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The Sputnik // Wednesday, February 12, 2014
A&E
Amber Richardson // arts@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikarts Jaclyn Brown Staff with Amber Richardson
Alone on Valentine’s Day
with Amber Richardson
Last Valentine’s Day was incredible. I was in my car and the cool February air made the windows fog up faster than I had anticipated. I had managed to fog up the car windows from heaving desperately lonesome tears on to the steering wheel of my rusty 2002 Hyundai Elantra parked outside of my house. There was no traumatic past relationship that sparked such a violent sob fest and there was no guy I was longing to be with on that February night, it was nothing of that nature. I didn’t want to boycott Valentine’s and be “that girl”, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to punch the love drunk faces of those girls walking around school with a rose clutched in their hands. I had cracked under the pressure of the holiday and I felt emptier than a student’s gas tank. Looking back now, it was there behind a steering wheel coated in salty mascara tears that I realized the truth about Valentine’s Day. I was blessed with the crying style of a Kim Kardashian, so I sucked the snot back into my nostrils and braved the remaining two hours of the night completely, utterly and undeniably alone. I went inside and ran upstairs -- straight into the shower. I wanted to avoid the Mom radar so I wouldn’t have to be consoled with promises of finding eventual love. So into the mildly scalding water I went. The shower happens to posses an extraordinary ability to coax out my most philosophical side, which is
where I experienced a minor epiphany. I know what you’re thinking, “It’s just another day… It’s a Hallmark holiday,” yeah, okay. Thanks for that advice, but unfortunately I am a product of a childhood that majored in Disney princesses, wedding Barbie and a detailed plan to marry all of the Backstreet Boys. It’s completely unrealistic to shroud any trace of melancholy lonesomeness on that fateful holiday, it’s human nature to long for affection. Amidst the stream of the shower I realized Valentine’s Day revolves around all types of love, family love, erotic love, romantic love, chocolate love … the list goes on. There’s one kind of love that’s missing from that list… selflove. In that moment, I couldn’t honestly recall a recent occasion where I did something to show myself a little love. It was easier to whine about my cellulite or tell myself to put down the Nutella and go to the gym. So I turned off the showered, dug out those scented candles I’d saved for possible re-gifting, grabbed the bubble bath and had an intimate date with the sounds of John Mayer and my bathtub. That night, in the most sincere way without a trace of narcissism, I showed myself some love. So if this Valentine’s Day you find yourself alone, don’t take it out on your liver. Dust off an old book, watch an entire season of Full House, buy a guinea pig, colour a colouring book and watch baby animal videos on YouTube. You have relied on yourself your entire life, show a little gratitude. Ditch the self-pity and selfsabotage for one day and confide in the fact that it’s completely acceptable to love yourself. You deserve it.
Alone on Valentine’s Day. (Photo by Christina Mannochio)
Raising money for mental health a success for Bell “Let’s Talk” Priscilla Popp Staff
For the fourth year in a row, Canadians were more than willing to talk. Bell’s “Let’s Talk” campaign, a mental health initiative aimed at ending the stigma associated with the illness, raised almost $5.5 million in just a 24-hour period. Social media was a major contributor to the campaign, as 109,451,719 tweets, Facebook shares, long distance phone calls and texts were sent with the intent of adding five cents to the total amount raised. Just as important as social media, however, was the front woman of the campaign – Canadian gold medalist Clara Hughes. Hughes was featured on several television shows and
radio stations across Canada this month, where she talked about the cause and her own battle with depression in the 1990s at the height of her athletic career. Hughes story is representative of the fact that mental health is insusceptible to no one – not even world-class Olympic athletes. Having Hughes as the face of such a successful initiative allows people to see that however hard to believe, even the idolized and admired are still only human, making up part of the one in five Canadians who will experience mental illness in their lifetime, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Research. When public figures are associated with
struggles that any of us can plausibly go through, whether that is mental illness, substance abuse or something different altogether, the power to create change and evoke a positive outlook is both extremely significant and meaningful. Especially for younger generations who are growing up and looking for guidance, someone who they admire sending a message of hope could change their entire life and even shape their ideas of their future selves. Several examples of celebrities who have embraced this notion can be seen in many contemporary examples of pop culture. Demi Lovato, who successfully completed rehab in
early 2011, has since started her own scholarship program, released a self-help book and has reiterated the message “Stay Strong” to fans who are going through their own struggles. Clara Hughes and Demi Lovato have influenced an entire group of people while only being honest about themselves, admitting their flaws and personal mistakes along the way. In a Hollywood era filled with the pressure to be perfect, going against such norms is a rare occurrence. However, campaigns like Bell’s “Let’s Talk” are only strengthened by such endorsements, for when a person sees that they are not alone can they truly start to get better.
Juno nominees announced last week Kristen Rodgers Staff
It is that time of year again, when Canada celebrates the creativity and successes of Canadian musicians. The 2014 Juno Nominations were announced by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences at a press conference in Toronto on the morning of February 4. Canada’s top artists will be getting ready to head to Winnipeg, a city rich in musical history, where Juno week will be taking place from March 24- 30. The award show will take place on Mar. 30. Canadian artists who have released music between September 1, 2012 and November 13, 2013 are eligible for a Juno Nomination. Montreal’s very own rock group, Arcade Fire, has been nominated for six awards this year, including Group of the Year, Songwriter, Best Single and Alternative Album for their album Reflektor, leaving them with the most nominations. Michael Bublé and Serena
Ontario-natives Walk Off The Earth are also up for Juno nominations. (Photo courtesy of chfi.com)
Ryder trail closely behind Arcade Fire with five nominations each. In addition, there are several artists lined up for Juno’s Fan choice Award including Arcade Fire, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Drake, Hedley, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Robin Thicke, Serena Ryder and Walk off the Earth. Last year, the ‘Baby’ star, Justin Bieber took home the 2013 Juno’s Fan Choice award.
Many of you may be questioning why Robin Thicke is eligible for a Juno Nomination. He is eligible for a nomination because his father, Alan Thicke, is Canadian. He is competing against Dion, Drake, Buble and Ryder for Artist of the Year. Surprisingly, Canadian artists are not the only ones up for an award. There is an international category featuring
Bruno Mars, Eminem, Imagine Dragons, One Direction, and P!nk in the running. For those of ya’ll who are country fans the albums Brett Kissel’s Started with a Song, Dean Brody’s Crop Circles, Gord Bamford’s Country Junkie, Small Town Pistols’s Small Town Pistols’ and Tim Hicks’s Throw Down have all been nominated for Country Album of the Year. City and Colour was originally scheduled to perform at the award ceremony however on Feb. 7, the three time Juno winners decided to reverse their decision to perform. Congratulations all the Canadian artists nominated for the Juno Awards. Who are you cheering for on Mar. 30? With the Sochi Olympics taking place, there will be a lot of Canadian pride this winter. For a complete list of the Juno Awards Nominations for 2014, check out their website; junoawards.ca.