That puppy in the window..

 Ever since I was a kid, I have been obsessed with animals. Maybe it came from my mother; always taking in strays and unwanted animals, or maybe I was one in a past life. 

Either way, all my dreams came true in the last week when I was finally able to adopt and save kittens. So first, one would wonder in this world of abundant unwanted animals, where do you start?!

 

Let's talk local pet stores. We have all at one point been walking through the mall and seen that display of cute puppies and kittens shoved in a window for us to "aww" and "ouuu" at. But where do those animals come from? All I had to do was ask friends and a simple Google search, and I had my answer.  I had read horror story upon horror story about the use of diseased animals mass produced in puppy mills, and also uplifting stories of protest in which people were trying to make a change. Needless to say that option was, well.. not an option. 

Option # 2?  the local Humane Society.  By following the local shelter on Facebook, you can recieve up to date information on new animals or animals that are desperately in need of a home that are being put down within a week. A quick search on Tumblr shows all the success stories and people talking about the pets they love.

 

Knowing that it is not possible to save every animal, atleast giving them some love gives me a little peace of mind. I had gone 2-3 times a week and really started to fall in love with a few of the cats. I would go back continuously to really get to know them and make sure they were a good fit for me. 

So one night I walked in and said "I WANT THOSE TWO!" and boy was I in for a surprise. 

I figured, since they knew who I was and knew my commitment, I could just walk in there and pick up the cats, sign a paper and be on my way, right? Wrong!

First, I had to fill out an application, atleast 6 or 7 pages. It asked me everything from who I lived with to where the litter box would go. Okay, so easy peasy right?  I still wasnt approved. The next day I had to bring each and every person in the house for a "meet and greet" with the kittens I wanted. Needless to say I was getting pretty frustrated, couldnt they just TELL I was a good person?

Nope.

I had to be interviewed, sat down and go through the cats medical history, go through each and every expense for a kitten in the next year (times two!) It was a lot of work, nearly 4.5 hours!

You know what this boiled down to? They care. They dont just send off their animals to any person who walks in the building with money, they take the time to suit every single animal to the right home, regardless of how overwhelmed and overcrowded a shelter may be. 

And everything was worth waking up to these beautiful, cuddly kittens...

 

So the question is, which would you prefer? Pet store or Humane Society? Have you ever adopted an animal, taken in a stray or bought a puppy from a store? Agree or disagree with shelter policies?

If you have, or are thinking about adopting a pet, just make sure you do your research!

Freeze! Step Away From The Cell Phone!

How many of you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is check your cell phone? How many times have you been out to dinner with a friend and they are on their phones the whole night instead of talking to you? Whether its texting or checking our social media profiles, people in today’s society are constantly connected. People are able to be in contact anytime, anyplace. Most of us I’m sure have woken up mid sleep to find themselves having a nightmare about misplacing their cell phones. 

But what if we lived in a world disconnected from technology?

I know! It seems impossible, right?

To be honest, it almost is impossible. Especially with most jobs requiring its employees to always be available. Regardless, I think it’s important to take a step back from society and social media. We need to be able to recharge and spend some quality time with good ol’ nature.

If any of you have heard the story of Christopher McCandless or even seen the film Into the Wild you know the extreme lengths some people take in order to disconnect. If you haven’t seen the film or read the book however, I definitely recommend that you watch it.

It’s no secret that constant social interaction can sometimes be tiresome and the pressures of today’s society regarding being connected can make people feel stressed. I recently found an article relating to stress and the pressures of social media which you can read here. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a breather.

I’m not advising that everyone go to the same extreme as Christopher McCandless, but I do recommended spending some time away from the hustle and bustle of citylife. Going camping is a great way to relax and recoup. Plan a trip with your friends and see what Canada really has to offer.

Check out this list of Canada’s top 5 camping destinations for your outing from The Vancouver Sun.

The Emotional Stress of Being Hipster

Hipsters... I knew xxxx before it was cool.

For anyone not familiar with the term, urban dictionary gives us a great definition of what a hipster really is by describing them as a “subculture of men and women … that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.” For the full definition, please click here.

Now, I only half consider myself a hipster. I don't follow politics, nor do I believe that consumerism is destroying our culture.But I do however follow trends when they suit my current style and I do love all things art and underground. My taste in music is very "hipster". I listen to bands you’ve probably never even heard of— wait, maybe you have. Please stop me if any of these bands sound familiar. Imagine Dragons? Ghost Beach? Peachcake? Stepdad?


No? Well brace yourselves because you’re in for a treat. Thanks to social media, these unknown bands are now becoming more and more popular. Websites such as ragechill.com, stereomood.com and indieshuffle.com are a great place for these bands to gain exposure. These three websites revolve around the same idea, make an account, upload some of your favourite indie bands and share it with everyone else. This is an incredible tool for these bands and artists to gain a larger fan base and to test out new music. Artists with maybe just a couple hundred fans can post their music online, and in a matter of minutes can be exposed to thousands of people.


Stereotypically, hipsters tend to want to know bands before they get too famous in fear of that band becoming mainstream or top 40. And maybe they’ve got it figured out. The more exposure an artist or band gets, the worse the music tends to be. I’m not saying this is true to all bands but we do need to consider which songs are getting the most air time on radios and which songs are topping the iTunes charts. Most songs seem to revolve around sex or getting drunk and contain no lyrical substance whatsoever.


This is where the hipster soul struggles. As much as we hipsters want to see our favourite bands succeed and gain a larger fan base, we’d like to keep them sheltered to preserve the quality of the music. The struggle for us is that we don’t want to share our music with others but in my case, I wouldn’t have found out about the incredible bands listed above if it weren’t for those three sites named earlier. I’m torn in half. Half of me celebrates when I hear an indie band on the radio and I’ll cheer them on in my head. Good for them, they’re doing well for themselves. The other half of me dies. Here we go, now everyone will like them and jump on the bandwagon even though I’ve been a fan for years.

As much as this pains me to do this, I would love to share with you one of my all time favourite Toronto based bands.Everyone, this is Nightbox. Nightbox, welcome to the world of mainstream.

TO ALL YOU MAINSTREAMERS, KEEP YOUR DIRTY PAWS OFF THEM! (but don't because I really want them to succeed!)

Oh, the emotional stress of being a hipster.

The NBA 2.0

The never ending quest for supremacy

With the NHL facing another lockout, most sports fans have a hole needing to be filled. Football is well on their way and Baseball is nearing the playoffs. But who will reign as supreme champion in the NBA? There are many, many well balanced teams now, here are some of the favourites. 

On the East:

• The Celtics
• The Heat (current champs)
• Atlanta
• The two New York teams ( The Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets). 

On the West:

• The Mavericks, 
• The Thunder (western champs) 
• The Spurs

However, no team has made a bigger impact during the offseason then The Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles, known for their Hollywood tabloids, had no shortage of PR spin this year. Two years ago the most villianized athlete was LeBron James for his world wide broadcast, "The Decision". Since then, he has done everything to gain favour in the publics eye. He's won a championship, fired his PR Team and hired his friend as his agent, and won an Olympic Goal Medal to boot. However this year, the NBA's pariah was non other than Dwight Howard.

"The Decision"

Dating back two years ago there was much speculation on what team he'll be on. He himself said he would stay in Orlando. Then rumors swirled it would be New Jersey (now Brooklyn), then Atlanta, then Houston, then Dallas, and then The Lakers. People got so sick of his flip-flopping ways, they made him a villain. Reporters, fans, and management started to share this idea about Dwight, then finally a decision was made.

Here comes The Lakers

The Lakers, prior to acquiring Dwight made a blockbuster signing in two-time MVP Steve Nash. That trade alone made them contenders to the title. But then, to add three-time Defensive Player of the Year to the lineup, made them the favourites. After the trade, the Lakers now boast a lineup of; two-time MVP Steve Nash, five-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant, former Defensive Player of the Year Metta Worldpeace, seven-time European Player of the year Pau Gasol, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard.

The new look Lakers

As a whole, The Lakers will have to play as a team to beat other top contenders. But no one's play will be more scrutinized than Dwight Howard's. This is his contract year, meaning his play will affect how much he gets paid next year. While many people are cheering for him to do well, many want to see him fail. His PR Team worked hard this summer to clean up his image around the league, but can it be repaired? It took LeBron James two years to do so. Dwight went from "Superman" to "Dr. Evil" in a few short months. I know PR Firms in LA will have their hands full, regardless of his performance, having just won The Stanley Cup. So, perhaps being in Tinsel Town will bring him more popularity, but the pressure will be on and eyes will be watching.

I know somebody who will be giddy about this pressure on Dwight. His name, is The Black Mamba-Kobe Bryant. People have constantly asked the question, "Is Kobe better Than Jordan?" . For years Kobe has been the catalyst for The Lakers scoring, but now with a supporting cast, he has options. Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player ever, has six NBA Titles, to Kobe's five. Now more than ever, at age 34, the window of opportunity to get that ever so elusive sixth title is open.

This season is very important for so many reasons: 

1. The Lakers new-vamped roster
2. Can The Heat repeat? 
3. Will The Thunder win the west? 
4. How will the new look Brooklyn Nets fair in the big city of New York?  
5. Are The Celtics past their prime? 

All these questions will be answered come Tuesday, October 30,2012. I for one will be watching, will you? Don't agree? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Ill leave you with the top highlights from last year.

Cheers!

Does This App Make Me Look Fat?

          Have you ever been out shopping by yourself and couldn’t come to decision about whether or not an item was worth purchasing?  PickN’Tell, a new application, is revolutionizing the way we shop.  Now, even our loneliest of shopping excursions have the ability to be social experiences.  It is the first app of its kind to link both the virtual and physical retail experience by using an app alongside an in-store display.  The app was released in late July and already has an extensive list of retailers on board.

PickN’Tell has three main objectives:

1. Instant Feedback:  Immediate opinions from your virtual friends and followers
2. It's all about you:  Keep tabs on your favourite stores and must-haves
3. Collect Prizes and Points:  Get the scoop on sales, events and discounts

How it works:

• Retailers that have partnered with PickN'Tell have inserted a high-tech mirror into their stores 
• The mirror or tablet allows customers to photograph or video themselves.  Customers can then either upload the file to Facebook, Twitter, or just their PickN'Tell account.
• Followers view the video or photo which also has the clothing store location and barcode information
• Users can then scan product barcodes for more information and save barcodes for their wish-lists.

Here is a video to better understand how the application works:

Here are some of the benefits:

• Provides incentives for both customers and retailers
• Earn coupons, prizes and discounts 
• Get honest feedback instantly from friends and followers
• Connect with bloggers, designers and stylists
• Retailers have access to "get-to-know your customer" toolbox which measures trends as well as consumer behaviour analysis

Availability and Pricing:

• The App is free and is available for download on ITunes and the Google Play Store.

Do you think this app will reach a critical mass in terms of usage?

Power to the People!

             Welcome ladies and gents, I hope you enjoy where I’m going with this one. I feel that the internet has changed the world, for the better! More than any other time in history, we the people are able to right the wrongs and change people’s lives via the global online community. A great example and probably something you've heard about was the woman in the United States, a bus monitor. Karen Klein was accosted by several youths on a bus, this was all recorded on video by 8th grade kids.

           As sad as that scene was, there came something out of it, a random act of global kindness. This video made its rounds all over the world via social media, eventually ending up on the front page of the internet, also known as Reddit.com . From here a Toronto man, Max Sidorov, caught wind of this and decided he was going to send Karen on a vacation. What came to follow was one of the most positive and selfless acts by humanity. Not only was there a fund started for her, but it ended up exceeding $700’000 so that Karen could not only take some time off, but retire out right! Random people, not knowing this woman, came to set what was wrong - right.

            The power of the people is even more present in the example of how the internet created the Tesla Museum (now soon to be). There was an article that popped up on Reddit, posted by the creator of the wildly popular blog The Oatmeal. Matthew Inman, created a list of all Nikola Tesla's inventions and contributions to humanity. Most are oblivious to what he created, as there is no museum to honour his accomplishments. So, here's where it gets good, the land where Tesla's lab was, known as Wardenclyffe, had been put up for sale and set to be demo'd. Seeing this travesty, Mr.Inman then put together 1 blog post called 'Let's Build A Goddamn Tesla Museum', honestly check it out. The goal was to raise $850'000 to split the cost with the state of New York.

 Put it this way, there were enough anonymous donations to not only buy the land outright, but pay for the costs of the building, see here. The power of online community not only brings people together, but helps to sift out those truly in need. Never have we, as a society, been able to harvest this much social momentum as individuals. The medium of information has shifted, transparency and whuffie (subtle, I know) rule all. The more open we are with helping others, the stronger we become as a society. Peace, love and boom goes the dynamite!


-DP


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