David Huzyk

All I have are these six strings. I'll play them 'til they rust, I'll make them sing.

[davidhuzyk]

Survivor Season Rankings

Worth Playing For 1) 28: Cagayan Such an explosive cast! Consistent throughout with great pre-merge and post-merge. While the winner may have been overpowered with idols there was still some strategy/manipulation to be done to end up in Final Tribal, I respect the gameplay. Lots of memorable, historical players & moments, my personal favourite season

2) 37: David’s vs Goliath’s The best season to introduce someone to Survivor with! It has a great, diverse cast with many legendary players & moments. Almost every modern advantage pays out in a big way. The theme works fairly well, overall it’s very fun 3) 16: Micronesia Fans vs Favorites Some of, if not the biggest moments in Survivor history! Erik & the idol, the little “Ozzlets”, the f’ing stick!! A slower pre-merge with a bit of a lackluster Fans cast, but the Favorites more than make up for it post-merge.  4) 18: Tocantins One of my favourite original casts in one of my favourite locations! The Brazilian desert is beautiful and makes for a unique landscape. We see the origin of characters like Coach & Tyson, and also one of my favourite duos of all-time in Stephen & JT. Plus the birth of simmotion! 5) 15: China Another great season for the same reasons as above. Amazing casting with Courtney, James, Todd, Amanda, Peih-Gee, etc. and some breathtaking landscapes & temples. Great winner, the big moment with the double idol boot.... DAMN!! 6) 7: Pearl Islands The best original era season in my opinion. The theme is very strong throughout the season, very much paying off in the first episode with the unique  “marooning” and Rupert pretty much being a pirate. A great cast, some fun twists, and a moment that the Smithsonian used to encapsulate all of reality TV!

7) 20: Heroes vs Villains The ultimate battle of good vs evil, what more needs to be said? A massive returning cast with some of the fiercest competition, it gave us our first two time winner. I do find I prefer most players on their other seasons however, letting this one slip a bit lower in the rankings, but overall still a top tier season 8) 33: Millennials vs Gen X  Our first season on the current Fijian beaches, and it never feels fresher! A great cast with a good theme, containing strong emotional moments throughout. The “Did you do that!?” - “Yeah. I did it” moment may be my favourite vote out reaction of all time. 

————

My Life Is Fine 9) 32: Kaoh Rong At the time of the live airing I remember this season leaving a dirty taste in my mouth with the sour bullies in Jason & Scott, as well as the “robbed goddess Aubry”, but in revisiting this season I found a lot more peaks than valleys. I came to gain a better appreciation for the winner as well, and it may have the most bonkers reunion special. Drew Carey, Mark the Chicken... Sia?! 10) 6: Amazon While the theme of men vs women may have played a bit hornier at the time, I still think it made for some interesting commentary and moments on the show. The location feels more intense, even when the tribe isn’t burning themselves to the ground haha. Also the birth of one of my favourite characters in Rob C! 11) 10: Palau Some may say the boot order on this season is very lackluster, but it does bring us the only time a single tribe is whittled down to one player. I also find there are entertaining moments throughout both the pre & post-merge. The theme works surprisingly well with sharks & army, it gives us a rootable winner, and a record breaking challenge! 12) 25: Philippines  While we do need to ignore the *redacted* of it all, we get another great mostly original cast with a very unique, historical, and rootable winner. We also get one of the best “love-to-hate/hate-to-love” villains in Abi-Maria, who thankfully cracked a coconut into *redacted*’s head! 13) 42 I haven’t been completely loving the new era of the 40′s’, but I find it certainly worked best thus far with 42. Some of the twists were slightly altered from 41 showing production had learned some of their faults, while also adding some new interesting twists. I think the cast really pops here, especially in our winner! 14) 40: Winners at War An all winners season, what’s not to love? I do find a different boot order could have made for a much more entertaining season, but what we were given was still some of the closest challenges and fiercest competition we’ve seen. I support the win of our second two-time winner, and will forever remember being touched by Ethan’s journey on Extinction 15) 13: Cook Islands Once again another theme that might not have played out so great in hindsight, but it did lead to our most diverse casting yet and I think it pays out on screen. The birth of legendary players like Parvati, Ozzy, Penner, Yul, etc. and an all-timer moment when Jeff asks “Candice, from Raro tribe?!?” 16) 27: Blood vs Water I do find the pre-merge a bit salty and a bit of a downer, but once the season starts picking up momentum it pays out. Some comedic moments with our “coconut bandits”, it also gave us the historic moment of someone voting out their mom! I very much enjoy the winner and their journey here 17) 29: Blood vs Water 2 This is another season that I think plays much better on a re-watch than live at the time. I always loved the winner and their journey, but some underperforming cast members does drag this down a bit. There are some really unique moments & dynamics playing out with the only all original cast BvW theme however, worth revisiting 18) 38: Edge of Extinction The theme may be awful, but I really support the original cast in play and how hard everyone was playing. I think the theme and how the season ultimately plays out drags this down a lot further for most people, but I’d love to see characters like Devons, Victoria, Lauren, even Reem return for another try 19) 31: Cambodia - Second Chances What should be the “ultimate Survivor super-fan season” ends up playing out a bit too unnecessarily complex for me, but still it cannot be denied how strong the returning cast is and how hard everyone is playing. An all-time tribal when an idol blocks a record 9 votes, plus a great winner, an overall good season 20) 12: Panama Perhaps the most uneven season in terms of tribes between the explosive Casaya and the tepid La Mina, it has some very iconic, comedic moments (mostly from Shane) and the birth of our queen Cirie! 21) 4: Marquesas A very underrated season. While the change in location last minute does show on screen production-wise at times (a kite challenge, really?) we get our first big power flip with the dismantling of the Roto Four, and our first “rocking out”, as well as the many firsts in our winner! 

————

Ain’t No Hershey Bar 22) 17: Gabon Probably the biggest cluster-fuck of a season, it is messy in all the right ways. One of those “so bad it’s good” type of situations, I can’t help but grab the popcorn and take in all the salt & sass. It also has one of our best landscapes, I’ll never forget the moment Ace is doing a confessional and an elephant just walks into the background for a sip of water 23) 41 A very polarizing season, lots to love and to dislike. Production was trying out a lot of firsts here, and while they don’t all pay off I find what does makes for an overall enjoyable enough season. I think a re-edit could make for a more entertaining experience, especially in regards to our winner 24) 3: Africa I do find the earlier seasons can be a bit drier or slower compared to more modern eras, but Africa certainly brought us our most dangerous season. Between the lions, the lack of water & food, and the intense sun, this may be the best season for people actually wanting surviving in their Survivor 25) 19: Samoa This season is very heavily edited towards a certain character, so mileage varies depending on your opinion of him, but the way Russell outmaneuvers not only the cast but production is masterclass. I don’t support all of the gameplay, but it does make for entertaining TV 26) 9: Vanuatu Another season that plays better in a re-watch than at the time. I think the men vs women theme works better this time around, and the ultimate winner’s path does allow for a lot of good conversation & commentary 27) 1: Borneo The one that started it all. Production doesn’t quite have everything figured out yet, which can make for a bit of a clunky watch, but what we get here is the template & groundwork for every season to come. Thankfully we had a winner with the foresight to see the real potential of this game that is Survivor 28) 43 A very great cast that I think is unfortunately brought down by the current metagame, as well as a confusing edit and a not so favourable winner. I do think Jesse’s big borrowed idol move will go down as an all-timer, but that alone is not enough to catapult this season any higher

29) 2: Australian Outback Some big memorable moments as well as a good balance between gameplay & survival elements, it’s a shame the older editing & pacing make for a bit of a calmer watch at times. Survivor was never more popular than at this moment however and it really shows in the reunion! 30) 26: Caramoan There’s not a lot of great stuff in this season, between the negative moments with Brandon & Phillip and Brenda & Dawn you would hope for some great strategic gameplay, but there’s not really that either. Yet somehow I end up being drawn back to this season, I guess it hurts so good! 31) 14: Fiji An awful theme. Wow, I wonder who will dominate, the Haves or the Have Nots?! You can also feel the recruitment in regards to casting. But we still have one of our more diverse casts with some bigger, historical moments that I think play better through a modern day perspective 32) 30: Worlds Apart Similar to Caramoan, I find there are a lot of downer moments that drag this season down (Will being awful to Shirin, Dan overall, Joe in hindsight), but yet I am drawn back to it. If you enjoy awkward moments then Vince is comedic gold, and Rodney definitely plays much funnier a second time around 33) 36: Ghost Island This theme should have been great, but it really doesn’t pay off. The cast I also found was a bit dull, but the dynamic of Wendell & Dom really gives this some mileage 34) 23: South Pacific An instance of a good but unfortunately under-edited winner in a not so great season. The overtones of religion & Catholicism hamper the gameplay, and the casting isn’t at it’s strongest. Nothing awful here, but nothing fantastic either 35) 11: Guatemala Our first captains season that unfortunately doesn’t seem to “pop”. Another case of an under-edited winner, there isn’t much great gameplay to speak of. The Mayan temples are however beautiful, and we do get the birth of the Immunity Idol 36) 34: Game Changers Was this Game Changers, or Game Players? Because this cast certainly didn’t feel legendary in the way the theme suggests. The boot order also left a lot to be desired, and we get the messy situation with Varner... if not for a few comedic moments this could have easily slipped down a tier

————

Forget You, Go Home, Goodbye 37) 35: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers The birth of the fire making twist, which for me did not play out well. Some may enjoy the winners journey here, I ultimately found it disappointing and frustrating. Some lackluster challenges as well as a confusing theme made for an overall letdown of a season 38) 8: All Stars At the time I got swept up in the love story of Rob & Amber, but in re-watching the season there is a lot of saltiness, as well as some ugly situations (Jenna’s departure commentary, Rich & Sue). In wanting to get swept up in gameplay I found very little to be excited about 39) 39: Island of the Idols Obviously we know why this is a bottom tier season, but that aside I do think there was some great characters & moments that save this from being the worst season. The theme was bad to begin with so it was never destined for greatness lol 40) 24: One World I love the theme of putting everyone on one beach, unfortunately the recruitment casting along with the split of men vs women made this season a drag. I love the winner and their gameplay, but there are a lot of forgettable castaways here, not to mention one of the most polarizing player in Colton  41) 21: Nicaragua  Not much to love here, a pretty poor cast with some sloppy gameplay and a mild winner. If the most memorable part about the season is two people quitting, you know there’s a problem 42) 22: Redemption Island I guess mileage really varies depending on your love for Boston Rob, but I feel like this season was served to him on a silver platter. I guess it answers the question is it fun to see a big-leaguer play in the minors with the rookies? The answer is no, no it is not 43) 5: Thailand Here it is, the worst season of Survivor. The ugliness and mishandling of the Ghandia & Ted situation, the emotionless cold winner, the pitiful gameplay, it’s all here! I will however never forget that Robb strangled Clay during a challenge and that he brought a skateboard to the jungle!

[davidhuzyk]

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Some final thoughts

TONE: to me overall this did not feel like a “Star Wars” production. Aside from a few moments (and they were some pretty kickass moments) it felt more like a generic action show. The way it was shot & directed, the music & sound design, even the costumes, props, and set design at times felt very “Disney Production” and less “fantasy sci-fi”

PLOT: part of what I feel makes a good story is the inability to predict where it could go at times, the tension in an action scene if a beloved protagonist is going to come out on top, and this has none of that. Inevitably in a prequel you’re going to have to sacrifice some of that, but pairing Obi-Wan with Leia (and late-game Luke) felt very anti-climactic & underwhelming. I knew they would always make it out of any predicament they were in, which is why I never felt much of a reaction whenever the chips were down. 

I think a more compelling story would have been pairing Obi-Wan with an unknown padawan/youngling, someone the Empire was hunting down for displaying Force powers or being Force sensitive. This way we don’t know if/when/how they survive, and they get the opportunity to develop an entire new relationship instead of build upon an existing one (that wasn’t really too strong or iconic to begin with…). It seemed like they were going to do this 10min into the series, but then the new character is found hung, such wasted potential. 

I think it’s worth discussing the use of pairing Obi-Wan with any child however, as to me that feels more like the marketing team at Disney to appeal to more demographics. In the original 6 films before Disney children were not really present or part of the plot, aside from Anakin in Ep.1, but seeing as The Skywalker story is the entire franchise at that point it makes sense seeing his “birth”. Star Wars has always appealed to kids though, I’m sure that’s when many of us first viewed it. I know I’m probably in a minority on this one but the presence of child Leia did water down the entire experience for me. 

I felt it was an interesting choice that they had Obi-Wan allow Darth Vader to live. He has seen the extreme destructive power Anakin/Vader is capable of, and his first attempt at just defeating him didn’t stop that. By walking away and not killing Vader it allows everything we know to occur, including the destruction of Alderaan. For me it puts a different lens and perspective on the character of Obi-Wan, and I don’t think for the better. Once again with it being a prequel we know he can’t kill Vader, but having him escape would have been an easy fix. 

It also felt odd to me to see Obi-Wan & Vader in a Dragon Ball fight?? In a mountainous desert area throwing rocks, stones, and boulders at each other, it just seemed very out of place. Jedi/Sith battles before were always very saber-oriented, more swordplay choreography might have been a better direction. 

CASTING/CHARACTERS: I always appreciated that Star Wars used good but fairly unknown actors. At times it felt like we were getting neither. Nothing against actors like Kumail Nanjiani, Flea, and O’Shea Jackson Jr., but I am taken out-of-Universe when I see them on the screen because they’re so associated with other projects/properties to me. I felt however they handled Zach Braff very well, I had no idea he voiced Fleck, perhaps that is how some of these other stars could have contributed to the production as well. 

I also thought the acting was pretty poor from some characters, specifically the Inquisitors/Brothers/Sisters. To me at times it felt a bit hammy and over-acted. To be fair that’s always been present, Christensen & Hamill are not flawless, but I’m always for improvement in regards to this category. 

The addition of Qui-Gon at the very end also felt to me like a bit of pandering. I don’t know if it was due to scheduling constraints of Liam Neeson, but otherwise he was very under-utilized. It would have been great to see him help Obi-Wan through a difficult time much like Obi-Wan does for Luke in his X-Wing in Ep.4.

[davidhuzyk]

SURVIVOR 41 SEASON PREMIERE THOUGHTS

Here are my thoughts on the opening episode of the new season. Nothing I’m about to say is revolutionary, it seems like all these opinions have already been shared before, but I wanted to wait a few days to think on everything as well as talk to some family/friends before putting my final thoughts down. Overall it was pretty polarizing, lots to both love and hate:

PROS

Diverse cast: I don’t think there’s a dud among the whole cast, and the diversity allows for more dynamic chemistry and a lot of different stories to be told

Candid shots of production: I like that they are letting us in to that world. Previously in moments like the medical disaster in S32 Kaoh Rong they showed production, and it made a great impact as a viewer. I don’t find it breaks immersion, in fact the opposite. The average audience member nowadays is much more knowledgeable & initiative than back in 2000, when a show trusts its viewer in this way I think it helps them become more invested in the show, understanding the ins & outs of how it’s functioning

Editing/storytelling style: there was a lot of great moments playing with the edit this episode that previous seasons tended to stray away from. I enjoyed the edit showing/giving us as a viewer information the contestants don’t have yet, like hidden advantage locations. I also enjoyed how they presented the Prisoner’s Dilemma, leaving it a mystery until tribal council whether or not Xander & JD chose to risk or protect their vote. It’s nice that in yet another way production is trusting us as a viewer with more (or less) info

Fourth Wall Breaking: this is both a pro and a con for me (con to follow). I enjoyed the moments Jeff spoke to us as a viewer, explaining new rules or changes to the game. This reminded me of S1, and I think was a great way to help any new fans coming in to the show. Only new changes were discussed, and it was kept relatively brief, so even for super fans it didn’t feel bloated or like a time sink

Subtitles at tribal: while I have more to say on live tribals, I do at least appreciate this time having full subtitles for all conversations taking place. While contestants may want to obscure info from other players, us as viewers should never be left in the dark, so I appreciate this effort being taken this season

Penalties for losing challenges: I enjoy this twist, as it seems to carry the spirit of the game. This is Survivor, it should be about having to get by on less, not more. I always found it odd that there were “reward” challenges. There are two ways to give a team an advantage, you can boost them up with a prize, or you can penalize the opposition, and I’m happy to see this element come more into play. Similar ideas had been done before in previous seasons when a contestant would get to raid the opposing tribes camp for one or two items (ie. Sandra in S7 Pearl Islands) and that always seemed to make for great television

Footage from Home: I enjoyed the return of footage from back home like in the earlier seasons. It helps us connect and become more invested in the contestants, and I assume they will go away after the first episode or two, so long term they don’t seem to pose a problem

Shot in the Dark: this twist is just weak enough to be balanced. In essence I don’t see this really changing or impacting the game in any significant way, but it does at least maintain a glimmer of hope for each contestant so as a viewer you’ll never be bored. Should someone pull this off I think they are deserving of the free immunity for having read the situation properly, and would make for great television. Some may say this could make for an unfair moment with a separate contestant “wrongfully” going home, but that’s always been the case since hidden immunity idols were introduced. At least this way every contestant is aware of the confirmed, tangible (albeit slim) threat and not just the idea they “could potentially” have an idol

CONS

Cinematography: it seemed off, very different than last seasons. The confessionals all looked fine, but you certainly noticed it during camp life and challenges. There were no night shots used, a lot more static camera shots, and the slow motion during challenges was just overblown. There was maybe one good slow motion shot of Xander grabbing his buff and jumping in the water, every other one felt forced (Brad bellyflopping? Brad chopping bamboo? Naseer huffing & puffing a sandbag a couple feet?)

Shorter game length: an easy one to criticize, and I understand the reason why it’s only 26 days, but the condensing of the game seems to already have an odd ripple effect that I worry will make for a disjointed end game

Two Tribes Going to Tribal: this is most likely related to the 26 day time crunch, but if this is the standard this season it makes me worry how strong of a narrative we will get for each tribal. This premiere episode wasn’t too bad, but it was a 2hr premiere, regular 1hr episodes will surely have a hard time balancing every contestants narrative in that amount of time

Still Live Tribals: I know some people like these as they are exciting, but come on, this is chaos! In the early days Jeff would yell at contestants for trying to get up out of their seat. Jeff needs to maintain control again. Tribal is like a courtroom, Jeff is your judge and there is literally a jury, you wouldn’t see the defendant in a courtroom standing up, running around, whispering to others… there must be order!

Fourth Wall Breaking Moments: as mentioned above I enjoyed when Jeff explained new game dynamics to us as viewers, but when he would interrupt a conversation with the tribes to turn to the camera I just felt cringe. The worst was “alright, first tribal council”. It was so easy to leave that on the cutting room floor, the editors should have known better on that one especially

The Prisoners Dilemma: in concept this maybe wasn’t a bad idea, but the execution was horrible. Analyzing the setup, to me it only makes strategic sense TO risk your vote. The first problem is that a regular prisoners dilemma does not occur within a game, so normally you’re probably not as invested about the outcome of the other prisoners, only your own. But here because it’s a game it does make strategic sense to hinder your opponents. So risk your vote, because you either get an extra vote, or you’ve stolen two votes from opposing contestants for your one. Also looking at this specific situation, all three contestants who went on the boat were debatably the strongest physical player on their tribe, so it would make sense for each individual to want to weaken those other players and increase their risk of going home, in turn weakening their overall tribe. If they could trust their tribe than returning without a vote is not the worst thing, if they can properly articulate the situation and work it to their advantage (Xander was a great example of this, JD showed us the opposite lol). Overall it feels like a pretty flawed twist and needs reworking

No Shelter Building Focus: not a huge con, but I did miss the focus on shelter building. Through the conversation & act of shelter building we as a viewer usually get to see who is a leader, who might be confrontational, who is a team player, etc. But more so we’re reminded of the actual survival element of the show, which production seems to be putting less focus on

No Intro: not the first season to do away with the intro sequence but I would have liked to see it return

Production Challenge Errors: some of the recent staffing changes with CBS must have been on the Challenge Production team because there were some glaring problems with that first challenge. Firstly, Yase’s yellow oar completely blended in to the yellow rope, they had a distinct disadvantage. I know some people will say if they couldn’t notice the other two tribes grabbing their oar from that location it’s their fault, but that’s a crappy excuse, it should be completely level & fair entering a challenge. Also what was with the double anchors on the boats? Perhaps it was left on the cutting room floor but I don’t recall Jeff mentioning prior to the challenge beginning that the boats had two anchors. Now I’m certainly no expert when it comes to nautical knowledge but as far as my life experience I‘be only ever seen or heard one anchor being referenced on use in a boat. Clearly all of the Luvu tribe thought the same as they only unhooked their front anchor. Jeff however later in the challenge yells to the Ua tribe and reminds them to unhook both anchors. Luvu was further away having had a lead so they very likely couldn’t hear Jeff when he said that. It’s like Ua was given an extra advantage. It also was unclear what the objective with the boat was, I was surprised to all of a sudden see Ua paddling in the opposite direction back towards the ship. Production should have had them race in a circle instead of a straight “there and back”

Game Within the Game: I’m sorry, this is the lamest addition they’ve ever added. Really? A standard rebus puzzle? They don’t take up enough time/focus during an episode to actually have any impact, and the puzzles themselves have so far been extremely simple. Jeff says this is “for the kids”, but any child young enough to find that puzzle challenging certainly doesn’t have the attention span to sit through an entire episode and find the puzzle in the first place. For any adult wanting to play this game as well the answer will be online within minutes of it airing… what’s the point? Pure fluff that has nothing to do with the game

Within Episode Flashback: I certainly hope this doesn’t become a habit, but during JD’s confessional when he talks about building fire they actually flashback to him just minutes ago having built the fire. Seriously!? We literally just saw it, why waste screen time showing it again? That was a poor call from some editor and I hope this doesn’t become a storytelling pattern

And finally, the “Guys” debate: so much has already been said on this. Personal feelings aside from the use of the phrase, this is a discussion that should have been had off camera, and came off feeling way to pandering. Jeff literally says at the beginning of the episode “we are all going through what’s most likely the biggest world incident we will ever experience”, but yet we spend more screen time talking about the word “guys” than the pandemic and all the emotional trauma that may have caused? I know Survivor likes to be sensitive, but this was not the way to go about it. It doesn’t ruin the show for me, it’s just a phrase I know I can “survive” without it, but I hope this isn’t the first step in many changes like this down the line. I’m all for being inclusive, but the method in which the show decides to go about change can actually alienate their existing fan base, so I hope they make better decisions on how to implement change moving forward

[davidhuzyk]

The Force may have awakened, but it certainly didn’t move far from where it slept.

Like many people for the past year or so, I have anxiously been awaiting the new Star Wars movie. With Disney now owning the rights, would we get the new Star Wars movie we deserved, after the atrocity that was the prequel trilogy? So much seemed to be going right for it leading up to its release. Many original cast members were returning. John Willams was hired to score the music again. Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, would be co-writing this new one. Practical effects and on-location filming would occur, chosen over CGI effects and backgrounds. Everything felt right for this movie to live up to the expectations and hype that the masses created. So how did it fare? A little too safe, if you ask me. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Stop reading here if you have not seen the film and wish not to have it spoiled. Remember the first time you watched A New Hope, and that overall charm and excitement you felt? The story of a little droid, who held dire secrets only to which it contained, that had to be delivered to a rebellious team of good guys, but was also being pursued by a seemingly overwhelming colossal army of bad guys, lead by a one wearing a black costume and helmet? They tracked this droid to a desert planet, where the it met up with an unassuming native, who later turned out to be in tune with the Force. There’s a bar scene where you see a lot of weird, but interesting aliens. A lightsaber is offered to the Forceful native, told it was previously wielded by a strong Jedi. To flee the planet, they escape in the Millennium Falcon, where they meet Han Solo and Chewbacca, and the ship is pulled in by a tractor beam. The gang then has to rescue the lead female from the bad guys’ base, which also happens to be a massive spherical weapon, with enough power to destroy entire planets. After rescuing the lead female, they must disable a functioning part of the ship. Then the old man who was part of this rag-tag team willingly gives himself up to die. The bad guys finally figure out what planet the good guys are hiding on, so a timer countdown is started until they blow them up. Then there’s a really intense dogfight including an X-Wing and a higher-than-average skilled pilot, where he blows up the massive base, Everyone celebrates, and the credits roll. Obviously, if you’ve seen The Force Awakens, you know what I’m getting at. For those reading this who have yet to view it (why are you reading this then?!), the point I’m trying to make is, it borrows very heavily from the original movie, to the point of almost being a rehash, or retelling. Is this a bad thing? No, not necessarily. In this moment of pop culture where many box office releases are simply old franchises being rebooted, this fits right in. The problem I personally have with this though, is that I was lead to believe this was going to be a continuation of a story. I thought I was going to meet new and interesting characters, and have them take me, and along with that, the plot, in a new direction. 

“But David, there were new and interesting characters!”

Well, you’re half-right on that. There are new characters. But I don’t know if I would necessarily call them interesting. Take Poe, for example. He’s the first new main character we are introduced to. Besides him having a charming wit and humour about him, why would I, the viewer, be lead to care about him, and if he survives the wrath of Kylo Ren & the First Order, or later when they crash on Jakku? In fact, when we are lead to believe that Poe died in the TIE Fighter crash, I couldn’t help but feel nothing. At this point, I know nothing of this characters past, and who he is. What’s his role in the Resistance? How did he get to become part of it? What have been his struggles? Does he have any relation with previous characters I already have an attachment for? There really is no consequence to his existence at this point, or any other point in the movie for that matter. We’re just told “he’s a good pilot”, and right from the beginning, we know he will probably be the one to blow up the giant spaceship at the end. But think back to A New Hope. When Luke was “destined” to be the pilot to take down the Death Star, there was reasoning, purpose, and emotion behind it. We saw where he grew up. We journeyed with him as he overcame his desolate past, and pushed onward to his destined future. We even learned he had a lot of pilot experience shooting womp rats in his ol’ T-16 back home. We knew he was Force sensitive, and was guided by Obi-Wan Kenobi, in a tense decision to turn off his scouter, and take the shot by feeling it through the Force. This all made for an epic movie moment, that went down in history. I guarantee looking back at The Force Awakens, nobody will tell the tale of Poe haphazardly blasting away the insides of the Starkiller Base like they do of Luke, and threading the needle of that exhaust port on the Death Star. Kylo Ren is another character who begs backstory. We’re told about how he was being trained by Luke, then decided to turn on him and the other students, to become a disciple of the dark side. “There was too much of his grandfather in him” we’re lazily told. Wouldn’t it have been great if this movie instead focused on that relationship? The building of the bond between padawan and jedi, uncle and nephew? His internal struggle to decide between the light and the dark side? How much of a shock would that be to us viewers when at the end of the film, Ben Solo decides to turn on Luke and the light side, and become a traitor, adopting the name Kylo Ren. It would be Darth Vader, part two. Epic. Instead, I feel cheated that we were not given a viewing and insight into this part of the timeline. Rather, we are handed a character who is very uneven. At the beginning of the film, he is presented as a total badass, choosing to go as far as to even have him stop a blaster rifle mid-shot in the air, and hold it there, like it was nothing, only to let it go minutes later when he is nowhere longer in its line of sight, like a mic drop. Position this against the end of the film, where he is barely holding his own against two characters who pretty much have no experience using a lightsaber, and we’re told he must “finish his training”. What a juxtaposition he was throughout the film. I get that the point is that he is still infantile, inexperienced, and malleable, but when the beginning of the film builds him up as a strength to be reckoned with, much like Darth Vader in A New Hope, I couldn’t help but feel cheated when he turns out to be more like Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen style.  How about Finn? He’s alright, I guess. I want to root for him, because the movie is clearly telling me to. Oh, he’s empathetic, and knows right from wrong. He won’t shoot down an innocent civilian. The decision to have this character choose to abandon the First Order in and of itself is not a bad one, but the way they go about it seems so rushed and forced. Once again, I’m left wondering, what is this character’s history? If we had seen how incarcerated and militant his upbringing was, we may connect more with him. A little dialogue about how he was snatched as a young child and never given a name simply isn’t enough to run on however. It also struck me odd that this man, seemingly in his 20′s, is only now entering combat for the first time. You would think that for an army like the First Order, they would have placed him into combat sooner, thus surfacing his reluctance to be a murderer. That aside, his role in the movie is entirely devoid of purpose. Thinking over the entire movie, did he do anything productive? He helped Poe escape, but as I previously stated, Poe’s role in the movie wasn’t even necessary, as another pilot could have simply shot down the Starkiller Base. So we can’t count that as productive. By the time Finn lands on Jakku, BB-8 is already in the possession of Rey. She has already been shown as scrappy and independent, so I’m sure she would have evaded the First Order and made it off of Jakku on her own, using what seemed to be the last option, the Millennium Falcon. This would have lead her, and in turn BB-8, to Han Solo and Chewie anyways, which progresses the plot. Shortly after the introduction of Han and Chewie, it is Rey who saves them from the mercenaries, not Finn, by unleashing the tentacle monsters. In fact, Finn even gets captured by one, proving just how useless he is. They still escape on the Millennium Falcon, no thanks to Finn, and make it to Takodana. Here, Finn actually decides he’s going to abandon them, to get away from the First Order. Surely if he had actually left, nothing would have changed though. The only reason Finn decides to rejoin Han, Chewie, and the Resistance, is that he has some sort of chemistry and attachment to Rey, which is certainly not fleshed out well enough on screen (but that’s a separate issue). Had he not have returned however, everything would had stayed the same. The Resistance would have arrived with X-Wings to save the team. Rey still would have been captured by Kylo Ren, being brought to the Starkiller Base. Han and Chewie still would have delivered BB-8 safely and reunited with Leia, given their involvement and history. Here, Leia still would have told Han to return their son to her. Since Han knew exactly where Kylo Ren was, he still would have gone to Starkiller Base, to turn off the shield, and hopefully rescue his son Ben from the hands of Kylo Ren and the dark side. Finn’s involvement with this mission made no impact. In fact, Han was relying on Finn’s previous history and involvement with the First Order to navigate the base, but was let down when Finn reveals he was just a sanitation worker. Finn brought no extra edge and insight to the table, save for the moment he recognized Captain Phasma, and her ability to be utilized for disabling the shield. Given Han’s previous track record though, I’m sure he could have found a way otherwise. Speaking of Captain Phasma, how is that for a character who was created purely to sell merchandise? With a quantity of lines that I could count on one hand, her involvement had little-to-no impact. Perhaps she will play a larger role in the upcoming movies, but to be introduced now, and abandoned the way she was, seems careless and shoddy. I can’t fault this one too much, as the original trilogy had a revolving door of captains and admirals on the Empire (Grand Moff Tarkin, was that really the best use of actor Peter Cushing?). Really, the only good new character this film has going for it is Rey. We’re shown her lifestyle and struggle. We were hinted at, and even shown briefly, her emotional scars and abandonment issues. We slowly throughout the film grow to learn along side with her the inner sensitivity she has to the Force. She is pivotal to the story’s plot and progression, and let’s face it, just kicks some ass. It felt like everything she does is justified. She is shown scavenging for parts in a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer, thus showing us she has knowledge of ship parts. This later works in her favour when she is able to repair the Falcon. It would also lend itself to the reason why she may be able to fly spaceships, having such extensive knowledge on how they function. In the past, it’s also been shown that those in tune with the Force make for great pilots, a-la Anakin and Luke. The only part of her development that felt weak to me was her understanding of the Force. It’s one thing to become aware of it, but to be that quickly adjusted, with no training whatsoever, seemed a little unrealistic, even in this franchise where explosions still occur in the vacuum of space without question. How would Rey know to use and wield the power of mind manipulation? How did she overpower Kylo Ren when using the force to call the lightsaber out of the snow to her? I understand there are some latent, dormant powers involved, but up against the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, who has been given precise training in the ways of the Force, both light and dark side? It seems a little questionable.

There are many other flaws I found in this film as well. Right off the top of the film, an old man is shown giving Poe the map to Luke’s location. Who is this old man? Why does he have this information? Throughout the film, there are so many callbacks to old characters, to the point it feels like fan service. Why was this character not one of them? At least he would be justified. This man could have been Lando, or Admiral Ackbar, or even Nien Numb for all I care. Anyone who had previous ties to the Rebel Alliance or Luke & the gang would have sufficed. It also felt as if lightsabers didn’t have the same strength they did before. There were many instances of Kylo Ren or Finn being hit with a lightsaber, only to have them continue fighting, as if unharmed. It appeared as if Kylo Ren even had some sort of armor, resistant to lightsabers. This has never been presented in the franchise before however, and was never discussed on film. Or how about when a stormtrooper goes toe-to-toe with Finn wielding a lightsaber, using some sort of baton weapon? I thought the lightsaber was supposed to have no equal, aside from another lightsaber. How about the inclusion of human blood? In previous films, they’ve always made a point not to show any human blood. In fact, the only example I can recall of any blood at all is when Ponda Baba’s arm is chopped off in the cantina in A New Hope. He’s an alien however. The inclusion of a hand-swipe of human blood on Finn’s stormtrooper helmet near the beginning of the film immediately made it aware to me that this is not the same tone or atmosphere of the original trilogy. Another factor that I would say played into that was the humour. Granted, I did enjoy some of the jokes added in, such as Poe stating “who talks first here, me or you? I don’t know how this works”, or when the two stormtroopers hear Kylo Ren throwing a temper tantrum, and uneasily turn around and walk back from whence they came. But this is not the sort of humour the original trilogy went for. C-3PO walking in between Leia and Han when they reconnect for the first time in a long while? Classic. But some of those other cases felt very more “Abrams”. And I think that’s where the ultimate problem with this movie sits. This is an Abrams film. It oozes Abrams all over it, from the cinematography, to the dialogue and humour, to the pacing.Inherently there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoy many, if not all, of Abrams’ work. But the way this film was being advertised and presented up to its release, this was supposed to be a return to form, and a continuation of the saga where Return of the Jedi left off. If you may recall, many Star Trek fans were upset when Abrams basically flipped the reset switch on the franchise in the recent film reboots, putting it in an alternate timeline, with the second film basically rehashing the events of Wrath of Khan. Abrams has shown us before that when presented with a strong and passionate franchise, he likes to play it safe, by not making any large changes to the story or characters, and drive action first, which pleases the masses. For the die-hard fans though, this can be a let down. I guess I can only blame myself for not believing he would do the same with Star Wars.  I don’t want to leave the impression that I found this film of poor quality. It is very capable, and enjoyable as a popcorn flick. I simply had higher expectations for it as a large fan of the franchise, and the chatter that had built around its production and those involved. Much is left to be said for these characters, and the story, as two more films are on the way, coming from different directors. Perhaps these next installments will bring me more of what I had hoped this film to be. I guess the only thing left to say, is may the Force be with them.

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 29 - 30 : Austria & Venice

Oktoberfest was surely one of, if not the highest point of the trip thus far. Luckily for us, the next morning brought something else strong and fierce enough to rival it. We left Germany for the last time, and departed for Austria. While it was not in the plans for us to spend any significant amount of time here, we did have a day stop for some white water rafting in Tyrol. Immediately after entering Austria, I was blown away by the scenery. The lush, green mountains were unlike anything I have ever seen before. It definitely made me question my decision to forgo any extended time in Austria. The next time I visit Europe, I will definitely have to spend more time there. We pulled up to the parking lot of the company that would be taking us out on the rapids. Here, they gave us our wet suits to don. I must admit, they were surprisingly comfortable, and as I would soon find out, effective! We were given a quick lesson in safety and operation, and we promptly set out for the river. The water was cold that day, providing further incentive not to fall victim to the rapids. Shortly after the current started carrying us away, we discovered our guide was a bit of a jokester and prankster. He created many games for us to play, bringing more excitement and entertainment to the entire experience. It was already enough to be amongst the beautiful landscape on this invigorating ride, but to do it while standing on the side of the raft, or floating along beside it while holding on with one hand, is something I'll never forget. At the end of the ride, our guide handed us shot glasses filled with a clear liquid, and claimed it was schnapps. Dylan made the comment that it was actually just lake water. Not having the ability to smell, and knowing the guide was a bit of a prankster anyways, I believed him, and sent it down the hatch. Boy, was I surprised when it really was some of the worst tasting peach schnapps possible! Unfortunately, our white water rafting adventure had come to an end, and it was time for us to leave the beautiful country of Austria. Since this detour was a more time consuming one, we arrived at our actual stop of Venice late that evening. We didn't have the opportunity to explore the city, so we all turned in for the night. The next morning, we took a water taxi into the city on water, Venice. Immediately, I was taken back by how unique the city was. There were canals cutting up the entire city, with gondolas passing through them regularly. Because of the frequency of these canals, it made it impractical for the use of motorized vehicles. Not a single car was seen the entire day. I can't say that holds true for any other major city I've visited. This charm only lasted about an hour however. After a somewhat disappointing walking tour, we had some time to explore the city on our own. I was told it would be easily to get lost in the city. In trying to do so, however, I found I would keep getting funnelled out to the main streets, and back to where I was trying to avoid. There didn't seem to be many attractions or sites to take in, and in another rare occurrence, I found myself wanting to be back at the hotel than out in the city. Luckily, there was a scheduled glass blowing demonstration going on shortly. This turned out to be the highlight of the entire day. In a matter of minutes, a hot pile of glass was turned into a beautiful wine decanter in front of our very eyes. If possible, I would have spent the entirety of the day watching this man work, as this truly was a rare, skilled craft. Next up however was out scheduled gondola ride. I was very excited for this, but was soon disappointed, as our gondola driver barely took us through the city. Rather, he spent most of his time on the grand canal, and before I knew it, the ride was over. Looking for something new or refreshing to do, Dylan and I headed to the outskirts of the city, and found more of the culture and experience we were hoping to see. We wandered around, taking in the scenery, before grabbing dinner at a small patio restaurant. Afterwards, he found some cheap wine, while I some tasty treats. This was enough for us to conclude our evening, and we headed back to the group for the water taxi to the hotel. Not the most exciting experience thus far, but luckily, Rome was up next, and that could not disappoint :)

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 27 - 28: Munich (Oktoberfest)

Ready and roaring to go this morning, we left the Czech Republic and their Krowns in our dust, as we set off for Germany again. Before arriving at our destination of Munich, we stopped by Dachau, the site of the very first concentration camp. Here, I was overwhelmed with the pain and suffering that had occurred. I could feel a heavy grip around my chest that wouldn’t let go. Even though the sun was bright and powerful, I couldn’t help but zip my hoodie tighter, seeking as much of its comfort and security it could provide. Definitely a spiritual experience, I took away a lot of perspective and clarity.

As a strange juxtaposition, we next landed in Munich, home of the world famous Oktoberfest. While others in our group went shopping for lederhosen and dirndls, Dylan and I took in some of the city, such as Marienplatz and the New Town Hall, also stopping at a McDonald’s for Dylan to order a beer and get his pre-drink on. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication between our tour guide and I, we missed the group bus to the fest, and had to take the metro. This probably couldn’t have worked out better, however, as the exit led straight into the festival. The reveal to our eyes as we climbed the steps was jaw-dropping. Before we knew it, we were in the heart of Oktoberfest. Surrounded by countless food stands, carnival rides, and beer halls, it was a sensory overload. After walking around and taking it all in, we headed to the largest beer tent we could find. We had heard that the tents fill up quickly, and it could take a while to get in. The “line” in which we were waiting seemed to have no rhyme or reason, however, and had not budged an inch in the 15 minutes we waited. Deciding for better luck elsewhere, we went to the next beer tent that looked promising. Luck was indeed on our side, as almost immediately after waiting in line, a server asked us how many we needed to seat. After explaining it was only two of us, he pulled us through the entire line, and sat us down inside the tent. We payed an inflated price for our steins because of it, but it was worth it for this moment. Here we were, two Canadians, halfway across the world, at a world renown party & festival, full of good music, beer, food, happiness, and cheer. We quickly made friends with those around us, standing on our bench, shouting out what we could understand of the songs being played. Time passed quickly, as we had to head back to our meeting point for the bus back to the hotel. Night one was a success.

The next morning, I felt surprisingly chipper, and was excited for our bike tour of the city. We were taken around a couple streets, into the English Gardens. Here, we watched some thrill seekers surf on some waves in a tiny canal, before heading to lunch. I grabbed a giant pretzel and snacked on some tasty pork knuckle, while trapping and taming the bees floating all around. The next stop was our second visit to Oktoberfest. Here, I tried a radlar, which was half beer, half “lemonade” (what they call Sprite). With a good buzz blanketed across the group, we met up with two of our Bavarian friends we made back on our Scotland travels, and made our way to one of the rides. We shared some laughs and screams as we were twisted and tossed about, before heading off to the next beer tent. Here, we snuck in to a private table, reserved by some Austrians. At first, they resisted us sitting down, but we quickly made friends with them. After a few minutes, we were sharing drinks, stories, cheers and laughs. We sang a couple more songs, found some other Canadians, and made many visits to the toilets before heading off for another ride; this time, an Olympic themed rollercoaster. Five loops of different colours awaited Dylan and I. Before we knew it, we were on our way. I’m not sure if it was by the engineers design, or the alcohol running through my bloodstream, but this was one of the most thrilling coasters I have ever been on. After a few more treats from food stands, and a nice group dinner at a local restaurant, we had a rowdy bus drive back to our hotel, where we all soundly slept the night away. This night truly was one of the highlights of the trip so far.

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 23 - 26: Berlin & Prague

Another day, another country. At this point, it’s starting to feel like my regular lifestyle pattern. I could get used to this ;)

We departed from Amsterdam in the early AM and headed towards Berlin, Germany. A pretty unmemorable drive, we made it to our hotel in time to check in and head over to a local restaurant for dinner. Here, we were served many different types of bratwurst; some spicy, others more lean, all different shapes and colours. After the delicious meal, we headed back to the hotel and called it in early. Before drifting off to sleep though, Dylan and I had stumbled across the strangest German television show, that was weird and random in all the best ways possible. It was what I can only assume supposed to be a children’s show, revolving around a piece of toast that would play out different scenes from pop culture, anything from Star Trek, to Harry Potter, to Sailor Moon. It would play consistently in a 10 minute loop, without commercials. After the third time around, we still couldn’t make sense of what we were seeing, and decided to give up and simply accept it as the strange, but beautiful piece of entertainment it was.

The next morning, we had an early walking tour of the historical sites in Berlin. Admittingly not knowing much about German history and the world wars, it was very informative and captivating. Seeing all the different buildings and monuments that were either left over and transformed from after the war, or built in memory of those lost during the war, made a lasting impression. There was also something entertaining to me to play Anti-Flag’s song “Brandenburg Gate”, while overlooking the actual Brandenburg Gate. The heaviest part of the whole walk however was standing on a patch of grass, overlooking some buildings and a parking lot, and being told we were standing above the bunker where Adolf Hitler shot himself. Not wanting to memorialize this historical monster, no structure or signage was built or placed, indicating what had transpired only years ago. After the walking tour, Dylan and I headed back to the Berlin Wall for a closer look, as well as an interesting, interactive museum called the DDR, which provided a look into what the lives of Germans were like prior to WW2, and before the fall of the wall.

A quick visit back to the hotel, we set out in the night for our alternative walking tour of the city. Here, we would see the local street art, along with some other interesting local history, most notably squats and a treehouse that had been overtaken from the government by citizens. Afterwards, we had a lovely schnitzel dinner, followed up by drinks at a nearby bar, and then some clubbing at The Matrix. This was the first night of harder partying for the whole Contiki group. A good time of drinks and dance were had by most, followed by a frustrating and confusing travel by transit back to our hotel.

The next morning, after a quick stop by the East End Gallery (a section of the Berlin Wall transformed into a canvas of street art), and a roadside stop in the city of Dresden for a quick walk around the beautiful city, we were to temporarily wave goodbye to Germany, as we made our way into the Czech Republic, towards Prague. This would turn out to be unfortunately the lowest part of the trip thus far. The first day, we had an interesting walk around the city, showing us the sites of Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, the Old Town Hall, and the Astronomical Clock. Admittingly, the Astronomical Clock was far below my expectations, being much smaller than I imagined it would be. After checking in to our hotel and dinner, the group headed out back to the city for some bar hopping, as our tour driver, Joey, had the next day off, and we wanted to celebrate with him. The first stop was BED bar, a place with a cozy, slumbering atmosphere where you lay down on cushions and beds and order cocktails, but unfortunately had service which suited it. What should have been a satisfying quick 20-30 minute stop took well over an hour. I was actually never even served my order, deciding to forgo it in order to head over to the next bar. I never did learn the name of the bar we ended up at, but it was immense, with many different levels, from a giant dance floor filled with laser lights and vibrating floors, to a bar with strippers on poles, to a quiet alcove for those looking to carry conversation. Bartenders would go around with a mini roulette wheel, allowing their patrons to gamble on free shots. Absinthe, of course, was consumed by many, although disappointingly having no adverse effects. The most interesting drink of the night in fact was a giant 2 gallon tub of Long Island iced tea. A good time was had by all, as we headed (or for others, stumbled) back to our hotel rooms.

The next day was left free to explore Prague. After some jamming out at a local music shop, and having seen much of the sights already, a few of us ventured out to the John Lennon wall, where many spray painted and wrote memorials to the late Beatles member. I added my own inspirational quote, as we headed off to explore more of the city. Much of it was the same, however, and Dylan and I opted to head back to the hotel room early for some rest and relaxation. We knew we would need it, as the next city would not be as underwhelming as Prague was. Munich, and Oktoberfest, here we come!

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 21- 22: Amsterdam

Waking up early in the morning is never fun. It's especially not fun when it's during your vacation. Luckily for me this time, i had a good reason to, and had something to look forward to. We were to depart for the Contiki leg of our adventure. After a 6 AM wake up call, we loaded onto the bus for 7 AM, and were off from London towards our destination, Amsterdam. On the way there, we would take a ferry from England into France, and pass through Belgium. While we weren't spending any extended time in Belgium, it was interesting to see its countryside on the drive. There were many modern windmills and solar panels scattered across the flat land. Eventually, we arrived at our hotel for the next two nights. After checking in, and a good dinner, we were off for the red light district. Here, we had what I could only describe as the weirdest, but best way to bond with a new group; a sex show. A staple of the Amsterdam scene and nightlife, we watched as people "made love" atop a rotating stage. More interestingly however, were the acts between coupled performers, who hinged more on comedy routines. Overall, it was quite entertaining, and certainly brought all of us strangers closer together as a group. After a visit to a coffee shop and some aimless wandering, we called it in for the night. The next morning, we had a scheduled bike ride through the small city of Edam, famous for their cheese. Even though there was a light rain showering down upon us, it was fun to ride through the small side streets of this town. I couldn't help but be reminded of the music video for Hollerado's "So It Goes" as I passed by the canals and open fields. We were then treated to a cheese and clog demo (separately, of course). It was very neat to see how quickly and effortlessly they could widdle down a piece of wood into the basic clog shape, then bore it hollow for a foot to slip in. The wood itself was also very interesting. You could feel the moisture in it, and when split, didn't leave behind any sharp edges or splinters. After our demonstrations, we headed back into Amsterdam. At this point, the group split up, some of us choosing to go to a Heineken brewery tour, while myself and some others choosing the Anne Frank house. Preparing for a snaking line and a long wait time, I was happy to find out we only had about 45 minutes to kill, which became even easier when I discovered the Anne Frank house provided free wifi. There was just something weird about connecting to the wifi and seeing the little checkmark beside the name "Anne Frank"... Once we made our way in, the house did a great job of telling her and the Frank family's story. Every room flowed into the next, providing you with the chilling reality of what they went through. It was quite powerful, and moved me more than I thought it would. Afterwards, Dylan and I ventured out on our own away from the group, stopping at a coffee shop before heading over to Vondelpark. Here, we found some beautiful scenery, from little ponds, to giant trees that sheltered us from the rain, to winding hedges. At the base of the park were a few museums, but after learning the prices of admission, and not being overly stoked on what they had to offer, we instead went over to a local festival that was happening. There was the Homeless World Cup, which at first we joked about it being each country's best homeless people playing soccer. Then, we learned it actually was each country's best homeless people playing soccer! They were raising money for the homeless, and showing how one could turn their life around. Unfortunately for us and the players, the rain started to really come down around this point, and everyone had to seek shelter in nearby tents. Inside our tent, there was a foosball table, so we all had fun taking turns and playing each other. Also, for some reason, the reggae band kept playing music on the main stage, even through the torrential storm. Talk about dangerous! Eventually, the storm let up enough that we were able to make our way over to some restaurants. I enjoyed some tasty BBQ fries, followed by a delicious chocolate crepe. Having had an action packed day, we headed back to our hotel, where I enjoyed a delectable Dutch treat that consisted of a wafers stuffed with caramel that you would place over your coffee/tea until the steam heated it to a soft, gooey consistency. A perfect way to end a great start to what is sure to be an unforgettable leg of our adventure :)

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 13 - 20: England

The one thing I've learned thus far from travelling Europe is to never make any assumptions. If you happen to, you'll more than likely end up being surprised; sometimes for the better, but in this case, for the worse. The train ride from Edinburgh to York was planned to be a time for rest and relaxation. Based on the train ride we experienced in Spain, I figured it'd be nice and quiet, with enough comfort to doze off. This couldn't have been further from reality. Drunk Brits returning from the football match shouted and cluttered the isles, while a rowdy group of women in front of us celebrated a 30th birthday. Children cried and whined throughout the trek. It was very relieving to arrive at our stop in York when we did. Luckily for us, Dylan had an old friend, Laura, who had moved to York, allowing us the opportunity for some down time to recharge. The first night, Laura and her fiancé, Chris, took us around to a couple different bars. We saw Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate, a tiny street that has the longest name per length of road. After a good nights sleep, we explored the city in the day, gazing at cathedrals, trekking across the old walls, and even saw some historic sites where Guy Fawkes was baptized and lived. That night, after a pitiful attempt at a quiz night in a local pub, and a hilarious mishap of spilt beer all over Chris' beautiful maroon pants, we stumbled across a group of local women celebrating their friends birthday. We had a great time spending the rest of the night partying and dancing with them, until some jocky-type marine got a little jealous and threatened to fight us and his friends. Sometimes, you gotta know when to throw in the towel, so we closed off the night on a good note and headed back. The next few days were more or less spent recharging and relaxing, with the highlight being us finding "Straight Outta Compton" online for viewing. Laura and Chris were really accommodating, allowing us to turn their living room into my bedroom/laundry room for a few days. I definitely needed it though, as couldn't be more appreciative :) It was time to make our way over to London. A cheap bus ride brought us there just in time to explore the night life. I was surprised to see how well dressed everyone was, walking around in full suits and dresses. There were a lot more plays and musicals than I expected as well. Pretty much anything you could think of was being performed and advertised somewhere in the city. We took in the sight of Big Ben at night, before heading back to the hostel for the night. The next morning, we made our way to Buckingham Palace with one of our hostel roommates Lukas, in order to see the changing of the guard. It was certainly a bigger spectacle than I thought it would be, though I did expect to be able to be closer than they allowed. Afterwards, we ventured into some of the free museums the city offered, such as the British Museum and the National Gallery. There were some interesting attractions and sights, but by this point, I think we were a little "museumed out", and fast tracked our time in them. In the evening, we met up with a few of the travellers who would soon be joining us on our Contiki trip. We called it in early though, as the next day we had a big adventure over to Wiltshire, where Stonehenge is found. A short bus ride brought us over to the ~5,000 year old site. There was definitely an atmosphere to the area. The crisp, chilled air perfectly complemented the overcast sky, while we were not allowed to get up close to the stones, you could still feel some sort of connection with them as your circled around. A provided audio guide helped with filling in information, from how it was constructed, to the Druids, to other remains found at the site. While the stones were not as large as I had imagined, it certainly left a large impact. Upon returning from Stonehenge, we decided to venture into a different area of the city; Camden. This sector was more down my alley, full of more artsy and sketchier bars, venues, and clubs. There were many more people I would usually associate myself with. We had heard one club in particular was holding a secret concert for Muse, but the line was massive, and we opted not to go. Entertainingly enough, the line was filled with people dressed up as comic book characters, making me not as upset for missing Fan Expo back in Toronto. The night drew to a close, and we saw ourselves checking out two more museums the next day, the Victoria an Albert museum, along with the Natural History museum. The first had some good casts of famous sculptures we were sure to see later on our travels, so we left quickly to spend more time in the latter. It had a great interactive science experience to it, specifically the sections related to memory and perception. Afterwards, we went over to our Contiki meet-up, where we were introduced to everyone we would be spending the next 20 days travelling with. The next leg of our adventure was about to begin, and I was extremely excited!

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 10 - 13: Scotland

The flight from Greece to Scotland was one of the worst flights I've ever experienced. Not only was it broken into two flights with a stopover in Belgium, the food on the morning flight from Athens to Brussels was by far the worst I've ever had. I also was graced by the presence of a bad passenger. The man sitting beside me not only hogged the armrest (completely forgoing the unspoken airplane seating etiquette), but was a loud chewer and sleeper. I guess they saw you need to go through a bit of pain before pleasure, because Scotland was about to give me a big surprise. Upon arriving in Edinburgh, I was able to determine that the stereotype was in fact true; the weather is always gloomy. The difference from Athens to Edinburgh was immediately recognized. I had left summer behind, and was now in autumn. It was a weird feeling, knowing the exact day and time you wave goodbye to a season. Usually it happens gradually, but this was swiftly taken away in one clean swipe, as if I was a child who was caught playing with something I shouldn't have been. Nevertheless, after a short bus ride from the airport to the city centre, I was instantly overwhelmed with the beauty of Edinburgh. There were so many interesting castles, churches, and other old, gothic, or ruined buildings that just peaked my curiosity. Walking on the way to our hostel, I could already see many restaurants and bars I would want to visit. After checking in to our hostel, we went out for a British staple, some fish and chips. On the way back from the restaurant, we overheard a punk/rock band sound checking in a nearby club. We went in and were amazed to discover something that didn't feel too unlike what we'd have back home. It was nice to be in that setting once again. From there, we discovered of an open mic night happening at another bar around the corner. This bar was located underground, and had awesome an awesome labyrinth, with torture devices sprinkled around. There were many separate rooms with different themes/vibes, from a billiards room, to a rock room, to a more dance-oriented one. This was definitely the bar for me. Eventually, we found the room which housed the open mic. To our surprise, they provided an entire back line! Lucky for us, there was a guitarist wanting to jam, so Dylan hopped on drums, while I picked up the bass. Unluckily, he only wanted to do jazzy/bluesy type stuff, but it was still enjoyable to get on stage again, especially so far from home. Afterwards, we had heard of a haunted ghost tour that would take your around the city for free. We showed up, and a very animated, enthusiastic guide showed us some of the sites, allegedly housing spirits from beyond the grave. He did a great job at bringing everything to life, even jumping out and scaring us every chance he got. It was a great way to get a feel for this historically haunted and gruesome city. If there was one hiccup to be worried about this entire trip, than it was our first full day in Scotland the next morning. We had booked a one day tour of the Highlands and Loch Ness, but due to an online booking error, we didn't have our booking confirmed (even though they already took our money). We hoped that by showing up early the next morning, they would be able to squeeze us on the tour bus. Unfortunately it filled up, but the tour manager was very accommodating, and said that he could fit us on the two day tour of the same areas. It just meant booking a hostel in the city of Inverness, and forgoing our already booked hostel in Edinburgh, as well as skipping our day visit of Glasgow. Not wanting to be out the money we already invested, we took it. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The tour bus originally hit some horrible traffic outside of Glasgow, but once we hit the Highlands, it cleared up, and we were on our way to some of the nicest sights we've seen yet. The Highlands housed beautiful mountains, full of rolling green hills, covered in peat and trees. Everything was green. It was incredible. The best location was the Three Sisters in Glencoe, which is where the end scene in Skyfall was filmed. We stopped over at Loch Ness, which is really not all that impressive in and of itself, but it is nice to say I've gone and searched for Nessie. After that, it was a short trip to Inverness. There, we checked in to our hostel, which was full of other travellers in the common room. After eating some traditional haggis at a nearby restaurant, we rounded everyone up from the hostel and made our way out to a local bar. There was a rock band playing on the second floor. We watched their set come to a close, before heading back down to the first floor, where a more traditional Scottish band was performing. Locals were out on the dance floor, doing traditional Scottish dances. I noticed a group of younger ladies dancing together, so I thought "why not?!" And jumped on in. They immediately loved my accent, and began to introduce me to all their friends, and taught me how to do their dance. We were having a great time, so they asked us to come to another bar with them, as this one was closing up soon. What was supposed to be a quiet night in Inverness turned into our rowdiest one yet in Europe! After little sleep, we woke up to meet our tour group. We were taken around to other sites, such as a whisky distillery, Urquhart Castle, an outdoor museum full of farm animals, and a beautiful forest located in Dunkeld. Here, we were able to see salmon swimming upstream, leaping up cascading waterfalls. Upon returning to Edinburgh from our guided tour, we went on another haunted tour. This time, it would take us into the vaults located beneath the city, where gambling, rape, murder, devil worshiping, and anything else illegal you could imagine once occurred. Unfortunately, those days were long gone, as they were very well up kept, and far from scary. Thankfully though, the haunted tour ended in an old crypt, with the whole group inside a tomb with no light. Here, you could feel the ghosts and spirits taunting you, as they ran their fingers through your hair or hugged you tightly. The fear and fright definitely got to us, as mob mentality took over, and everyone quivered in distress. After the tour was over, we quickly hit my favourite bar again for some drinks with some German friends we made from the Highlands tour, before going to bed. We had an action-filled schedule for our last day in Scotland. We visited Edinburgh Castle, but opted not to pay the £17.50 for a tour inside. Afterwards, we checked out other sites located in Old Town, such as Tron Kirk, Edinburgh museum, Canongate, the children's museum, Arthur's Seat, and Calton Hill, home to Edinburgh's Disgrace, among others. Time drew to a close, as our bus for England came near. Scotland, and more specifically Edinburgh, was the first place I not only enjoyed visiting, but found myself thinking I could enjoy living there. It was hard to say goodbye. But the road was calling, and more adventures awaited! How could I say no to that? ;)

[davidhuzyk]

EuroTrip 2015, Days 6 - 9: Greece

After landing at the airport, we grabbed a bus into downtown Athens. It was early in the AM, so when we arrived, there was not much activity. In fact, we were taken back by the fact we could see more stray dogs than people. The streets were covered in litter, and there was graffiti everywhere. I had heard of the economic crisis in Greece, but was it this bad? Was their capital this dishevelled? Well, there was no time to figure it out, as our tour left in a mere hour. We headed over to the hotel where the bus would pick us up, and we were on our way. I was not prepared for how hectic this first day would be. It was action packed, full of multiple stops. I also was not prepared for how beautiful the Greece landscape was. I expected to see a lot of ancient ruins and historical sites, but was taken back by the multiple, breathtaking mountains. Our first stop was at the Corinth Canal. This passageway provides water from deeper in Greece to the country capital, Athens. Our timing was perfect, as a boat was just passing through underneath the bridge of the canal. Our next stop was the Sanctuary of Asklepios, at Epidaurus. There, we visited a museum, which was a little underwhelming. I was about to be disappointed with our stop until our tour guide brought us up a hill. Awaiting us at the top was the theatre of Epidaurus. My jaw literally dropped as its appearance presented itself over the hills horizon. This massive theatre is over 2,500 years old, and seats thousands. The acoustics of the place were fantastic. It's amazing how well engineered it was, even back then. This was easily the highlight of the entire tour. Afterwards, we took a brief stop in a town called Nafplio. I wish we had had more time to explore here, as it was quite beautiful, and had a great vibe. It was on the water, but had an old castle atop a nearby hill. There were nice little markets, and quaint houses packed tightly. As I walked around through the narrow alleys, I felt like Aladdin; a street rat ready to pick the apricots right out of the trees in locals backyards. Unfortunately, the tour bus had a schedule to keep, and we headed out quickly to the city of Mykines. Here was another ancient ruin, that used to have a fortified wall, along with sanctuaries/cemeteries, and a treasury. My favourite part, funny or not, was finding these little lizards sticking to the walls. They were hard to notice, as they blended right into the rock structures, but every now and then they would wiggle a tail or move and arm, giving you the opportunity to spot them. Lastly, we headed to Olympia, where we were going to sleep for the night. The hotel accommodations and food were well above my expectations. After a good nights sleep and a refreshing breakfast, we set out to Archaia Olympia, housing sites such as the Temple of Zeus, which used to house a giant statue of Zeus made out of gold and ivory, and the Olympic Stadium. I was able to run the track, just like the ancient Greeks would have back then. Who knows, maybe I was fast enough to beat them and win the olive wreath :p Our guide also showed us where the Olympic flame is lit every other year, to be transported to the city housing the games. We headed in to another museum on site there, with the highlights for me being some ancient shields and helmets discovered from old wars. Afterwards, we crossed the Rio bridge, a large suspension bridge on our way to Delphi. Luck struck again, as the meals and accommodations were quite splendid. A couple of us from the tour group snuck out into town after dinner for some drinks. You could tell the staff were not used to attending to such a loud, active crowd that late haha! The attitude of our server was dryer than the Sahara. Nonetheless, they let us stay until close, at which point I was quite ready for bed. The next morning saw us visiting the temple of Athena, before heading over to the sanctuary of Apollo. Apparently, back then, people would travel for weeks and months, traversing the mountainous terrain, to get to this sanctuary, to hand over an offering, as well as speak to the oracles. These oracles would speak cryptically though. Their responses were usually pretty generic. With the typical way of writing their language at the time involving all capital letters and no punctuation, it was sometimes hard to decipher. Our guide told us a classic reading that was "GO NOT DIE IN WAR", which could be read as "Go, not die in war" or "go not, die in war". Pretty big difference! The ancient Greeks also believed this spot to be the very centre of the world. There is a cone shaped rock, which they called the navel. It was believed Zeus sent two eagles to both ends of the world and asked them to fly and meet in the middle. This was the spot where they met, and Zeus dropped a rock from the sky to mark it. The entire site was full of history, and made for a very memorable, authentic Ancient Greek experience. After this site, however, it was time for us to return to Athens, and end our guided tour. Upon returning to Athens, we set out to check into our hostel. We were staying in a section of Athens called Plaka, a bazaar/market like area, not far from many other ancient tourist sites. It is quite easy to get turned around and lost here though, as there are many side streets that curve in direction. At one point, we were completely lost. Fortunately, a local found us struggling, and saw our Canadian luggage tag and patch. He approached us, and said "oh, you're in trouble now! Where in Canada are you from?!". We told him Toronto, and he quickly snarled "where in Toronto?!". After telling him Little Italy, he said he used to live on St. Claire. Small world once again! He worked at a restaurant, and told us if we returned after finding our hostel, first drinks were on him! Nice! Upon finding our hostel, we were happy to find it had a great environment, with a bustling common room, full of other friendly travellers. Dylan and I decided we wanted to explore the city on our own for a bit, grabbed some dinner, and went over to see our new friend Gus for some free drinks. Not being a big drinker, I ordered a delectable chocolate waffle instead. On our return to the hostel, we quickly made friends with some of the other travellers, and took to the roof of the hostel. It was a great feeling, sharing drinks and smokes with new friends on a hostel in Athens overlooking the Acropolis. After some late night baklava, we took a quick journey over to the Gasa district, which houses all the late night clubs; clubs being the key word. The music and setting was not quite our style and preference, so it was back to the hostel, as we had a big day planned. Waking up early, we quickly set out for the Acropolis. Up there, the sun beat down on us as we saw the Pandroseion and the Parthenon. It also had a great view that overlooked Athens. You really got quite a sense of how big and tightly packed the city is. The population grew from around 500,000 people to 4 million in the past few decades. After trekking down the mountain, we set out for the Ancient Agora. This was the site of many schools of philosophy, housing such greats as Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. Dylan and I had some deep discussions contemplating the size and scale of the universe, while I sampled an organic pomegranate picked freshly off a tree. After a few more museums, and stops at the Temple of Apollo and Hephaestus, we stopped for some fresh coconut and souvlaki in the flea market. By this point, the heat had gotten to us. We got a little cocky with the sun from the previous days on our guided tour, where we forgo the sunscreen. Unfortunately, we were still two silly white boys from Canada, and we burned like marshmallows left in the campfire. Our skin was burnt to a crisp. This still didn't stop us from seeking out the final two stops on our itinerary; the Gateway to Olympeon, which housed the tallest standing columns and pillars we'd seen yet, and the Panathenaic Stadium. The stadium was the home of the first modern Olympic Games. Standing there, overlooking the track and podium, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that this is someone's dream; to one day stand right here, after having performed in their event, everyone's eyes on them, with the acknowledgement of being the worlds best. It was truly inspiring, and have me a lot of drive to push forward my own goals and dreams. I couldn't think of a better way to endure visit to Athens. After a brief sleep, it was off to the airport, as my summer was about to come to an end. From the +30 degrees of Greece to the mild teens of Scotland, I was about to experience a big change.

[davidhuzyk]

Eurotrip 2015, Days 3 - 5: Buñol, Barcelona & Madrid

It's amazing how large this world is. Thousands of kilometres separate the population. What is even more amazing however is how small and insignificant you can make that distance be. What are the odds that on the back of the bus taking us to La Tomatina in Buñol, the only other person sitting beside us is also from Toronto. We lucked out and made a friend named Mark. He was a bit more of a seasoned traveller, but this was also his first La Tomatina experience. Together, we found out just how haphazardly this whole tour group was run. No one really checked our tickets. No one did attendance to ensure nobody was left behind at pit stops. When we arrived in Buñol, nobody told us when to get off the bus and where to go. The line for your commemorative t-shirt was disheveled and long. Luckily, we three took it upon ourselves to go explore the city on our own, and find out where the fight was to be held. After donning our safety goggles and waiting in line, we made it into the city centre, where 6 dump trucks would deliver their payload of hundreds of ripe tomatoes. As the trucks drove closer and closer, the cheers became deafening. Finally, the moment arrived. As the back ends tipped, the tomatoes spilled onto the streets, and the most animalistic of instincts kicked in. It was pure onslaught. A slaughter of the senses. My goggles instantly fogged up and were splattered with juice. You could feel the chunks of tomato filling every crevice of your exposed body. The crowds noise turned from cheers to screams. I'm sure if I could smell as well, it would have been overwhelmed by the fruits odour. Locals would watch from their windows and balconies. Dylan got a good shot in and threw a tomato into one that was dumping water on us, causing him to promptly rethink his decision. Near the end of the one hour fight, while tomatoes were scarce, and most resorted to slinging scraps of sauce scattered across the streets. The final cannon sounded, and the fight was over. The aftermath was s sight to see. The streets literally flowed with mid-calf high marinara. Assuming we couldn't get back on to the bus in our war-ridden condition, we sought out a nearby river to bathe our battle scars away. The epic fight had come and gone, and all I hadeft to show for it was a lousy t-shirt :p After arriving back in Barcelona, we took to our hostel, and got our first actual sleep in over 38 hours. The next morning, we took to the beach, to enjoy the Barcelona sun and scenery. I forgot how much I detested salt water. It was however fun, relaxing, and refreshing. The perfect way to send off to this introductory European city of mine. We hopped on a speed train to Madrid, which reached up to 300 km/h. It was nice to be able to see the landscape, with its many shallow mountains and plateaus. I also "enjoyed" a Spanish dubbed version of Vampire Academy. I honestly think not understanding what they were saying helped enjoy it more. Nevertheless, before I knew it, we had arrived in Madrid. To our surprise, when we reached our hostel, it was actually a hotel, which had an old, rustic feel. On the elevator up to our floor, Dylan and I had a panic moment. To begin with, the elevator itself was barely large enough for the two of us with our packs. Furthermore, there were signs everywhere in broken English with unclear instructions on how to operate the lift. Finally, when we arrived at our floor, it appeared we weren't level, and were stuck between floors. Regularly, when an elevator arrives at its destination, the door opens, and you would walk out. Well here, when the elevator doors opened, we were at a wall. After a small moment of panic, we came to the realization that the "wall" was actually another door to be opened. Crisis averted. After settling in to our hotel room, we set out to explore the Madrid night life. We made our way to Puerta del Sol, a busy central plaza where many street performers gathered. The first entertainment we encountered were some impressive break dancers. Next, we saw a magician who would wave around a hand gun every couple minutes. I couldn't help but think how that wouldn't fly at home. He would point this gun right in someone's face and motion them around with it! I waited for a good 10 minutes to see if the gun ever came into play with one of his tricks, but I grew bored and wandered. I next saw a strange costumed sparkled monster, dancing around. It's movements were so jagged and sharp, it was very disturbing. We quickly learned what else appeared around the plaza however, which were men and women handing out cards/tickets, trying to convince you to visit a certain bar or club. They were relentless. We must have screamed tourist, because they were like our paparazzi. We eventually learned you had to be strict and stern with them, and they would leave you alone. We also learned that the city gets a late start to its night, saving dinner for 10 or 11 pm, and staying out in the bars until 3 or 4 am. We travelled around trying to find a bar that was active and lively, eventually settling into one with a live cover band, playing pop/rock hits from the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's. We were having a good time, until the bartender tried to stiff Dylan on alcohol in his sangria. We called it a night, as we'd have a jam-packed itinerary the next day. The first stop for the next morning was Templo de Debod. It is an ancient Egyptian temple, but was forced to be relocated due to construction of a dam. It was gifted to Spain for their help in saving other Egyptian temples in the past. It was interesting to see a piece of Egyptian culture in Europe. Definitely unexpected. Afterwards, we headed over to the Reina Sofia Museum. This was easily the highlight of the day, and I felt like we could have spent the entire day inside of it. There was a lot of interesting modernist art on display, including original works from Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso, among others. Unfortunately, we had to rush our visit, as we had planned on getting to the Prado Museum for a certain time to take advantage of their free admission. Coming fresh right off the heels of the Reina Sofia however, it felt a little underwhelming. We put forward our due diligence, but headed out after an hour or so. Time was winding down, and we had a flight to catch. Spain was fun, but Greece is calling my name!

[davidhuzyk]

And so it begins! - EuroTrip 2015, Day 1 & 2: Barcelona

I can't really begging to put it into words. There's just something so fulfilling in seeing a plan come to fruition. 6 months of working two jobs, planning, saving, making life-changing alterations, all for this one trip. But here I am, in the middle of it! The first day had me leaving Toronto YYZ Pearson airport at 7:10 PM. We almost missed boarding our flight when my travel partner Dylan insisted on completing one last task of Canadian pride, and ordering the worlds longest poutine, only to scarf it down minutes before we touched off. I had the "genius" idea of getting very little sleep the night before, so that if purposely be more tired on the plane, so I could slip into a comatose state for the 7 hour direct flight. Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, that didn't go so well. The flight may not have brought me some zzz's, but it did have some great couscous and banana bread. We touched down in Barcelona at 8:30 AM. Dylan and I had planned out almost every aspect of our trip, but the one area we sort of glazed over was Spain. With nothing but adventure on our mind, we hopped on the nearest bus, and hoped for the best. Luckily, we were taken to the city downtown core, where we walked down the Las Ramblas. It is there most famous walking street, bustling with vendors, tourists, markets, and shops. Having been told of the high pickpocket theft that occurs in the city, we let our paranoia control us however, and booked it to our hostel, in the gothic area of town, where we could drop off our packs and enjoy the city worry-free. Now the city was our oyster! No shellfish allergies here, as we swiftly made the most of it. Wandering down to the docks, we glanced over the Mediterranean Sea, while taking in some of the sights, such as the Christopher Columbus monument, among others. We took in a quick view of a cathedral within the gothic quarter of the city. The name escapes me now, as you will soon see why. After getting some local food and treats (churro's and hot chocolate, anyone?), we set forth for the Sagrada Familia. I had always heard there was impressive architecture on Europe, but nothing could have prepared me for the monumental epic this was. My jaw was literally dropped the second I walked in and looked up. This truly is a marvel of the human race, and what we can accomplish. There are people churning out these putrid, sleazy reality television shows, perverting our perception on what life accomplishment can be, and then there are people like Antoni Gaudi aspiring to the highest of standards and excellence. The best part about our visit to this glorious cathedral was the timing; the sun was just hitting the stained glass windows on the side that an orange-red glow filled the entire room. There truly couldn't have been a movie that would have filmed it better. After resuscitating our lungs from having our breath taken away, we made our way over to Park Guell. Here, we found a lo of neat modernist displays, full of mosaic statues. The park sits atop Carmel Hill, so it has a beautiful view overlooking the city. It was at this point that my body could take no more. Having been awake for over 30 hours, I succumbed to the familiarity and the comfort of home, and found a Subway restaurant. No excuses, no regrets. It was delicious, and just the kick I needed to get back to the hostel for what would be a 3 hour "sleep" (nap), as we had to wake up early and catch our bus that will take us to La Tomatina in Bunol. Here, we will take place in the worlds largest tomato fight, with over 40,000 participants. It is on this bus ride I'm currently riding that I must bid you adieu, or better yet, as they say in Spain, adios!

[davidhuzyk]

“We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it.”

This year, more than any other, I’ve felt the overwhelming burden of “time” crushing down on me. This truly is a year of transition for me. To facilitate that change, preparation is needed. Along with preparation, comes work and effort, which in turn, requires time. 

You see, earlier this year I determined I was going to pursue many new life journeys. By the end of the year, I would move to downtown Toronto. I would start a new band, that would encompass all the best components from previous efforts, and push that full-heartedly. I also decided to join my friend on a life-changing adventure across Europe. In order to check this dream of mine off the proverbial bucket list, I needed to gain the funds required to do so. This meant taking on a second part-time job, on top of my full-time work. I was (and still am, for one more week) working 55+ hours, seven days a week. Randomly, in the middle of all this, I was asked to join another band, filling in the role of bass guitar, something I had never done before. This meant taking the time to learn and perfect a new instrument (though I use the term “perfect” loosely here). We recorded an EP and toured across Ontario & Quebec in support of it. Somewhere between all of that, I still found the time to see friends and family, go to concerts, explore new areas of Toronto, watch the latest movies & television shows, keep on top of my Youtube subscriptions, make it out to a wedding, and not get too rusty in my League of Legend skills (still silver league, what what!?). 

But what does that mean, I “found time”? Was it just floating out there in the atmosphere, waiting for me to come by and catch it with a net? Often, we’ll find ourselves saying “there’s no time”. But when you think about it, isn’t that all we really have? Is time? From the moment we are born, our internal clocks start ticking away. A persons future is undetermined. What will they become? Who will they meet? Where will they travel? Whose lives will be impacted by their presence? Only time can tell. But it won’t. At least not early. Like a proper movie reviewer, no spoilers are given. All we can do is simply wait and see; because at some point, our time will run out. That is the one true constant we can all count on. Hell, there are whole websites dedicated to reminding you of this fact. It may be grim, but that’s life. You only get so much time on this here rock we call Earth, so make due with it what you will. 

While things have been hectic these past few months, I can truly say I’ve been making the most of my time. There have been a few who may have not agreed, or have been irritated by my frenzied schedule.  “Why can’t we hang out? Why aren’t we jamming? Why don’t you make time to record?”  Make time... that’s another term that we use frequently, but when you think about it, doesn’t really make sense. How does one make time? What is the recipe? Shall I grab my apron and oven mitts, and whip me up an ‘ol bowl of creamed time? No, I simply do not have time for you. Not now at least. You see, there is one thing you can do with time, and that is waste it. There is too much I would like to accomplish in my lifetime for me to do that. I hope that those I choose to surround myself with can be happy for me that I’m pursuing new life dreams and experiences. They won’t be selfish or greedy. Those that really care about you know that at some point, their time will come. 

So, I’ll keep doing my part to ensure that I don’t “kill” time. Here’s hoping that some up-and-coming physicist discovers that time is actually a physical location, and locates the highway that allows us to travel through it. I mean, it is 2015, where is Doc Brown with our deloreans and hover boards?! Time is running out, BttF fans, make that shit happen! Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky, and cheat time, finding that someone special who can make it stand still. 

Only time will tell.

[davidhuzyk]

We are living in a right-handed world, and I’m a left handed girl (...er, boy).

I happen to be a pretty unique individual. 

“But David, everyone is unique in their own way!”

This is true. But I’m not talking about uniqueness that comes from having a special personality or skill set. I’m talking statistically. I come off more unique on paper. Did I say unique? Perhaps freakish is more like it ...Maybe anomaly is a better way to phrase it. You see, I happen to be red-haired. About 2% of the worlds population can claim that distinction. I also happen to have hazel eyes, which is a select stat that only around 7% of people belong to. I’m also anosmic. Wait, you don’t know what that means? No surprise there (even spellcheck is giving me the squiggly red line on that word). Anosmia is the term used for people who can’t smell, perhaps better known to some as being “nose-blind”. While there’s no hard statistics on this trait, a recent study by the Anosmia Foundation determined that 2 million Americans suffer from this condition (http://www.anosmiafoundation.com/suffer.shtml). Seeing as the USA has a population of around 319 million, extrapolating that data means roughly 0.6% of people share this burden with me. Taking all of this into consideration, I represent a special, specific selection of 0.0000084%. 

“Wow David, you weren’t kidding, you are a freak!”

Thanks. Of all these traits that set me apart however, nothing makes me feel more like an outcast than being left handed. Granted, this attribute isn’t as rare as the others, with around 10% of the populous identifying as dedicated south paws. This brings me to a more privileged percentage of 0.000000084%. Yikes! Given that the Earth passed 7 billion people a few years ago, that means there are roughly 5,880 people walking this planet with the same combination. That quite literally means I am 1 in a million (or 1.19 million to be exact, ladies ;). 

But being left handed comes with many downfalls. Unless you are a lefty, you may not realize how many obstacles we have to overcome on a daily basis. The most popular example of this is when writing. Whether it be with pencil or ink, lefties always run the risk of smudging the very text or image they freshly laid, as the edge of their palm swiftly scrapes across the page. It was not uncommon for me to leave a day of school with my handing looking like this:

The worst part is, there was no way to avoid this, without taking awkward measures. Either you had to master the technique of hover-hand writing, or you had to commit to the onslaught of insults that would ensue when you donned one of these pinky finger condom covers:

Speaking of school, do you understand the struggle we have to go through when it comes to desks?! Everything started out fine in elementary school. We would use those big, rectangular desks, with the storage area that allowed you to stuff all your neglected homework to the back, never to be seen again until the last day of school, when you would promptly throw it in the recycling bin, destined to never be finished. Then, in high school, the desks got smaller, with no storage area, but still maintaining their rectangular shape. Simple, but efficient. In university, however, is when the discrimination began. They made the desks even smaller, cutting away the entire left side, leaving only a rest for the eastern side of your upper body:

These desks are an abomination! I think everyone will agree with how cumbersome these can be, as they leave very little room for work. Imagine tackling this from the opposite side as the engineer intended. Well, writing is becoming a dated format anyways!  Everything is switching to a digital medium! How about using a computer for all your needs? Sure, sounds great, except there is only one problem with that. The common placement and ergonomic design of the mouse is for right handed people. We are basically forced into learning how to manipulate these discriminatory devices non-dominantly. 

“But David, why not just use it with your left hand?”

Have you ever seen someone try to use a mouse left handed?

You look like an ass-hat! Rather than having your entire contents of your workstation contained between your two upper appendages, you end up having the majority of the keyboard jetting out to the side. I guarantee if you walked past someone operating their computer like this, you’d give them the look. Yes, that look.

And don’t even get me started on playing guitar left handed! If I had known the anguish I’d encounter when I took up the ol’ axe, I would have reconsidered my dexterous stance. Walk into any music store, and you’re bound to see a wall like this:

Such beauty, such grace! It looks like a guitar players heaven! Except it’s more like my version of hell. Not a single guitar on that wall is left handed. This isn’t a one-off situation either; this is commonplace. I don’t get the luxury of simply choosing my guitar. No, I have to find my guitar. If, and that’s a big if, I happen to find my guitar, odds are it will be more expensive than its righty counterpart. Should I decide to take the plunge, and invest more of my dollars into this instrument, there also stands a good chance it will have some constructive flaws. Most guitar manufacturing assembly lines and builders aren’t set up and experienced with handling left handed parts, so they are, on average, put together a little “sloppier”. After all that, should you happen to find a guitar that suits you, and holds up to your quality standards, you better plan on bringing it everywhere with you, because you will never be able to borrow someone else’s guitar. At a gathering with all your closest friends? Perhaps its a summertime campfire. A perfect situation for some acoustic campfire songs. Only problem is, everyone is singing and slamming away on the right handed guitar Johnny brought. No chance you’ll be able to borrow that, unless you master the skill on inverting every chord and note, which is easier said than done (though not impossible). 

I think you start to understand what I’m getting at. Not to beat a dead horse, but you can see how much of a disadvantage we lefties have. Even something as simple as the flap access to zipping up your pants is designed with the right hand in mind (let me guess, you just checked ;) It’s difficult, because like many things people discriminate over, being left handed is not a choice. It’s something we’re born with. So if there’s one thing I can leave you with, it will be this:      Just because it isn’t right, doesn’t mean it’s wrong.