The Life and Times of Ren... and then some

Congratulations to Triple Threat Sensation and long time friend Leah Cogan for winning CBC's Triple Sensation ! The shows premise was about finding Canada's next big "triple sensation" which, in the theatre world, is someone who can act, dance, and sing. All things that describe Leah . Between my sobs of joy and my hoping around upon watching her win the competition, I was able to make out that she won the $150,000 Middlefield Scholarship to any institution of her choice. Not to mention the publicity from being on the show. I am so pleased for Leah and undoubtedly proud - Congratulations, you've earned it! You can watch past episodes on the Triple Sensation Website . Also, please take a minute to check out a clip from Leah's final performance.

I'm not usually a 'webcomic' kind of person...and to be honest, unless there's pop culture references, I don't usually get it. But all day today I've been reading Virus Comix and I happened across this comic about our beloved Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. I really feel that we as Canadians are blessed to have such a thoughtful, environmentally friendly, dashing PM fighting for our societal equity as well as for the best interest of our Homeland. To read the rest of the comic, please click HERE !

I found a link to this gem on Neatorama . Art Student Thomas Thwaites from the UK has embarked on a project to build a toaster...from scratch. This means procuring all elements for said toaster, and finding ways to put it all together. You can watch his progress on his website, The Toaster Project . It's really fascinating, and I'm eager to see the end result!! NOTE: Best clip is of him smelting iron ore in the microwave. Step 2, Attempt 2: Smelting Iron Ore in a Microwave from Thomas Thwaites on Vimeo .

Beloved writer Frank McCourt died this past Sunday (July 19th) at the age of 78 in New York City after a battle with meningitis and having been diagnosed with melanoma. ( ... ) The once public school teacher won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel Angela's Ashes - a memoir based on his impoverished life in Limerick, Ireland. For those of you who have never read Angela's Ashes I couldn't recommend the book more. Also, take a minute and watch the movie as well. For more on McCourt's life, please check out the following links: HERE HERE ANGELAS ASHES 'Tis "The sky is the limit. You never have the same experience twice." -Frank McCourt.

According to scientists the numbers of black sheep (wool) is dwindling. They suspect this could be due largely in part to global warming and climate change. According to Discovery News , the number of black sheep (Soay) of St.Kilda's in Scotland have dwindled from 80% of the heard to less than 70%. Generally, sheep with one black wool gene rather than two genes tend to be better survive rs. Black sheep on the island also tend to be largers and have an easier time surviving the cold weather of the island all together. ( ... ) Youth of the 'emo' trend have been frantically searching for other words to bastardize use to describe their place in their families. Some suggestions include: burden, dead weight, freeloader, and embarrassment. I smell...trust fund? Or chicken nuggets? Some socio-political groups have taken it upon themselves to spread the word on the crisis in an attempt to stop global warming as well as the raise awareness about the White Man keeping the Black She

I can't close my eyes and make it go away...* Bono, the next time The Edge tells you you need to be more "edgy", maybe you should refrain from asking Billie Joe Armstrong for make-up tips, m'kay? *NOTE: April 2009 cover of Spin Magazine .

Happy 1st Annual Unofficial Shannon Tweed Day!!! Worth Celebrating While attending a court hearing, Ottawa City Mayor Larry O'Brian was out and acting Mayor Doug Thompson was in. During his reign, the Mayor in Action planned to declare July 15th as Shannon Tweed Day in accordance with her visit to Ottawa with partner Gene Simmons and his band KISS. Encouraging us to party ev-er-y day since 1972 Unfortunately city councilors snubbed the idea as official holidays are reserved for long standing citizens and people who have made significant contributions to the community. According to reports, Ms. Simmons Tweed was not offended by the snub and took it all with a grain of salt. While Shannon is a Canadian native and did live in Ottawa for several years, she is now an American Citizen as most of her body parts are from across the border. Acme Despite the Day not becoming an official holiday, the citizens of Ottawa, myself included, have definitely taken it upon themselves to celebr

Recently, upon visiting The Pirate Bay.Org , I decided to randomly do a search of indie bands and see what came up. One that caught my attention was a band called The Noisettes . I downloaded picked up the album and gave it a listen. Pronounced NOISEttes , this trio will easily be one of the biggest bands of 2009. Already having 3 hit singles in the UK in 2009, the band is continuing to tour world wide. The best way to describe The NOISEttes would be if Rihanna and Amy Winehouse had a baby that wasn't a crack-head alcoholic, or the victim of domestic abuse, and then that baby was injected with Karen O's stem cells and struck by lightning, and then artificially inseminated by Zeus - it would birth this band in a manger with The Supremes watching on as acting Wisemyn. Rich, vibrant and eccentric tones, it's difficult not to listen to their 2009 album, Wild Young Hearts over and over and over.

It seems Google beat me to it, so allow me to extend my congrats to one Nikola Tesla - a scientist known for his magnetic personality and electrifying wit. haw,haw,haw... Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer. Tesla was born in the village of Smiljan, Vojna Krajina, in the territory of today's Croatia, having been a subject of the Austrian Empire before becoming an American citizen[2]. He is frequently cited as one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity, a man who, proverbially, "shed light over the face of Earth".[3] He is best known for many revolutionary contributions in the field of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase power distribution systems and the AC motor, with which he helped usher in the Se

My father is a basin of wisdom. He once assured my brother and I, after undergoing one hell of a root canal, that his final words to us would forever be: "Floss." He's taught me many a truth about the world, and truths about myself. One of his crucial points of fatherly savvy was bestowed upon me after discovering me with a boy and telling me afterwards that I should try and " Put a sock in it ". Those words stuck with me to this day, and I couldn't help but be reminded of my father and his philosophies on life upon reading this article : Man beaten after teens misinterpret sex screams By The Associated Press TORRINGTON, Connecticut - A group of teenagers misunderstood a woman's screams during sex and, thinking they were stopping an assault, beat a 25-year-old man in her bedroom, police said. ( ... ) According to the report, the screams of pleasure resonating from the 34-year old Cougar in question prompted a 16 year old girl living with the presumed-MIL