On Tuesday night, The Tragically Hop finished up their 6th sold-out show in Southern Ontario. They were the first band to christen the new Air Canada Centre, halfway through their cross-Canada tour.
First off, I had the worst seats in the entire building, the second last row right behind the Foster Hewitt Media Gondola. The opening band "By Divine Right" was horrible, note of their songs were at all memorable.
The stage was decorated like a far-eastern bordello with giant rugs and candles.
The bassist, Brenndon Canning (who is a close personal friend of mine) used to be in a band called hHead. They rocked, BDR suck. The only joy the audience got was when they finished their set and left the stage.
The air was filled with the smell of smokes, sweat, Marijuana and excitement.
The Hip opened their set with "Fireworks" and played a varied set with many songs old and new.
There was a very Psychedelic light show which must have amused the aforementioned people smoking pot and other than that the stage was fairly threadbare for the biggest band in Canada.
Lead singer Gord Downie didn't fail the crowd at all, his voice was strong and in tune and he improvised a lot. A usual for Hip shows. Two encores later they finished with "50 Mission Cap" a song about the late Leaf great Bill Barilko. A tremendous cheer echoed through the building when Gord sang "...the last goal he ever scored, won the Leafs the Cup!" as if we all knew that the Leafs are going all the way this year.
The Hip and a Stanley Cup, the best way to usher in a new arena. All I have to say, I'll be back next year.
Hecubis
The Pep Rally we had on Tuesday during period two was lively, energetic, and pretty short.
As the school filed into the aud, it was impossible not to notice the purple lighting, the dry ice, the balloons, the streamers, and the overbearing hip hop; all of which suggested a pep rally that would "rock our world." People who had never been to a Mac pep rally were over-excited, and didn't even mind standing up against the walls. I observed a cheerful and spirited audience from my special seats: backstage passes baby!
However, after all the teams ran up, cheered their @$$es off, and clomped off the stage, the pep rally was (scary music here) over! Past pep rallies have had jokes and raffles and prizes for the audience, just to keep us in the game. This time: zip.
Don't get me wrong, Danny and Gina were great M.C.'s, but I think we all had something more in mind. I felt gypped. Well, at least the speakers popped my eardrums.
Chrissy, editor
For every Backstreet Boy, Spice Girl, All Saint, Hanson, Moffat blah blah blah I have had to endure through the last few years of "popular music," I can admit that pop music hasn't been all bad. Take a look at excellent albums releaced by Lauryn Hill and Hole. Sky falls into the latter category.
While most pop albums are riddled with a cynical intent of gaining the almighty dollar easily picked up by obvious hooks and sub-par production, Sky's sweet and sensitive lyrics, R&B feel and genuine sounding lyrics of love, drugs and life make this album stand above the pop music quagmire. While some great tracks exist like Powder and Push, the two standout tracks are definitely the first two singles Some Kinda Wonderful and Love Song with a pop sensibility never seen since the 80s.
Definitely a must have album Sky's Piece of Paradise is a masterpiece in a field of music full of follies.
**** out of 5
Jaded and Elated
So yeah, I'll get to the point. If you've been watching the news lately, you would have heard about the British scientist who has discovered a way for men to have babies. Some women will be offended, saying that birth is a God-given gift to the female species. Personally, I'm really happy because after seeing all those (nasty) videos in health class, the word doesn't bring a nice picture to mind. So, in conclusion, I hope my husband has wide hips, so he can give birth easily.
Braindead
There's a large problem with the music industry of the 90s. Many of the bands are "one-hit wonders", such as Offspring and "Pretty Fly", or the (immensely irritating) Britney Spears and "Baby One More Time". The growing popularity of buying singles, proves that quality CD's just aren't being made. "Sugar" bands, such as Hanson, 5ive, and 3 Deep, are facts that disappear in no time. Legendary music, like that from Queen and U2, simply isn't produced anymore. 90s music just keeps re-inventing other music, (swing, dance versions of 80s songs...). Granted, not all the music is quick and shallow, but when you really look at the charts, the dominating entertainers are those bent on image and money.
Starchild
If you think that there are no more commies, that the Soviet Union is dead, think again, 'cause they are out again, and this time they have a plan so cunning, so evil, that it can only succeed. This time around, the threat will not com by air or sea. Nay, now it's from within. Enter unions. It's simple. First the unions will strike until the government gets sick and tired of them and forgets about the unions all together. Then, with no one watching, they will strike. The car unions will build tanks instead of Toyotas, the caretaker unions will not "caretake," the education unions will start brainwashing students and sewer worker unions, well... I'm sure that they'll think of something. So say "NO" to the strike. You'll be doing yourself a favour, 'cause no one wants school in July, or wants to live in a totalitarian regime.
P.S. Hail McCarthy
AK-47
About a year ago, MacNewsOnline's address became http://macnws.home.ml.org, rather than http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Acropolis/1805/index.html, thanks to a URL redirection service. The shorter address was a great help, but the company shut down and we lost the address.
We at MacNews Online felt that a shorter address was necessary, and tried to find a new service. We narrowed it down to two addresses, and decided to leave it to you, the MacNews readers, to decide which one we use! The choices are:
Drop your choice in our mailbox, and stay tuned!
Nony LaSouris
A dreadful day arrived in the former city of Scarborough just a few short months ago. A beloved hangout closed its doors for the final time.
Risen from the Ashes, a local comic book store closed down without much notice in mid-October. Risen, as it was called by the people who visited the store, sold video games, sports collectibles, movies, card games, and of course, comic books.
Even though the event occurred several months ago, there are still some misunderstandings surrounding the closing. Some people still believe that the store has moved, which is unfortunately not true. According to a reliable source (one of the store's former employees), "One of the owners decided not to do it any more." Which lead to the closure.
The closing was surprising to everyone who regularly visited the store, almost as if the closing was unexpected. In hindsight, the events that occurred during the week prior to the closing hinted at the store's future:
Even if you were not a regular customer of Risen from the Ashes, you probably have either visited the place at least once, or you knew someone who was a regular customer. With Risen from the Ashes closed, many students from Mac and neighbouring schools have lost a hangout. Those who purchased comic books from Risen have been forced to go to another comic book store where the owner rules his store with an iron fist (Not to mention the name of the store, but initials "A" and "K" appear on the store's sign).
Farewell to the store which will not rise from the ashes again.
Smutton
I sit in class
With a glassy stare,
Hoping you see
That you don't make me care.
I just can't comprehend
How little you see,
There is so much less
To poetry.
It doesn't have to have logic,
Or rules, or patterns
Some
times
it JuSt DoEsN't
make
S e N s E
The Quiet One In the Corner
5. The dog ate it. No, really. I had to force him but eventually he choked it down.
4. A little old lady was crossing the street and I didn't want her to slip on a puddle. So, being the kind hearted person that I am, I selflessly sacrificed my report card. I didn't want to ruin my brand new Nike jacket. You know, the one YOU paid for.
3. On my way home I was attacked by a pack of hungry, roaming wolves. But don't worry, the bleeding will stop. I'm really sorry but they took my report card along with (fainting) my left arm.
2. I donated it as firewood to a Third World country.
1. I had this pack of gum and I was chewing it but then I had to spit it out and I saw this dead bird and I was, like, ew! That's a dead bird! (still babbling) and then I started to throw up and I went to this nearby cult group to have a proper burial and now they believe that I'm the "Chosen One" and they believe that report cards are evil and numbers don't measure a human's soul so they made me burn it sacrificially.
-summer school? Fine, I give in.
Melo & Dramatic
(Reuters) - Edmonton. Forget Furby. Forget The Teletubbies (please). Forget Tamagotchi (you probably already have). There's a new electronic pal in town. And it may just be someone from your science class. ICQ ("I Seek You") is not exactly a new thing, but has become increasingly popular in recent months.
What is it, exactly? Think of it as LIVE e-mail. Instead of sending lengthy e-mail back and forth, you can type to each other almost immediately; kind of like a chatroom. Minus the pervs.
Many people prefer ICQ messaging over telephone conversations as it does away with uncomfortable silences and you have a lot of time to think about what you write, thus making you seem "witty" (and don't you hate it when you're on the phone, and two minutes after you hang up, you think about something funny that you could have said???)
Also, instead of paying tons o' cash for call-waiting and conference calling, ICQ allows you all those freedoms at NONE OF THE COST!
Other advantages include anonymity; instead of giving somebody "questionable" your phone number, just give them your ICQ number. You can then talk to them, or ignore them.
Plus, it's a lot of fun! So there.
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