Inside Tattoo Rock Parlour

Someone once told me that a review is supposed to be unbiased and impartial. I remember disagreeing with them, because it seems that the very idea is to infuse the piece with your own opinion.

In my growing quest to become a pretentious Queen West hipster, I jumped at the chance to review Drowning Girl and Tara Slone playing at Tattoo Rock Parlour this past Wednesday.

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Now, there’s nothing quite like a freshly baked loaf of bread. Warm, steamy buns of goodness, this must be what heaven tastes like. I used to live on McCaul street, the same street as Silverstein’s Bakery. Quite often, I used to smell the delicious scent of baked bread while walking home. But it took me a whole year before I figured out that I could go INSIDE and buy freshly baked bread!

It’s certainly not very well advertised. There’s no clear indication of an entrance, and no sign to tell you to go in. But if you haven’t been yet, you’ve been missing out!

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So I wrote a review of Rotate This awhile back with the intention of writing many more over subsequent weeks… but then thesis and term projects got in the way and it never happened. Over the next few days (before i move to vancouver) i’m going to resume said reviews and, maybe post a few of my favorite other things about this great city.

First though… the review of She Said Boom!

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Spring is coming and it’s time for a tune-up on that bike!
Make your bike ride to the International Student Centre (33 St. George Street) where BikeChain hosts free workshops (with refreshments served) every Thursday evening from 6-8 PM until April 5th.

Before you make the trip, support your campus bike repair facility by casting your vote to support the $0.25 student levy. You have until 6PM tomorrow (Friday, March 9th). More information about the vote here.

I love biking. And so does a lot of people on campus it appears. There are bikes parked out in the snow, even in this dreadful weather. People love biking enough to brave the snow and sleet and the sharp winter winds. Biking is great. Plus, as we discussed before, biking is just sexy!

But a bike ride is only as good as the bike. So where do you go to fill your bike up with some tender loving care? Where do you go when your gears creak, when your pedal is loose, or when your brakes are jammed?

BikeChain, located in the basement of the International Student Centre (33 St George Street) is the answer. Run by a expert team of “biker chics and cyclo hunks”, it’s U of T’s very own bicycle educational repair facility. You can drop by anytime daytime on weekdays to use the facilities. Don’t know what you’re doing? No problem, there’s usually someone friendly and knowledgeable there who’ll lend you a hand. All in all, BikeChain is a wonderful place for anyone with a bike.

Unfortunately, BikeChain is having some trouble getting enough funding to continue its services. That’s why in this coming election, it’s asking to pass a $0.25 student levy. Personally, I think it’s definitely worthwhile. If you’d like to support the levy, you should cast your vote:

Wed. Mar 7th to Fri Mar 9th, 10am-6pm
Where: Sid Smith, Bahen, Old Vic, Gerstein Library, Woodsworth
For more information, you can take a look at the facebook event page.

Photo from Flickr by Flo’s Diner

Something I hope to make a weekly feature (while it lasts)… reviews of record shops in Toronto, just so you know where to go to get what you want.

First up is Rotate This, one of my personal favorites.

Rotate This is great in that caters to both vinyl and cd lovers. Though, really the first thing to note is that Rotate definitely does cater towards the Alt-(insert genre here) categories of music much more so than main stream stuff. Definitely not a detriment if you ask me, but in case you were hoping to get the latest mainstream chart toppers, you’re probably out of luck.

Rotate’s vinyl collection is unmatched when it comes to new releases, plus its far from being outrageously priced (certainly not always the case). As a bonus they do deal used vinyl and there’s usually some great finds to be had (say, Abbey Road for $5…)It’s CD selection holds up pretty well too, minus the aforementioned lack of mainstream, if you want it, chances are rotate has it.

Just to make it even better, Roate is a fantastic ticket outlet. You can get tickets for most alt-____ acts that come through town… without crazy ticketmaster service charges. In fact, their site works as well as most concert listings for seeing what’s coming up soon.
Overall 4.5/5 for CD listeners 5/5 for vinyl listeners.

p.s. extra bonus their owner(?) is featured in the Broken Social Scene video for Fire Eye’d Boy.

Just five weeks old, the domed Varsity Centre field is getting a rigorous daily workout. Masses of students regularly spill onto the state-of-the-art turf to play intramural soccer and ultimate Frisbee, practice with their intercollegiate team, or hit a few golf balls at the new driving range.

To sustain its vision of Varsity Centre as a students-first facility, the Faculty of Physical Education and Health is requesting an increase to the student athletic fee to help offset the operating costs and avoid boosting outside rentals to pay the bills.

The Faculty’s 2007-08 budget, which will be considered by the Council on Student Services (COSS) at a budget vote on March 2nd, includes a $10 per term increase for full-time St. George students…

… Read the entire news artcile at U of T FPEH News

Tuition raises are always a point of contention for students. I was told that initially the funding for the Varsity Center was secured, and that no additional tuition increases were required to fund the Center. However I guess this is no longer the case. With this said, the Varsity Center is a much needed complex for U of T’s student athletes. To share the center with the community will mean that varsity teams will have to work their practices around community hours. If you’ve been to the AC on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday night you can see that the Track and Field needs more space and better facilities. I don’t like running laps in the field house when the track team is practicing. Being a distance runner, I find it annoying when there’s slow moving traffic. For the sprinters, I would image it is dangerous, since someone could get spiked.

And Track and Field is only one of the sports which can benefit from the Center. Golf, field hockey, lacrosse, football and soccer are ones which come to mind right away.

so on March 2nd I’m going to vote for a $10 increase to support student athletes. I hope you will also support our student athletes.