I’ve been following Andy Shauf for quite some time now and I’m always fascinated and surprised by how much I’m sucked into the worlds he creates. Starting with his previous albums The Party and The Bearer of Bad News, I was captured not only by his music, but by the characters he makes that inhabit some very real places and perspectives. A Canadian coming from small-town Saskatchewan and now living in Toronto, Andy always writes his songs from the places he has lived and people he has known. And with his new album, The Neon Skyline, things are no different. […]

The day before Valentines Day, Netflix released the first few episodes of new reality show Love Is Blind, showing they are in fact moving into the reality streaming space. February 13th was also the day that a large part of the population lost their collective minds.  If you haven’t seen it, the premise of Love Is Blind is insane: 13 men and women spend 16-hour days in isolated pods talking to each other on the other side of a wall, one of which they will eventually choose to marry. The idea is an emotional connection will be formed, which is […]

“There’s a time when a man needs to fight, and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny is lost… the ship has sailed and only a fool would continue. Truth is… I’ve always been a fool.” -Edward Bloom, Big Fish (2003) Big Fish is one of my favourite movies. The dynamics of the father-son duo at the heart of the film remind me of my own relationship with my father. It’s a story about stories, which are the things that bring me the most joy in this world – reading them, watching them, listening to them and […]

Looking for affordable lunch spots close to campus? Here are some inexpensive restaurants near Ryerson that you should visit if you haven’t already. They’re listed in order of closest to furthest from campus. Pizza Shab Pizza Shab’s downtown location opens at 11:30AM, is right on campus (113 Bond Street) and they serve what they call rollings pizza. Essentially its giant pizza pocket, with pizza dough enclosing cheese, veggies, and meat, then covered in sauce. It’s $14 for one of these, which is cut into five slices, more than enough to share between two people. The rollings pizza was so good, […]

The popular breakfast chain Eggspectation has opened their newest location on Carlton Street, just across from the Mattamy Athletic Centre. It’s a pretty big space with a casual open plan layout, combining an eclectic mishmash of design styles ranging from modern industrial elements to mid twentieth century touches, and it doesn’t have the light and airy feeling you’d expect from a breakfast restaurant of this size. Walking past it, it’s hard to tell that it’s even open, since there’s rarely more than a few patrons there at a time. So, is it worth a visit?  The price tags on its […]

Hot on the heels of Death Stranding, Kojima Productions tweeted on February 28th what seems to be a teaser for their next game. Despite the lack of official news, fans across Twitter were in a frenzy speculating that the project could be Silent Hills. Pictured above is Aki Saito, the head of communications of Kojima Productions, writing on a post-it note. While seemingly a simple photo, the super sleuths of social media have pointed out a bunch of clues that may be nods to Silent Hill. (Pepe Silvia meme. Know Your Meme, Literally Media, 2018, knowyourmeme.com/memes/pepe-silvia.) Perhaps the most obvious […]

As many of you know, I like finding new bands, bugging them for an interview and then writing about them for this blog. But if you thought I would run out of groups to write about at this point, you’re wrong. I have another one: Burger Vacuum. Burger Vacuum is a (now) trio consisting of Ryerson students Joseph on drums and vocals and Rob on guitar, synth, and vocals, and Jefferey LeFort on bass. This past December, I had a chance to sit down with what was then the duo that made Burger Vacuum, Joseph and Rob. The two met […]

C’est juste une fille et elle est en feu. For those who don’t know how to read French or don’t trust Google Translate, that sentence means, “She’s just a girl and she’s on fire”. Which is taken from Alicia Keys’ song, “Girl on Fire”. Besides being my review on letterboxd (a shameless plug, follow me at _jessilaw), it also best describes why Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the best of 2019. Directed and written by Céline Sciamma, the film is set in France in 1760. A young woman, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), is commissioned to paint a […]

Mick Jenkins is one of those artists that I wish I knew about a long time ago. With a godly mic presence paired with silky smooth flows, Mick Jenkins has proved to be a force on the underground hip-hop scene.  From the Southside of Chicago, Mick has an introspective style that blends vulnerability and cockiness with ease. Its obviously impossible to articulate the skill and musical abilities of an artist like Mick with some words on a page, but to give you an idea of what he is capable of I’m going to briefly analyze two of Mick’s tracks; “P’s […]

Discover Italian food market, restaurants, dessert, cafe all in one place Eataly 55 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON If you want to try all things italian, you need to check out Eataly! It is a grand building outside of Bloor and Yonge TTC station, it has restaurants, bar, grab-n-go food, desserts, brewery, and marketplace with fresh cheese and meats and more. The best thing that I love about this place is that you can buy the exact sauces, fresh pastas, and the same authentic ingredients from the restaurant directly in the grocery market!! Not only do they sell over 50 […]

Toronto Winter Stations is back in full swing for it’s sixth consecutive year. For those who are not familiar with Winter Stations, it’s an annual event that happens at Woodbine Beach out in the East end of Toronto. Starting in 2014, it’s a public art exhibition that receives hundreds of submissions from all around the world. Open to all individuals worldwide, artists are required to submit applications for proposed designs and installations utilizing the lifeguard stations that are scattered along Woodbine Beach. This year’s theme is “Beyond the Five Senses.” It’s based upon our five senses that we have as […]

It can be hard to be fashionable in the cold weather that we get in Toronto.  Since winter coats, boots, gloves, and scarves are often essential for most of the school year, it can be really easy to focus more on staying warm rather than worrying about fashion.  For the record, there is absolutely no shame in solely focusing on staying warm, I do this all the time.  Clothes can also be very expensive so the following clothing items are catered to us students who like to be fashionable on a budget.  I always recommend thrift shopping since it is […]

On the first Sunday of this past reading week, I took a trip to Toronto’s Cinesphere. Located on the grounds of what was formerly Ontario Place, the Cinesphere was the first ever permanent IMAX screen back when it first opened in 1971. The film that I decided to watch was 2010’s Inception, and as the screen dimmed and I anticipated that the movie would be starting, something else began to play. The screen displayed a large brightly lit, Russian music hall that being taken over by terrorists. As the counter-terrorist unit arrives to the scene, you realize that they possess […]

Sometimes you crave eggs, other times maybe pancakes. Regardless, everyone loves breakfast foods. Here are five places around campus you can check out, that serve all day breakfast. FRANS Who hasn’t heard of Frans Diner? They have two locations right by campus, one on Victoria street, the other on College. Serving breakfast favourites, lunch, and dinner options since it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week! What does that mean? You can grab The Big Breakfast, for $13.99 and even get a strawberry milkshake to wash it down for $6. https://www.fransrestaurant.com/menu/ Hours and Location Both open 24 […]

Looking to channel your inner Harley Quinn with the perfect egg sandwich? There’s no better place to do that than Egg Bae, Kensington’s cute little breakfast sandwich shop. It’s just a short bus ride from the Ryerson campus, and it’s definitely worth the trip. The interior is surprisingly spacious, with a modern design and fun, chicken-themed murals. Egg Bae is a great example of a restaurant that chooses just one thing to focus on, and does that thing extremely well. The menu is short, with a simple offering of five different egg sandwiches, hash browns, and a selection of coffee […]