Today's Bananas Charity: Fashion Against Aids

They say money can't buy happiness. Some truly believe in it, while most say it because it seems like the right thing to say, or at least the right way to think. I'm torn on that idea. I honestly can't say that "money cannot buy happiness" because I personally know that it is not completely true. I'm not saying money literally can buy happiness, but with money you can definitely be happIER, which is better than "happy" with a dried out bank account. I would love to be born in a 'old riche' family or even 'nouveau riche' ones, and live off of my family inheritance. I can honestly tell you that I would be happy because of all of the things that I can buy, do, and most importantly, give. I would never not give if I possess an abundance of wealth. But fact is, I can't buy, do and give as much as I want to because I'm not currently part of the upper-income society and neither is my family. So with that being said, when a good cause arises to which I approve, I try to give my support.

So this post is not about glorifying myself by showing off my good Samaritan spirit. It's more about a campaign that combines both fashion (which I'm an enthusiast of) and charity. The campaign is called Fashion Against Aids and is conducted by H&M and DAA(Designers Against Aids) to raise money for a charity that raise awareness and prevention of AIDS/HIV worldwide which exactly kicked off today, may 28th. 25% of every sale of that campaign is donated to that cause. The collection consists of t-shirts, tank tops, and bodysuits designed by a variety of celebrities and famous personalities that surrounds around themes of safe sex, peace, awareness, and of course fashion. This year's list of celebrities includes, Katy Perry, Dita Von Teese, Yoko Ono, Robyn, Yelle, Tokio Hotel, N.E.R.D., Estelle, Cindy Lauper, Katherine Hamnett, Roisin Murphy, Moby and Dangerous Muse. I can't personally say that *all* of the designs are nice or that some of these "celebrities" are even *that* famous, but the concept behind it is still very important. However, some designs are very nice and very fun. From what I heard, they are much cooler than the ones from previous years. In addition, all of the items in that collection are made of 100% organic cotton, which feels so so nice, and very green. It is surprisingly very affordable with everything priced at $19.90 and under. Keep in mind also that some of the designs, such as and mainly, Katy Perry's, are very limited and once flown off the shelves will not come back. The collection includes items for both women and men.

So I went and got two t-shirts, the Katy Perry and Yelle ones. Below I'm going to display my favorite picks for both genders. (there are alternative versions of these in longer t-shirts/"dresses" for women, and colors for mens and ladies)

Yoko Ono (for mens and ladies) "Imagine Peace"

Yelle (for mens and ladies) "You Enjoy Life"

Robyn (for ladies) "Diamonds"

Moby (for mens)

Katy Perry (for mens) "It's what on the outside that counts"

Katy Perry (for ladies bodysuit) "It's what on the outside that counts"

On a little note, I want to state that I work for H&M and I am not being bias or spreading H&M propanganda, but I think it's something that is really cool and that it's a good way to reach the younger audience to an issue that will never ever "go out of style" to talk about, because AIDS/HIV is still an uncurable disease that hits so many people, both in the developed and underdeveloped nations. So if like me, you do not have the means to donate millions upon millions of dollars to your favorite cause, or any charitable cause for that matter, why don't you fork out that $19.90 on a cool t-shirt to which 25% of it will go to charity! Sure it's just 5$ you're giving away in that $19.90, but think about how many 5$ can make when a lot of people join in and buy something. It's all about society's collective contribution that leads to a successful and meaningful result.

Go to your nearest H&M stores in their Divided department to grab one of these babies and check out the other designs or visit H&M and DAA online!

Worst Than The Swine Flu

Sorry. My friend Jennifer is contagious; she gave me a bad case of the Writer's Block flu. 

Be back when I have something relevant to share.

Peace Out :)

Today's Bananas Movie: Blindness

So there's this thing that I often do whenever I have spare time and am conveniently in the downtown area. It might sound a little bit geeky and not very fun, but I don't know what it is but I enjoy it. I like to roam bookstores, but especially Chapters. I actually have no intention of buying anything or looking for anything, but it is actually something that I plan of doing in advance when I know I'm going to be nearby it...and alone, most importantly. I just like the feel of new books, hardcover and paperback. I like flipping through the soft pages with the so beautifully printed words on them, with the occasional face shot of the author on the back cover that makes me chuckle and wonder why they chose this awful picture. I wander around, on all of the floors just to stare and touch the numerous books. So the other day, I had the chance to do this weird routine of mine at Chapters and I've stumble upon the wall of Awards-winning novels. There is this one called Blindness by Portuguese author José Saramago, which won a Nobel Prize for Literature. I picked it up and read the back of it, which tells the story of a world that has been plagued by the "white disease" which is essentially a contagious pandemic causing humans to lose their eyesight. Flipping through the very thick novel, I rapidly put it back on its original shelve thinking that I would never be able to read and comprehend such a high-acclaimed and complex piece of literature work. I mean, it must be some ground-breaking story-telling to be awarded a world-renowned Prize like the Nobel one. 

So story short, I did not read the book. I, however, discovered that they made a movie out of it to which I was completely unaware of. It surprisingly stars some very talented actors that I like watching on screen, namely Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal. I caught it on PaperView at home, but wasn't able to finish it in its entirety, but the 30 minutes or so of the scenes that I saw really intrigued me. So at my friend's house not long after, I was able to watch it from begining to end because she happened to have had rent it at the video store the night before. This movie honestly moved me. I can't say whether it is better or worse than the original novel (although my friend who read the book tells me the book is far more superior) since I have not read the book, but as an average movie goer, the movie really spoke to me on so many levels. It gave me chills and really got me into thinking as the end credit rolls. The content kind of scared me despite not having any purpose of scaring anyone. 

Blindness focuses on the story of a disease that spread throughout the United States (and we assume the world as well) which caused everyone to lose their eyesight, and go blind. Their blindness however is not like the usual kind where the disabled one "sees" only darkness, an obscur black like the lights have been turned off. Instead, their darkness has become a vision of whiteness. The disease is contagious and as soon as it became a situation of panik, the governmental authorities have deployed soldiers to catch the infected ones and send them to a prison-like ward for "quarantine" purposes. But as the captives will soon realize, they have been sent as prisoners shielded from the outside world. The main characters involve an eye doctor who lost his sight after being in contact with a patient that came to see him because of his eyesight lost, his wife who is immune to the disease but pretends to be blind so to take care of her husband, a few infected victims and a deranged "ward leader" that will impose his dictating ways onto everybody by distributing boxes of food in exchange for precious things the blinds own and sexual favors. The story revolves around so many human nature issues. Themes like desperation, social gangs, ethics, and most importantly, in my opinion, hope, all come into play and all tie in together to make the audience feel so compelled and involved. The content was, for me, so provocative but captivated all of my attention. Some might find it boring, but for those who are not suffering from an attention deficit disorder, it is a very exciting movie experience. 

The movie really makes me want to visit Chapters again and get the courage to actually pick up the book and purchase it. I strongly recommend either watching the movie or reading the book, because it's a remarkable and at the same time, sad tale about human behavior during an apocalyptic world. We are no more different than animals.

Today's Bananas Picture: They Start Young

I wish my parents would have dressed me like that when I was young. Hell, I don't even dress like that now. Kudos to the parents for not dressing their kid in tacky cartoon-covered retartedly-bright matching-color outfits.

Fitted denim wash jeans, check.
Trendy stripe shirt, check.
Slick navy blazer vest, check.
Too-cool-for-school white Converse sneaks, check.
West Village hipster fedora hat, check.

Coolest kid on the playground? Yep.

Picture courtesy of The Sartorialist

To BCom or not to BCom?

The world of Academics with society as an accomplice, have single-handedly changed the perception of what higher education really is. Going to college has only one real purpose now, and it is to train you into a profession so you can be thrown into the workforce and stimulate the economy. Whereas in the times of the Renaissance, higher level of learning is only eligible to the small group of fortunate Aristocrats. Often times men, they are sent for a Tour around Europe to study subjects that will reinforce their personal enlightment.  Nowadays, when one decides to enter an institution of higher learning, especially right after high school, CEGEP or its equivalence, the decision of what to study and what to do is such a fundamental question that it may haunt so many of us students. Some choose an already-established and thought-out academic path for the next four years, while others just simply acquire a general set of philosophical and scientific knowledge to enhance their personal intellectual wealth, which usually means that a post-undergraduate degree will ensue in the near future. And others, are simply clueless as to what their purpose is at college/university, other than deliberately spending thousands of dollars into something that supposedly will shape their life existence. Everyone falls into either of these categories.

As for I, my studies and my goals have become even more ambiguous as my undergraduate studies progress. I'm currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) program, which is essentially a business degree in Canada, and I have switched major three times in a span of half a year. I've come to major in International Business and then switched into Operations and Production Management, to finally "settle" for Accounting. My first thought of pursuing a business degree isn't so that I could slave myself into the routine-imposed, 9 to 5 office career for eternity. I initially wanted to get a well-rounded business education so that I can pursue different career paths in different fields, while at the same time fall back on a "legit" and "safe" degree if things go sour. But I've come to realized, and now I'm starting to believe, that a business degree has become essentially a "cover-up" degree where it makes people think that it is worth something; but in the end, especially in our new time of economic, social, and technological change, it has completely lost its meaningfulness. The endless list of annual top Chief Executive Officers of today's leading multinationals that leaks out every year through different media types have, in general, never been through an undergraduate in business. Case in point, here's a few of the world's top innovative and successful CEOs:

Jeff Besos (Amazon.com) - Computer Science & Electronical Engineering

Jaimie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase) - BA Economics/Psychology, MBA

Howard Levine (Family Dollar) - Undergraduate dropout

Chase Carey (DirectTV) - BS Mathematics & Economics

Rex W. Tillerson (Exxon Coporation) - BEng Civil Engineering

Jim Skinner (McDonald's) - No higher education

Some of them have gone and obtained an MBA, while others simply maintained their BS or BA degrees. I cannot deny that business programs enable the future citizens of the Corporate World to develop some analytical skills, as well as entrepreneurial quality to make effective and efficient decisions once out on the market, but I'm simply questionning whether with  that only, is a marketable attribute that will entice employers to seek business undergraduate instead of engineering (computer, electronics), physics, mathematics or economics graduates to fulfill available positions. These area of specialization are highly valued because they are considered to prep the individuals with very analytical skills that can directly apply to business problems. In a way, it just simply put even more fierce competition on the job market. Maybe what is thought in business schools is not as relevent and the same as the real business outside of school. I'm not disgusted with what business degrees have become, far from that or else I would have gave it up and transfered into liberal arts to study English, History, Political Science, and Art, all things I have interests in. I am merely playing the Devils's advocate and seeing what the outside world beyond university perimeters really is like. 

I'm hoping to be wrong about what I'm saying and that I am simply scaring myself with the thought of becoming an unemployed burden to society in the future. I'm always so fascinated about what other people are studying and their life pursuits. I'm fascinated by the overachieving pre-med students who, upon successfully graduating, will lead a fulfilling and productive life. I'm fascinating by the Arts students who, despite knowing that without a meaningful Philosophical Doctorate degree will not dedicate their life to their crafts, still get to enjoy the feeling that they've learned about human evolution, thoughts, ideas, the answers to the present and the questions of tomorows. I'm fascinated by those who are willing to spend significant portions of their time deriving and anti-deriving numbers so that they can in turn build bridges and buildings that sustain civil society. Maybe I'm too curious, and the idea that I must spend 3 years studying one main specific topic that may or may not get me a job is not satisfying enough. 

If anything, there is always Law school (not that the world needs yet another lawyer :P )

Today's Bananas Topic: Frivolous Spending

For those who know me, I'm a very frivolous spender. I'm not saying I possess *a lot* of money to permit me to do all that frivolous spending, but I definitely get around in raising some "moola" to pay off my debts. To be fair, I don't spend my hard earned cash on pricey things everyday, impulsively without some kind of judgement about consequences....sort of. Alright, I don't spend everyday, but it is impulsive though. Sometimes I return them when I feel like I could still live at full potential without it, and sometimes, heck, why giving it up? Plus the hassle of going back to return it is enough to make me want to keep it afterall. I don't want to promote frivolous shopping in this economical and financial climate because it would seem insensitive, but fact is...the more you spend, the more the economy will soon shift the aggregate expenditure curve upward, which in turn will shift both the aggregate demand and aggregate supply curve from actual GDP at a recessionary period to its potential output real GDP. In non-economic terms, the recessionary gap closes and the economy will stabilize. Sure, it's not that simple, but a little less saving will definitely benefit future economic growth in the long run. So with that in mind, I feel a little less guilty about writing a post about trivial spending. So here's the deal, I'm going to dedicate this post space to things I have spent in the past, will spend in the near future, and things that *you* should spend (if you suddenly have the urge to deplete your chequing account) that I really like and enjoy, but that some people find overpriced/unnecessary. I have no regrets when I swipe my card and punch in my PIN number, and neither should you.

FreeCity What's FreeCity? Well let me tell you what FreeCity is. FreeCity is a lifestyle clothing brand specializing in comfortable city, California-esque fashion gear. They make sweatpants, sweatshirts, t-shirts, hoodies, for women, men and children. Sure, it sounds like nothing special, but FreeCity is a concept based on life, art, fashion, new discoveries, and help promote under-the-radar artists. All things that I support. But truly, what attracts me to FreeCity is how amazingly comfortable their goods are, it's unbelievable. Their stuff is so soft and so easy to wear, you can practically live in it forever (humm...don't..it's just a figure of speech). You'll definitely look cool in them, because that's what all celebrities have been spotted in. I put this under frivolous spending because their clothing comes with a hefty price tag. Sweatpants and hoodies can easily be around and over US$120, while t-shirts are priced at US$148, not so cheap eh? But here's the upside (if you still think there's an upside after seeing these 3-digit prices), they will last you a long time, and you will wear it almost everyday. So if you balance it out, perhaps, it will be worth it.  Check FreeCity website for more details, or TNT(100, St-Catherine Ouest) carry some FreeCity inventory. 

Bose Headphones I don't know about you but I have gone through so many headphones for my ipod, it's become a major issue now. Just today, I thought I had yet again lost my headphones while on my way out of the house, but turns out I just simply misplaced it in another pocket. But this little incident got me thinking about what new other headphones should I get have I truly lost my current headphones. I've gone through a few selections in my head, and honestly I cannot see any other alternative than Bose. Have you ever tried Bose? Please tell me you have, because it's one great piece of sound technology. The sounds that come out of those headphones and transfer into your hearing senses is just pure bliss. It's crystal clear, smooth, sound scratch-free and best of all, noice-cancelling. The headphones come in earphones format as well if you don't like having something over your head for music (like me). For $349 for headphones and $130 for earphones, you can finally "hear a difference". 

Raffaello I don't have a sweet tooth, I must admit. I'm more of a salty food kind of person. I don't mind having a second round of a main dish and skip the dessert altogether. Some people find it bewildering that I don't eat chocolates. Actually, I tell them I don't eat chocolate, but I enjoy chocolate flavor, so I do like chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, chocolate muffins, just not the actual chocolate. However, I really like Ferrero Rocher, but even then, I don't have too much of it either. But I found the perfect alternative, and I think you will like it. It's those little precious delicacies from the family of Ferrero Rocher minus the chocolate.To summarize the sweet in the language of Raffaello public relation professionals, they are "crispy, creamy almond coconute treats with a whole crunchy almond surrounded by vanilla cream inside; while outside, the light, crispy wafer shell is covered with vanilla cream and sprinkled with coconut". Enough said, one of my favorite sweets ever. I kid you not when I say I can eat them like the way I eat popcorn. They can come packed in three just like how Ferrero Rochers are packed, or you can get them in a bag with a couple of them. I buy them in the bag because I'm a pig like that. The bag of delicious Raffaello costs 11$ at your local Pharmaprix stores. 

RayBans I think I've only worn RayBans sunglasses in my life, and by "in my life", I mean three years ago when I thought sunglasses were officially cool to wear outside of the beach environment. I own both the classic RayBan Wayfarers and their infamous RayBan Aviator shades. They're so old school, yet so modern at the same time. I find them really comfortable and I feel like I'm actually not wearing sunglasses at all. I don't know whether I'm a sucker for brands or for some other reasons, but I can't for the life of me get myself to wear any other kind or non-brand sunglasses that look exactly the same as the RayBans I currently own. I mean, I could easily save a lot more money, but I chose to spend that extra cash to wear the real deal, hence why this is a frivolous spending of money. Regardless, I wholeheartedly support the existance of RayBans eyewear 100%, despite their very inflated pricing. RayBans ranges from $120 to $300 depending on the style, and are available at SunglassHut.

Now, let's be interactive for a bit...what frivolous spending have *you* done lately? 

Answers on a postcard in the mail! 

:)

Today's Bananas Food: Rotisserie Romados

I take a lot of pleasure in devouring all kinds of meat. I feel no guilt whatsoever in stabbing my fork in some juicy filet mignon, fried pork chops and grilled tender chicken breast. I don't condemn the vegetarians or anything, I just personally don't believe in the point of denying oneself of the opportunity to take part in the degustation of animal meat. I mean, I guess Westerners allow themselves to "become" vegetarians just because food is not a commodity they are lacking of, so they can permit themselves to fight for the rights of animals that are perfectly edible which constitute a great part of human's diet. But enough about vegetarism, in fact this post is exactly about the opposite of vegetarism; it's about grilled chicken. Chicken is easily one of my favorite meat and I like it grilled, fried, slightly crispy, fumed, and all of parts of that fowl, legs, wings, breast and everything in between. Say what you want about Kentucky Fried Chicken, I love it, mutated chicken or not. 

So recently, a friend of mine introduced me to this relatively small Portuguese grillroom takeout restaurant called Rotisserie Romados located further down the Plateau of Montreal on Rachel. I've never heard of this portuguese gem before, and he warned me to be prepared to wait because the lineup can compete with the lineup for the launch of the iPhone. I kid you not. I had to wait nearly 50 minutes for my turn to order my plate of chicken. But that's because we did not call beforehand. When calling in advance, we can avoid the long non-reserved orders line, and only have to wait in the *second* line to pick up our orders. You don't necessarily skip the "waiting" part, there will be waiting involved, but the time in line is considerably less. So what is this fuss all about? Well to summarize, it's cheap, delicious, generous portuguese grilled chicken on charcoal. I cannot even describe to you how the chicken is grilled even though I saw the chicken being grilled right in front of my eyes. Look at the picture above, it is pretty self-explanatory. But the grilling part isn't the best part. When ordering a plate of 1/2 chicken, you get a very generous portion of chicken (you'd think you'd get 1/2 but sometimes you wonder if they didn't just give you a full chicken) glazed in a spicy sauce, a mountain portion of double fried pepper fries, and side of italian salad, and check this out, it is completely recession-friendly! Just a little under 8$! The food was excellent, the service was friendly and very appreciative of our business with them. The place is completely unpretentious, it's not cozy per se, but it's not "dirty" in all account. There are some available tables and seats to enjoy their delicious chicken in house, but most people take them for takeout. My experience was done in house since the weather that night was horrible, a combination of rain and wind. 

The downside of Rotisserie Romados is its location. It's in a very remote area of The Plateau and it's a far walk from the Metro, approximately 15 minutes away. Driving there shouldn't be much of a trouble if you know your way around Montreal. The waiting line is terribly horrendous during peak times when you decide to show up without an order reservation, especially when you are very hungry. I was ready to faint until I reached the counter my first time around. But once you are seated and ready to charge into your plate, the wait had suddenly become worthwhile and all that complaning you've done for the past 30 minutes or more with your friends felt like a waste of energy, saliva, and was essentially just useless noise pollution because waiting for that plate 1/2 chicken is definitely worth that wait. 

Here's my recommendation if you decide to try Rotisserie Romados:

• Call before going. I can't stress enough how calling will totally get your orders so much faster and you can save so much precious time.
  
• Ask your chicken to be glazed in spicy sauce. It's not actually really spicy, but it definitely gives a kick and gives a little bit more flavor to your portuguese chicken. 
• Do order 1/2 since getting just 1 leg or 1 breast is only a couple of cents less than 1/2 chicken. Don't fret that you have a small stomach and won't finish it. The plates are always already packed in a takeout plate, so you can simply close it and bring it home for later.
• For drinks, get one of their bottles of sprinkly soda in different exotic fruit flavors. It's a shame I can't recall what it's called, but it's not a drink from here, so among the pepsis and 7ups, you will spot that bottle with ease! 
• The restaurant offers steak also, but I have yet to try them, and I have yet to see someone actually having them. Don't bother, get the chicken!
• If you decide to show up without an order reservation during 7-8pm, and there is a long line, expect to maybe not have that 1/2 chicken you wanted. I was one of the few that got the last 1/2 chicken and there was still around 20 people behind by 8pm
  

I'm actually typing this post about chicken because I had to deprive myself of meat today because it's Good Friday. Upon the request of my parents, I had to stay from meat for the whole day. *sigh* But if you are not, this is a place to definitely check out! It's delicious and cheap, that's like the best combination *ever*.  Ask for their business card so that you can save their phone number at all time.

Rotisserie Romados, 115 Rachel Est corner de Bullion, considered by the locals as the *best grilled chicken in town*, call 514.849.1803 for your order reservations!