Going The Distance

I was fortunate enough to get invited to an advanced screening for Drew Barrymores new movie Going The Distance. Now I am usually not one for chick flicks...I always find the story line the same. Boy meets girl...they don't like each other...conflict arises...something happens that they see each other in a new light ... fall madly in love... conflict arises again (fight occurs or someone has to move)... then at the last minute ... girl chases boy (or boy chases girl) to win them back.... then they fall madly in love again and stay together forever and ever. Its GARBAGE predictable and is giving 13 year old girls everywhere an unrealistic expectation about love (some 23 year old women too).

BUT Going The Distance was GREAT. It stars Drew Barrymore (Erin) as the lead and Justin Long (Garrett) as her love interest (also her real life love interest as well). The pair fall for each other just as Erin is moving back to San Fransisco while Garrett stays in NYC... they decide to try have a long distance relationship... and then realize how hard ( and hilarious) that can be.

The movie was smart, funny and not a typical chick flick ( meaning your guy won't hate you if you drag him to it) It also stars Christina Applegate (as Erin's sister) and Charlie Day (as Garrett's roommate) .They add laughs throughout and I personally think that Applegate is highly under recognized as one of the great comedic actress of our time. She's hilarious in everything she does!

Going The Distance opens in theaters August 27 and I highly recommend checking it out !

Here's the trailer :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HGDx2cAdMo

We Are Living in a Social Media World and I am a Social Media Girl!

Taking my Online Public Relations class has been one of my favourite classes this semester (and no not just because I know that my prof will be reading this blog). It's because I LOVE social media! I love to do it, I love to to talk about it and I love to get other people involved in it. I Facebook, I Tweet, I Four Square, I Yelp, I'm LinkedIn and I am constantly looking for what else is out there. It was only until recently that I realized how I could use these social mediums that I love so much to my advantage and build my PR profile by using them.

Twitter I think would be the one area that I have found my most growth in. When I first came to class my Twitter account was used for following celebrities and tweeting to my friends anything that came to mind. Most of which, I assure you, was quite useless information. I had very few friends using Twitter at the time and very few followers as well.

Making Twitter mandatory in class gave the opportunity to see what other future PR practitioners were tweeting about... and it was then I realized that I wasn't using my Twitter account to its full potential.

I started following Canadian PR companies and media outlets. I also started following guest speakers, like Mallika Chopra, before she came to class and added a few other guest speakers after they spoke. Not only has Adam Giambrone been helpful with the TTC delays but also Yasmine Kashefi's tweets are always a treat to read.

Realizing that I was building myself as brand I have started to become more conscious about what I send out to the world. Especially since I Googled my name the other day and my Twitter account was at the top of the list for all to see. I feel as though this could be used to my advantage when applying for a job, since everyone knows that's the first thing employers do when they get your resume, Google you to see what you've been up to. Having a Twitter account that is well thought out and adds something to the on-line world could give me a leg up on competition for a job. It also provides the employer to get a taste of what you're really like.

I am not saying I am going to stop following celebrities any time soon but I am trying to create a balance between my intellect and my shameless love for celebrity gossip. I believe that this represents me more accurately because I am interested in a variety of topics. So now I am tweeting and re-tweeting current events, breaking stories and other things I find on the web...But still expect me to tweet about celebrities gossip too...Did you hear that Glee is going to dedicate an entire episode to Britney ?! I re-tweeted that within seconds !

Despicable Me - No Spoilers !!

I had the opportunity to go to an advance screening of Despicable Me tonight ... I almost didn't go because I knew with two weeks left of school there was more that I probably could be doing. But figured if I blogged about it then it would be sort of like homework ?!? I am SO happy I went ... it was a FANTASTIC movie and everyone has to go and see it this weekend !

The movie stars Gru (voice of Steve Carell) who is a villain planning a un-imaginable heist to steal the moon. Also starring three young orphaned girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes. (Agnes steals the show with her cute, funny and carefree personality... as you may be able to tell from this trailer.)

Well Agnes and the other two girls see something in Gru that others don't ... a potential father. Watch how they twist and turn Gru's life upside down... not to mention the lives of his many yellow minions. (Also show stealer's)

The movie is in 3D and they did a great job! Normally with 3D movies I find that certain parts are super cool but the rest of the time you're wondering why you're wearing these goofy glasses cause nothing is happening. Well this movie won't disappoint ... from the beginning with the Universal logo until the credits they did an amazing job and I feel as though all other 3D films will have to live up to it ! As a tip wait and watch the credits until the name of the actors come up and you will be in for a real treat. People literally clapped after the 3D snippets of the minions ran throughout the credits.... it was that good !

So overall , cute story, amazing 3D, lots of funny parts for kids as well as adults ! Check it out ... plus there is A/C to keep you out of this heat !!

Total Eclipse of the Heart

In an article I found in the Metro yesterday, it is only slightly easier finding love then finding aliens. According to a Drake study that was done in 1961 there is a 0.000003 chance that aliens exists. According to another study done by a student in the UK recently there is a .0000034 chance that you will find love. Quite a depressing fact, how can we anyone ever be that lucky?

Well apparently Bella Swan is the luckiest girl in the world. My friend was working the screenings of the Twilight Experience last night and I watched the newest movie of the trilogy, Eclipse. I am sure how most of you know how the story goes, Edward the vampire and Jacob the werewolf fight for Bella's love. The third installment focuses on Victoria creating a newborn vampire army that she is sending to kill Bella. (This is because Edward killed Victoria's love in the first film).

It is definitely the best of the three so far, more action, more special effects, great directing, MUCH better acting and lots of shirtless Taylor Lautner :) Still unsure how anyone can look at Edwards pale, pasty, skinny, crack addict-like body and then look at Jacobs hot, rippling, shirtless body and even compare. Jacob is even hotter in this movie then the last two (it may have to do with the fact that he is finally legal and now I wont go to jail for checking his delicious 18-year-old body out).

So if you're a fan of the Twilight Saga or you're a guy who gets dragged there by your girlfriend, this movie will definitely please all that attend. Everyone looking forward to the "tent-in-the-woods scene" its just as hot and tension filled as you played in your head when you read it.

As for the rest of us girls who aren't as lucky as Ms.Bella Swan ... keep looking to the stars ... not to wish upon them ... but if we can't find boyfriends on this planet, maybe another in a far away galaxy there will be a planet filled with aliens that look like Taylor Lautner ...who wouldn't mind getting abducted by them :)

Twitters Staying Power

I always enjoyed Twitter ... but ever since Toronto has been turned upside down with earthquakes and riots I have built an appreciation for how useful it really is.

When the quake hit I happened to be in class. After the screaming and crying from certain classmates, (and my wise suggestion that it's probably just a garbage truck ... hey I am from NS ... we don't have anything but hurricanes there). but the first place that we looked for information was Twitter.

There were Tweets from all of my friends questioning what the heck just happened and then came Tweets from the Metro and other news outlets. They were really informative and the earthquake was quickly a trending topic. Reports were stating that because of Twitter they could tell how many cities felt the quake and it reached all the way down to New York.

When the G20 riots started this weekend where was the first place I looked .... Twitter. CP24 updated their Twitter quicker then it was on television. I was watching the channel and got a Tweet that said "Rioters are moving to Bloor" probably five minutes before the news desk covered it .

People are always debating how long Twitter will be around for... and if it has staying power like Facebook. Well before these events I thought that they might be right, besides Tweeting random thoughts what else was Twitter really good for??

Now I can say Twitter is pretty useful when crazy, unplanned events happen and I hope that it becomes adopted by more people.

WARNING: DO NOT read if you have something better to do !!

I was reading TIME Magazines May 31, 2010 issue which covered various online and social media. The cover story was about Facebook and how it's redefining privacy. Which was a pretty interesting article if you wanna check it out. But what I found more interesting ... and time consuming..... was the article on YouTube. YouTube is turning five years old! (Ya I couldn't believe that it's only been five years either.)

How many hours have been wasted since then watching videos online? Well ....

• YouTube gets more then 2 billion views each day.
• Twenty four hours of video is uploaded every minute.
• More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days then all three major U.S television networks have created in 60 years.

That seems like a lot of hours.

Luckily, to narrow down my search for the best, the article had a link to TIME's 50 best YouTube videos. (This is where hours of your life can be lost.) I had to check it out. Some I had seen before, others I had not. I managed to waste over an hour watching the videos remembering favourites, seeing new ones. (Of course I have other papers and more productive things that I could be doing, but that's usually when most of us spend our time on You Tube).

With so many videos it's interesting to wonder people become YouTube celebrities, end up with millions of views and sometimes even a spot on Ellen. Justin Bieber of course being the most famous getting noticed by record exec's to become a 'tween sensation. But all of the other videos, how do they get from being something that you record and want to show your friends to being posted on Facebook, passed through e-mails and shared all over the world? I am sure companies everywhere are asking the same question.

These videos seemingly don't have much in common, besides the fact that they are cute, funny, embarrassing, touching, and all are entertaining . Now companies more and more are turning viral and hoping that their video will become the next "must see" YouTube clip. Though some of them have had minor success none have even come close to Susan Boyle or the J & K 's Wedding Entrance.

Click on the title if you'd like to see the video.

Kate Parkes' Ranked List "YouTube's 50 Best Videos"

1. 1. Susan Boyle's Debut
2. 2. Jill and Kevin's Big Day
3. 3. David After Dentist
4. 4. Evolution of Dance
5. 5. Sneezing Panda
6. 6. Charlie Bit My Finger
7. 7. Miss Teen South Carolina
8. 8. Baby Bobbing to "Single Ladies"
9. 9. Grape Lady Falls!
10. 10.Christian the Lion

With YouTube being just five years old, maybe companies haven't figured out the right formula, with a splash hilariousness and a dash cuteness maybe they could get this type of coverage. Maybe in five years one of them will get it right? Or maybe they could buy that Sneezing Panda??

My Not So Regular Regulars :)

I have been a bartender / server for almost ten years now...I have worked in several restaurant and bars...Red Knight , Jack Astors, Five Fisherman, Rudder's, Maxwells Plum, Fiddlers Green, Hoops and Blarney Stone.... I am hoping that the Blarney Stone will be my final place of work in the service industry... but looking at how much student loan's I have racked up over the years ....I will probably be here for awhile :)

Out of all the places I have worked, Toronto is where I have had the privilege to have the BEST regulars anyone can have. I mean the best ! Regulars can literally make or break my night .... especially since I am a seasoned veteran in this field ... so my job is pretty mundane and boring sometimes. When regulars show up it's a whole different story ... cause then we get to catch up and hence my job gets less boring.

It started with my first Toronto job Fiddler Green. Fiddlers was a small bar located across from the Wellesley subway station and was a home turned into a bar. Everyday we would see the same faces and share stories about our day, life and just have fun ... it was almost like a family. Almost better then a family ... because we were choosing to be there.

Then January 2009 Fiddler closed down and we were left without jobs and the regulars left without a watering hole. I was the first one to get a job out of all the staff and the regulars came right with me to The Blarney Stone.

Typically the bartender is supposed to wipe the bar and listen closely to the problems of the patron ...well that does happen at The Blarney ... I do listen to them ....but they listened to me as well and are very familiar with all of my trials and tribulations.

They have been with me from the beginning of my schooling over the years they listened to complaints of my assignments, profs and all of the other joys that come from doing an undergrad and a post-grad.

They were there when I lost my grandfather and always ask how my cousins son is doing with his chemotherapy.

They have listened to me meet, have fun with and break up with three boyfriends , always being supportive and offering sound advice. Always assuring me in my most desperate of times that there are more fish in the sea.

They always are the first to help when I have an unruly customer and know that I will be backed up if shit goes down.

Most of all we do have fun, for birthdays, holidays and any other day that we think we can celebrate. We all come out and drink and have a good time.

The times when things are really slow or really busy in the restaurant is when I appreciate them the most.

When things are really slow they provide entertainment ( and I hope I do the same). They sing that karaoke song that they probably wouldn't have sang, they drink that one more shot and stay for one more round just to keep me company.

When things are busy they are sometimes the first to be forgotten and are the most understanding when I do. They come up to the bar after waiting 15 minutes for another beer and politely remind me that they ordered another pint. They always say "It's OK I know your busy." This helps me out immensely when I am stressed out with sudden crowds.... and I usually try and hook them up a bit later when this happens.

I try and express how much they mean to me ... because sometimes just seeing their face come through the door I get excited ... because I know that I will have someone I enjoy to talk to and I will make it through another shift !