Songs Of The Week: Big Boi, The Boxer Rebellion, Zerbin, Waldeck

by Carmen Cruz

Musical Awesomeness.  


Big Boi ft. Mouche & Scar - Raspberries - This is on repeat regularly. It's such a weirdly awesome tune.


Big Boi ft. Phantogram - CPU - What can I say? It's a wicked album (Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors)


Waldeck ~ Make My Day - Just a really cool tune.


Zerbin ~ Take Your Heart - Originally from my home town (E-town represent!) and now living in Victoria, these indie boys are KILLING IT!!!!


Zerbin ~ New Earth - Let's enjoy another one shall we?


Diamonds ~ The Boxer Rebellion - It's actually a romantic comedy that really helped launch these guys. If you haven't seen the movie 'Going The Distance', watch it. It's hilarious. Either way, an amazing band.


Enjoy.

Besos,

CC.
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New Michael J. Fox Show (Trailer) *WATCH*

by Carmen Cruz

Good Canadian boy  Michael J. Fox (born in Edmonton, raised in Burnaby) has a new TV show debuting this fall.'The Michael J Fox Show' echoes the actor's personal life, with Fox playing a former news anchor who returns to work after spending time as a stay-at-home dad, following the onset of Parkinson's disease. The show puts a witty and hilarious twist on life with Parkinson's.






The show premieres on  NBC this autumn (2013).

Enjoy.

Besos,

CC.

Photo Diary *Edmonton*

by Carmen Cruz

Edmonton: It's cold, it's dry, but it's filled with incredibly friendly people. Here are some highlights from my trip there.




Flying over the Rockies. Pretty amazing huh?











The Santa Maria in West Edmonton Mall (WEM).
I think it's hilarious how whenever I say I'm from Edmonton, the first thing people say is, "Oh! So you used to go to 'The Mall'? Is 'The Mall' really that big? Are you planning on going to 'The Mall' when you go back to visit?".  Truth be told, most people from Edmonton tend to avoid going to WEM, especially over the holidays. It's pure chaos. Believe it or not, there's so much more to Edmonton than 'The Mall'.




                                                                      There's this amazing cafe in Edmonton called 'Duchess Bake Shop'. While I was there, I came across this amazing replica of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. It's exactly a 1/100 scale replica of the real deal, and it's completely edible. It's made entirely of gingerbread.The windows were made of sugar glass and the roof was tinted with white chocolate. All the gargoyles were replaced by gummy bears. CoooOOOoooool!!!!




And finally....

You know what it's like when you invest money in something truly unique, beautiful, and hand made for your home. You just wanna keep it in near perfect condition, right?
One of my brothers purchased a custom, hand made dining room table. Needless to say, the table turned out absolutely gorgeous.
Here's the thing. My brother has become completely neurotic about the table. He gets all tense whenever anyone puts a cup, plate, or piece of cutlery down on the table "too aggressively" (his words, not mine).  It was starting to get a bit out of control. At one point, we were all eating in the living room to avoid my brother's stink eye. As a joke, we all got together and purchased something for him, which we left on his beloved table.....

The 'Do Not Put On Table' Cake.



Ha.















Enjoy.

Besos,

CC.
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Alberta: 5 Things I forgot about living here.

by Carmen Cruz

1) The cold air cough. 
When you first walk outside, the air is so cold and dry that you cough. Sometimes, you even gag, and let me tell ya, nothing says 'Sexy' like a cold air gag. Nothing.


2) Plugging in your car in the winter. 
Maslow can turn on the lights in a room, just by walking in.
Older cars need to be plugged in or you can forget about starting them successfully.


3) Winter = Static. 
Static and static shocks. Even my dog has static. Poor booger. 


4) Dry skin. 
 It's everywhere and it's taking over your body. Nothing beats a good dry skin itch.Wanna take it to the next level? Pull up your pant leg. Hellooooooo leg dandruff.



5) How friendly people are. 
People smile and say hello. What's more (for the ladies), men actually approach you and try to strike up a conversation.
*Awkward Moment Alert* 
I was sitting in a mall food court, waiting for my cousin. A man came up to me and started talking to me.
Dude: Are you waiting for my boyfriend.
Me: Pardon me?
Dude: Ummm... I said, are you waiting for your boyfriend?
Me: What are you getting at?
Dude: I just want to know if you're waiting for your boyfriend to come.
Me: I don't understand. Do you want something?
Dude: *Awkwardly* No. I just wanted to know if you have a boyfriend. I was trying to strike up a conversation with you.
Me: *Finally clues in* Ooooohhh!!! Ummm... I actually don't live here. I'm visiting. So.... I'm sorry. I'm just not used to guys approaching me like that.
Dude: Ok. Have a nice day. *Practically runs away from me*

I'm seriously losing my social skills. Vancouver, what have you done to me?!?!?!?!

Back to the snow, the awesome sunshine and the AMAZING HST-free shopping here in Alberta. :)

Besos,

CC.
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So tired of all these 'Sh*t people say' skits, but....

by Carmen Cruz

I recently had a friend send me a couple of these (overdone) 'Sh*t (insert whoever here) say' skits.
While I usually tend to roll my eyes when I see these vids, I actually didn't mind these two, only because they represent the two places I call home...

Sh*t Edmontonians Say




Sh*t Vancouver May Say Sometimes Or Whatever...





Ha........ ha.........

Besos,

CC.
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Songs of The Week!!!

by Carmen Cruz

Man, my life has been Ka-Ray-Zee busy!!!... But no matter what I'm doing, I usually have at least one earbud in my ear, listening to tunes.

Here's what I'm into this week.

Lana Del Rey ~ Radio




Zero 7 ~ Swing - This is off their album called 'Yeah Ghost'. Freaking Brilliant!!!




Mase ft. Total ~ What You Want - This takes me back to when I used to sneak into a club called 'Kaos' with my friends back in Edmonton (yes, it was in West Edmonton Mall). I used to think going to this club was the coolest thing on the planet. I look back at it now and laugh, but hey! I have lot's of wicked memories there.
Thank GAD my friends are good at keeping secrets ;)




Joss Stone ~ Fell In Love With A Boy - A fantastic cover of the White Stripes' 'Fell In Love With A Girl'.




And speaking of the White Stripes...

The White Stripes ~ The Hardest Button To Button - Wicked video. Whenever I see it, I start to wonder how many drum kits and amps they had to buy/borrow/rent for this vid. Seriously.



Enjoy!

Besos,

CC.
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He'll be drinking a whole lotta (boxed) Red, Red Wine.

by Carmen Cruz

Remember the band UB40?  Did I just age myself? Ah well. Fack it. I remember riding around with my older sister in her best friends Tracker and listening to UB40 singing 'Red Red Wine' full blast, thinking that this was the best song and the coolest moment of my life. Clearly I had low standards as a child (just kidding ;).

Well I came across an article today that says that the former lead singer of UB40 (Ali Campbell) has declared bankruptcy. Ali joins his four former bandmates who all declared bankruptcy this year.

According to NME, "Both the singer and the band's bankruptcy follows the failure of their record firm and management company DEP International and a bitter bust-up over band finances which forced Campbell to quit in 2008. Campbell said he tried to warn his bandmates about the impending financial disaster."

Sh*tty deal.

So to honour the boys, here's a link to the song that made them super famous (a song that was originally written and performed by the really, really, ridiculously talented Señor Neil Diamond). Hopefully it takes you back to the good ol' days... of riding around the city of Edmonton in a Tracker. ;D




Enjoy!

Besos,

CC.


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Canucks Craze

by Carmen Cruz

I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't like hockey. I'm a straight up soccer (futbol) fan. What can I say? I'm Latina and it's in my blood. Hockey? Not so much.

Now I know I'm going to get some hate for this, but it's gotta be said. Vancouver Canucks fans are fickle. If you're a 'hardcore Canucks fan', please disregard what I'm about to say because it does NOT apply to you.

To the rest, and you know who you are, what's the deal? People are always giving me shit for not jumping on the Canucks bandwagon. I'm not a bandwagon-jumper, you know what I mean? Yeah, I've lived in Vancouver for almost 4 years now, but I'm originally from Edmonton and if there's anyone I'll be cheering for, it's the Oilers (WIN OR LOSE). Canucks fans wrinkle their noses at me when I say this. As a joke I tell them, 'You know what? I should develop special sneakers with springs on the bottom of them to make band wagon jumping for Canucks fans MUCH easier (and safer for the ankles)".

Hockey fans for almost every other NHL team, are die-hards. They'll either sink or swim with their team. Canuck fans (*again, this is not directed towards the few hardcore Canuckleheads I know*) are so quick to turn their back on their team after a few crappy games. Fickle I tell ya. F-I-C-K-L-E.


So please, if you see me walking down the street, don't ask me where I'll be watching the next Canucks game, because I won't be watching it. I'll be watching some sweeeet HBO, or a movie, cooking show, or even reading a book instead. Don't hate the player, hate the game, or better yet, hate those bandwagon jumpers ;D.

On a side note, the Canucks green men are once again getting some well deserved international attention. I had a chance to meet/ interview them in the past. Cool guys. When they found out that I didn't like hockey, and disliked the Canucks even more, they decided to give me a 'penalty', green-men-style of course. I made this video last year and ever since the playoffs, it's been getting tons of views on a daily basis.  You cannot imagine the weird, crazy, funny and disturbing comments I've been getting on it. BUT, in defense of Vancouver and yes, even the Canuck fans, I've been deleting the NASTY hate comments.  FYI: NO, the guys DO NOT have a boner and NO I was not looking at their crotch the whole time. I'm a lady dammit! A freaking lady...

Besos,
CC.