Jets.

I have already written about how The Globe and Mail reported that the Atlanta Thrashers were moving to Winnipeg, and I have also previously written about how I felt about the prospect of new NHL franchise (or in this case the resurrection of an old one) coming into being. I just wanted to create a brief entry today in commemoration of that news becoming official. The process isn't 100% complete yet, the new team is still subject to approval but the NHL board of governors, but chances are very good - most feel that it's a sure thing - that come next season there will be a Winnipeg team in the National Hockey League. I couldn't be more excited and in the coming weeks and months I will be following the new Winnipeg team as it develops and I eagerly await more details as to how the team will formally manifest.

Fresh Ice.

I don't normally get excited about sports news, but this morning The Globe and Mail confirmed what I have been hoping for: there will be a new NHL franchise (and better yet it will be a Canadian franchise)! Yes, Winnipeg is finally getting their second shot at the NHL! The interesting thing about this story is that the team that's moving to Winnipeg isn't the Phoenix Coyotes - like everyone thought and where the main attention and focus has been for the past couple years - but instead it is the Atlanta Thrashers, who have been having their own financial woes as of late. It doesn't really matter to me which franchise moves, I'm just happy that, come next season, there will be a fresh team in the NHL, one that I can hopefully develop some attachment to and therefore enhance my interest in the sport.

The Winnipeg story, however, has not been the only rumbling about possible NHL franchise relocation this week. According to AM640, hockey insider Bill Waters has been tipped off about a possible franchise coming to the city of Markham. While officially nothing has been proposed or revealed, it is still an interesting speculative claim. If a team were to come to Markham at some point I would probably have to follow that one as well. Not only would the Markham team be new and Canadian, but it'd also have the characteristic of being my home team as Markham is closer to me geographically, and more similar to my current residence than Toronto is - supposedly my default "home team".

Overall, I am just excited to see at least one team relocate and I plan to support the new Winnipeg team - however it formally manifest itself - from day one. I just hope to live through this Saturday's supposed rapture so that I can see them play.

The Golden State.

"Go west young man your future is untold / You can find your dreams on the California coast / Go west young man your future is untold / Far away..."

The above lyrics are from the Anti-Flag song "Go West" off of their 2008 album The Bright Lights of America and it is one of my favourite songs by the band. Of all the American States - and all of North America really - California has always been an interest of mine. There are tons of places I would like to travel to/visit, domestically (Vancouver and Nova Scotia being the big two, although it's always been a dream of mine to visit every provincial capital/major city in Canada) and internationally (London, Tokyo, Sydney, Chicago, Rome, Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam, etc., coming to mind immediately), but the State of California has recently caught my attention in a big way, so big that I am going to dedicate an entire blog post describing my affinity for it.

Statistically, California is a marvel. With a population of an estimated 37 million, more people reside in the State than in the entire country of Canada. Off the top of my head I can name many major cities found in the state: San Fransisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Berkeley, and San Jose. The state is big, and has a diverse landscape, bordering Oregon in the north (which has a climate not too different from what we get up here in the Toronto area) and Mexico to the south (which has a much hotter and dryer climate).

I've been thinking about California a lot lately and as I get older I would love to visit the State in the near-ish future. In this post I just wanted to let you all know what it was about California that I find so fascinating (in no particular order):

1) The climate - I am of the belief that a good (i.e. warm and sunny) climate generally makes for a happier person. Living in a country that is generally cold/miserable for a good 3/4-1/2 of the year, I find the prospect of living in a place that manages to have a temperate climate all year round to be very attractive.

2) Academia - what many people don't know about California is that the State is home to some of the best academic institutions (universities) in the world. California Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles frequently making top national and international university rankings. As someone in university, and who plans to be so for the next few years I would love the opportunity to attend one of these institutions.

3) West coast culture - California is, in case you didn't know, situated on the western coast of North America. I have never been to the west coast and would love to have the opportunity to experience its culture. From what I have learned about the west coast (gathered mainly from popular culture), the lifestyle there seems to be more relaxed and less manic and busy as life in the East. People seem more easygoing.

4) The beach - while I am not a huge fan of the beach, I feel like if I lived in California I would be forced to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get into fit physical shape. Everyone in California just seems to be attractive (I don't know how true this assessment is, again I am getting most of my ideas on California through popular media), and I would simply feel socially pressured to fit the mold.

5) Outside Lands Music Festival - a more specific reason, San Fransisco is home to an epic three day music festival this year that features some awesome artists including: Muse, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, The Shins, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, Ok Go, and Foster The People. The summer concert line-up for Toronto this year sucks, and is completely lacking in any big music festivals - the only one really being Edgefest, but the only two bands of note are Rise Against and Tokyo Police Club (two bands I love no doubt, but Edgefest is in no way similar to Outside Lands in terms of scope and sheer awesomeness. I also don't count North By Northeast due to the decentralized structure of the event. Hell, even Montreal has Osheaga, Toronto has got squat this summer in the big music festival department).

6) IGN - another specific example, IGN is an online magazine (website) dedicated to writing about and covering one of my favourite hobbies - video games. I follow IGN quite a bit, and the editors at the site just seem to have such a good time doing what they do. It seems like they get to go to work everyday and hang out with their best friends, writing on and sharing something they are all mutually passionate about. If I were to have a "dream job", being on IGN's editorial team would definitely be a good contender. IGN is also based out of San Fransisco.

7) Creativity - I am not going to spend too much time writing on this one as the State's dominance in modern popular culture is fairly self evident, but I think it's worth noting that California is probably one of the more creative areas in North America, and this allows many individuals to being able to "break into" the industry of media (be it film, television, music, or what have you). An obvious example of this is that the crux of the entire film industry, Hollywood, is found in the state (as well as the television industry to some extent, although New York is another main television hub). The liberal attitude found in California creates a haven for some of the most progressive and creative people in North America. Many bands and artists (musical, theatrical, and fine arts) are formed and founded in the state.

California just seems intriguing to me in general. I plan to visit the State at the first chance I get. As "Go West" describes, it just seems to have a good atmosphere for you to find yourself. An expansive, creative, cultural, and academic hub of North America, and a seemingly relaxed place where life isn't too hectic or stressful (as is common in a lot of places with a warmer climate). The above list is in no way exhaustive, as I am constantly learning more about the State, and like any place California has its share of problems - but why focus on the negative? I'm not sure if I'd necessarily want to live in California but I would definitely want to plan a trip or two there. I would probably try to go to San Fransisco first, as it is the city I have learned the most about and it sounds like it'd be the most interesting to me.

A Perfect Storm.

One of my goals this summer was to expand my drinking horizons, specifically with mixed drinks. I also wanted to learn how to make the drinks myself. Now that I have a blog, I figured I'd post my drink-explorations on here for you all to enjoy. The drink we are making today is called A Perfect Storm. It's a fairly strong rum based drink, and it is, so far, one of my favourite drink recipes I've come across.

What you'll need:

- Kraken Black Spiced Rum
- Ginger Ale
- Fresh lemon or lime (I just used lime juice)
- A mixer
- Ice

1) Put 2 oz of Kraken Rum into the mixer (I use a shot glass for measuring as one shot equals one ounce)

2) Put 6 oz of Ginger Ale into the mixer 

3) Add a splash of fresh lemon or lime (I just used lime juice, although I'm sure fresh juice would be best)

4) Mix over ice 

5) Shake (be careful to not shake too hard as the carbonated Ginger Ale could bubble over) 

6) Strain into glass over fresh ice (highball glass preferred) 

7) Garnish with a lemon or lime twist (something I didn't have)

The end product should look something like this: 

If this drink sounds interesting I recommend you give it a try! Enjoy!

Lasers.

Today I took a further step in my integration into the online world of digital distribution. I purchased my first LP off of iTunes. This might not seem like a big deal – and really, it isn’t – BUT what made this special is that I had actually went to HMV yesterday, had the CD I was going to buy in my hands and made the conscious decision to put it back down and opt to download it instead.

I am usually an advocate of getting the hard copies of things I purchase. I like having the physical item, digital goods seem somewhat flakey and risky, and having the hard copy to go back to is like a form of insurance should something happen to the digital files – go missing, get corrupted, etc. This isn’t the first time I have bought music off of iTunes – the only other case was Alexisonfire’s recent EP Dog’s Blood, but I couldn’t find that in stores so downloading it was the only option.

When I think of why I decided to download when I had the disc in my hands, two reasons come to mind: i) I didn’t have my HMV rewards card with me, if I had purchased the item in-store – I would have been missing out on those points, can’t have that, and ii) I am really running out of space for CDs in my room. My room is fairly cramped as it is, and it’s not that big, so it’s at the point where, despite my best efforts to keep it clean, whenever a couple items get put out of place, the whole room looks messy. I don’t need more CDs taking up more space, especially for bands or artists that I don’t yet have a huge investment in. If I had bought the CD at HMV yesterday, despite not having the rewards card, it would have been free for me (I would have used a gift card). However, the iTunes version of the album was cheaper than the HMV one. So in terms of pure monetary cost I say it was a fairly even-handed decision.

The album in question is Lasers by Lupe Fiasco. After seeing an interview and performance on “The Colbert Report”, I decided to check his work out, and I liked what I found so I bought the album – the “Colbert bump” really works I guess. The album is terrific, and this is from someone who doesn’t really listen to a lot of Hip Hop/Rap - granted I have been trying to listen to more recently as a broader project to expand my music horizons. I would give a little summary/review of Lasers but I don’t think I’d be fit to judge a Hip Hop album – or any album for that matter. All I can say is that I like it, and I’ll leave some links below for you all to check a few of the tracks out, should you be interested.

I will continue to buy CDs in the future, but I think I will only buy them from select artists who I really like and admire. There will be plenty more compact discs to add to my collection in the weeks and months ahead, as Foster The People, City and Colour, Neverending White Lights, and Blink-182 all have albums slated to be released later this year. After hearing Lasers I will probably want to have Lupe Fiasco's future works as a part of my hard-CD collection as well. I think I can confidently put Lupe Fiasco with Kid Cudi and Shad in that category of Hip Hop artists that I really like and admire and whose careers I will follow. Again, this is a category of artists that is currently fairly small - as I have only recently gotten into the genre of music - but it's growing steadily. I'm excited to see who catches my eye - or I guess it'd be my ear - next.

A small sample of the tracks off Lasers, check them out!:

"Words I Never Said"
"The Show Goes On"
"Never Forget You"

Lupe Fiasco's website

21.

"With many years ahead to fall in line / Why would wish that on me? / I never want to act my age / What's my age again? / What's my age again?"

These above lyrics are off of the song "What's My Age Again?" by Blink-182. The song is about a man in his early 20s unable to cope with the fact that he's growing up and the expectations society puts onto him because of it. He doesn't feel or act like he's older, but because he is he must conform to society's standards - or be socially ostracized. While this is not specifically my case - many even say that I act a little too old for my age, and I'll admit that I am not as adventurous and risk-taking as others in my age-bracket - but I think the song, or at least the line above, is relevant to how I'm feeling today, on my 21st birthday.

It's not the age that has me me worried, it's the unknown future that comes with the age, as what I do and the decisions I make in the next year or so will, supposedly, have a major impact in how the rest of my life shapes up. If I could, I would probably want to relive the past 3 undergraduate years over and over again. I can safely say that these have been the best times of my life. I have made some awesome friends, had some great experiences, have a wonderful girlfriend, I am old enough to appreciate some aspects of "mature" life (like certain intricacies of society, culture, academia, politics, etc.) but I am not yet too old where I have a profound and obligated stake in these aspects of life. This isn't the first time I've experienced these feelings, as it usually comes whenever you're nearing the end of something. Just as in high school entering into grade 12 and having to think about what schools to go to the next year and what you are going to take in those schools, I am now entering into my 4th (and graduating) year of university and I am once again faced with tough choices. This current situation is even harder than the grade 12 one as I knew I was going to a university, it was just a matter of which one and what to take. This time around I am not sure about anything. What do I do after four years being an undergraduate in university, emerging with a cookie-cutter political science degree? Even more higher education seems like the most likely option, as we all know that in today's society and job market, a simple degree only cuts it for the most base-level jobs (if any), especially for a social science degree as generic as a political science one.

The main crux of my confusion in what to do is found in how I feel like I lack a definitive vision or goal. Many people know what they want to do and they pursue it. I envy them. While I generally know what I like: politics, international affairs, journalism, etc., I am unsure how studying these things will result in a viable career option that I will enjoy. However, I plan to amend this confusion over my summer break and get organized and focused. I want to have a real answer to the question: "what do you want to do when you get older?". I have recently decided that law school is my best bet, given my current circumstances. A law degree is highly versatile, and is applicable to many fields and almost all organizations. I would love to get a degree in international or public administration law (or something similar) and work for an organization (governmental or not) intent on trying to make the world a better place. That would be cool. I plan to soon find out which organizations fit this mandate and how a law degree would assist my employment opportunities with them.

Next year seems to be shaping up to be the busiest one yet. I'll be working, taking a (mostly) full course load, writing my LSAT in October, applying to law schools (and possibly Graduate schools, I haven't completely ruled them out yet), while hopefully increasing my GPA (I want the 3.5), all the while trying to have a semblance of a social life. Next year will have to have a strict balance between all these things, and I will need to organize my time wisely and properly (something I have admittedly could have done better with in my 3rd year).

Despite all this, deciding that law school is the way to go has at least provided me with a foundation to focus my thoughts and efforts, and I am thankful for that. I also know that I am not alone in surveying what the unknown future could hold for me, and I am (again) thankful and appreciative for this support network found in my amazing friends and family.

Stay thirsty my friends!

As many of my friends know, I am quite fond of alcoholic beverages and I have a specific affection for beer. Beer is both a refreshing beverage as well as a great socializing tool. It loosens you up enough in social situations to allow you to have a good time, but doesn't loosen you up so much that you end up making a fool of yourself - as "harder" drinks are more likely to do.

I also like trying new things, as well as collecting, and I have incorporated these two interests with my love of beer. Last summer I made a concentrated effort to try new beers and every time I did, I'd keep a bottle of the beer as a little memento. I think I've acquired a decent collection so far, and with the summer break here I will once again attempt to buy a new brew every time I go to the beer store.

Beer culture in Canada (and North American in general) is very strong. The Beer industry does a good job of advertising and selling their products as they tout beer - and alcohol in general - as being an essential part of any party, get together, or good time. While I do not always agree with what is portrayed in alcoholic advertisements or with how the beer culture operates in general, I am not going to argue the moral implications of alcohol-production companies who claim that drinking is necessary in order to have fun. The reason for my muteness on this topic is because I really think it's true, drinking indeed enhances your social experience and makes them better, I wouldn't be writing this blog entry if I didn't think that alcohol was a good thing. While I understand the dangers of alcohol - as with any substance, moderation is key - I am not going to let that inhibit me from enjoying it and treating all of you with this blog entry. God knows I've had my fair share of bad alcohol related experiences (we all have) but as we grow older and mature we learn how to moderate our consumption with what we can handle. Riding that proverbial "sweet spot" between "tipsy", "drunk", and "dangerously drunk" (quotes surround all these words as each term may mean something different to each individual reader) is an aspect of growing up and incorporating oneself into our society. The saying "please drink responsibly" is a necessary one despite the fact that we do not always adhere to it.

Below is the list of the brews that comprise my collection. It is not an exhaustive list, as I have tried many other beers, but it is just a collection of the bottles I had managed to keep. I am going to have to go back and retry some of the brews whose bottles I have failed to hold onto - in some cases I lament this process as there are some bad beers our there, but I'll do it for the good of the collection. All selections with a (*) indicate that this beer is one of my favourites from the bunch:

- Amstel Light*
- Brava Premium Lager*
- Bud Light Lime
- Budweiser*
- Cracked Canoe*
- Corona Extra*
- Corona Light
- Guinness Draught
- Krombacher
- Mill St. Original Organic
- Mill St. Tankhouse Ale
- Laker Ale*
- Molson Canadian
- Molson Canadian 67
- Samuel Adams Boston Lager
- Sleeman Clear
- Steam Whistle
- Stella Artois
- Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin

While I would like to further my beer-experiences and try a wide variety of different brews, there are a couple specific types of beer that I would love to try. The first should be easy to get - I could go to the beer store and pick it up at this very moment if I wanted - and it's Dos Equis. Referring to the beer industry and advertising, Dos Equis is known for it's commercials as it features "the most interesting man in the world." I am not going to lie, it is these advertisements that make me want to give Dos Equis a shot. The second beer I'd love to try will prove to be a lot harder to get. It's called Hell or High Watermelon and it is brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery out of San Fransisco. It's a wheat beer that is fermented using fresh watermelon (need I say more?). I don't even think the Beer Store or the LCBO carry this brand, so I guess I'll have to wait until the next time I'm in the Bay Area before I can pick some up.

So there you have it! A little insight into my beer tastes and preferences. Maybe at the end of the summer I'll make a reply post to this topic updating you all with how my collection looks after four more months of trying new brews! I have included a picture of my current collection below for your viewing pleasure. Cheers!

Aren't they beautiful?

May 1, 2011.

I was 11 years old on September 11, 2001. I remember my Grade 6 teacher, Ms. MacDonald, being visibly shaken on that morning, and soon enough the Principal made an announcement that something important was going on in New York City. I remember coming home from school that day to find my mother crying as she watched CNN, with the images of the World Trade Center towers being hit by commercial jets replaying over and over again.

On that tragic day roughly 3000 Americans lost their lives in a terrorist attack and the world was forever changed as the United States - and its allies - responded to the situation. Many more have died in the years that followed, and unfortunately I fear that this trend will continue in the years to come.

While I don't think I fully comprehended the situation at the time, over the years - as I matured and began to understand the world in which I lived - 9/11 - as it was called - became a central focus for me. Developing into an individual who follows, analyzes, and studies current affairs - and has a specific interest in world politics - it became impossible to analyze anything regarding modern politics without reference - implicitly or explicitly - to that fateful September day.

Today, 10 days prior to my 21st birthday, Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda - the group that perpetrated the 9/11 attacks - and the face of international terrorism for the past decade, is reported - and is confirmed - to have been killed.

May 1, 2011. A new day to be forever etched in history.