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

Slow Art Toronto

I want to tell you more about Slow Art Toronto, taking place on Saturday, October 17, at the Art Gallery of Ontario at around 11am. I’d like you to join me. Art viewing starts around 11:30am (I know you like your sleeps ), lunch and discussion starts at 1:30pm.
The event is “Slow Art” and it’s designed to help all of us perceive art in a new way – to exercise our seeing, thinking and listening muscles. I see it as a springboard for newbies to art, and a discussion board for those familiar with the art or design world. Considering that, on average, a person spends 8 seconds (!) looking at an artwork in a museum, challenging someone to devote between 10 and 60 minutes to a work of art may lead to unexpected art discoveries. This October, there are slow art events happening all over the world. Boston, Copenhagen, London, New York, Los Angeles and more. I’m thrilled to be hosting the Toronto one! Register here!

Slow Art was originally started by novices in NYC to invite other novices (and connoisseurs) to come, to feel welcome, to not worry about what experts say but rather to take the time to see and explore what is possible when gradually viewing art. It’s a perfect opportunity to see what one can discover with a few guiding paragraphs and considerable amount of time.

Having gone back to my art history training and theory, I’ve pre-selected a collection of interesting pieces; I will be emailing those on the Slow Art TO guest list soon.

I’m looking forward to hearing what you think about the pieces you see, and I’m excited to meet you all. If you know of others who may find this interesting, please extend the invitation.

Filed under: art , art, event, learning, pop culture, society, 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

81 Films In 4 Months

Ever since I purchased my MacBook Pro, thus starting fresh in the world of personal computers, I set out to manage my data properly and responsibly.

After organizing my files, I set out to expand my media vault. Below is the list of films (in alphabetical order) I have acquired over the past 4 months; some – dearly loved, others I have never seen (or even heard) before. My collection is significantly populated with art house/independent films, and I love it.

What do you say?

1    2001: A Space Odyssey
2    400 Blows
3    A Short Film About Killing
4    A Woman Under The Influence
5    Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Filed under: simple life , culture, film, movies, obsessions, pop culture

Placebo Works Better

Placebo is the best band in the world in my opinion, and it’s one of the most underrated ones. I’ve been an ardent fan of theirs since about 2000, if not earlier (maybe not as long as No Doubt’s, but I stopped loving No Doubt the moment Gwen started whoring herself out). Not only is Brian Molko a handsome fox, but he’s also got quite a big mouth. Oh yeah, and did I tell you he wears make up since 12? A man open about his sexuality, quite a novel, especially back in 1994.

I missed their concert in Vancouver back in 2003, and that made me incredibly sad. But I won’t miss any more concerts, especially since their 7th studio album, Battle For The Sun, is set for release on June 8, 2009! Go download the title track for free, right here or straight from this post. Now I would like to shut up and instead share my favorite Placebo tracks with you. Even if you never listened to this British band before, now is your chance. Click on the link, and you’ll be able to download directly from MediaFire.

• Special K – the slow, acoustic version. Special K is also my nickname. I could barely find the mp3 second time my computer died, and I have since then copied this track in many locations so as to never lose it again.
• Without You I’m Nothing - dear Mr David Bowie, Molko’s friend, has done a swell job here.
• Every You, Every Me – Who can ever forget this track from Cruel Intentions?
• Haemoglobin – first sentence: “I was hanging from a tree / Unaccustomed to such violence / Jesus looking down on me/ I’m prepared for one big silence”
• Slackerbitch – I used to really love screaming “fag hag whore, looks real cute, her lips are sore” during this song
• Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover) – simply beautiful, just as good as the original!
• Twenty Years – I’d say this is the song that marks the shift to more grown up material
• Protect Me From What I Want – really a sad song; I’ve grown to think that it has to do with a craving for drugs, thanks to this song painting a bleak vision of our world… or some part of it.
• Nancy Boy – a Placebo classic! Eyeholes in a paper bag / Greatest lay I ever had Kind of guy who mates for life / Gotta help him find a wife
• English Summer Rain – poor L-town. It’s a fun track when you’re on the run or hating Londinium
• Meds – it features VV of The Kills, not that I’m familiar with those, but nevertheless. “Babyyyy, did you forget to take your meds?”
• Blind – I find this song pretty romantic, poignant and utterly emotional… Sob sob sob
• Pure Morning – ok, this is on here because that’s the first Placebo video I’ve ever watched and my first comments were, “wtf, what a weird girl!” Then I inquired further, and everything changed.
• **New!** Battle For The Sun – the title track from the upcoming album!

Filed under: Great Products , mp3, music, obsessions, placebo, pop culture, product

On Talking Fast

Last week at work a young handsome man of African descent told me that perhaps I should speak a little slower. He said something about 50% slower. I shrugged it off, and said that people can actually adjust to a fast pace, especially if you’re making crystal clear sense. It’s definitely easier to adjust to a faster speech than an accent or incomprehensible blabber; worse yet, it’s incredibly hard to understand a poorly constructed or illogical dialogue.

Now, I’ve looked at the Introduction to the Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy, and guess what: “I advised the reader to restrict himself to ninety words a minute in television commercials. It is now known that, on average, 200 words a minute sells more of your product. Pitchmen in open-air markets know this, so they talk fast.” (p. 17) That was in 1988. Twenty years later, I’m willing to bet on 300.

Why am I likening myself to television commercials (obviously, the effective ones)? Because I see myself as the product. My own self. A Brand. Those of you who know me personally (and not), know exactly what I am talking about. I am selling myself, and it usually works. In addition to talking fast, the mind has to be going twice as fast, as I’ve to come up with punchlines, think about possible objections or answers to questions before you get to formulating them. Most of the time, it’s intoxicating to listen to a fast speech :-p My thinking doesn’t stop when my mouth stops. Imagine what a blessing it is when writing exams and papers. Wouldn’t you, as my employer, want to have someone who can outthink the sceptics and plunge into problem-solving before the vast majority does?

Filed under: advertising, the world eh , advertising, brand, marketing, ogilvy, pop culture, productivity, research, self

15 years old again

Here is how it is: I laugh at the audience of preadolescent gals – or adolescent? Heck, let’s just say, tweens, – frenzying it up for some teenage vampires. Oh, and I don’t even know what the movie is about, and what sort of hilarity we are destined to see. And hilarious it is. Except that on the 55th minute you rapidly start swaying towards the gentlemanly Edward Cullen. Later on, one clues in that no 17- or 25-year old would ever act so nobly; it takes approximately 100 years to figure out how to treat a woman (girl in this case) right.

And yes, I remember how I used to love, love, love Anne Rice’s novels (that, last time I checked, still held the top of mind place in consumers’ minds), and vampire Lestat, and vampire Armand. I gave up on all of that. Ad then True Blood sucked me back into it. And so did the Lancome Piha Black lipgloss over their red lipstick a la Louboutin sole of a shoe.

And then this Twilight thing came out. I don’t mind admitting that I appreciate Robert Pattinson’s exterior, thank God for our same-agedness. If he was a tad bit younger, I would have to reconsider. All right, Edward Cullen, take me away! I am, too, a fan of Debussy’s.

PS. This review made me laugh so hard, I nearly had to rush to the washroom. Bagels, doom, and proletarian demands. I say, get them while they’re young!

Filed under: simple life , film, fun time, marketing, movies, music, obsessions, pop culture, product, review, twilight

Lusting After Truest Blood

Those who know me probably know that I don’t own TV and don’t watch television series much. I do have a thing for Heroes (and am enjoying season 3), and I enjoyed Arrested Development. The new show on the block that I got sucked into is True Blood (oh yeah, recommended by Hans yet again!). I’ve always been a fan of vampires (heck, I even went through that whole stage in high school!), so this is fun to watch. Bill Crompton, ze vampire, is always interesting to watch.

Alan Ball, who was behind Six Feet Under, created this series. Only five episodes have been aired so far, so you can catch up on SideReel or Surf The Channel. The show has got violence, humor, Southern cliches, and lots of (sometimes rough) sex. There are also a lot of evil humans, hilarious characters, accents that stick with you, and a whole lot of other goodness.

It’s a lighter show, but definitely worth it if you want to some lighter entertainment with a supernatural twist. Plus, Anna Paquin is cute!

Oh yeah, and as a marketer, I must point out several sites that revolve around this show (which I think are great tools for solidifying loyalty to this series). LoveBitten is the human-vampire dating site, and there is also the official webpage for Tru Blood, which is what vampires drink in the movies if they want to keep their killing practices on the low. If they do, when they do.

Filed under: the world eh , pop culture, series, silly, television, true blood, tv

Snippets

The Watchmen trailer is out. The Dark Knight broke the opening night record. It grossed around $155 million on the opening weekend.

* * *

I had a great weekend – saw professional tennis (Toronto is currently enjoying its Rogers Cup), some of which included Nadal sitting in the middle of the court and posing for cameras. We concluded that Nadal should instead do what he born to do, and that was tennis, not modeling.

I also played video with Jeremy for 7 or 8 hours straight! Unheard of! I felt a little guilty for spending so many hours completing quests and such (we played The Simpsons Game), but on the other hand I’ve never done things like this when I was in high school, which seems to be the universal prime time for these activities.

When I was in high school I never spent hours watching TV or playing games. I did chop up fashion magazines for my collages, I wrote stories, took photographs with my 35mm camera and developed them, read tons, had tea with friends, did my homework and generally kept myself busy.

Actually, the one thing I did do at some point in grade 11 (fall 2002) is wake up around 7am – and sometimes 6am – in order to play Warcraft III before going to my first class. And I vividly remember how I would wolf down the pages of American Psycho as I waited for the game to load.

Filed under: simple life , american psycho, bret easton ellis, games, high school, memories, pop culture, warcraft

On Batmans

Jeremy, Ian, Elia and I went to the 12:50am screening of the latest Batman affair. It nearly sold out, too.

Right after I purchased my advanced tickets at work yesterday, I announced that I was going to spoil the movie for everyone in the office. Obviously, that was a joke. My coworker took it to heart, however, and seriously uttered: “You better not spoil the movie!” I said: “Yeah, yeah, I better NOT indeed” in a manner that was rather saying, “what are you going to do about it?”

It’s a great movie – it’s intense, dark, shocking, unrelenting in the distance it’s willing to go. Very effective.

But there is nothing to spoil! Don’t tell me you don’t have the slightlest clue on who’s going to get caught, who is going to die, who should die, who doesn’t die, who ends up worse than before. In fact, everyone ends up in a worse state than they originally started with. I thought of Prisoner’s Dilemma when the movie ended, although the two are not directly related. The only way I’d spoil things is if I outlined particularly effective action scenes. But I wouldn’t do that! :-p

Go see it in IMAX if you can. I probably will.

PS. Yes, Joker is amazing. Amusing fellow, in fact.

Filed under: simple life , batman, joker, movies, pop culture, prisoners dilemma