JetFuel Coffee

The first time I walked in, I almost walked out. I felt like the tool that asks "Who?" when someone mentions Lady Gaga. I was intimidated, embarrassed. The rock I had been living under before moving to the neighbourhood didn't seem to want to budge from the top of my head.

There was no menu board, no signs suspended from the ceiling. The espresso machine prominently displayed on the counter allowed me to hazard an order, fearing retribution from the hip-looking clientele if my order was too simple, too difficult, too plain, or too out-there.

"An Americano, please. For here."

I figured the espresso and hot water combination was permissible. The androgynous barista nodded; no verbal response was going to interrupt his/her singing-along to a Sloan song I assumed no one liked besides me.

"$2."

I like rounded, even numbers. I like exact change.

I like JetFuel. A lot.

The Cabbagetown fixture has been in business since 1992. The concept is simple and judging by the long lines I wait in during each visit, it works. The non-existent menu consists only of espresso-based drinks, lemonade, tea, and a small selection of baked goods that rarely last a whole day.

The crowd is diverse. Thanks to JetFuel's long association with cycling, including sponsoring its own team, it has a devoted legion of bike messengers. Orders often get announced by customer name; there are a lot of regulars.

20-somethings wearing wayfarers and plaid line the people-watching coffee bar. Moms who look more like just-past-their-hayday supermodels push strollers back and forth, lulling babies to sleep.

I belong to the student crowd, mouth-wide open catching flies between urgent swallows of caffeine and desperate typing, furiously banging out words for an essay.

My loyalty to JetFuel was cemented by a chance meeting it fostered last week. Banging out said words while chugging said coffee led to a conversation with the man sitting in front of me.

He asked for the time, I answered. "11:36."

He asked what I was working, I answered. "A feature piece on an abandoned ballroom."

45 minutes later, I had talked Sesame Street, journalism, and the American Civil war with Mr. Barry Brown - Pulitzer-price nominated journalist, screenwriter, and contributor to the Washington Times. We exchanged contact information. The green journalism student makes connection with big-time writer.

Could this have happened in a neighbourhood Starbucks? Maybe. But I like to think the JetFuel atmosphere - loud music, bare-bones menu, mish-mash of customers - was responsible for encouraging such an introduction.

B.B and I are meeting next week to discuss upcoming writing projects. Over Americanos, served in milkshake glasses, sitting at the people-watching coffee bar, listening to baristas belting out the words to a Stones song.

Spring fashion - not all Uggs with cutoffs and MC Hammer pants

With April showers come May flowers… and short sleeves, flip flops, and rising hemlines. Spring has arrived and so has its fashion, the good and the bad.

“Uggs with shorts.”

Danielle Tassone, a sales associate at Dekade, a clothing boutique in Aurora, Ontario, doesn’t even have to pause to think about what spring look she’s already hating.

“Ew. Just, ew.”

Sadaf Ghandehari, a 20-year-old receptionist who models her style after The Hills star Lauren Conrad, is also cursing some of the spring looks she’s seen since the warmer weather rolled in.

“The half-boots/half-sandals look is a tragedy,” she says. “I know people are indecisive, me included, but these are just hideous.”

Her grievances don’t end with the boot and sandal hybrid.

“Harem pants. Why? I’d rather not look like I pooped my pants,” Ghandehari adds. Then she pauses. “Am I allowed to say that?”

Spring fashion may be leaving some underwhelmed but Jaclyn Genovese wants you to know it ain’t all bad.

Genovese, owner of Toronto clothing store jacflash and current star of jaclife, a web series on slice.ca based on her store, is excited to wear a particular selection of pieces.

“My leather shorts, trenches, and dresses without tights,” says Genovese. “Open-toed shoes!”

Jacflash is also ready for spring, with the store's spring stock continuing to come in.

“You will see lots of beautiful cocktail dresses [and] beautiful and classic basics, as well as some ultimate going out gear,” she says.

Canada heads into battle with Facebook for a second time

Matt Gurney remembers the dawn of Facebook, when every user needed a valid university or college email address to sign up.

“It was a 20-something zone,” said Gurney, assistant comment editor for the National Post, in a phone interview on Tuesday.

“Every picture on there was of drunken parties and hook-ups,” he added. “But when they opened it up so that anyone could join, we cleaned up our profiles fast.”

Profile clean-up is something Facebook users have found themselves having to do since the social networking giant made some revisions to its default privacy settings in December. Users have complained that the new settings made their previously protected information visible and searchable.

The complaints have led Canada’s privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart to launch a second probe into Facebook’s privacy policies. Stoddart’s 2009 investigation resulted in the website changing some of its settings.

Gurney, still a Facebook user today, doesn’t think Facebook is solely to blame for what some users feel is an invasion of their privacy. He says users are accountable for what they choose to post online and for what privacy settings they implement.

“I’m a big believer in personal responsibility,” said Gurney. “If [what you post] comes back to bite you in the ass, that’s not Facebook’s fault.”

Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa professor and Toronto Star columnist, agrees that users have responsibilities.

“I don't think it infringes on privacy [because] users have choices,” said Geist via email. “But I do think it raises privacy concerns given that many users don't take advantage of the choices.”

So who will be victorious in the rematch of Stoddart and Facebook?

"Between the Canadian government and Facebook, Facebook will win," said Gurney. "Facebook has three times as many members as any political party has voters."

Out with the old, in with the [TBA]

According to popular blogger and New York University assistant professor Clay Shirky, we are in the midst of a revolution.

In a March 2009 blog posting Shirky writes about the dying-out of newspapers and the revolution it has spawned, as the industry looks for solutions and replacements. He points to the digital age as playing a large part in the death of print.

His conclusion? "No one experiment is going to replace what we are now losing with the demise of news on paper, but over time, the collection of new experiments that do work might give us the journalism we need."

Shane Shick, a print veteran turned full-time online editor at It World Canada, agrees. "There's not necessarily just going to be one replacement model," Shick said in a telephone interview.

Shick acknowledges that the newspaper industry has been handed an expiry date as the focus moves to online media. But he is wary of the transition.

"We have to be careful not to treat print as simply a receptacle for online content," said Shick. "Reading [a newspaper] can be a very serendipitous experience."

In the future, Shick hopes to see a balance between print and online mediums. He cites Monocle, a global briefing magazine and website, as a successful example of print and online working harmoniously.

Monocle, which has a circulation upwards of 150,000, costs approximately $10 per issue. Its archived web content is only available to paid subscribers.

StatsCan study identifies individuals at risk of becoming crime victims

Want to crime-proof yourself? Statistics Canada can show you how.

A study released last week by StatsCan, based on a 2004 General Social Survey, analyzes victimization trends according to age, gender, income, geography, and social habits. Based on the findings, the survey identifies who is at high and low risk of becoming a victim.

According to the survey results, single women who often go out at night are identified as being at high-risk for becoming victims of violent crime, which includes sexual assault and robbery.

At the low-risk end of the spectrum are people over the age of 55 and retirees, who experienced less than one per cent of violent crime in the 12 months prior to the 2004 survey.

If your income falls below $15000, if you're a student, and if you live in an urban area, your risk of becoming a victim increases. Your risk level also goes up if you are Aboriginal and if you regularly consume more than five alcoholic drinks on a single occasion in a one-month period.

These demographic factors correlate with victimization trends but StatsCan asserts that there is no relation between the factors and how often an individual has been victimized.

How to Look Good Naked Canada lacks pizazz of British edition

How to Look Good Naked Canada, the Canadian version of the hit British makeover show, premiered on W Network last week… Minus the sauciness that made the U.K edition must-see T.V.

The British version has been hosted by Gok Wan, a fashion stylist, since its 2006 premiere. Wan’s flamboyant personality and the show’s shameless tactics – underpinnings get torched and replaced with sexier versions – are part of the show’s continuing mass appeal and are what the Canadian adaptation is missing.

The show, which airs Tuesday nights at 10 p.m, has the same goals as its British counterpart. Instead of advising weight loss and cosmetic surgery, it leads female participants through activities meant to boost their confidence in how they look in the buff.

Despite having the same format, the Canadian edition fails to entertain to the same degree. Host Zain Meghji of eTalk fame lacks Wan’s zaniness and some of the amusing confidence-boosting exercises have been replaced with tips for viewers.

Not all is wrong with How to Look Good Naked Canada. Humour may have taken a backseat but fashion and beauty tips are easily applicable and viewers will be able to relate with the Canadian women featured in each episode.

Parliament proroguing results in reprimanding for Harper

Prime Minister Harper's announcement to prorogue Parliament is being met with mounting criticism.

Last week, news publication The Economist says Harper's decision to suspend Parliament was made in "naked self-interest."

Leaders before Harper have also prorogued Parliament, though for shorter periods of time. Past proroguments have also been made with less business to attend, according to The Economist. As of now, Parliament still has 36 bills to review.

The article does not hold back when critiquing Harper. It compares him to Gerald Ford and his inability to "walk and chew gum at the same time." It also suggests that the government system is not in good hands as long as it is led by Harper.

Parliament will reconvene on March 3, following the wrap-up of the Olympics.