Natalie Condon

Who wants a Natalie Portman mixtape involving her new love, Beirut? I do?

The actress has formed an initiative to assist FINCA International, the "World Bank for the Poor" by compiling a line-up of today's best indie artists. The album, titled "Big Change: Songs For FINCA" has a stellar track list:

01. Tokyo Police Club - Be Good
02. Beirut - My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille
03. Tom Brosseau - Plaid Lined Jacket
04. Curumin - Tudo Bem Malandro
05. The Shins - Australia (Bjorn Yttling Mix)
06. Brett Dennen - Ain't No Reason
07. Sean Hayes - Turnaroundturnmeon*
08. Thee More Shallows - Oh Yes, Another Mother
09. Angus & Julia Stone - The Beast
10. Antony & The Johnsons - Paddy's Gone
11. Vetiver - Idle Ties
12. Norah Jones - Broken
13. Devendra Banhart - There's Always Something Happening
14. M. Ward - What Is a Soul?
15. Wooden Wand - Forgiveness Figg (Bethany Hotel Blues)
16. Rogue Wave - How We Landed

The new Beirut single is astounding, along with the rest of the material. You can purchase this album, or songs from it exclusively from the iTunes music store.

Halloween: A Stupid Event; A Perfect Excuse To Drink

Really now, human beings have this ridiculous tendancy to dress up like fools once a year and gallavant around in hopes that their costume will gain some reaction from onlookers. Well fuck that, I say. It isn't different from any other day, aside from the ridiculous costumes. Ergo, drinking is more than suggested to mentally cope with all this visual bullshit.


The Manhattan


Easy to make, and easy to get drunk off of, yet retains a sense of style and sophistocation.

1 1/2 oz whiskey
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth

Strain into cocktail or well glass.


The Flying Dutchman

Simple, tastes good, hits hard.

1 1/2 oz Gin
1 oz Cointreau

Mix in well glass.


The Four Horsemen


Wow, lol.

Double shot:
1 part Jose Cuervo
1 part Jack Daniels
1 part Jim Beam
1 part Johnny Walker



Just make sure you don't end up like this dumbass:

Good Morning

1988 was a fucking good year....for a couple of reasons: there was a badass summer where the heat was unparalleled, I enjoyed a birth, and anime evolved to a miraculous level. Akira was based on a graphic novel and translated into a ground-breaking motion picture that still defines culture today (as shown in Kanye West's video for his track "Stronger").

Akira deals with inner conflicts of hate, resentment, inferiority complexes, political insurgence and morality. Truly it is a film our generation should take heed to, seeing how greatly it effected every viewer it has had (especially since Ebert gave it a royal blessing). Also, it's pretty fucking badass for a 1980's film. So put away your vagina and check it out. It's available on single disc or two disc special edition DVD.

Grandma vs. Carbon! by Clayton Dach

"As long as our economy and culture is built around the shop-til-you-drop concept, we'll never really embrace the number one rule of environmentalism, which is to reduce." -Adria Vasil (Adbusters interview #73.vol15.no5.)

Clayton Dach's feature in the old issue of Adbusters found tucked in my shelf has sparked my environmental enthusiasm once more. As temperatures soared throughout Southwestern Ontario this past Thanksgiving weekend, my hopes for a greener existence melted into the searing pavement. Air conditioners and ovens running simultaneously, increased air and highway travel, plastic bag after hideous plastic bag being carted out of grocery stores across the city.... let’s face it, the environment was crying (and I was cringing). However, the tryptophan and pumpkin pie coma quickly silenced my fears and I ignored my concern for the planet. Thankfully, this article provided me with the insight and motivation to once again resume my neurotic, anxiety-inducing concern for the planet.
So, back to this article. Long story short, Adria Vasil really hit the nail on the head with that line. For the sake of preserving the simplicity of the statement, no further insight into the matter will be discussed. I merely hope it turns on that little (hopefully fluorescent) light bulb in your mind and the word "reduce" pops into your mind on a daily basis.

It Must Be In The Air

Autumn. Change's abundancy wrapped up in a comforter of colourful wonder. The flora puts on a show, for those of us lacking capacity to shed our excess baggage, our dying, drying burdens. Yet there is still a sense of refreshment, and depression (depending on your outlook on the winter season).

Looking at it as the cold, fucking horrible time where you get pneumonia, drop all your homework in the snow so it gets wet, where grey shit from the dirty roads builds up all in your wheel wells and you can't not kick it out when you see it...OR we could look of it as a total white out, a chance for our own change. The page has been erased, the normal happenings of the world are hindered, gone almost. I suppose you could use this as a kickstart to something; don't know, don't care. Just something to think about.

Smile For Evolution

Armor For Sleep's latest initiative proves to employ mixed opinions all within the same allbum. The disc starts off exponentially more positive in instrument and tone then its predecessors (which is surprising not be falling into some fucking beautiful audio melodrama). Not sure yet if I like this new motif...however: the second half of the album is most rewarding. I trudged through the beginning, waiting for a usual AFS sound, and ahoy! there she fuckin' is!.

The tracks that did it for me were "Stand in the Spotlight", "Chemicals", and "Lullaby" because God! are they original. Doubting it is your first AFS experience with this new one, I'll say check it out before you buy it, but if it is pick it up, you might be surprised with this heartfelt twist to the emo genre (which sounds inevitable, but i think most emo is shit so whatever, fuck yourself).

Rebirth

Alright we're fucking back, and I couldn't take the absence. Hopefully now there will be less excuses, less bullshit, and less to hide. Not to sure what I mean by that but I'll thnk of something profound I suppose.

So hopefully there will still be an interest by the very few readers we did have, and I hope we continue to satisfy them. My apologies.