Winter Slang. Real Talk.

The time has come and I bestow upon you an injection of new fun words to spice up thy drone speak. Shake it up, add festivities! Thanks, trendcentral!

Gen Pop
n. term used to describe the general population when “bridge and tunnel,” yuppies, tourists or “undesirable” individuals “intrude” upon an event, outing, club or local restaurant
“Did you see that girl on the dance floor wearing purple Uggs? Wow, the gen pop really takes over this place on Saturdays. Let’s go to a dive bar.”

G.O.M.L.
v. acronym for the phrase “Get on My Level;” said when one person both wants to imply that someone else can’t keep up and wants to urge them to catch up
“C’mon, pot bellies are totally in. G.O.M.L., and order some chili cheese fries.”

Cuddy
n. a word used to describe something shady or sneaky
“He’s still listed as single on Facebook, even though they have been dating for, like, three months. That’s so cuddy!”

Curl
v. a new way to crop your pants without cuffing; best for skinny jeans, curling is when you roll the bottoms of your pant legs very tightly two or three times, creating a delicate cinch above the ankle
“If you wanna show off the studs on your boots, you should curl your jeans.”

Guacamole (Personal favorite!)
n. money, cash, or funds
“If we’re going to that bar, I’m gonna need to stop at the ATM to grab some guacamole for drinks.”

Post-Zuckerberg
adj. term used to describe the era of Facebook ubiquity
“In the Post-Zuckerberg era, I never email anyone, well, except for my gram and when I’m trying to dig my way out of funemployment.”

 

PS. In other news, my left foot is infected and quite swollen and I wish I had minion to tug fruit and vegetables up the stairs. I’m extremely lethargic from all the antibiotics I’ve to take.

PPS. Previous thematic post: Summer Slang, August 12

Filed under: Quotable, random facts , culture, fun, funny words, marketing, pop culture, trends, word

Quadruple Myself

I am a sucker for photo apps. If you didn’t know, back in the day I used to be heavy into photography, including spending my high school lunch hours in the darkroom, looking at photo books, magazines, walking around the city experimenting with shots, learning Photoshop a year prior taking photography class so that I’d be prepared to edit the negatives… Anyway, I love photos, taking photos and playing with photo toys.

I bought a QuadCamera iPhone app for $1.99 and, when it doesn’t freeze my screen, it is a fun little application. I think it requires way too much iPhone thinking power to work smoothly; sad story. Last night Josue took some fun shots of me and Lisa, and I thought I’d share them. Apparently there are not enough photos of self on this personal blog, har har.

The cool thing is, this app will give you both lomo-style four shots AND a gif file! You can select the desired filter and really experiment. Below are some shots of me horsing around According to Josue, “i’m really good at this”.

And nowwwww, the gifs!

Having a seizure yet?

Filed under: Great Products , fun, iphone, photography, photos, self, technology, toronto

Some Summer Slang For Ya

TrendCentral sent out a new set of hot wordizzles for us all, and I thought I’d share ze love.

Real Talk
n. This phrase is used to highlight that whatever is being said is the actual truth and not the rose-colored variety. One of the most famous users of this expression is v-logger Mr. Chi-City, who tends to drop the phrase every few seconds.
“Real talk, I was so hungover, I slept next to the toilet, real talk.”

Social Notworking
v. Checking your social networking pages while on the job.
“I got caught Facebook stalking by my boss today. I hope he doesn’t get mad I was social notworking.”

Gypster
n. A person who dresses like a hybrid of a gypsy and a hipster.
“There were hoards of gypsters at that Fleet Foxes concert afterparty in Echo Park last night.”

Shress
n. A tunic or shirt that is scandalously worn as a dress; the term has come into use because of the trend of girls leaving the house without a vital component – their pants. (And we’re not talking about mistaking leggings for pants; we mean the bare-legged girls that seem to be just wearing an oversized men’s shirt.)
“Can you believe she wore a shress to school? She looked like she just came from a slumber party.”

Epicocity
n. A word used to describe just how epic (i.e. awesome) something is.
“Did you see Tony jump out of the tree into the swimming pool? It was totally stupid but I gotta say the epicocity level was 10.”

DT
abbr. This strictly means “down to” and originated in the land of texting. Like other phrases that begin at the thumbs of teenage girls, DT has migrated into actual verbal conversations.
“Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?” “DTGS”

Berry
n. A term used to describe a member of the opposite sex.
“See them berries sipping on martinis? They look ripe for a picking.”

Here is the first part in the slang series

Filed under: random facts , culture, fun, funny words, marketing, pop culture, trends, word

What I Was Made For

My dreams do not end at the white picket fence, a Golden retriever, a BBQ, a 2-hour commute and a pack of kids. No offense to people who aim for that, I have respect for that kind of life and clearly see the benefits. This is not an attack, but stage-setting.

I was made in a different part of the human factory. I got adventure, thirst, and restless, unbreakae spirit hardwired into me. I was meant to push the limits and go places others only vaguely heard of. I could not – at least not in the foreseeable future, – settle down and succumb to the droning repetitive Monday-Fridays, chore Saturdays and BBQ Sundays. Again, not a sin in my books, but not my priority.

I know there is so much more to learn, to try, to see, to know and feel. Especially in our day and age of digital communications. How can I feel content within my 5-block radius, knowing that I could be dancing in Rio and watching the fireworks in Shanghai, helping the kids of Tibet or learning how to manage a herd of caribous? We are all living in the same village now; I can’t pretend that I would be entirely content in the quiet, pastel, mall-like part of it.

McLuhan writes something that strongly resonates with me and compels me to move, act, interact, question and learn:

“the shock of recognition! In an electric information environment [...]Too many people know too much about each other. Our new environment compels commitment and participation. We have become irrevocably involved with, and responsible for, each other.”

I can’t sit around or simply operate in my micro-household galaxy.  That is why I plunge into the unknown; I will continue to do so for as long as I can. I want to die a life worth re-telling, a life worth of millions of gigabytes of memories, smiles, people and passions.

“I love the world; I want more than the world.” The Dying Man by Theodore Roethke. In Memoriam W.B. Yates.

Filed under: moving up , poetry, poem, self, fun, literature, future

Gourmet Acrobatics, i.e. plain ol’ feasting

I was just sitting on my patio in Looney Tunes bedroom shorts from La Senza (I’ve Sylvester & Tweetie), soaking in the wonderful sun over Toronto and thinking about how great last night was and what my favorite moments were. Then I realized that I might as well blog about this. Gotta archive memories for those octogenarian days.

I felt obliged to outdo the Beta Party’s edible offerings (i.e. the April patio party). I prepared the following: quail eggs with black caviar and zaatar; avocado with bella donna cheese on a heavy lemoned Parisian toastie; diced herring, green apples, onion on a crostini; straw mushrooms, Quebecois blue cheese salami, olives stuffed with lemons in a sea of virgin olive oil and aleppo pepper; smoked oysters with herbed goat cheese and a dash of black salt on toasties; cucumber cups stuffed with truffled chevre, zaatar and a dill; strawberries wrapped in prosciutto plus melon with prosciutto. I know it was a successful selection because there are no leftovers and everybody is happy.

I was very happy to see some of my favorite people gathered on one patio and enjoying themselves. Guests brought a varied selection of drinks, mostly wines. I was particularly impressed with Jeremy’s quest for a fine red. I even researched this Louis Max 2005 Gervrey-Chambertin Les Azerottes. Denise tied a pretty ribbon around the Francis Ford Coppola Shiraz (I talk about movies a lot to inspire such purchases, hehe), which was also great. Will’s Fat Bastard Merlot was fabulous as well. I haven’t had a chance to savour other wines to comment! Now that I look at the bottles, I notice that all of them are indeed non-Canadian (I pointed out my apathy for canuck wines in my Facebook invite)  except for Lisa and Josue’s Jackson Triggs. The LCBO near their abode closed before they could make it; Josue was actually temporarily upset about having to bring Canadian wine, ha)

Everyone enjoyed the music, as evidence by comments on my taste. That’s very pleasant to hear, it’s encouraging, folks. At one point we all remembered that Jay Goldman was missing, and quickly exercised a tweetmob. I tweeted “Jay Goldman @jaygoldman”, and every  Twitterer (and there were some sans it! I don’t entirely live on the interwebs, see) on the patio sent the same thing. Lo and behold, a couple of tweets from people who weren’t even on the patio followed, ha.

More people came later that night, we danced around and blasted classic Russian rock bands. If you are or want to be into Kino (as you should), check the Zvezda Po Imeni Solnce (A Star Called Sun) album. Even Will Pate made an appearance! I’m very glad about that. I even busted out Vosges Haute Chocolat: sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate. After the crowd dissipated and I changed into my sleeping attire (said Looney Tunes shorts), Roger came back with the crew and we set out on a quest for pho. I wore Sylvester & Tweetie shorts in public! And had no Vietnamese late night foods. Bedtime with sunrise for us all stars. Wondrously, I am feeling energized, happy and not hungover, albeit I wish I could’ve slept till 3pm. To the right is the aftermath of 15-20 people soiree. Thank you all, there will be more of nights like this one!

Filed under: Great Times , food, friends, fun, obsessions, summer, toronto, twitter

Canadian Street Naming

Canadian cities oftentimes include street names that cover provinces, trees, (always) Broadway and various British historical figures. During my last trip to Vancouver, when I was looking up a way to get to my friend’s place, I found this curious little item: between Main and Cambie streets there are a bunch of successive streets named after Canadian provinces. From East to West they go: Quebec Street, Ontario Street, Manitoba, Columbia (presumably British Columbia), Alberta Street and Yukon. Everything is swell and sound until we realize that Alberta and (British) Columbia should’ve switched places. Someone must have done poorly in geography class, or simply tried to be cheeky. Either way, a fun fact about Vancouver.

Filed under: random facts , canada, cities, fun, fun facts, vancouver

Foodie April Calendar

Here are some exciting holidays that you may never heard of! I personally can’t wait for the bird day on April 8, because I am getting two budgeriars (a.k.a. parakeets or budgies) tomorrow

April 1

• National Sourdough Bread Day

April 2

• National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day

April 3

• National Chocolate Mousse Day

April 4

• National Cordon Bleu Day

April 5

• National Raisin & Spice Bar Day

April 6

• National Caramel Popcorn Day

April 7

• National Coffee Cake Day

April 8

• National Empanada Day
• International Bird Day

April 9

• National Chinese Almond Cookie Day

April 10

• National Cinnamon Crescent Day

April 11

• National Cheese Fondue Day
• Dandelion Day

April 12

• National Licorice Day

April 13

• National Peach Cobbler Day

April 14

• National Pecan Day

April 16

• National Eggs Benedict Day
  

April 17

• National Cheeseball Day

April 18

• National Animal Crackers Day

April 19

• Garlic Day

April 20

• National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day

April 22

• National Jelly Bean Day

April 23

• National Cherry Cheesecake Day

April 25

• National Zucchini Bread Day

April 26

• National Pretzel Day

April 27

• National Prime Rib Day
• It’s also a Write an Old Friend Day, so write that friend.

April 28

• National Blueberry Pie Day

April 29

• National Shrimp Scampi Day

April 30

• National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Filed under: simple life , 2009, april, date, fun, holidays

at Bar Gagarin

Originally uploaded by dreamtiger

This is one of my most favorite photos of me. This one is like a secret that I’m not telling, just look at those cheeky eyes. There’s something special about being in Berlin, sitting on a bright red chair that matches my hair, under a large pretty umbrella with a bright orange neon backpack, purple watch, teal shirt that says “It’s not over, not over, yeah” (which is, in my opinion, influenced by the Klaxons’ “It’s not over, not over, not over yet”), and teaching my friend about the proper ways of drinking vodka, according to the Russians. Our plate is called Intelligenz, and it includes chopped herring with apple, pickles, rye bread, onions and some other goodies.
I’m actually glad there is quite a number of us Russian folks in Berlin. It’s always nice to encounter fellow men so far away from the Motherland.
By the way, few days later, when I was in Barcelona, someone (an Eastern European fellow from Talinn, Estonia) who used to follow my Livejournal a while back messaged me and asked me if I was at Bar Gagarin in Prenzlauer Berg on such and such date. I said, yes, why. He said he was there at exactly the same time, and recognized my red hair. Wow, talk about coincidence!? Small world, folks, small world. I can only imagine what my life is going to be like in 5-7 years.

This is Dave drinking his portion of the Intelligentz

Filed under: the world eh , Berlin, Europe, food, friends, fun, memories, photos

New Slang

I just got my daily dose of awesome via TrendCentral, which in my opinion is the best trend-watching and relevant service out there. All you marketers better get on the end of it. I dream of going to their Trend Schools in New York or L.A. In the past, I have narrowly missed them, but not next year! Interestingly, I started practicing hatecation last fall by eliminating the words “hate”, “don’t like”, “can’t stand” and constructing my sentences differently.

RECESSION-INSPIRED SLANG
Povo (po-vo)
adj. Spawned from the increasing popularity of new HBO series Summer Heights High, the Aussie slang for poor has infiltrated the vocabulary of recessionistas everywhere
“Caroline, I can’t go out to dinner tonight: My pay cut has left me totally povo.”

RELATIONSHIP SLANG
Ex-hole
n. Your ex boyfriend/girlfriend who dumped you via Post-it/text/drop-off-the-face-of-the-earth-disappearing-act and who is now flouncing around town with a new love interest
“I bumped into my ex-hole this morning – she said she was so sorry that she cheated on me, blah blah blah. I wanted to puke.”

Hot Room
n. A social setting that involves a mix of people whose relationships to each other are, well, complicated
“I was sitting next to my current flame and then my ex-hole walked in with his current girlfriend, who I had a falling out with in high school – total hot room!”

DIGITAL SLANG

Geequals
n. Two people who are equal in depth of arcane knowledge
“I knew I had met my geequal when Frank showed me his Star Wars light saber iPhone app.”

Myselfish
adj. A term used to describe people’s need for recognition and self-fulfillment via the Internet. This is accomplished with incessant Facebook status updates and TMI-Twitter feeds, and serves the purpose of making one feel important and/or noticed
“My friends consider my need to Twitter detailed accounts of my trips to Trader Joe’s, the gas station, and my opinions on anything, really, to be annoyingly myselfish. I consider it shameless self-promotion!”

THIS YEAR’S REHAB
Retox (ree-tox)
v. To go back on your New Year’s resolutions and do the opposite of the goals you set for yourself
“Instead of following my resolution to get fit this year, I decided to retox and take up cooking classes instead. Oh well, no one follows New Year’s resolutions anyway, right?”

Smashed Potatoes
adj. Drunk, inebriated, similar to the term “hot mess”
“Sorry I bailed without saying good night, but I was smashed potatoes.”

STREET SLANG
Hate-cation
n. Taking a vacation from being a hater where you are committed to not saying anything bad about anyone or anything; synonymous with “moral cleanse”
“Whatever, I know you have an opinion but just can’t speak your mind because you are on a hate-cation.”

Obama/Not Obama
adj. London street reporters proclaim that our new President has become synonymous with “cool”
“Yeah, that is so Obama!”

Alt-worthy
adj. A term used to describe people or things considered to be cool or trendy
“The pop-up art gallery on Elizabeth Street is alt-worthy.”

Filed under: the world eh , fun, fun facts, funny words, marketing, trends, word

Mario Entertainment

I enjoy Mario video game, loved playing it back in the day, despite the fact that I never finished it! Never! Maybe it’s the Bowzer’s communist spirit that got to me. Who knows. But the Japanese recently did a live pupper/actor show. They were quite agile and animated, gotta love that:

And what about Mario inspired by a first person shooter?

Back to work, all!

Filed under: random facts , fun, games, memories, video

Highlights of 2008

I’m glad the year of the Mouse/Rat is over. It was a tough year, but also a very rewarding one, filled with events, color and life. It was definitely a great one for meeting new people and leaving the dead end contacts behind. It was a year of travels, learning, emotional change of scenery, breaking the habits, and finding peace. In short:

Vice internship, movies with Slava, Barbi, snow angel challenge, high tea, cuckoo New York trip, mad revelations and heartbreaks, the legendary night of the Justice show at the Great Hall, indoor pool voleyball in Richmond Hill with a blizzard outside, Montreal for the first time ever, straight to Vancouver, the return of Dimitri, straight A’s that semester, “I love nature” cottage visit, summer internship, more Montreal, Lemeac, Rajni, Ottawa, Rafael Nadal, gourmet adventures with Roberto, Magdalena’s return, dancing late and coming to work early, Osho, red eye to Europe, constantly ringing cell in Berlin, Baltic Sea, goth party in the bunker, wasp attack, Kunstwerke, Michael and Karin’s epic search for a gallery, scootering in Ibiza, flying, getting lost in the hills with fuel running out, Gaudi, Joan Miro, Catalan people, Faulkner’s Light in August, La Tomatina, Valencia’s paellas, the girl from Jupiter, getting lost in Barcelona with a flight to catch, gloomy London and port, vintage stores in Shoreditch, Strategic Planning, yoga, wonderful professors, wonderful people, PalmsOut in October, jerks stealing my possessions, Vosges chocolate in SoHo, Coney Island freak show, Mad Men, calming down, peace of mind, movie night with dear C.L., playing the tambourine till 4am, BBDO, roommate reunion, blizzards in Vancouver, the return of Scotch, securing that opportunity, The Sacred Book of the Werewolf, light at the end of the tunnel, Russian madhouse, caviar and champagne on New Year’s Eve.

Filed under: memories , 2008, barcelona, bbdo, Berlin, career, Europe, friends, fun, fun time, ibiza, improvements, joy, life, London, memories, montreal, plans, review, ryerson, Spain, tomatina, toronto, travels

Six Things That Make Me Happy

Below is my happy 6 in alphabetical order, as I wouldn’t be to assign numbers anyway:

• Baths: When I was a child, living back in Russia, I used to love two things the most – books and water. Combining the two led to Fridays and Saturdays spent in the bath tub, reading. Those were the epic nights: 4-hour bath marathons, sometimes with bubbles, but usually without (dealing with foamy things is so burdensome when you have a good book to worry about), snacks, tea, whatnot. I’m starting to revive the tradition, but alas, the bath tub at my Toronto abode is not the best, so I resort to bathing in my Vancouver home or at friend’s (yes, I know…)

• Bugs Tomato: He’s three years old, and I still call him a puppy. I wrote a post about this wonderful, smart, handsome and loving chihuahua here.

• Good conversations: I value a great debate, or an emotional discussion, confessions, dramatic monologues, lively dialogues, and really, any conversation that does the intelligence of my fellow debaters justice. I feel rejuvenated after a really good talk, be that a discussion of the latest scientific discovery, the welfare of silverback gorrillas in the Virunga valley, the next hotshot DJ, Martin Margiela SS 09  or the economic environment of Mauritius. As you can tell, I like to learn a thing or two when talking to others.

• Style: this encompasses doing activities in style, to living in style, to keeping it real, to dressing oneself well, to being the person one truly wants to be. That’s what style really is. It’s not just about the latest clothing item or the pink Juicy Couture jumpsuit (eek), it’s how one carries him/herself. It makes me really happy to see people expressing themselves in whatever fashion that would be. Just do express yourself tastefully.

• Seafood: I’m the master devourer of oysters, sashimi (particularly fatty tuna and west coast salmon). I adore octopi, including their effects on my tastebuds as well as on my mind – those cephalopods are smarty pants, too. Some of you know my endless love affair with caviar (another post of mine) – my nickname is Behemoth is for the same reason. Mussels are never a no, and so is swordfish, and even red snapper brightens my day. I’ve written about lobsters, too, and would delightfully consume them all day, every day, followed by a great dose of niacin to battle the cholesterol.

• Travel: New places, new people, discoveries of the self and of the culture of others. I thrive on being someplace new, getting out of my comfort zone and jumping into the unknown. I travel well alone as I don’t have to adjust my own schedule to anyone else’s and can maintain my ‘get up early, do cultural things, eat local foods, snap lots of pictures, go out and be social till the wee hours’, then rinse and repeat.  As for the airports: given the weather is not ruining the flights and angry fliers aren’t in my face, I am always excited to be in these shrines of constant departure and arrival. Flying is the best for me, driving – the least exciting.

I would be interested to see what the following people would include in their lists:  Tara, Kevin, Vaneska, Slava, Kat, Danielle.

Filed under: moving up , bugstomato, caviar, chihuahua, fashion, food, friends, fun, joy, memories, obsessions, penchant, russia, seafood, travels

an idea from German Rostock

“that’s from my anorexic period”, said the ghost of capitalism, pointing at the ghost of communism.

Filed under: imaginings, moving up , self, fun, travels, ideas

Taking Berlin

Well, well, well. I am in Germany! It is fantastic. Last night I went to Tresor night club, which is a former power plant, and now is a crazy techno club. Gritty place, complete with cold basement spilling over hard techno sounds and scary looking employees with t-shirts that proclaim “Tresor never sleeps”. Agreed. We escaped the full-on party around 5:30am, and that’s nevertheless early.

Tonight I am going to Rostock to rock out a bit there, eat some fish, and drink champagne with Florian.

I’ve had currywurst for the first time, and it was fabulous. I also noticed that cigarette packs have 17 units in them, which I find completely odd. There is no such thing as “last call”, which is the way it should be. People bike a lot in Berlin, and I am even thinking of renting one myself and cruise the city.

Humboldt Universitat sells awesome t-shirts: “Wilhelm & Alexander & ich”. I got one for myself.

I’m taking videos and photographs here, living in Berlin in a less touristy way and having a generally awesome time. Great company, great city, great weather, great memories.

Filed under: moving up , 2008, Berlin, Europe, fun, germany, memories, mobile, self, summer, travels, trip

Some notes

I found this poem/song through flickr. It came with this photo.

I was flying through the night sky.
夜空を飛んでいた。
Receiving the night wind whose feeling is good,
気持ちのよい夜風を受けて、
I was flying through the sky.
空を飛んでいた。
“More a little to the other side”
「もう少し向こうへ」
It’s not visible exactly from here,
ここからちょうど見えない、
To the world on that other side.
あの向こうの世界へ。

I will be flying off to Europe on Sunday evening! I am indeed getting more and more excited. By the second. As soon as I write my final exam of this summer (on Saturday), I will be free! BBQ will follow, some relaxation, skipping the Vice party in order to hang out at the park, and then Bobmo, Jean Nipon and Kip Bambino at the Drake Undeground. I say, great way to celebrate! I’ll try to sleep in as much as possible on Sunday, and then off to adventureland I go!

Filed under: moving up, the world eh , fun, japanese, joy, languages, poem, self, toronto, travels, vice