Apr. 3, 2017 "Father John Misty is just kidding around … maybe": Today I found this article by Matt Williams in the Globe and Mail:
Over the phone from Los Angeles, Josh Tillman – the creator of libidinous, shamanic indie-folk rocker Father John Misty – says the sun’s out, and with no photo shoot to attend, maybe he’ll “just sit around and take selfies.” Just a few days earlier, he debuted Total Entertainment Forever, a track from his upcoming album Pure Comedy, on Saturday Night Live. The song opens with the line, “Bedding Taylor Swift every night inside the Oculus Rift.”
The Internet reacted, well … swiftly. Tillman has since acknowledged the grotesqueness of the lyric, and clarified that the point was to confront the often disturbing ways people entertain themselves. After pointing out that anger is “the real commodity right now,” and explaining the click-collecting culture of media websites, Tillman expresses sympathy for those hammering out articles about the reaction his SNL gig elicited.
The Internet reacted, well … swiftly. Tillman has since acknowledged the grotesqueness of the lyric, and clarified that the point was to confront the often disturbing ways people entertain themselves. After pointing out that anger is “the real commodity right now,” and explaining the click-collecting culture of media websites, Tillman expresses sympathy for those hammering out articles about the reaction his SNL gig elicited.
“They know a song is a song, they know there’s such a thing as metaphor. They know there’s such a thing as using pop culture as a means to make a larger point,” he says. “But they have to pretend they don’t understand all that in order to create articles that serve the function that their corporate overlords have deemed is the function of their website.”
Modern entertainment has ended up a topic Tillman has been pressed on ad nauseam since last July, when he ranted about the stupidity of it before walking offstage early at the XPoNential Music Festival in New Jersey. Since the arrival of Misty’s 2012 debut, Fear Fun, the often contentious, frequently meta singer has made news mocking corporate folk tunes, labelling Ryan Adams’s 1989 Taylor Swift tribute record “a grotesque stunt,” and satirizing everything from generic pop and themusic industry to himself (he has, after all, co-written Beyoncé and Lady Gaga songs).
The idea of Father John Misty as a character, a lascivious sham-mystic nonsense identity, is a red herring – there is only Josh Tillman. But he’s been such a consistent and polarizing source of entertainment, you’d be forgiven for seeing the song-and-dance man as a sincere entertainer.
Typically clad in a breezy, slim-cut suit, Tillman slinks around stages, wades into audiences and falls to his knees with a fist in the sky when the drama of a song demands it. But, by lulling listeners with a gorgeous melody only to confront them with something such as human extinction, he believes he’s aiming for a loftier target.
Typically clad in a breezy, slim-cut suit, Tillman slinks around stages, wades into audiences and falls to his knees with a fist in the sky when the drama of a song demands it. But, by lulling listeners with a gorgeous melody only to confront them with something such as human extinction, he believes he’s aiming for a loftier target.
With Pure Comedy, he hits it. Although it was written and recorded prior to the 2016 U.S. election, Misty’s third album is almost unnervingly prescient in its political and religious commentary, no doubt informed by Tillman’s devout Christian upbringing. It’s a behemoth of a record, not only for its 75-minute running time, but its exploration of existential questions.
On the opening title track, Tillman zooms out in his spaceship to take the listener on a tour of life on Earth, beholding the fragility of human life, bizarre religious beliefs and addiction to distraction. The point of the ride, Tillman says, is to “observe without prejudice, without emotion. Let’s just take a look at these core ironies. I think when you do that, these absurdities start to emerge, like the fact that we really do just kind of worship ourselves.”
On the opening title track, Tillman zooms out in his spaceship to take the listener on a tour of life on Earth, beholding the fragility of human life, bizarre religious beliefs and addiction to distraction. The point of the ride, Tillman says, is to “observe without prejudice, without emotion. Let’s just take a look at these core ironies. I think when you do that, these absurdities start to emerge, like the fact that we really do just kind of worship ourselves.”
Tillman pulls off the bait-and-switch with toe-tapping melody and soft, folk-rock grandeur, often recalling Elton John’s ambitious piano-driven pop, Randy Newman’s heavy cleverness and Neil Young’s laid-back folk. In the past, Misty records have been packed with snide barbs and scathing cultural commentary that borders on the holier-than-thou, and earned Tillman something of a reputation as a cynic. There’s some of that on Pure Comedy, too.
But irony is not Tillman’s only tool, and digging deep into his latest work reveals depths of sincerity in volumes he hasn’t previously explored. The album is incredibly personal but global in scope (Tillman calls it “a love letter to humanity”). It’s in no small part because of his reaction to the capital “A” absurdity of just being alive – a theme running rampant through Pure Comedy. Instead of confronting the meaninglessness of existence with something like nihilism, he chose another way.
But irony is not Tillman’s only tool, and digging deep into his latest work reveals depths of sincerity in volumes he hasn’t previously explored. The album is incredibly personal but global in scope (Tillman calls it “a love letter to humanity”). It’s in no small part because of his reaction to the capital “A” absurdity of just being alive – a theme running rampant through Pure Comedy. Instead of confronting the meaninglessness of existence with something like nihilism, he chose another way.
“The best way you can come to terms with absurdity is to love someone, because you don’t fall in love with someone based on this checklist of ideals,” Tillman says. “That’s what a sociopath does. You fall in love with someone because of their absurdity and because of their weakness, because of their pain and their shortcomings. You start to recognize your own shortcomings in another person, and you start to realize you can be loved. We love each other for these reasons. In the same way, that’s why I think this is a very loving album. These are all things I love about humanity in a way that is beyond the rational.”
My opinion: I'm going to put that in my inspirational quotes.
My opinion: I'm going to put that in my inspirational quotes.
Tillman knows it’s impossible to truly reproduce the small moments in life – like when he gazes at his wife over drinks on the album’s final track, In Twenty Years or So – that silence Pure Comedy’s existential anxiety. But if, as he’s said, art is about remembering your life, the Sisyphean urge to document those moments must be worth it.
“When you get those moments where you really feel there’s nothing to fear, even though tomorrow may be completely terrifying for some new reason, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Tillman says. “This world will never be able to provide a meaningful counterfeit for that. This world and all of our artists will never be able to duplicate that and mass-produce it.”
Apr. 21, 2017 "The season for romance": Today I found this article by Joanne Richard in the Edmonton Journal:
Love is in the air - especially love at first sight.
According to a new ElitesSingles survey, romance rules with single men - nearly three out of four believe in love at first sight. Women come in at 61%, with females aged 30-40 the least likely to believe in it. Overall, 84% of singles aged 18-29 believe in instant love, compared with 65% of those aged 30 plus.
"When you experience it you know it's real... and when it does happen to you, you know that it can't happen again. It's way too strong and crazy," says EliteSingles psychologist Salama Marine. "It's when you're not looking for a partner at all and you're 100% focused on your life, when you least expect it, it will happen to you."
If you believe it, it is real: 41% of men, versus 29% of women, say they have experienced instant romantic love, reports a Match.com 2014 study.
Relationship expert Nicole McCance believes in lust at first sight. "Lust, physical attraction and desire can happen at first sight. But love, which is about a deeper connection and caring, can't really happen by only observing someone and not knowing anything about them. However, lust can turn into love with time."
Turns out, the real thing isn't based on the instant chemistry, but instead on the actual amount of time people spend together, reports a University of Texas study.
So instead think love at first meeting - that's what increases the survival chances of initial love, says romantic love expert Aaron Ben-Ze'ev. "Such a meeting provides more time to get to know other characteristics of the person, like wisdom, wittiness, and a sense of humour, and to become involved in initial common activities, such as conversation."
He believes that there is love at first sight but not profound love at first sight or even in the first five hours - it needs much more time, says Ben-Ze'ev, adding that findings conflict whether love at first sight can turn into long-term profound love.
It can when what you see at first sight the real qualities of the other person. "If it is not, then love will not survive for long, as attraction is not all you need in long-term profound love," says Ben-Ze'ev, professor at the University of Haifa and president of European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions.
When love lightning strikes, keep these tips in mind:
Take your time to get to know the person before you give them your heart, says McCance, of nicolemccance.com.
Don't get physically intimate right away - the love hormone oxytocin that is released can have us feeling more attached to people who are wrong for us.
Stay true to yourself, she adds. When we are in a highly passionate, exciting love affair we tend to want to impress and please, sometimes letting go of the things that make us happy.
Be aware that your heart can be deceiving as at the beginning short term superficial qualities, such as physical attractiveness, get more weight, says Ben-Se'ev.
There is much effort to invest in order to turn love at first sight into long-term profound love, he adds.
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/04/13/is-love-at-first-sight-real
My week:
Pros:
1. It was 2 buses to get to.
2. The food is good with 50% off.
3. I can do the job.
Cons:
1. None.
My opinion: I would work there if I got hired. However, she did say she was looking for someone to work at night and closing at like 10pm.
Server job interview: I passed my resume to them in person and was to go into interview the next day.
Pros:
1. It was 1 bus to get to. It's about 45 min.
2. The pay was min. wage, but the tips are good.
Cons:
1. This is a mild con. There was a split shift. It's 10am-1pm. Then 4:30pm-8pm. I am allowed to stay for those 3 hrs in the back. I can read the newspaper during those hours.
My opinion: I would work there if I got hired. I didn't get hired. However, she did tell me they were hiring for another position in another department. She told me which website to apply to for that position. I then applied to it on the website.
Real estate office: I did an interview 2 weeks ago.
Pros:
1. It was full-time. Mon.- Fri.
2. This is the office job I was looking for.
3. I can do the job. I am posting Kijiji ads about selling houses and not renting them.
4. The boss seemed nice.
5. I did the True Colors Personality test. I did this one back in 2005 in the Arts and Cultural Management program at MacEwan. I was blue. The majority of the class was blue.
Then I did it again in 2013 in the Office job. I was green. The majority of the workers was orange.
I did the test at the interview, I was gold. My second closest was green.
Here's a fun personality test:
Cons:
1. It seemed kind of hard. After work, I will have to check my emails once an hour to see if clients have emailed the company.
2. This is a mild con. The office was in a house. I have been to interviews where medical offices are in a house. I know someone who is a personal trainer, and her gym is in her basement of the house.
I guess I want things to be black and white. A house is where you live. Not where you work too, unless there's a home office in one part of it.
My opinion: I would work there if I got hired. Prior to it, it was kind of hard to find the place. I went to Google map and it told me to get off at this stop and walk 15 min. I did.
Then I had to stop at this business that was in a house to ask for directions. There are 2 guys there and they Google map it. I wrote the directions of walking 2 more blocks. I got there on time.
Mild complaints:
Not knowing everything: I have mentioned this before where I got a job at the Fast Food place. I did two job interviews at clothing stores to see if I would get hired or not even though I was already hired at the Fast Food place.
I can not know about the café and this Asian restaurant where I was emailed about for an interview. I didn't attend it.
Would I have gotten hired?
If I did get hired, would this job last longer than the Fast Food place?
Nov. 9, 2017 Charities: I was looking for a job and I found this:
WINGS - Women In Need Growing Stronger:
WINGS offers a second-stage shelter and affordable housing for women with children who have experienced family violence.
At WINGS, we address the social, psychological, and health issues affecting women and children, extending our programs inclusively to clients of all races, cultural, and religious backgrounds.
We are proud to be part of a continuum of support to women and children leaving family violence. Together, through ongoing collaboration with the family violence prevention sector, we aim to reduce and eliminate family violence.
WINGS is a non-profit organization.
CRA # – 119 300 549 RR0 001
Find furniture outlet:
Find is more than a second hand thrift shop.It is a social enterprise that works with community agencies to provide furniture to people moving out of homelessness.
Low-cost, high-quality previously used furniture and household items are also for sale to the public. That DIY project you’ve been searching for, a sofa for your first apartment, or a unique gift can all be found at Find.
by community members, for community members.
All retail proceeds stay in Edmonton to support programs for people moving out of homelessness through Housing First.
Since opening its doors to the Edmonton community, Find has furnished more than 3,600 residences of participants in Housing First.
shop. donate. find.
http://www.findedmonton.com/
Emperor Paper Industries: I did a job interview there a few weeks ago. I don't usually do this, as in identify where I did a job interview at. This doesn't really matter because at the interview, the boss said I wasn't getting hired.
Pros:
1. It was 2 buses to get to.
2. It was for an office career I was looking for.
Cons:
1. It seemed really hard to be an executive assistant for him.
The boss was straight with me that he did own Grey's Paper Recycling. He was also working on 4 companies of his in total.
Tracy: Don't you think you're doing too much? Do you remember Target? They opened so many stores in Canada and they had to close down after 2 years. They were doing too much.
He says he's been in business for years. He knows how to work in business.
Job articles: I've been reading the business section of the newspapers like the Edmonton Journal and the Globe and Mail since 2010. The articles are written by business people, entrepreneurs, CEOs, college graduates in business, and are well- researched.
You can go on my blog since Jan. 2015 where I post job articles constantly.
http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/emperor-paper-industries-ltd-1027570-84142
Grey's Paper Recycling:
http://edmontonsun.com/2017/07/17/former-greys-paper-recycling-plants-assets-up-for-auction-sites-future-remains-unclear/wcm/8105ffbe-ab0c-42bd-a760-0741169e93b6
Curated store: This was in City Centre mall. I was there a couple of weeks ago. Now it's been replaced by Calendar Club.
Nov. 10, 2017: Curated sold home décor, candles, and gifts.
Dairy Queen: The one on 104 st and Whyte has closed down.
Nov. 14, 2017 The highlight of the week: Last week I did 3 job interviews.
I also finished watching the show The Disappearance. There are 6 episodes. I watched 4 of them last week:
"During a treasure hunt, on his 10th birthday, Anthony Sullivan inexplicably disappears. During the subsequent investigation long-buried familial secrets are uncovered with devastating consequences."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643540/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Emperor Paper Industries: I did a job interview there a few weeks ago. I don't usually do this, as in identify where I did a job interview at. This doesn't really matter because at the interview, the boss said I wasn't getting hired.
Pros:
1. It was 2 buses to get to.
2. It was for an office career I was looking for.
Cons:
1. It seemed really hard to be an executive assistant for him.
The boss was straight with me that he did own Grey's Paper Recycling. He was also working on 4 companies of his in total.
Tracy: Don't you think you're doing too much? Do you remember Target? They opened so many stores in Canada and they had to close down after 2 years. They were doing too much.
He says he's been in business for years. He knows how to work in business.
Job articles: I've been reading the business section of the newspapers like the Edmonton Journal and the Globe and Mail since 2010. The articles are written by business people, entrepreneurs, CEOs, college graduates in business, and are well- researched.
You can go on my blog since Jan. 2015 where I post job articles constantly.
http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/company/emperor-paper-industries-ltd-1027570-84142
Grey's Paper Recycling:
http://edmontonsun.com/2017/07/17/former-greys-paper-recycling-plants-assets-up-for-auction-sites-future-remains-unclear/wcm/8105ffbe-ab0c-42bd-a760-0741169e93b6
Curated store: This was in City Centre mall. I was there a couple of weeks ago. Now it's been replaced by Calendar Club.
Nov. 10, 2017: Curated sold home décor, candles, and gifts.
Dairy Queen: The one on 104 st and Whyte has closed down.
Nov. 14, 2017 The highlight of the week: Last week I did 3 job interviews.
I also finished watching the show The Disappearance. There are 6 episodes. I watched 4 of them last week:
"During a treasure hunt, on his 10th birthday, Anthony Sullivan inexplicably disappears. During the subsequent investigation long-buried familial secrets are uncovered with devastating consequences."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6643540/?ref_=nv_sr_1
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