained again.

This resulted in lots of mud.

My cute shoes had to be tossed in the car and replaced with flip flops.  Oh, well.

2. The Stills performed and they sounded great.  Their set was a bit short – less than an hour – but they got a couple of their hits in,  like I’m with You and Still in Love. Here’s a shot of lead singer Tim Fletcher jamming on his guitar.  Congrats to Wil for getting such great shots.  I really like this one, it’s all action-y and stuff.

3. There was a VIP tent where the bands did a Q&A with fans.  I was able to  interview keyboardist Liam and bassist Oliver from the band.  They were really nice guys and they had some insightful answers,  but I was feeling a little Keebler elf-ish.

Damn.

You never realize how short you are until you see yourself in photographs.  And what’s worse, I slouch.  I gotta work on that.

4. Another thing: I am an annoying interviewer.  I’m giddy, I giggle, my laugh is fake and I sound like I’m sucking up.  Blarg upon blarg.  I need to work on sounding composed and professional, and less like a valley girl.  I’m good at researching and writing and coming up with questions, but when it comes to actually interviewing people?

Not so much.  I hope that’s just because I’m a noob and that I will get better with time.

I was  also able to spend a few minutes with Steve and Paul from Hot Hot Heat.

“I think you’re gonna need a milk carton to stand on.”

5. Steve and Paul were really great.  As interesting as their music is, if that makes any sense.  They played a great set and the crowd went nuts.  So did all the fan girls.  Judging by all the screamers in the audience, lead singer Steve has quite the following.

6. All in all Chill on the Hill was a good day, complete with a beach party, snowboarding, two great concerts and copious amounts of free Nestea.  What more could you want?

Stay tuned for my “formal” report for Quiet Color.  I’ll post links soon.

UPDATE: Click here to read my report + interviews.

[photo source]

Mount Pleasant cemetery is a massive plot of land that covers 19 k.m. in the heart of midtown Toronto. A resting place for over 168,000 deceased, it is resplendent with trails, fountains, gardens and trees. The cemetery has become a sort of community centre – very much like Central Park in Manhattan except that it’s filled with dead people. For a graveyard it is alarmingly full of life. In addition to the joggers, dog-walkers and families that frequent its trails, it is resided by countless birds, chipmunks and squirrels.

Mount Pleasant is also home to two of the most beautiful weeping willow trees I have ever seen. Their long, feathery leaves dip right down to the ground and, if you sit right up against the trunks and in just the right spot, they will almost completely conceal you. I’ve spent a great deal of time sitting under those weeping willows. Sometimes I stare off into space. Other times I sit back and watch people.

But most of the time I think about death.

The area is beautiful but, at the end of the day, it’s still a cemetery. When there, you cannot remove death from your line of vision. I’ve always been fascinated by the end of it all, but not in an “oh, look at me I’m so arty and morbid” kind of way. I’m more preoccupied with fact that death is something we’re all going to have experience, and for some of us that time will come sooner rather than later.

I think that life represents the amount of time we are allotted to do all of the things we need to do. If we use that time wisely, we will have more than enough time. If we don’t, we will die with regrets. I love my daily distractions but when those daily distractions take over, the years go by quickly. A life that is wasted on forgettable things is a life that did not live up to its full potential.

We don’t need to trapeze off to exotic places and climb the highest mountains in order to lead a worthwhile existence. All we need to do is make time for our loved ones, continue to grow and find beauty in everyday life.

When everything is stripped away, those are the only things that matter.

The Underworld concert was fantastic!! A total love fest, and everyone was having a great time, especially me.

People were dancing everywhere, the music was perfect and the visuals were outstanding. As if you’d expect anything less from Underworld. Check out the lights:

And here are a couple photos of Karl Hyde, singing  and playing his heart out. I was really impressed with the way he can shake his hips. He dances like a man with soul!

Here’s UK DJ Darren Price, who’s been touring with Underworld since … 2005? I think. He’s pretty calm and focused when he performs. Doesn’t matter though – he’s great at what he does. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a clear shot of Rick Smith. He was kind of hiding behind Darren the whole time.

Click here to read my full review of the Underworld concert. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll be hitting up a couple more shows in the fall.  It’s a little too soon to make an announcement though, as I’m afraid I’ll jinx it.  Anyway I hope the next concert will be as great as this one. I’ll keep you posted.

Check back often for concert announcements + pix!

Click here to listen to”Cowgirl” by Underworld.

I’m back.

I have a zillion things I should be doing but I’m going to procrastinate instead. Right now I’m listening to Underworld in anticipation of their concert at the Kool Haus this coming Tuesday. If you’re in the area you must come and see them.  Just about everybody knows the song Born Slippy/NUXX but if you aren’t familiar with their other music, you need to check it out. Underworld is worth the listen.

Because I write for Quiet Color, I’ve managed to snag press passes to the event. I don’t know what a press pass entails as I’m still new to the whole “journalist” thing but if I get the chance to speak with Karl Hyde and Rick Smith I’ll turn as red as a tomato (** no pun intended). I can be socially awkward in the most mundane situations and if I come face to face with these two iconic artists I’m certain I’ll make a complete arse out of myself.

But for all I know I could be turned away at the door.  Being told that I’m “not on the list” is the story of my life.

Ah well, we shall see.  And I doubt that will happen anyway.  Underworld’s PR Team has been phenomenal thusfar - totally on top of things and extremely professional.  I could learn a thing or two from them. Make sure to visit Quiet Color next week where I’ll be writing about my Underworld experience in detail.

In the meantime, you can click here to read my teaser.  Thanks to all 1000 of you who pointed out the spelling error at the end of Paragrah 1.  I’ve emailed the site editor - he’ll fix it soon.   Relax.

And now, because I apparently have nothing better to do, here’s a roundup of three random articles that I stumbled upon today.

First of all we lost John Hughes, director of Pretty and Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone and others. He suffered a heart attack while out on his morning walk yesterday and passed away in NYC at the age of 59. This is beyond sad, especially when you consider some of the crap the studios are trying to pass off as films nowadays.

RIP John. You will be missed.

Earlier this week two overly excited girls were photographed crying and shrieking next to socialite Kim Kardashian, the repulsive, talentless, non-celebrity whose sole claim to fame is the adult film she starred in with Ray J.

I’m mad that this even qualifies as news. And to make matters worse I’m blogging about it. FML.

Before I quickly change the subject, I wonder: When did Kim Kardashian become a role model?

And when did she become a celebrity? she has no talent. Do little girls actually admire people like Kim Kardashian?

If that’s the case then I think it’s time we packed it up and called it a day. Stick a fork in us – humanity is done.

Last but not least, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary general of NATO, has announced that he wants Canadian troops to remain in Afghanistan past 2011.

To date, Canada has lost 128 brave men and women in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t one to listen to the wants and needs of Canadians, especially now that he’s on summer break, but the majority of Canadians are opposed to the war and want the troops sent home immediately.

Our soldiers are heroes. Their precious lives shouldn’t be wasted fighting George Bush’s pointless war.

Sigh.

The future is bleak my friends.

BLEAK.

And on that note I’m going to go. The weather is beautiful and the work that’s calling me looks boring.

Procrastination is way more fun when you’re outside enjoying the sun, right?

Have a good weekend,

C

** Tomato is the visual arts collective that Underworld helped establish.  If you knew that then congratulations – you’re a true music geek!

[photo credit]

August is shaping up to be a busy month.

People are People is going to be quiet for the next few days.  I have to tackle a few writing assignments but I promise I’ll be back soon.

Stay tuned for more articles from yours truly and links to some of the other things I’ve been working on.

There are some very exciting changes taking place but when I try to think of everything at once it makes my head hurt. 

Thanks for your readership and I’ll be back in a bit!!

This single mother wakes up every morning at 5 a.m., prepares breakfast for her children and sends them off to the sitter.

Then she goes outside and waits for the bus.

It’s hard raising babies on minimum wage, especially when pay day is a week away and Maya needs new shoes and there is no milk in the fridge.

But it’s best not to think of these things.

It’s better to look at the stars in the sky and the flowers as they bloom rather than shed a tear for all the people who look through her, day after day after day.

***

I ordered fries with that. Do you even speak English? I said FRIES, not onion rings. F-R-I-E-S.

Yes, I understand it’s the long weekend but you have to come in anyway. I’m sorry that you can’t find a sitter, but my hands are tied. We need you here.

Somebody threw up in the bathroom and uh … you better go and clean it. Don’t forget to wear your gloves.

***

She works three jobs and she is away from the house twelve hours a day, six days a week. In fifteen years she will save enough money to send her children to college and then she can relax a little, maybe quit one of her jobs.

There is hopelessness and misery all around her but she chooses to ignore it out of fear of losing her will.

Somehow, she perseveres.  In fifteen long years she will not miss a day of work.

Her children will graduate with honours and get good jobs.

She will be able to retire in peace.

And now, beacause of her hard work, the generations that follow her will not have to suffer the indignities of poverty.