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A friend of mine just moved into a new apartment. She is a student who is near graduation and has a good bit of debt. Her apartment was pretty bare, and I love to decorate. So, the two of us got together to decorate her apartment!

So far we have finished the bathroom. I will update you on how the rest of the decorating goes. But we’ve tried to keep the costs low. It’s pretty easy to be cost effective, if you shop at stores like Wal-mart and the Dollarama! You can get a lot of nice things. Keep your eyes out for sales!

To the right is a photo of my friend’s shower curtain. This is a part of the before we re-decorated. She lives in an apartment and can’t really afford to buy pain, plus she would have to paint it back once she moves out. The counters are a tan colour and the sink/toilet are white. Therefore her bathroom really needed to get brighter!

Last winter she had gone on a trip to Cuba that I knew she loved. So I went through her photos and found six scenic pictures I thought she would like. The next time we hung out I showed her the pictures I had picked out. She picked the three she liked best, and those were the pictures we centered our decorating around.

We wanted to go with a beach theme to liven up the bathroom. She wanted it to be a place she liked, it is where she gets ready in the morning. It is important to have a positive image in the morning! So we thought in this small space a bright shower curtain would look great!

As you can see from the photos. Her bathroom was, well, it was blah! It definitely needed a pick-me-up. So my friend and I went on a shopping excursion where we purchased a few items and re-arranged some items that were already part of her apartment.

We first went to Wal-mart. There she purchased:

• One blue shower curtain
• One sandy-beige hand towel
• One blue facecloth
• One pack of wood-faced curtain hooks
• One blue hand towel
• One soap dish
• One toothbrush/paste holder

Everything at Wal-mart was affordable. We chose the prices she was able to pay. We found the perfect shower curtain. It looks exactly like the ocean. Once we brought it back to her apartment and hung it up we know it was perfect. The picture on the package did not do it justice. We chose the wood-faced curtain hooks because they reminded us of boardwalks on the beach. From choosing the wooden hooks that lead us to choose a soap dish that was on a white ceramic with a wooden base.

The towels were an easy choice. We found the most beautiful colour beige, it resembled the prettiest of all sand. As you can see in the photo to the left, we draped the blue facecloth over the beige towel.

The next store we visited was the Dollarama. Thank the Lord for this store! I tell you, this place is the best Here we purchased:

• 3 wooden frames
• 3 glass containers with metal lids
• One box of purple Q-tips
• 3 inspirational rocks

The items from the dollarstore were what pulled the bathroom together in the end. The three glass containers were put up against the far wall, and were filled with colourful items! Bath salts, bathbombs and pretty Q-tips. A cheap, easy way to add colour to a bathroom! The three photos were hung on the wall and this is where we placed the scenic photos of Cuba.

The inspirational rocks say: smile, laugh and love. These add “beachy-ness” to the room, but are also a reminded of some of the important things in life.

My friend and I loved the purple Q-tips! I have seen them in blue before as well, so check out your local Dollarama!

After putting everything into the bathroom and setting it up we both felt like there was something missing. She had a bamboo plant in her dinning room, so we borrowed that to put on the back of the toilet, a little inside from the outside!

Lastly we added a white candle, not only will this scented candle come in handy if someone makes a stinky, but it will also be great for a romantic or relaxing bath!

Overall, my friend did not go over her budget. She was able to change her blahh and boring bathroom into a Cuban getaway!After looking at the bathroom all put together my friend said:

I just want to spend all my time in the bathroom now!

We had a lot of fun going shopping and then back to her apartment to decorate. So if your bathroom is looking blah, head over to Wal-mart and do some re-decorating! It’s totally worth it.

Over all my friend and I had a lot of fun. Next week I’ll be back with Decorating 1001. Stay tuned to find out which room I’ll be transforming next!

Baltimore hardcore band Give opened the show at the Opera House Friday night, and set somewhat of a heavy tone for the night. Sadly, I only caught the last two songs of their set, and I really wish I could have seen more. The thunderous, bass-laden drums that continuously keeps rolling on through both fast parts and slow breakdowns initially captivated me. Their uniqueness kept my attention. Give is definitely a hardcore band, complete with tell-tale aggressive heaviness. This gets mixed, though, with a lighter guitar sound. There isn’t too much distortion, making it easy to follow the rhythm. Comparing the guitar style to a similar band would not be easy.  And, when a band can heed me from b-lining to the bar as soon as I get into a show, which Give did, they usually stick around in my playlist for good.

The D’urbervilles, who took the stage after Give, are also great at keeping your attention. Their new-age brand of rock-pop beamed through the Opera House. Their sound is somewhere between Joy Division and the Weakerthans, and much in common with most dance-rock indie bands. However, they strike their own pose. They have some very technical, high-tempo, yet sometimes hard to follow, drum beats. Two synthesizers, looked after by guitarist/lead singer John O’Regan and lead guitarist Tim Bruton, work together well with the clean, palm-muted, not too overpowering guitar lines. There were highs and lows to this set – when at their best, The D’urbervilles can trigger sporadic, arm-throwing dance moves in any wallflower, like they did for O’Regan.

After the D’urbervilles, Kurt Vile played a captivating six-song set that I, once again, was very drawn into. He opened with “Overnite Religion” accompanied by a second guitarist/percussionist, who laid down the tambourine and maraca lines of the song. The trippy folk-rock made up of loop-dubs, looped drum beats, and guitar, set an intimate vibe throughout the Opera House before Fucked Up went on. At times I felt like it was just Kurt and I alone in a room, and when I would come back to my senses, I would look around and confirm that everyone else was also entranced by him. The third song was drummed by Jonah from Fucked Up, which added a refreshing crack to the low-key stoner rock. In total, the Kurt Vile set felt almost like a healing process, a cool rejuvenator before Fucked Up tore the place apart.

Tore it apart they did. Fucked Up started their set with drummer Jonah’s mother playing the flute line from “Year of the Rat,” and then dove into “Son the Father,” off their Polaris Prize winning album “The Chemistry of Common Life,” and staple opener for recent shows. They moved smoothly into “David Comes To Life,” with a tweaked breakdown in the middle, differing from the studio version of the tune. By mid-set, lead singer Damian Pink Eyes Abraham lit things up and tore his t-shirt off, as usual. For the next song, Damian sang while pulling an impressively long microphone cable around the entire Opera House floor, a perfect way to engage the crowd. Near the end of the set, while playing “Crusades,” a fan who grabbed the mic from Damian and started singing was attacked by another audience member, the attacker was swiftly removed from the event. After a quick break, the debacle was sorted out. The band just picked up where they left off, and finished the song with the final chorus. The performance was full of Fucked Up classics,  including a thrashing rendition of “Two Snakes” off the band’s debut LP, “Hidden World.” The sextet played well together, in sync at all times, while frequently switching and changing parts of many songs.  A tight set, that was undoubtedly planned and polished, from one of Toronto’s hottest bands.

I have just finished a class about gender issues in the media. I firmly believe I have been oblivious to reality for too long, and so, have wondered if anyone else has been as well. For this reason, I have decided to share some of the knowledge I have recently learned about how the media uses images of men and women in stereotypical roles.

When it was first mentioned in class, I began thinking of the shows I watched and the movies I have enjoyed. And although cliché, I decided to analyze one of my favourite movies (please do not judge me), “Legally Blonde.”

In the movie, beautiful Elle Woods is portrayed as the typical female – she has a bubbly personality, is obsessed with shopping, make-up and shoes, and is known to be ditzy… To be clear, this is NOT my definition of a woman, but in fact, what I have learned society dictates the stereotypical woman is.

My professor discussed how today’s society continues to privilege males over females. Now, I don’t know why, but for some reason this surprised me. Perhaps it’s my many women’s studies classes or even the fact that my university is majority women, but I firmly believed that the division was becoming less and less apparent. But, supposedly, we are we are still living in a patriarchal world.

The movie tries to overcome this obstacle through having Elle attempt to break the barriers between the sexes. For instance, she starts attending a college dominated by males, Harvard Law School. Unfortunately, however, their distinction seems to do the opposite, as it appears to strengthen presupposing stereotypes and reinforce the divide between the sexes.

I further investigated other stereotypes present in the movie….and yes that required me watching parts of the movie again…..and yes I should have been studying for exams and not procrastinating….but to my defence, I was still learning! One of the most interesting lines comes from the saleswoman, who states:  “there’s nothing [she] loves better than a dumb blonde with Daddy’s plastic.” This reinforces not only that women are unintelligent but also that they are reliant on males as they hope to receive money from their fathers.

The more I watched, (and the more I procrastinated), the more I saw the presence of stereotypes. And in fact, stereotypes were present for both men and women, creating a further divide between the sexes with each one.

One of the most noteworthy examples involves shoes. For instance, when Elle is talking with Enrique, the cabana boy, he states: “don’t stomp your little last season Prada shoes at me, honey.” His knowledge of shoes, forces her to gasp and proclaim: “He’s gay!” Through this, we see that when males hold similar interests as women, their association with their sex is diminished, much like how Enrique is viewed as being unmasculine. Conversely, through observing Warner, the macho and intelligent male, we can see that the opposite can be stated. When Elle asks him what kind of shoes she’s wearing, he responds: “ummm… black ones,” reinforcing society’s expectations and thus his masculinity as well.

Through observing these facts I now wonder what other television shows and movies focus on stereotypes and highlight the distinctions between the sexes. Are there any other movies that anyone has watched that have presented similar stereotypes?

Many sitcoms are focused upon the average looking, hard-working, money-making male, with the gorgeous woman who stays home and spends all of his money. What I find unusual is that it is these shows that we have become accustomed to enjoy. I now wonder if there is any way to overcome these labels once society has etched them in our minds. For instance, do you think that if a show presents the opposite, which would be in this case, a hard-working woman, with the stay-at-home father, would the show be just as popular?

What more can we say about the architecture and design in Rome? If you havn’t been there, than I seriously suggest hopping on a plan tomorrow and heading over there. Ya ya ya, airport security may be a bit rough right now, but I can assure you its well worth the wait.  I was blow away by the detail in the carvings such as David…I mean we have all seen this stuff in magazines and school textbooks, but to actually experience it first hand will take your breath away.

If you care about art, design, and architecture then stick around, because CampusIntel.com is going to have weekly updates on some of the coolest art and graffiti that this country has to offer. We’re going to keep it local for a bit and see what happens. Props to local artists! Lets get this country vibing on local flavours!

It is no secret that with sub categories such as: Arts & Design, Business, Political Spectrum, Travel, Restaurants, and Green Living that the Culture Cafe category will be a huge hit amongst our reader base. We are really excited to start rolling out fresh content for you, so please stay tuned!