1. Douglas Coupland is badass. He’s an author, a designer, and now an inventor?! Yep, he’s creating ideas that could revolutionize the streetscapes of Vancouver, and many more cities in the future. Check out the NP article on his design for the “V-Pole”.

2. Goop’s guide to the perfect blowdry. Anyone else a fan of Gwenyth Paltrow’s goop? I really loved the latest e-delivery of some great tips on hiar styling. Here’s how to get the best blowdry.

3. Live the Life you love, Love the Life you Live. That’s all.

4. The evolution of technology. Yep.

5. Infographic: Who spends more on a date? Well, it may surprise you, but even if the man is picking up the tab, women seem to spend more on pre-date “prep”. Dating is expensive, y’all! (PS – I had no idea one dozen roses were so expensive.)

Here’s what’s up this week:

1. Trivia, Google style. I love trivia, random facts and information a lot. So it’s natural that I think A Google A Day is the cat’s pyjamas! Basically, it’s a daily info hunt through google that’s timed. Check it out, and see how fast you can find information on the net! (And, learn cool things, too!).

2. A cool website: What’s Missing. This is a project run by Bloomberg, and is a visualization of things that are going/have gone extinct. A simple and scary reflection on reality.

3. Wages for College grads. The chart really says it all, very bleakly.

4. You’ve met the metrosexual, but have you heard of the datasexual? Loving the coinage of this new term, which is very apt for the times. Read this article and I know you’ll be able to pick out a few among those that you know on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or heck, maybe just in real life.

5. Born & Raised, new music from John Mayer. I’ve loved JM since he rose to fame in the early 2000′s, and like most musicians, he’s evolved over time. I loved when he did the trio, but I was a bit wary of this new “Montana” look he’s been rocking, as well as the promise of a more folk / country inspired record. But, good news! I’m loving the new tunes, which I’ve been streaming through itunes at work for the past few days as there is a pre-release stream available. Worth a listen, in my opinion.

I’m not loving the look, John.

And, a quick bonus clip of JM talking the Bachelor/reality TV with Ellen. 1:00 is EXACTLY what I’m always wondering about reality TV production!

1. Why we don’t walk anymore. Gosh, I’ve been reading a lot about our evolutionary trends / food & diet / health lately, and I’ve really been enjoying Mark Sisson’s blog. Check out his post on the average number of steps we take per day, and how many more we really should be taking. Hint: it’s not that hard, but it does require some effort.

(PS: Did I mention that the weather has been nice in Halifax? Really, there are no excuses to not get out and use those two feet and a heartbeat!)

2. This comic = my life. Thanks to  a reader who pointed me to this comic. It pretty much justifies my abundant energy for new (to me) exciting things. I like to think that we all have these moments in our own ways every day. (Riiiight?)

3. SNL’s 100th Digital Short. It’s time to celebrate! You’ll have to watch the clip to see how the boys decided to celebrate though. If you like any of the following, you’ll enjoy Saturday night’s 100th digital short: Justin Bieber, Shy Ronnie, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, Justin Timberlake, musicals, Andy Samberg, John Hamm as “Sergio”, and just general silliness. It was awesome.

View it here.

4. Roasted Red Peppers. They don’t just have to come from a jar, folks. I eat a ton of red peppers, as they are one of the few veggies I am able to eat (another story for another time), and I love roasted red peppers. It’s about time I learned how to do it on the cheap. So, after a few youtube videos and some googling, I decided to roast my own. Try it! It’s super easy, and delicious. Pro tip – Once your peppers are out of the oven, move them to a tupperware and seal until cooled. The steaming will help the skins peel off easy-peasy.

This is a long video, but I liked his method:

5. This wine chilling tip rocks. 

I’ve been on a quest to learn how to drive a standard car for almost a year now. My younger brother, a standard car owner, has been nice enough to teach me on his car and over time, I’ve learned how to do the basics in a parking lot, tried out country roads, and most recently, I’ve started to get comfortable with stopping and starting all over town.

Here’s the thing: I’m still terrified to see any other vehicles on the road.

Yeah, I know, it’s gonna happen. Other people do have cars and do like to get from point A to B, too.

But I dread anyone witnessing me stalling out. It’s mortifying.

So a few weekends ago, bro and I headed out into a residential area with the express intent to get me more comfortable with the “real” road.

I started slow, winding around empty residential streets, and was feeling pretty good.

Until a truck came up behind me.

I avoided stopping by veering left and right until I was confronted with the truth: either I have to stop in front of the dude and risk stalling out, or hope and pray he turns off at the next possible opportunity.

Lucky for me, dude went right when I went left.

Phew!

Not so lucky for me, I turned onto a steep incline and wasn’t able to shift gears on the hill.

I got stuck halfway up.

Left foot on the clutch, right foot on the break.

Palms sweating, knees knocking.

Brother laughing.

I tried getting up the hill with a bit of gas and a release of the clutch, but to no avail.

The engine started to, uh, smell.

Oops.

Brother still laughing.

Ten minutes later, I was in the same spot, perhaps a few inches backwards.

Frustrated and panicked, I didn’t know how to get up, and bro wasn’t giving away any hints.

This is where my stubborn need to finish what I started kicks in, matched only by the fear of wrecking the car.

(The smell of the engine lingered.)

So I made a decision.

I like to think that I found a creative solution, but I think the more accurate answer is that fear won out.

I rolled that car all the way back down the hill backwards and drove on in the other (flat) direction.

Ha!

I did give up on the hill, but not on the entire afternoon.

I drove all the way home, but according to my affable instructor I did stall a total of 17 times that day.

Next time it’ll be less, I am sure of it.

2. [website] The Burning House. What would you take with you if your house was on fire? This site shows visual displays of people’s choices. For me, I’d grab my laptop, old journals, and a painting my grandfather did.

3. [video] This awesome promotion. Just watch.

4. [musical] La Cage aux Folles at Neptune. Saw this performance this past week, and I really enjoyed it. This musical was the source of inspiration for the movie The Birdcage and has lots of laughs – the drag outfits and dancers were worth the ticket price alone! Check it out.

5. [tv show] Departures. I’m probably three years behind on this, but MAN OH MAN this show is cool. Have you seen it? I’m obsessed with the DVD’s right now, and I’m convinced that if I can’t be doing cool travel vacations right now, this is probably the next best thing.