Hey guys, once again. I said I was going to write a second post, right? I may not have notified you, but here it is anyways. Look, you're getting a free post, so don't complain. What is this post going to talk about? Just summer in general. What I did, who I saw, where I went, what happened, all of that crazy stuff. I'll let you guys in on some little insider details of my summer that I didn't post in my last 2 posts. I even managed to pick up some new hobbies and advance in my music. This introduction isn't the longest, but it's just such a chill day today I don't think I'll write a lot. Oh and I'm going to talk about an artist I've been listening to for a while now. His name? I can't exactly say, he's Classified. So here we go?
As you may know I did a little travelling this summer, took a trip to Russia. But I also did a lot of travelling in Toronto when I came back. What was my method of transportation? I decided to start biking. It opened up a completely new Toronto to me, the cooler side of Toronto. I went to places I never knew existed. On one particular day I decided to bike straight down to harbourfront, it's about a 10km ride from where I live. It was one of my best days that I've ever had in this summer. Why? Well when I got to the Lake Shore (Harbourfront and Lake Shore are basically the same, if they're not well then they sound the same to me) I saw this man on a bicycle, more tan than anyone on Jersey Shore. But in his defense he was twice as old as them, so he has the right to tan that way. And he decided to come up to me and ask about Toronto Island, which was the island right across from Lake Shore. Then he started asking me all sorts of question about Toronto and its locations and a bit of history and pop culture. Then we just continued talking about all sorts of things. My generation, his generation, music scene today (that one lasted longer, I love my good music talk :) and all sorts of things. It was like "taking a breath of fresh air" when I was talking to him. Why the quotes? Well it's what he said before he left for a bike ride. I felt the same way, talking to someone that understands was a tremendous thing to experience, and biking 25 kilometres that day was worth it. Turns out he's a dentist that works in New York but travels to big cities all over the world just for personal pleasure. He was astonished at my behaviour. He told me to "never change, keep the way you are and you will go places". To have someone with life experience like him tell me that, is just like walking on cloud 9. I will remember that day for the rest of my life, it was just wonderful to meet someone like that and spend an hour or two and talk to them. Now I'm just hoping he comes back next year. Oh and a little fun fact, he's a little bit like me. Not into arts or music or dance or anything, he just prefers to do things he likes and not caring what anyone else says. Even his adult friends ask him why he biked instead of driving one of his cars, he told me "Because it's fun, the air, the sounds of the city, and especially the exercise is just something you can't experience from a car ride." Talking to him was just incredible, I just hope more of you get to experience that one day, it is really something else. Oh and I did "meet" someone else this summer over an App. Her comments can be seen in my past 2 months worth of posts, I think. She's a new subscriber to the blog and I welcome her to the community? Is there a community here? I don't even know anymore. Anyways, Anna will be joining the other person that's reading this blog and refreshing every second or so to make it look like I actually have views :D SO that's 2 viewers now: Anna and Marzia. Just please keep refreshing, it's what keeps me going. Anyways, onto my next topic.
I recently became the owner of a 35mm camera, how Hipster am I? Next thing you know I'll be making an account on MySpace, it's vintage social networking!!!! Anyways, the camera is about 30 years old, so I didn't expect anything special from it. Thank god for low expectations!!!!!! Once I started looking through the eye piece and focusing on anything I could set my eyes on everything started to look better!!! I am NOT kidding you. Everything started to look 20X better!!! Why? I have NO idea, but as long as it keeps me happy I don't care! So of course I went trigger crazy once I found out how to use it and got my hands on a 5 pack of film. I've only developed 1 film strip but I have around 6 more sitting around somewhere. *sigh* The sad part is almost nobody develops film anymore, for cheap at least. It costs around 7 dollars to develop 1 film canister, the wait time is 5 days -__- I am dissapoint with the future of 2011. And don't get me started on the film. Cheapest pack? 5 pack for 15$!!!! To develop AND buy a 5 pack you would need 50$, plus tax. I seriously need to get a job or something, or else this whole "camera" phase will end faster than my blog's popularity (which FYI ended January 1st 2011). But I do love taking pictures of what I think is fantastic. In fact, if I hadn't found that camera I would've never went outside to bike anywhere. Taking pictures of Toronto was my personal "motive" to get outside once in a while. SO now added to cycling, making music, writing blog posts, dancing, and writing lyrics, photography is one of my hobbies. One day I hope it'll be a career on the side, travelling to amazing places isn't as bad as it sounds. To me it doesn't sound bad at all, but that's just me. I'll be developing more and more pictures after I find a way to get money. I might even have to resort to my ugliest method, adding an Ad Sense panel to my page. I hate ads just as much as you guys so even if I'm going broke I won't use it. I'll be posting up my pictures very soon, most likely in the side panel over there ------------------------>
Let's move onto my next paragraph.
I also recently went to Buskerfest, where I also had a night I'll never forget. Why? Well let's just say a certain street performer made my night. His name is Scott Jackson, and he is a professional beatboxer. How professional? He represented Canada in the National Beatbox Championships. He also came out with an album called "Spare Change". I posted the song on my Tumblr, so if you'll just be friendly enough to scroll down and check it out, I will greatly appreciate it. Anyways, when he was doing his show he asked for 5 volunteers to help him make the song. I swear to God my hand went up at the speed of light when he finished the sentence. As he made the first beat and others added to it I instanlty thought of the best beatbox rhythm for the stuation. As I got the mic passed to me I did my thing, and Scott said "Damn! I may have some competition over here!" The song itself sounded cool, amazing what you can do with a Loopstation. After the show I bought his CD and came up to ask him to sign it. I asked if he knew a guy called Dub FX, he said that the two met up and that he was a really nice guy. I then told him that for a year now I've been practicing beatboxing in my sparetime and now that I've got my own Loopstation I can advance in it. The next thing he did, I will never forget. He said "You've got talent, keep doing what you do and you'll go far" and he shook my hand. TO have someone THAT high up in the beatboxing "industry" tell me that I've got talent just felt like Euphoria was flowing through my veins. That boost was just what I needed to keep me making music and it'll keep me going for a REALLY long time. In fact, I'm hoping to perform at NT Idol (my school's talent show) even though I crashed AND burned last year. But now that I've been practicing for several months I'm sure I'll do better. Oh and by the way, I'll be posting up recordings of my own version of Dub FX's "Love Someone" and "Made" up on my blog AND Tumblr when I get the chance to do so. Most likely today I'll record and somehow post them. Method of recording? iPod Voice Memos :P I've listened to Scott's entire album hundreds of times now, and ALL of it is with his voice, The bass line, the harmonies, and especially the beats! In fact, one of his tracks was advertised on the Olympic promotions of Vancouver!!! Let's move onto my artist of today's post shall we?
So some of you, and by some I mean 1 of you, should've guessed by now that my featured artist will be none other than Canadian rapper "Classified". I recently started listening to his album "Handshakes and Middle Fingers" when I recalled his #1 selling song "That Ain't Classy" in which he was nominated for an award. After I downloaded that 1 track I realized that he wasn't just a 1 hit wonder, in fact he has had an underground album before he became who he is today. Although you don't hear him on the radio, but that's only because they play the most popular songs, he is still one of my favourite artists. Not only is does he make great beats, his lyrics and verses are very tight. I suggest you go ahead and download his album, whether it's from iTunes or The PirateBay (I prefer the second method :) as long as you get the album it's all that matters. He has also developed a song which was called Canada's 2nd national anthem. Which you should also listen to, it's pretty funny how he talks about Canadian pride with such intensity. I won't dissect his lyrics at the moment because right now its 9:53 and I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. What I will say is that his lyrics are just amazing compared to many of the rappers out there right now. He doesn't have a golden voice, but that doesn't matter as long as you've got good music and a talent. SO far my favourite songs are "That Ain't Classy", "Hangover", "This Day Doesn't Die"......aw screw it, I love all of the songs!!!! I suggest you click play on those YouTube players I put up and rock slow to the music while reading this post. I'll post up my absolute favourites on. But I still say you guys should go ahead and listen to the entire album. I'm sorry I didn't explain his lyrics or anything like I usually do but like I said. It's getting late, and this post has been taking me a long time to write.
So this is my goodbye to Summer, I've had a great time. I thank you for every opportunity that you've brought before me, although I didn't accept them all I did my best. I learned many things, and reminisced on past events. I couldn't have asked for a better summer, I had a great time and I hope you guys did the same. Oh and I won't be posting up my songs because I didn't have time to record them. But expect them to be uploaded before next weekend. Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr where I post random blurbs of whatever is going on in my life. Here's the link: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/underestimatedgentl3man
On one last note, I'd like to thank you guys for helping me reach the 4 thousand view breaking point. Here's to 4K more views!
I'll see you guys in the next week or so, so stay tuned. 'Til next time: Read it, Learn it, Live it, Love it, Post it!
Cheers, MarkL
P.S. I hope you guys had a great summer as I did, and good luck in your upcoming school year!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
My Trip to Яussia and other stuff
Hey guys! How you been? It's been a REALLY long time since my last post, so I'll make this one extra special! Maybe some of you have waited to know what I've done in Яussia and maybe you haven't, but I'm going to post it up anyways! I'm also going to talk about recent topics that have been gnawing away at my spare time amongst other things. Oh and I changed my Tumblr to http://underestimatedgentl3man.tumblr.com/ Why Underestimated Gentl3man? Throughout most of my life I have underestimated myself with many things. My ability to be able to dance, write lyrics, or any talent for that matter. Why Gentl3man? If you know me well enough you'll understand. Oh and who's going to be my artist that I'll analyze for this post? You'll just have to wait and see :D So here we go!
My trip to Яussia? How was it? Overall I think it was worth it going this summer. Going back there for the second time at my age made me realize and understand more and more about my heritage. I went to plenty museums, theatres, and historical sites of good old Moscow. Let's start with the flight. 10 hours, sititng beside crying babies, and an older but friendly woman keeping me happy throughout it all. It's not one of the best expereinces, by the 6th hour you just want it all to be over. You can only probably get 1-3 hours of sleep at best. Once the flight was over it was another hour and a half before I could see family, the process at the airport isn't the best. Яussia has 3 times more people than Toronto in the same area, it's not the best of times to be in an airport especially during the summer. Once I saw my family we talked for a little and started driving for 2 hours. In Moscow or anywhere in Russia for that matter, EVERYTHING is far away. Or at least it was that way where I lived. To get to the nearest movie theatre I had to be driven an hour, but that's because I lived in the outskirts of Moscow, in a village type setting. When I got back I put all my stuff in its proper places, had a change of clothes, and rested for the day. I won't remember things as they happened day by day because it's been a month since I've been back so I'll just let you guys in on what places I went to. I had the pleasure of going to see Яussian theatre with some VERY famous Яussian actors. How famous? Well they were the George Clooney's and Angelina Jolie's of Яussian Cinema and theatre. The play was called "The Cherry Orchard". It was set somewhere in the beginning of the Industrial age where a rich family is struggling with their finances and a businessman buys their Cherry Orchard which is their main source of money. The story is more complex than that, but even I don't understand all the details. My suggestion? Try to look for a translated version online. Keep Googling until you find results, it's what I always do. I also had the divine pleasure of going to many museums. Like the museum of the great Яevolution, the Tretyakovski Painting Gallery, and a photo gallery with some pictures of the U.S.S.R. Here are some of the pictures I managed to snap
Unfortunately photography was not allowed in the Art gallery and the museum so I was only able to take pictures in the photo gallery. Don't worry though, I have more pictures of Яussia waiting for you guys. Where I lived for that month was one of the best plaves in the world. And I'm not just saying that because they're my family, I'm honestly saying that because it's truly beautiful. WHen you wake up early in the morning you get that fresh dewey grass smell flowing through your nostrills right? Well that is if you live anywhere near the first floor, sadly up on the 23rd floor I don't get to share that expereince with everyone else. But when I was in Russia it was one of the most memorable expereinces I'll ever have in my life. Waking up early in the morning, that smell, those sounds, just mesmerizin. To conclude this post, I'd just like to say that my trip to Russia was one of the best things I've ever experienced in my life. It was a fantastic way to spend the beginning of my summer. I may not have written as much in this post but another one is coming out in the next 3 days (it takes a lot of time to write these posts). Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr if you have one: http://underestimatedgentl3man.tumblr.com/ And em@il me your stuff to: baciacalupo@hotmail.com Oh and I've chosen that Underestimated G3ntleman will be my artist name for now because I myself have underestimated myself many times in my life and so have countless people. Why G3ntleman? Well many people say that I'm nice and the name just sticks. So until next time: Read it, Learn it, Live it, Love it, and Post it!
Cheers, MarkL
My trip to Яussia? How was it? Overall I think it was worth it going this summer. Going back there for the second time at my age made me realize and understand more and more about my heritage. I went to plenty museums, theatres, and historical sites of good old Moscow. Let's start with the flight. 10 hours, sititng beside crying babies, and an older but friendly woman keeping me happy throughout it all. It's not one of the best expereinces, by the 6th hour you just want it all to be over. You can only probably get 1-3 hours of sleep at best. Once the flight was over it was another hour and a half before I could see family, the process at the airport isn't the best. Яussia has 3 times more people than Toronto in the same area, it's not the best of times to be in an airport especially during the summer. Once I saw my family we talked for a little and started driving for 2 hours. In Moscow or anywhere in Russia for that matter, EVERYTHING is far away. Or at least it was that way where I lived. To get to the nearest movie theatre I had to be driven an hour, but that's because I lived in the outskirts of Moscow, in a village type setting. When I got back I put all my stuff in its proper places, had a change of clothes, and rested for the day. I won't remember things as they happened day by day because it's been a month since I've been back so I'll just let you guys in on what places I went to. I had the pleasure of going to see Яussian theatre with some VERY famous Яussian actors. How famous? Well they were the George Clooney's and Angelina Jolie's of Яussian Cinema and theatre. The play was called "The Cherry Orchard". It was set somewhere in the beginning of the Industrial age where a rich family is struggling with their finances and a businessman buys their Cherry Orchard which is their main source of money. The story is more complex than that, but even I don't understand all the details. My suggestion? Try to look for a translated version online. Keep Googling until you find results, it's what I always do. I also had the divine pleasure of going to many museums. Like the museum of the great Яevolution, the Tretyakovski Painting Gallery, and a photo gallery with some pictures of the U.S.S.R. Here are some of the pictures I managed to snap
Unfortunately photography was not allowed in the Art gallery and the museum so I was only able to take pictures in the photo gallery. Don't worry though, I have more pictures of Яussia waiting for you guys. Where I lived for that month was one of the best plaves in the world. And I'm not just saying that because they're my family, I'm honestly saying that because it's truly beautiful. WHen you wake up early in the morning you get that fresh dewey grass smell flowing through your nostrills right? Well that is if you live anywhere near the first floor, sadly up on the 23rd floor I don't get to share that expereince with everyone else. But when I was in Russia it was one of the most memorable expereinces I'll ever have in my life. Waking up early in the morning, that smell, those sounds, just mesmerizin. To conclude this post, I'd just like to say that my trip to Russia was one of the best things I've ever experienced in my life. It was a fantastic way to spend the beginning of my summer. I may not have written as much in this post but another one is coming out in the next 3 days (it takes a lot of time to write these posts). Don't forget to follow me on Tumblr if you have one: http://underestimatedgentl3man.tumblr.com/ And em@il me your stuff to: baciacalupo@hotmail.com Oh and I've chosen that Underestimated G3ntleman will be my artist name for now because I myself have underestimated myself many times in my life and so have countless people. Why G3ntleman? Well many people say that I'm nice and the name just sticks. So until next time: Read it, Learn it, Live it, Love it, and Post it!
Cheers, MarkL
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)