I’m sure all our American readers are counting down the days until they can crack a Miller Lite, light some sparklers and celebrate Independence Day. Me too, except, being a Canadian, I don’t have to wait quite as long to do so…. and I will probably be sipping on something Molson over something Miller.

Up here in Canada we do our celebrating on July 1st. It’s Canada Day – our nation’s big, fat birthday – and it rocks. And being the nice neighbor that I am, I’m inviting you to party with us. If the fact that fabulous CollegeCandy writers Alex from Lakehead and Ness from Sheridan are Canadian isn’t reason enough, then here are 5 more.

1. Calling in sick to work because you’re too hungover from partying it up on the Fourth of July is totally suspicious.  Call in on July 2nd (which happens to be a Friday!) and no one will bat an eyelash.  Celebrating Canada Day means you can party straight through the weekend!

2. For anyone close to the 49th parallel and under 21, Canada is the place to be.  With a drinking age of 19 in most provinces (18 in Alberta and Quebec!) you can enjoy a drink on a sunny patio.  If you can’t make it North for a drink, raise a Caesar in celebration of Canada – this popular (and tasty) drink was created by a bartender in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta!

3. An all-Canadian playlist is a great reason to have a Canada Day party.  With the extremely talented Arcade Fire, Metric, Stars, Tokyo Police Club, The Weakerthans, and Feist reigning from Canada, there is so much CRTC approved music to rock out to on July 1.  Or if you’re more into the Top 40 stuff, who better to dance to at the club than Drake, Nelly Furtado and J.Biebs.

4. Celebrate Canada day with some fine Canadian cuisine.  We have poutine, elephant ears, ginger beef, Montreal smoked meat, Montreal bagels, Nanaimo bars, Shreddies, Coffee Crisps, Timbits, and pretty much any ethnic cuisine you could possibly want available.  And made on a cart if you’re in Toronto.  Though we can’t seem to agree on a National dish, there are plenty of tasty treats we can all identify with.

5. Because we’re probably the friendliest neighbour you could possibly have.  And you know what good neighbours do?  They invite you over when they’re having a party and maybe, just maybe even hand you a nice, cold beer.

And maybe a restraining order or two.

But it’s worth it to highlight fresh, unique wardrobe choices that show personality and the courage to wear what you believe in. You think you've got some major style? Know someone else who's always looking ferosh? Think the world needs to see what she can do?  Send us an email with some photos and she could be the next fashionista celebrated right here.]

What is Thompson Rivers University?
Where is Thompson Rivers University?

To tell you the truth, I have no idea. (Without some Wikipedia, of course.) All I know is that a very creative and fashionable girl named Kimberly works that campus like a runway. She recently sent us an email asking that we “expand our [Campus Couture] idea and take a look at a student from Canada!” (So that’s where TRU is!) Little did Kimberly know, we’ve been featuring same Canucks all along, but after looking at her pictures I figured we could add another to the list; those Canadians have some great style.

Kimberly “takes great pride in her clothes” and while I don’t know her from some other hockey lovin’ Canadian, that is obvious in the unique mix of textures, colors and styles she has pulled together here. Way to go, Kimberly. You represent Canada well, girlfriend!

Name: Kimberly Wareing
Year: Freshman
Program: BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration)

1. Describe your personal style.
I always love to dress up! In high school I was named best dressed in my senior year, but I know it’s because I took risks with all my clothes. I wasn’t afraid to stand out. I try to be unique in what I wear and tie in color and odd pieces to make the outfit different. Cardigans are my weakness for sure, but I still love my dresses…

2. Finish this sentence: I can’t leave the house without…
My Liz Clairborne purse, Hurley hat and any boots.

3. What’s your favorite store to shop at?
Urban Behavior and Forever 21.

4. Who has the biggest influence on your style?
Myself mostly, and Sophia Bush/Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill.

5. What’s your favorite trend, past or present?
Tights and big bags!

On Kimberly:
Hat: Hurley
Necklace: Great-Grandma’s
Cardigan: Urban Behavior
Skirt: Off The Wall
Tights: Urban Behavior
Boots: Urban Planet

[A special thanks to Kim and all of our friends to the North for checkin' us out! Oh Canada....]

With the Winter Olympics in full swing, all of the world’s attention is focused on Canada. And in addition to figure skating and snowboarding and skeleton (?!) a new Olympic sport has arisen—one that we plebeians can play from our couches!

I like to call it “Canadian CelebSpotting.”

All of a sudden, celebrities are coming out of the woodwork to display their native Canadian pride, and they’re popping up in travel advertisements, Today Show interviews, and in the audience at Olympic events. In addition to well-known Canadians such as Nelly Furtado and Celine Dion, check out which other personalities (should) know all the words to “O Canada!”

Pamela Anderson
From: British Columbia
Famous for: Baywatch, being a babe, boobs
Canadian fun fact: Pam was famous from the day she was born! She was celebrated for being the first baby born in British Columbia on Canada’s Centennial Day back in 1967.

Justin Bieber
From: Ontario
Famous for: Being a YouTube singing sensation
Canadian fun fact: His debut album, “My World,” first went platinum in Canada before exploding in the United States.

Jay Manuel
From: Ontario
Famous for: Being the sassy, silver-coifed guide on America’s Next Top Model.
Canadian fun fact: If you can’t get enough of the fierce fashion on ANTM, catch Jay as the host of sister program Canada’s Next Top Model.

Rachel McAdams
From: Ontario
Famous for:  Mean Girls, The Notebook, Ryan Gosling
On being a famous Canadian: “When you live in a small town in the middle of Ontario, it would have been too big of a dream to say you want to go to Hollywood. But, secretly, I think I always knew. When I was young, I was a figure skater, and every year there was an ice carnival. I lived for the carnival.

Eric McCormack
From: Ontario
Famous for: Will & Grace
Canadian fun fact: Once sang both “Oh Canada” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a hockey game in Minnesota.

Ellen Page
From: Nova Scotia
Famous for: Juno, Whip It
On what she won’t do on film, but back home: I’m no prude and I love to skinny-dip. But you’re vulnerable when you’re in a movie, versus at a lake in Nova Scotia.

Kiefer Sutherland
From: Born in London to Canadian parents, but raised almost entirely in Ontario
Famous for: 24
Canadian fun fact: Grandfather Tommy Douglas is credited with bringing universal healthcare to Canada.

Today, July 1st, Canadians and the people who love them (yes, lots of people love Canadians!) are celebrating Canada Day, an annual federal holiday commemorating Canada’s “birthday” in 1867. Since then, Canada has contributed a whole lot to the world in the realms of science, hotties, entertainment, hotties, cuisine, hotties, pop culture, and more (hotties). Here is but a brief list of things to love from our northern neighbor. Enjoy it, eh?

Any place that can claim Kiefer, Keanu, Gosling AND instant mashed potatoes as their own has our respect. Canada, CollegeCandy salutes you!

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2009/07/01/16-reasons-to-love-canada/feed/ 3 Marisa - Wesleyan University canada intro instant mashed potatoes ryan-gosling laysketchupchips trivial pursuit zipper imax keanu_reeves_108 canada_dry tommy chong roller skates basketball_thumb 5 pin bowling kiefer-sutherland-jail McIntoshapples celine_dion http://collegecandy.com/2009/02/09/the-city-flannel-is-not-ok-attire-for-an-ues-event/ http://collegecandy.com/2009/02/09/the-city-flannel-is-not-ok-attire-for-an-ues-event/#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:03:33 +0000 Lauren - University of Michigan http://www.collegecandy.com/buzz/16739

Ok, tonight’s episode of The City was….good. Really good. Chock full of the drama that I have come to expect from the MTV not-so-reality shows. It was so good, in fact, that it actually made me excited to watch next week. And if you’ve been following my recaps you will know that is saying a lot.

What made it so good? Well, for one, JR. He’s not so cute when he smiles, but he does seem to be the only …

Ok, tonight’s episode of The City was….good. Really good. Chock full of the drama that I have come to expect from the MTV not-so-reality shows. It was so good, in fact, that it actually made me excited to watch next week. And if you’ve been following my recaps you will know that is saying a lot.

What made it so good? Well, for one, JR. He’s not so cute when he smiles, but he does seem to be the only real person on the show. And by “real” I mean “someone who leaves SoHo/Grammercy once in awhile and has a real job.” He’s totally smitten with Erin and her I-totally-just-smoked-a-ton-of-pot vibe and wines and dines her in attempts to woo her back.

Meanwhile Erin is telling anyone who will listen (even in the middle of a concert) that she is falling for him and even goes as far as telling the girl with the nose (Samantha?) that she just can’t make the whole long distance thing with her Canadian lover work.

Um, what? Isn’t long distance the only way to like it? Isn’t that the only type of relationship you’ve ever had? Make up your mind, Erin. You can’t change your mind every time it suits you! If that were the case then I’d be living in the Caribbean with a hot island boyfriend…but only until something better came along back here.Not that it matters anyway, because 5 seconds later the girl is changing her mind…again; she breaks JR’s little heart and ruins his break from work by crying and telling him she can’t see him anymore.  Poor guy can’t catch a break. Although, if he’s reading this, he can totes call me. I don’t smoke pot or “soul search” but I think I’m pretty awesome. I can even get you references!

Sorry – just trying to get me a Valentine before Saturday.

While we were not following the lust-life of Erin, the rest of the episode was devoted to Jay’s fun little band. Isn’t it great that we saw more of his performance than Whitney did? Good thing we don’t have some princessy little friend who needs to swap her one DVF jacket for the other and make us late for the show! Although that is probably more exciting than our leftover takeout after the gym, which is pretty much every Monday night around here.

After the first Jay show, Whitney thinks that Olivia felt bad for making her late and that’s why she got Jay the second gig, at the snooty party. Us smart (or more realistic) folks know, however, that Ms. Palermo is a real-life Blair Waldorf who always has a motive….Or MTV told her to get Jay the gig.

She and Nevan (who Jay keeps calling Bevan for some reason…) end up spending the night bad mouthing the band and then get all huffy when Whitney and Jay leave without saying goodbye.

Her reasoning? They didn’t dress up for the event.

Now, I’d just like to say that I see a lot of myself in Olivia and Nevan. Not so much the “I’m better than everyone” BS, but the fact that we all seem to be the type of people that are just divine to those who are on our good sides, but you wouldn’t want to be on the other side. That being said, I would like to do some horrible, awful things to Olivia Palermo.

After Olivia asks Whitney what she thought of the event, to which Whitney defended herself, Olivia holds up her anorexic hand and shoves Whit back into her place.

“We should just keep our work lives and personal lives separate.” [Evil glare.]

Seriously, if I had the money to get to NY, I would take that Louboutin stiletto of hers and shove it where it hurts… Or just rub it in Butler’s crap and wipe it across her pristine white couch. How’s that for drama, MTV? Huh?

Great episode. Great drama. Great pudding and chocolate chip cookies I noshed on during the ep. Can’t wait for next week and I can’t believe I’m saying that.

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On Saved by the Bell, Elizabeth Berkley gained pre-Showgirls notoriety, for the famous Jessie Spano Caffeine Pill Breakdown (I’m so excited! I’m so scared!). Of course, Full House and SBTB were heart-warming sitcoms, where everyone learns their lesson in the end, and move away from their self-destructive behavior, never to mention anorexia, bullimia, or drug abuse ever again.

The breakout Canadian teen sensation, Degrassi, which airs in the US on The N network, covers a variety of teen issues, without the cavity-inducing sugary sweetness of the stuff we grew up on. Among the kids who dabble in drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and bi-polar disorder, Degrassi introduced the world to Ellie Nash, who is a cutter.

I’m too old for Degrassi, but I don’t care. I’m pretty much obsessed with it. The best part about the show is that it doesn’t sweep the issues under the rug at the end of each 22-minute episode. And because the writers have the balls to “Go There.” I mean, come on: we all know the caffeine-pill incident was a stand-in for a harder drug, like speed or something, but hard drugs don’t exist at Bayside High.

I remember when the cutting craze swept my middle school. I have no idea who started it, or why it caught on, but at my school, cutting was the iPhone of the late 90′s. Everybody did it. How sick is that? Needless to say, I went through a period of self-mutilation. Before I explain, let me insist that hurting yourself is completely different from, say, suicidal tendencies. I didn’t want to die; I just wanted an outlet to relieve stress. So, when I got upset about some stupid middle-school-drama, I would sit in my room and make little cuts on my wrists or abdomen.

I know, this habit is totally lame, and morbid, and… did I mention lame? And that’s why I stopped; it was embarrassing to have to wear chunky bracelets or long sleeved shirts in the summer. When people asked what happened, I had to make up stupid excuses, and try not to look like a pseudo-goth psychopath. The “trend” at my school faded away along with flared jeans and Chumbawumba, and I grew out of my own habit.

But, there’s still a part of me that gets the urge to cut from time to time. Even though I am way to old to be relating to a fictional character like Ellie Nash, there was an episode where Ellie explains to some other troubled teen that her urge to cut is something she has to live with, not something that will go away. If I’m pissed off after a bad day at work, or stressed about an exam, sometimes I have the urge to hurt myself. It’s almost like craving a cigarette. Of course, I have healthier outlets to relieve stress, e.g. the Elliptical machine at the Y.

So, for whatever reason, cutting has been around for some time, and it is most likely to occur in teenage girls. Many of them will grow out of it, like I did, but there are cases when the habit can snowball and lead to serious outcomes. I think that shows like Degrassi do a better justice to the trials and tribulations of growing up, because we can’t all have a Zack Morris run into our bedroom and throw our problems on the floor.

I’ve talked about American Apparel before. Those ads that look like porn with bad lighting? Those models who may or may not be underage but who are definitely bored and affected?Well, it gets better.

A contributor for Jezebel (one of the funniest gossip sites out there) recently wrote about her experience working at the enigma that is A. Apparel, proving that it’s not just their ads that are pretensions and strange.

“I thought cocaine was kind of scandalous when I started working at American Apparel. And so I naturally found it kind of scandalous that a major coke dealer actually served as a kind of informal HR chief for many of the American Apparel stores in New York.” The Jezebel story begins, going on to explain about the monstrosity that is Dov Charney—the Canadian founder of A.A.

Stories that Charney “masturbated in front of a reporter, berated girls for not finding him hot enough “pussy” with which to staff his stores, [and] took certain female retail employees as glorified concubines whom he would house in special American Apparel apartments and whose shitty retail wages he would subsidize with special allowances” were all apparently true, as well as his famously annoying voice, which was “shrill and weird and babyish.”

A sex addict with a baby voice who’s also an asshole? Sounds like he could be in the running for one of the worst bosses in the history of retail. Or the world.

When there’s a disgusting idiot helming a company who says things like “It is imperative that the people who wear our clothes are really attractive, vain hipsters, and any priority they exhibit that runs counter to looking really awesome should be a warning sign that maybe they should not work here”, it’s not hard to see why A. Apparel is so ridiculous.

I mean, how can a place have good energy if “vain hipsters” who don’t care about anything except “looking awesome” run things? Sure, the chain is successful, but someday (and someday soon) short shorts for guys and gold bodysuits for girls are going to go out of style.

And nobody will care. Except the people who have closets full of them. They might cry.

Oh, and PS? If you’re ever going to take a journey inside A.A (say perhaps, for Halloween? Which is the only reason I’ve ever gotten close to the Mecca of attitude), make sure to wear earplugs. Unless you really dig booming electropop by artists you’re not cool enough to know.

Like the people surrounding it, the music at American Apparel leaves much to be desired.