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i realized recently that podcasts have really limited my music listening during my commute, but i still found the time to squeeze in a ton of new music this year.

here are the best new albums i listened to in 2012 (although i’m sure a couple of 2011 releases slipped through the cracks):

1. mike o’neill – wild lines*
2. del bel – oneiric*
3. japandroids – celebration rock*
4. divine fits – a thing called divine fits*
5. metz – metz*
6. menomena – moms
7. camouflage nights – camouflage nights*
8. chrome and the ice queen – diane*
9. alabama shakes – boys & girls
10. papermaps – inferior ghost*
11. zeus – busting visions*
12. luke lalonde – rhythymnals*
13. ps i love you – death dreams*
14. joel plaskett emergency – scrappy happiness*
15. army girls – army girls*
16. ac newman – shut down the streets*
17. cuff the duke – union*
18. the xx – coexist
19. stars – the north*
20. the shins – port of morrow
21. black keys – el camino
22. cousin – cousin*
23. medallions – medallions*
24. white rabbits – milk famous
25. islands – a sleep & a forgetting*

*=canadian-ish release

i listened to mike o’neill’s album far more than anything else this year. if you haven’t heard it, you really should check it out.

i think it’s a sign that i’ve watched too much doctor who when i started wondering if this was a crack in space-time in my stairwell at work:

i regret to this day not buying this amazing pillow at ikea:

this online booking system at my doctor’s office reminds me that i’m clearly living in the future:

i’ve been looking for this place, but it keeps disappearing!

i think this is sadly my last visit to the legendary computer and hair salon:

incendies is about the least foreign movie i can imagine. thanks rogers video:

i’m going to guess there aren’t a lot of sports fans writing for healthy living moods magazine. MPV! MPV!

how will i know what kind of coffee to order, tim hortons?

just under the deadline, here are my lists of general awesomeness for 2011. if you were to ask me again in a month or two, the order would likely change, but the albums and songs probably wouldn’t change much.

favouritest albums
1. sports – sports
2. hooded fang – tosta mista
3. stephen malkmus & the jicks – mirror traffic
4. sloan – the double cross
5. bry webb – provider
6. timber timbre – creep on creepin’ on
7. papermaps – papermaps
8. radiohead – the king of limbs
9. laura peek – key
10. miracle fortress – was i the wave?
11. cuff the duke – morning comes
12. chad vangaalen – diaper island
13. wildlife – strike hard, young diamond
14. ruby coast – whatever this is
15. fruit bats – tripper
16. rural alberta advantage – departing
17. suuns – zeroes qc
18. memphis – here comes a city
19. st. vincent – strange mercy
20. destroyer – kaputt
21. cake – showroom of compassion
22. peter elkas – repeat offender
23. tigre benvie – mistiness
24. ohbijou – metal meets
25. hey rosetta! – seeds
26. the decemberists – the king is dead
27. braids – native speaker
28. the darcys – the darcys
29. dinosaur bones – my divider
30. josh rouse and the long vacations – josh rouse and the long vacations

favouritest songs
1. sports – tra la la
2. hooded fang – tosta mista
3. bry webb – asa / rivers of gold
4. sloan – follow the leader
5. chad vangaalen – replace me
6. miracle fortress – miscalculations
7. timber timbre – woman
8. laura peek – stay sharp
9. papermaps – reunion
10. radiohead – morning mr. magpie
11. cadence weapon – baby i’m yours (ft. shad)
12. stephen malkmus & the jicks – stick figures in love
13. wildlife – drunken heart
14. fruit bats – dolly
15. rural alberta advantage – stamp
16. memphis – what is this thing called?
17. ruby coast – whatever this is
18. st. vincent – surgeon
19. tiger benvie – black bolt
20. the dears – blood
21. cake – sick of you
22. suuns – gaze
23. olenka and the autumn lovers – odessa
24. destroyer – chinatown
25. graham wright – the lakes of alberta, pt. ii
26. mister heavenly – pineapple girl
27. dinosaur bones – ice hotels
28. peter elkas – tiny valentine
29. ohbijou – niagara
30. handsome furs – when i get back
31. the decemberists – calamity song
32. girls – honey bunny
33. hey rosetta! – young glass
34. sondre lerche – private caller
35. smith westerns – weekend

sigh, i’m always too late for everything.

i just got this email, and i feel obligated to post it:

Dear Robert,

My name is Candice and I promote content across the web. While searching for some resources, posts and pictures around cats and cat lovers, I came across your site and thought your readers would enjoy this cat infographic.

Many would consider cat paws to be nature’s masseuses, given the natural tendency of paw kneading. This infographic humorously illustrates some techniques you could teach your kitty cat to relieve some of those stress created knots.

The Guide to a Cat Massage [Infographic]

The link also provides the embed of the graphic, which ensures creative commons.

I hope your readers enjoy this graphic! If you have any questions regarding this infographic or any others, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,
Candice P.

candice p. knows me well. how can i NOT post this infographic? it even features animated cat paw kneading action!

Created by: Massage Therapy Schools

i’ve been fascinated by this “shop” in village on the grange for the last couple years – this photo doesn’t adequately capture the fact that it’s at most 2 feet deep:

how could they possibly be renovating it? how much do you suppose their rent is for this “space”?

quick, spot the design flaw:

one rainy day after work, a makeshift pen was set up in the park in front of my building. i started hearing people saying “baa” loudly, so i looked out my window and saw this:

i still don’t quite understand why people were pretending to be sheep. this, of course, culminated with these “sheep” getting shorn:

disturbing and weird. and hilarious.

politics aside, i’m unclear how putting this “pamphlet” under my door would make me vote green:

i obviously enjoy ted talks like many people, but i’m not sure of the message this is trying to send…except maybe that wasting paper to distribute a photocopied list of your bookmarks may not be the greenest thing you could do.

how did i neglect to buy this?