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HOTS Goes To The 2015 Juno Awards

Hot On The Street - Shawn Mendes - 2015 Juno Awards - IMG_8427
Last night, I attended my first televised awards show: the 2015 Juno Awards! It was a lot of fun to watch live and an easy way to see multiple performers in one night. It has always been on my bucket list to see the Junos, so now I can cross that off my list.

 

There was a whole week of events in Hamilton leading up to it, including the gala dinner on Saturday, which Jessi Cruickshank hosted. You know I’m a big Jessi Cruickshank fan and I wish she hosted the main event, even though she isn’t a musician. Instead, Hedley’s Jacob Hoggard hosted the Junos and tried to make us laugh with video sequences that included a cameo by none other than Stephen Harper. eTalk’s Ben Mulroney said hello to Jacob from his seat, where he joked that he was offered the hosting gig as well, but turned down the offer.

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March 16, 2015 by

Movie Review: Fed Up

Make room for another documentary about the obesity epidemic. In Fed Up, narrator Katie Couric walks viewers through history to explain why so many Americans are overweight.

In addition to featuring numerous interviews with professors, politicians and doctors, Fed Up chronicles the lifestyles of a few students. The students provide testimonials in between clips of them at home, school and doctor appointments.

In 1977, when a government report was released encouraging the food industry to manufacture food with less fat, food manufacturers responded by decreasing calories and increasing sugar. I like one doctor’s approach to explaining how consuming sugar affects our metabolism. “You can eat a bowl of Corn Flakes with no added sugar or you can eat a bowl of sugar with added Corn Flakes,” he says. “They might taste different, but below the neck, they’re metabolically the same.”

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February 25, 2015 by

Movie Review: Still Alice

Still Alice tells the story of a talented Columbia professor who’s married with three kids and diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alice (Julianne Moore) plays Words with Friends regularly, but can’t remember the right words to say during lectures.

Her supervisor refuses to pretend that everything’s normal when students start writing less than favourable reviews of her classes. In a performance review, Alice feels obliged to confess that she has a medical condition. Despite urging her supervisor to let her continue teaching, she must give up her teaching gig long before she anticipated retiring.

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February 18, 2015 by

As Seen On TV: The Social

Hot On The Street - The Social Stage

I don’t need an excuse to apply for tickets for a live taping of The Social. Now that they’re in season two, I decided to go back. On my way to the taping, I stopped at Starbucks across the street from the studio. I was delighted to see Jess Allen in line. I spotted her immediately and she was very friendly.

Chloe Bent, The Social’s audience coordinator was as friendly as I remembered. She ensured that everyone was excited to join the live audience and encouraged us to cheer by telling us that the biggest fans would receive gift bags with makeup products. One fan was visiting from San Francisco, so she took home a special prize. According to Chloe, the easiest way to look good on TV is to simply nod and smile, without looking like a cheerleader.

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February 7, 2015 by

Parenthood Farewell

Parenthood Cast

The last episode of Parenthood airs in a few hours and I wish there was a way to postpone the series finale. It is one of my favourite shows and I’m sad that it’s ending.

As an only child, I enjoy watching shows with large families that don’t resemble my own family whatsoever. That’s why it was so appealing to watch Party of Five on Netflix during the summer.

The characters were always generous with each other and quick to rescue anyone in a crisis situation. Zeek and Camille raised their offspring to be kind and forgiving, which are key qualities. I liked when Zeek gave Drew the blue Pontiac, insisting that the grand gesture was meant to reward Drew for packing up the old Braverman home.

It has been a treat to watch the Bravermans grow up on Parenthood. They graduated, married and changed a lot over six years. From Haddie’s teary send-off to Cornell to Victor’s joyous adoption ceremony, viewers witnessed several big moments.

The show tackled many serious issues including special needs education and post-traumatic stress disorder. The plot has been a rollercoaster and that’s what kept it interesting. Parenthood’s scripts are unparalleled and I challenge the cast to find such good projects in the future.

January 29, 2015 by