I would go to work from 9 to 6, go home, nap for two hours, then write from 8 to 2 a.m. There was an urgency to what I was doing. That’s where a lot of the creative ideas I am still working with began.

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Hey guys! So today is officially my last day at my full-time job writing for Zoomer Media. It’s been a great two years where I’ve learned a ton – and the sheer amount of writing I’ve had to do every day has certainly made me a better writer and taught me how to push through writers block – but it was definitely time for a change. I’m very excited to take Dan’s advice up there and finally follow my bliss and pursue the thing I’m truly passionate about – which is this place and my ability to help grow and inspire the indie music and arts community in Toronto and eventually in cities around the world. That said, if you know of any leads or great jobs I should be considering (or you want to hire me to help you!), do get in touch.

On another note, I hope you like the changes that I’ve recently made to the blog – you can now see my recommended shows/events in the sidebar, and just click the little ‘show calendar’ button to pull up the full month of events. Also, musicians and publicists (or even just fans of a musician) can now submit songs to me for consideration via that little widget in the sidebar – this is the best way to get your song on the blog (I am far too overwhelmed with the emails!). Oh and I got nominated for a few Canadian Weblog Awards – best designed, best arts & culture blog, and best pop culture & entertainment blog – fun!

BTW I’m looking for interns! So tell your friends. Anyone interested in learning about blogging, wordpress, writing, photography and social media with a few hours a week to spare should get in touch. Bonus if you’re interested in music, art and based in Toronto, but that’s not required – just a good work ethic, decent internet  and organization skills, and the ability to dedicate some months to helping out here and there. Email me!

And if you’re in Toronto this weekend, The Sweet Mack are playing their final show at the Horseshoe on Saturday (sad they’re calling it quits but I’m sure they all have something new and awesome in the works) – it’s not to be missed.

Now, for the links:

• That time Toronto saved rock and roll Oh how I wish I was around when this happened.
• Stop with the album teaser trailers already Couldn’t agree more with this article. It is beyond obnoxious to post a trailer hinting at something, but I’m not surprised because JT just is obnoxious. Why can’t everyone be as amazing as David Bowie and immediately announce and release a song at the same time?
• Speaking of Bowie, I am CRAZY excited about his return, even if I don’t really dig the song and it looks as though he won’t be touring it. One of my last articles for Zoomer is a little retrospective on his best work.
• As bartending is my part-time gig, this enrages me like nothing else. What a pathetic excuse for being a cheap bastard. If you can’t afford to tip – YOU CAN”T AFFORD TO GO OUT – it’s that simple.
• A literary examination of 2012′s best lyrics
• Basia Bulat at AGO First Thursdays I was sooo sad I had to miss this – AGO First has become my favourite interactive art experience in the city – so I was super excited to see they filmed her performance.
• What happened to music writing this year? One of the most inspirational articles I’ve read in terms of my writing goals.
• The 10 biggest band beefs of 2012 this is fun.
• The music legends we lost this year A lot of heavy hitters seemed to pass away in 2012 :/
• Is indie music dead? No
• Creativity is like a slot machine This is inspiring.
• 6 harsh truths that will make you a better person While David has written many terrible articles on Cracked, this one is a MUST read for anyone, especially those of us in our 20s. Incredibly true advice. If you only read one of the articles I posted today, make it this one.
• Facebook’s fake Like problem This is creepy and weird. I once had a dead friend come back online on MSN Messenger and it scared the hell out of me (but that was probably just family turning on her computer).
• The simple truth about gun control A powerful, must read article on the facts about gun control around the world.
• Who comes first – you or others? I continue to be obsessed with metaprograms. I’d like to think I put others first but I know that isn’t always true.
• The 5 types of work that fill your day A very interesting look at how we break up the work we do, and how to prioritize the important stuff in order to get more done.
• Finally, if you didn’t see the unintentionally hilarious/scary video of Alex Jones on Piers Morgan’s show, you can find both videos of it on my tumblr – instead I thought I’d share this hilarious edit Conan’s team made from it:

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Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins. It has no job security of any kind, and depends mostly on whether or not you can, like Scheherazade, tell the stories each night that’ll keep you alive until tomorrow.

There are undoubtedly hundreds of easier, less stressful, more straightforward jobs in the world. Personally, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do, but that’s me.

If you want to be a writer, write.

You may have to get a day job to keep body and soul together (I cheated, and got a writing job, or lots of them, to feed me and pay the rent). If you aren’t going to be a writer, then go and be something else. It’s not a god-given calling. There’s nothing holy or magic about it. It’s a craft that mostly involves a lot of work, most of it spent sitting making stuff up and writing it down, and trying to make what you have made up and written down somehow better.

… It does help, to be a writer, to have the sort of crazed ego that doesn’t allow for failure. The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering “Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!” and then writing something so unbelievably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there’s nothing left to write.

Because the rejection slips will arrive. And, if the books are published, then you can pretty much guarantee that bad reviews will be as well. And you’ll need to learn how to shrug and keep going. Or you stop, and get a real job.

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Friday has arrived and that means I’m about halfway through NXNE insanity, meaning the unbelievable exhaustion started to hit me around 1am last night, in the middle of the Bran Van 3000 set. There’s nothing worse than being so tired you’re ready to pass out while being stuck in the middle of a crowd, squished and bumped into by club types on too much E. I lost it, then and there – way to ruin “Drinking In LA” for me, club kids. I should have just stayed at the Arts & Crafts showcase, now I’m kicking myself for missing out on Zulu Winter. Anyway, tonight is going to be the best night of the festival, so I hope you all have a good kick off to your weekend ahead of you as well.

• You Don’t Need To Be In A Relationship To Live Romantically “Despite my perpetually single status, I am a very romantic person. I can fall in love within a matter of minutes. I care deeply about people. Every corner I turn, I potentially face someone new, someone fascinating, even if it’s just for a few days. I’ve never had meaningless sex in my life.” Love that.

• Grasshopper Records Awesome new record store in the city!

• 35 Lifechanging Ways To Use Everyday Objects Good tips.

• Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips on his belief that we create our own happiness I love him, and I love this. Truly believe he is right about this, we decide our situation and we can make the choice to do the things that make us happy and embrace our situation, or to keep pining for something else. Life is too short.

• R.I.P. Fleetwood Mac’s Bob Welch I never cared much for pre-Stevie & Lindsey Fleetwood, but they are one of my favorite bands ever so I have to pay my respects to where they came from.

• The Official Pecking Order of Music

•  It Happened to Me: I’m a Paranoid Schizophrenic This makes me sad.

• Meet Ramen Noodle, The Adorable Dog With No Arms Omg. Little beeb.

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Thanks to the always interesting Brian Thompson, I came across this article written by Carl Kingdom about introverts. As one of the 25% of the population that identifies strongly as an introvert, I loved this so much I felt the need to repost it.

The amount of times I’ve been called shy blows my mind and gets on my nerves. As a kid, I grew to believe there was something really wrong with me because I was “so shy.” And certainly as a 12 year old going through the awkwardness and judgement that comes with being a preteen I was pretty shy for a few years, but that melted away by the time I started doing theatre in high school – yet the negative label still stuck.

Just because I don’t care much for menial conversation it doesn’t mean I don’t adore social situations and thrive off staying up all night talking about fascinating things with fascinating people. Engage me in a conversation about the local music scene in Toronto and I will talk to you for hours, no problem. Want to awkwardly talk about sports or the weather with me? Well then please don’t feel bad when I give you one word answers. I just have no need for small talk, or having people in my life just to have lots of people in my life. If you are in my life, it’s because I think you are fucking incredible and want you there, and trust you to be worthy of that place.

I truly enjoy living alone, and need my own space. If I live with someone, they have to be an excellent compliment to my personality and respect my need for alone time. Roommate situations were always a nightmare for me. I have no patience for other people’s bullshit, but that doesn’t mean I want to live alone for the rest of my life.

The people I’m closest to are almost always extroverts, which seems obvious enough. There is balance in your opposite.

With that said, here are Carl’s 10 myths that I assure you truly are just myths:

“Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.”

And for good measure, here’s a truly excellent TEDtalk on why it’s great to be an introvert:

(To comment on her last point, this blog is me opening up my suitcase for you).

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