My jam

My jam (what I'm listening to or my current playlist) has always had a big impact on my writing (in that I can't write unless I'm listening to music).

At work, in various corporate and marketing communications positions, I would routinely put on headphones to create the necessary "vibe" to write whatever I had to write; whether it be a press release or an article about, say... tequila.  

Recently, my jam has been pretty heavily influenced by the people I follow on Instagram (let's be honest here, I'm actually only referring to one person; Kylie Jenner) though Kate Hudson posted one of the songs from Rihanna's new Anti album today - Love on the Brain - and I'm really diggin' it. It has an old-school love ballad quality to it, like Santo and Johnny's Sleep Walk, The Flamingos' I Only have Eyes for You, and The Platters' Twilight Time.

(I would post it but apparently it's been taken off the internet... for now... good thing I listened to it 10 times this morning.) Since I can't, I'll post this instead:

 #BBHMM

But back to KJ (Kylie, not Kendall. Or Kris). Thanks to a nifty page on Instagram I get to follow her Snapchat (without actually having to be on Snapchat) and discover loads of new (to me) music. Like Post Malone.

 White Iverson

Saucin'.

Another artist I chanced upon through KJ is GFrsh on Gabrielle Aplin's Panic Cord.

"you kept all the things i threw away"

 

Due to the current, ummm, situation in KJ's life (Tyga) his music has definitely been making it to my playlist as well. From Rack City and Doped Up (Tyga's ode to Michael Jackson's Thriller) to Stimulated (his ode to, ummm, nevermind).

"they say she young, i should've waited"

I actually "rediscovered" a song through Kendall Jenner who had it playing in the background of one of her Instagram videos; Your Love by The Outfield.

"you know i like my girls a little bit older"   

So far, nothing from Kris.

   

A living language (part 2) or English is ratchet

Since it's still fair to call it the beginning of a new year I thought it would still be cool (#goals) to post a follow-up to last February's A living language or English on fleek. If "language is forever changing" it's probably fair to say that 2015 saw its fair share of new words see the light of day. 

Here are my top ten:

1. Ratchet: While perhaps best known as a tool (ha!) also referred to as a socket wrench, "ratchet" is also used to describe something that is, like, super cool and awesome. Exhibit A: Nicki Minaj referred to Adele as "mad ratchet" in a tweet in response to her rap of a Monster verse on James Corden's The Late Show's Carpool Karaoke.

mad ratchet indeed

2. Basic: Basic is basically someone or something that is boring and unoriginal. It made it into the dictionary as such, in its slang version, in 2015. Personally, basic really made it on my radar when Kate Moss and Marc Jacobs posted a video of themselves calling out various "basic bitches" for escorting Ms. Moss off a plane.

"calling all the basic bitches"

3. Netflix and chill: While everyone knows what this means I remember a time, not so long ago, when I did not. If you don't I suggest you look it up, just for fun. NSFW.    

4. Squad: A squad is defined as a clique of friends, a gang or crew. The word is most often used in hashtags and in high schools. 

5. Ew: Ew pretty much means what it sounds like it means. It's no bueno. Popularized by Jimmy Fallon in Ew!, I'm pretty sure Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie were the first to use it.

"hashpipe like!" 

6. No bueno: Spanish for "no good" (duh!), "no bueno" is part of a larger trend of Spanish words and expressions, like "on fuego," being used for no apparent reason.

7. Slob (or douche) Kabob (or kebob): Popularized by the self-proclaimed queen (of life) Kourtney Kardashian, slob and douche kabob are terms of endearment used for Scott Disick.

8. A variety of phrases from Hotline Bling: Drake's much memed Hotline Bling popularized a variety of phrases, including "you used to call me on my cell phone," "you started wearing less and going out more" and "that can only mean one thing." 

400 million views and counting

9. Sauvage: While Sauvage is not actually used by anyone (yet) I strongly suggest it become Johnny Depp's new name.  Who's in?

Le Sauvage

10. AF: An abbreviation for "as fuck" most often used on social media to reinforce a statement (about oneself, of course). For example:

 Mood AF

Hot dogs and hot rods

I've written about the wonder known as the Orange Julep before here and am revisiting it now, in my mind's eye at the very least, as a way of escaping winter and researching similar wonders or roadside attractions in other areas (let's just say, randomly, between here and Florida).

Tots randomly.

But back to the Julep. Every Wednesday between May'ish and October'ish it plays host to more than just hot dogs on hot rod night, famous for its classic cars even more than its classic cheeseburgers.

From classic Chevrolet El Caminos and vintage Ford Falcons to old-time pickup trucks and more, hot rod night is the perfect opportunity to enjoy a balmy Montreal evening chowing down on classic fast-food fare while listening to Twilight Time and taking a nostalgic walk, or drive, on the wild side.

The bonus is all that travelling through time really works up an appetite. And then, just like that... craving satisfied. 

"Happy Days" indeed:

  
On a (once again, totally random) side note, I'm told there are a number of similar but unique tourist-friendly stops or roadside attractions on the route (I-95 South) between Montreal and Florida. I'd love to hear about them!

The Sunshine (or Orange) State is callin'... Just sayin'.

an oldie but a goodie

  

On the Phone (instead of the Table) with Eric Ripert

So a couple of years ago, in 2011 to be exact, I had the opportunity to get "on the phone" avec Eric Ripert for an article I was writing about him, and Le Bernardin, for enRoute Magazine. 

I listened to the interview again about a month ago and really liked it (duh, obviously, I'm talking to Chef Ripert... what's not to like?) so I contacted his (lovely) press people and they graciously gave me permission to post it here, on my little ol' blog. 

Le sigh. 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

Hajimemashite! Watakushi wa Urusura desu

My mother always liked to tell me that I could do anything I set my mind to so it probably came as no surprise to her when, after graduating from university, I up and moved to Japan. 

My interest in Nippon had been growing steadily since the age of 13 when I tried my first piece of sushi. At the time, there weren’t Japanese restaurants on every street corner the way there are now. Back then, Chinese take-out was considered exotic.

1st photo in Tokyo; vending machines 

So my love of raw salmon translated into a love of everything Japanese and at the tender age of 22 I put everything I owned into storage, as many clothes as I could possibly fit into one suitcase, and I was off.

The ride to the airport, besides being uncomfortable because my parents were in the same car, was somber. “You know they light people on fire in China, don’t you?” asked my father over his shoulder as he drove.

At the airport, things got worse. My dad, who was wearing the shortest short shorts known to man, broke down into tears while my mom made me check my ticket and passport for the millionth time, “just to make sure they’re still there.”

“Okay, well… see you in a year,” I said jokingly as I crossed the line into the unknown.

cheesu!

So this was my new home; a one-bedroom apartment in Koshigaya, Japan. Nice kitchen, nice living room, interesting washroom (how does that work?).

The bedroom floor was traditional and covered in tatami mats. Little did I know that it was also covered in hundreds, or thousands, of mites. “Mom,” I cried on the phone a couple of days later, hysterical, “it’s awful. There are mites everywhere, even in my underwear drawer, and I can’t get rid of them.”

My mother always liked to tell me that Dettol took care of everything. Parachlorometaxylenol, or Dettol, is a cleaning solution so powerful it doesn’t need advertising. It just works.

In the case of mites, it’s absorbed through their skin before it kills them as a result of toxic shock.

While the mites were slowly dying I was going through my own version of shock; culture shock. The honeymoon phase of my time in Japan had come to an abrupt end and I was no longer amused by people pulling out my “yellow” hair for closer inspection. Similarly, Japanese housewives wearing teddy-bear themed aprons at the grocery store made me want to commit violent acts. I was now knee-deep in the rejection phase.

JET photo; blondinka much?

But as any “gaijin” knows, this too shall pass.

Halfway through my stint in Japan I hit my stride. I could speak the language relatively well, I had made a couple of great friends and I was really enjoying everything Japan had to offer. On weekends, I would set out with a long list of things to do and actually do them. 

spot the gaijin, aka me

This is when my mother decided it was time for a visit.

purikura

Both she and her Japanese friend Taeko stayed with me for a week in February. Taeko is the person who first introduced us to sushi in Montreal so it was a little surreal seeing her in my very own Japanese pad (definitely not maxi).

It was still pretty cold when they visited and my apartment didn’t have central heating. My mother was shocked. 

“Couldn’t we put this space heater closer to us?” she asked one night as she shivered uncontrollably in bed (this coming from the woman who always told me to be careful about literally everything). 

“We could but we’d probably catch on fire. What would dad think then?”