David J. Widmann

“Once you get there, you realize it’s not that big of a deal,” says jazz musician Brenda Earle about making the move to New York City.  “When I was living in Toronto, the idea of moving here seemed like this huge ordeal.  There’s a lot of lore that goes along with being in New York.  Believe it or not, the hardest thing was becoming legal to work here.”

The thought of an artist moving to NYC conjures a hackneyed story of the misunderstood soul waiting tables and facing a battalion of rejections while on a journey to “find herself.”

Not Ms. Earle.

Possessing drive and focus equal to her skill at the piano, Brenda hit the ground running when she moved to The Big Apple in 2001.  She has been working on an off-Broadway production of Golf: The Musical, earning her Master’s degree, teaching and gigging around town.  Through all this, she managed to produce, record and release two solo albums in 2003.

The first, I Take Requests, which came out in the spring, is a collection of standards and pop tunes interpreted for a jazz quartet.  Many of the songs came from her days working as an entertainer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

“It’s a really fun gig,” she says.  “There was a major learning curve. I had told the cruise line that I was a solo performer, I knew all these pop tunes, and I was a great piano bar entertainer.  I had never done it before.  I just lied to them.  I figured I had enough musical know-it-all that I could figure it out as I went along.”

All She Needs, released this fall, showcases some of Brenda’s own songwriting.  Both CDs are vehicles for Brenda’s expressive voice and piano stylings.  She does admit that although she loves the traditional jazz she has grown up with, she’s ready to move into new territory.

“The music I’m writing now is more compositional,” she explains.  “I’m experimenting with more complex harmonies and with lyrical material that deals with issues different from the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl kind of stuff that I usually write about.

Brenda credits her new direction, and the 25 songs she has written since the release of All She Needs, to the collaborative atmosphere she found among her fellow Master’s students in New York.

“I’m surrounded by a lot of people who are in a similar age group who are dalso in a development phase,” she says.  “There’s a constant state of motion.  People go to a jam session and bring in brand new music that we’re all kind of developing as a group.  It’s a unique situation to be in.”

When asked how she survives the pace she’s found herself keeping in New York, Brenda speaks about the connection she feels to the music that has been her life since her first piano lessons at the age of 4.

“I have a lot of friends right now who are the same age as me and have really comfortable lives living in nice houses,” she says.  “They’re married, they have children and health insurance and all that other good stuff.  In order to be an artist, you have to really want what you’re doing and really love it.  It’s when you can actually block out what’s going on in the world and concentrate on what’s going on in front of you.  It’s an amazing thing, getting into that zone.”

More can be found at www.brendaearle.com

The Underground Gift Economy

It started in Tucson, Arizona in May of 2003 as a way to stop pristine desert land from becoming landfill.  In a year and a half, it has spread to over 1600 cities in 30 countries.

The Freecycle Network (http://www. freecycle.org) is a place where hundreds of thousands of people connect to get what they have to the people who need it.

Here’s how it works: let’s say you’ve got something you don’t need, perhaps a broken VCR.  You’ve decided that rather than going through the hassle of fixing it, you’re just going to get rid of it.  Instead of pitching it in the trash, you offer it up on your local Freecycle list.  Someone else on the list sees your offer, figures they can put your old  VCR to some use, and arranges a pickup.  It’s that simple.

The Toronto Freecycle list (http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycleto) started in November of 2003.  Since then, the list has grown to over 1900 members offering items from kitchen utensils to building materials.

“I think perhaps the strangest item was a pile of dirt,” says Andrew Beatty, moderator of the local Freecycle group.  “Someone had a pile of dirt up for offer, and it was taken.  On the Toronto site, items have ranged from the mundane, such as ink cartridges, books and magazines, to the amazing, like washers, dryers, stoves and televisions.  Someone was also looking for a rubber stopper for a piggy bank.  I thought that was amusing.”

Beatty first heard about Freecycling while working in South Korea.
“Salon.com wrote a fantastic article about this movement, and I found the idea so fascinating that I researched it further,” he says.
Beatty says he was surprised to find that, when he looked into it, there was no Toronto node of this worldwide network.

“After looking at the main Freecycling site, I noticed that there were a few other Canadian cities with several members, but no one had opened a Toronto chapter.  I decided that the biggest city in Canada certainly should be involved in such a worthy and simple idea.  If nobody else was going to do it, I certainly could.”

“Freecycle is faster and less work than a garage sale,” Kathie Weiss-Lefebvre, an ardent Freecycler, says.  “You don’t get any cash for your efforts, just the joy of seeing the new owner take away the item with thanks.

“It is about the fluidity of ownership of so many objects in our lives,” she continues.  “Our needs change, interests change, children grow, households  change location and composition.  Our possessions change with these changes.”

Weiss-Lefebvre also enjoys the ease of Freecycling over other methods for getting rid of unwanted stuff.

“Selling things and finding places to donate things takes time, space, and expertise that not everyone has,” she explains.  “Freecycle is less anonymous than selling used goods on consignment or donating used goods to a charitable organization that either sells or gives the item to someone in need of  it.  Barter is less anonymous, but has limitations.”

“Reusing items is one of the most effective ways to help the environment,” Beatty says.  “Not only does it keep waste out of landfills, but it also lessens the impact of mass consumption and commercialization that are byproducts of our society.

“The interpersonal aspect of the movement, especially in larger urban areas like Toronto, is as beneficial as the environmental aspects,” Beatty continues.  “It gives strangers a chance to meet, touch each others lives, and basically generate goodwill and friendliness.  We see thousands of people every day in Toronto, but probably we do not get a chance to connect with many of them positively.”

Adding to the social aspect of Freecycling is a monthly meet-up (http://freecycle.meetup.com/15) that lets group members chat face-to-face with people who would otherwise be names on an email list.

Beatty points out that it’s not just individuals who benefit from the act of Free-cycling.  Non-profit organizations also use the network to find things they need to keep going.

“There are actually a few different animal shelters that are members of the group.  I have seen a few postings from them requesting items.  Freecyclers are usually asked to offer items to charities first, although no one is required to do this.  It is just a general guideline.”

New members with a variety of different items and needs join Toronto Freecycle every day.  Whether you need a new set of shelves for the garage or you’ve inherited some canning jars you’ll never use, sooner or later you’ll find someone who has what you need or needs what you have.

“Our first gig was in April 2002, and since then we’ve travelled Canada three times over,” says Keith Maurik, rhythm guitarist for Toronto five-piece Maximum RNR. “We put out a seven-inch every time. This time we put out the six-song CD instead of the seven-inch. We got a lot of mileage off those six songs.”

Maurik has also gotten a lot of mileage out of his van, learning that when you’re a rock and roll band touring the country, you’re fair game for bored traffic cops along the Trans Canada Highway.

“We’re pretty fucking unlucky when it comes to cops,” he says. “We don’t speed, because we know if they can see us coming along, we’re pulled over for no reason. The second time we were going out west, we were doing the drive to Thunder Bay. It’s such a long drive, and the dudes in the back were like: ‘Fuck man, I’m going to have a beer.’ I’m like: ‘Yeah, whatever, go for it.’ We get pulled over. The first thing the cops ask me is how much I’ve had to drink. I’m wondering why, and then it hits me. The whole van reeks of booze because of the guys in the back. They were fucking loaded. The cops pulled us out of the van, and all the empties fell out. They started grilling us about drugs and shit. Our drummer, who has never done drugs in his life, took over at that point and said: ‘Drugs, what drugs? We’re a beer-drinkin’ band. We don’t do drugs.’ We all just nodded. I had a half-ounce of pot on me, so I stayed quiet.”

“Anyway, we got a $215 ticket for illegal conveyance, or whatever they call it. Open liquor. I paid it off, then got the cheque back with a little note saying the ticketing officer had never submitted the ticket. We got off. It was crazy.”

That van has also served as home for Maurik, lead guitarist Keith Carman, vocalist Louie Durand, bassist Mike Sydney and drummer Mike Childs for those long tours. Maurik says that bunking out the van so they can get sleep on the road has helped Maximum RNR juggle the demands of touring and day jobs.

“Sleeping in the van is a little hard, but if you’re tired enough or drunk enough you’ll pass out,” Maurik says. “Many a time, we’ve driven to Halifax and back to Toronto all through the night Saturday, and all day Sunday to show up Monday morning at 9:30 and go straight to work. We’ve done that quite a few times. Our singer Louie used to work on weekends at 7:00 in the morning. Often, we’d dump him off at work right after a gig.”

“It’s been a long, steady grind,” says Maurik about the progress of his band. “It seems to be growing organically, like a cottage industry. We’re having to put in less and less money. At first, you have to buy a van, get your instruments, blah, blah, blah. Once we had the merchandise going and the releases coming, money started coming back.”

This is why Maximum RNR has opted to put off shopping around for a major label deal for the time being.

“I don’t want to be distributed by Universal,” Maurik says. “I don’t want the stigma that’s attached to that.”

If you’re looking to catch some ear-splitting, heart-pounding, whirlwind rock and roll any time soon, check out Maximum RNR’s web site (http://www.maximumrnr.com) for upcoming shows.

Jagermeister, vodka, deviant behaviour, Spongebob, secret devil signs, vandalism, pyrophilia, projectile vomit, detox, assault, black-outs, sex, drugs and, of course, rock and roll. Toronto’s Fresh Meat is not a band that lets something as trivial as day jobs diminish the intensity of a punk-rock lifestyle.

“My audition for the band was, like, ‘first you play and then you have to see if you can keep up with us drinking,’” says bassist Scooter, recovering from the night before on the patio of Tortilla Flats. “I said ‘what are you talking about? You’ve got to see if you can keep up with me!’ I woke up at my parents house not knowing how I got there. I got out of going to the drunk tank because the cops took me to the hospital instead.”

And so began the legend that is Fresh Meat. Talking to Scooter, guitarist/vocalist Tina, and guitarist Jesse (George, the band’s drummer, was… indisposed and couldn’t make it to the interview), it’s hard to believe these guys have only been together for a little over a year. They’re not only bandmates and partners in crime, but close friends who can’t get enough of cracking each other up with stories of past exploits. Well, the stories they can remember anyway.

“We signed a contract saying we wouldn’t drink until further notice,” Tina says. “We didn’t drink for a whole week, and then Scooter called and said he was having a beer.”

“We also signed a contract saying we wouldn’t make out anymore,” Scooter adds. Although Tina insists that they haven’t made out anyway, Scooter says: “According to the staff at the Big Bop and the Zen Lounge, we were making out a lot. Apparently I make out with people when I’m drunk.”

“So do I,” says Jesse. This elicits peals of laughter from the group.

“You have to keep me and Jesse drunk away from each other,” says Scooter. “Bad things will happen.”

“I’d want pictures,” Tina laughs.

But beneath the endless stories of alcohol, misdemeanour charges and hospitalizations lies a band that kicks ass on stage. On June 7th, part of the Meaty Monday showcase the band hosts on the first Monday of every month at Kathedral, Fresh Meat displayed all the intensity and charisma in their performance as they do in real life. This band signals hope for a Toronto live-music scene that has been languishing for years. If there’s one band that’s going to break the scene open and get people out to see rock shows again, Fresh Meat’ll be it.

For more information, check out http://www.thisisfreshmeat.com.

After a spate of terrorist attacks, conspiracy web sites and Michael Moore films, the secret organization that really runs things in this world – the Illuminati – has been blamed for everything from the rising cost of bottled water to George W. Bush’s choice of shirt-and-tie combos. As any multinational organization hell bent on world domination knows, reputation is everything.

“Their marketing team wanted to improve their world image by sending out a kickass rock and roll band,” says bassist Nick Sewell.

Sewell and guitarist Les Godfrey were the nucleus of Toronto garage-metal sensations Tchort. The duo didn’t languish between projects looking for creative “vision” as many musicians do after the breakup of a successful band. After the dissolution of Tchort, The Illuminati hit the ground running.

“Our last show with the old band was August 28,” Sewell says, “and our first show as Illuminati was 6 days later. We opened for Danko Jones in Kingston.”

The Illuminati have since opened for such big-name international acts as Andrew W.K., Nashville Pussy, The Darkeness, and rock legend Alice Cooper.

“It was awesome to play that Hallowe’en show with Alice Cooper at Massey Hall,” Sewell says.

“I smashed into him with some guitar cases,” Godfrey recalls. “I was coming through the doorway and he was coming around the corner, and I smashed right into his knees. It looked like I hurt him, but he was cool about it. He said he wouldn’t sue me or anything. He was a total gentleman, but I felt so bad that I hit Alice Cooper with a guitar case.”

When asked for other interesting tour stories, Sewell responded: “Nothing we’re at liberty to discuss. We’re a secretive band. Hence the name.”

The secret on The Illuminati is getting out. Shows are generally packed with converts to the band’s brand of party-rock. Things are looking good in Toronto, and Sewell is looking forward to their fall tour, when the band will promote its newest album, On Borrowed Time.

We want to get this new batch of songs ready because we intend to play the shit out of them on this upcoming tour,” Sewell says. “You get to see what works with a song. Something that conceptually sounds really good might not work as well live. There’s no place like the stage to battle test something and see if it’s actually an idea that holds water of if it’s just academic.”

“Sometimes they way you want to have the set on the record, it’s okay to put a couple of more obscure tracks on them,” Godfrey adds. “Live, it’s better to have things fast and furious. The more experimental stuff we’ll just put on the record.”

For more information on this musical secret society, check out http://www.theilluminati.ca

There is a lost valley in the great Land of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It is a place settled by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and The Stooges; a place where Earth gently tilled the seeds of what would later grow to be heavy metal; a place that shares a loosely defended border with The Blues, and psychedelic rainbows still streak the sky.

Toronto’s Evil Doers have pieced together the ancient maps, followed the legends, and found this place where rock is still in its teens. The band has learned the spells whose chants are vocal distortions and wah-wah pedals, mastered the language of this forgotten land and brought it back to make it their own.

Who’s Evil?, the band’s debut 5-song EP, updates the exploratory sounds that were fresh in the sixties, and proves that everything old is, indeed, new again. This 3-piece ensemble isn’t content playing the pop-punk chords that have prevailed for way too long. From the marching drums of the CD’s opening track, “Branded,” to the frenzied climax of “The Jimi Hendrix Theory,” the energy of this band can’t be denied. Who’s evil? They are. And they love it. I can’t wait to see these guys live.

Jagermeister, vodka, deviant behaviour, Spongebob, secret devil signs, vandalism, pyrophilia, projectile vomit, detox, assault, black-outs, sex, drugs and, of course, rock and roll. Toronto’s Fresh Meat is not a band that let’s something as trivial as day jobs diminish the intensity of a punk-rock lifestyle.

“My audition for the band was, like, ‘first you play and then you have to see if you can keep up with us drinking,’” says bassist Scooter, recovering from the night before on the patio of Tortilla Flats. “I said, ‘What are you talking about? You’ve got to see if you can keep up with me!’ I woke up at my parents house not knowing how I got there. I got out of going to the drunk tank because the cops took me to the hospital instead.”

And so began the legend that is Fresh Meat. Talking to Scooter, guitarist/vocalist Tina, and guitarist Jesse (George, the band’s drummer, was… indisposed and couldn’t make it to the interview), it’s hard to believe these guys have only been together for a little over a year. They’re not only bandmates and partners in crime, but close friends who can’t get enough of cracking each other up with stories of past exploits. Well, the stories they can remember, anyway.

“We signed a contract saying we wouldn’t drink until further notice,” Tina says. “We didn’t drink for a whole week, and then Scooter called and said he was having a beer.”

“We also signed a contract saying we wouldn’t make out anymore,” Scooter adds. Although Tina insists that they haven’t made out anyway, Scooter says: “According to the staff at the Big Bop and the Zen Lounge, we were making out a lot. Apparently I make out with people when I’m drunk.”

“So do I,” says Jesse. This elicits peals of laughter from the group.

“You have to keep me and Jesse drunk away from each other,” says Scooter. “Bad things will happen.

“I’d want pictures,” Tina laughs.

But beneath the endless stories of alcohol, misdemeanor charges and hospitalizations lies a band that kicks ass on stage. On June 7, part of the Meaty Monday showcase the band hosts on the first Monday of every month at Kathedral, Fresh Meat displayed all the intensity and charisma in their performance as they do in real life. This band signals hope for a Toronto live-music scene that has been languishing for years. If there’s on band that’s going to break the scene open and get people out to see rock shows again, Fresh Meat’ll be it.

For more information, check out http://www.thisisfreshmeat.com

A few things to look for when buying a used air conditioner

The summer heat has descended upon the city, and the lazy oscillation of the table fan just isn’t enough to cut through the crushing humidity. While thoughts of an air conditioner filling an open window are enticing, the price of a new air conditioner (not to mention all the cardboard, plastic and packing foam that comes with it) to cool a room for a couple of months can seem a little steep.

It’s easy to save a few hundred dollars by purchasing a used air conditioner. 6,000 BTU units, which are good for cooling a room of about 200 square feet, can be found for around $100 used as opposed to nearly $300 new. Be warned, however, that not all units are created equal. A little research will help you keep your cool without generating surprise energy bills.

BTU and You

BTUs (British Thermal Units) are the standard measure for an air conditioner’s cooling capacity. A simple way to figure out how many BTUs you need in an air conditioner is to measure the space you want to cool, then multiply that by 30. For instance, if your room measures 15 feet by 12 feet, you would need an air conditioner with enough power to cool 180 square feet, or 5400 BTUs.

Keep in mind that this calculation doesn’t take into account things like high ceilings, large windows and air leaks. Seal any cracks (which will also help you with winter heating) to keep cool air in the room. If you have high ceilings, look into installing ceiling fans or buying a more powerful air conditioner. Direct sunlight warming the room can be balanced by keeping curtains or blinds closed during the day. In any case, adding 2000 BTUs to your cooling requirements is a good idea, just to be sure the air conditioner isn’t overworked.

Raw Energy

Now that you’ve brushed up on your math skills at home, it’s time to take your calculator into the field. When it comes to energy efficiency, the federal government has made comparing new appliances easy with EnerGuide and Energy Star labeling systems. The energy efficiency ratio (EER) is plainly visible on the unit, and comparing the energy efficiency of similar air conditioners is as simple as looking for the lowest EER number. Figuring out the EER for a secondhand air conditioner is a little more difficult. The label may have been removed, or the unit may have been built before the EnerGuide labeling requirements came into effect.

Fortunately, any electrical device has a label on it somewhere indicating its power usage. The label may be easily visible on the back or side of the unit, or you may have to remove a panel in the front or near the power cord to find it. If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to get the person selling the air conditioner to uncover the label in order to avoid a you-break-you-buy situation.

On the label, look for the air conditioner’s wattage. If the watts aren’t on the label, you can multiply the amps by the volts to get what you need. Divide the air conditioner’s BTUs by the number of watts, and that gives you the units EER. For example, a 6,000 BTU air condition using 840 watts has an EER of about 7. Another 6,000 BTU air conditioner using 1200 watts would have an EER of about 5. The higher the number, the less energy is required to cool your room.

The Ministry of Natural Resources website (http://nrcan.gc.ca) contains detailed information on energy uses, and tables to help you estimate the cost of running your air conditioner for the summer. For example, if you’ve got an 8,000 BTU unit with an EER of 9.7, you can expect to use 585 kilowatt-hours of electricity for the average Toronto summer. At 4.7 cents per kilowatt-hour, expect to add $27.50 to your bill.

Window Seat

There are few things in life that can make a person feel more foolish than hauling an air conditioner up the stairs in 32-degree heat only to find that it’s too big for the window you’ve planned to set it up in (trust me, I know from experience). Make sure you take accurate measurements of the window before you purchase a unit, and compare those measurements to the air conditioner before you purchase it. Eye-balling doesn’t always work.

Be sure to choose a window that’s close to an electrical outlet, preferably one that’s not being used for anything else. Air conditioners use a lot of power and cause electrical interference that can damage other appliances – particularly computer or stereo equipment – that might be plugged into the same circuit. Power bars and extension cords should also be avoided.

Do your best to ensure that you purchase the right air conditioner for the type of window you’re installing it into. Although an air conditioner meant for vertical-sliding windows can be rigged with a board to fit into a window with side-sliding panes, it won’t often work the other way. Air conditioners meant for side-sliding windows usually don’t have a support bracket along the top. Installing this type of unit into a window with vertical-sliding panes leaves very little between your air conditioner and the pavement below.

Another thing to be aware of when buying a used air conditioner is the possibility that the unit required special mounting hardware to keep it secure. Empty screw holes or evenly-spaced scratches along the top or sides of the unit are tell-tale signs that there may be more to installing it than just sitting it on the window sill. Ask someone knowledgeable about air conditioner installation if there are additional brackets needed to hold the unit up. If you’re not sure, it’s best to pass on that particular unit and find a model that looks like it’s an easier installation.
When installing the air conditioner, make sure the unit is level so that the moisture it draws out of the air can drain outside properly and not form a pool of water on the floor. Also do your best to seal the area around the unit so no outside air can get in around it. This will ensure that the air conditioner can cool the room as efficiently as possible.

Relief is here

Getting the right air conditioner ready to go requires a lot of thought and work. Being able to sleep comfortably on those short summer nights makes it all worthwhile. With proper servicing, even a secondhand air conditioner can last for many years. Consider making a trip to the local library and checking out a book on basic air conditioner maintenance. Simple things like changing filters regularly and keeping electrical contacts clean will keep the unit running efficiently and can help prevent bigger, more costly problems down the road.

Sooner or later the time will come to dispose of your air conditioner. Remember that air conditioners contain hazardous chemicals and require special disposal arrangements. Check out the City of Toronto’s household hazardous waste guidelines (http://www.toronto.on.ca/hhw) for more information.

When your air conditioner gives up the ghost, there still may be a use for it. Local used appliance dealers might offer some money for a unit they can use for parts. Look around your neighbourhood for community or school programs that refurbish old appliances. It’s surprising to see how many different uses old machines have when you take the time to look.

Getting off the couch while staying close to the couch.
Like many men in their mid-30s, I learned the hard way that my health is no longer something that will just take care of itself.  After seeing the doctor for a flu that just wouldn’t go away, a blood test revealed elevated bad cholesterol levels and dangerously high liver enzymes.  After several other blood tests, various comments on how my body weight was distributed, an ultrasound, and a trip to the hospital, the advice I received was: Join a gym.

Again, like many men my age, I have gone through having monthly charges appear on my credit card for a health club that I couldn’t find anymore without asking for directions.  The gym option was out, but with adult-onset diabetes striking both sides of my family in the last few years, I knew it was time to make some lifestyle changes.  But where to start?  How much physical activity would I need to do to get and stay healthy?

“The general guideline that has been issued by Health Canada (http://www.eatwellbeactive.gc.ca) is that everyone should participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week,” says Daniela Durante, Treatment Plan Co-Ordinator and Conditioning Specialist at SHAPE Health and Wellness Inc. in Toronto.

60 minutes?  To those of us for whom “exercise” is a dirty word, it sounds like a prison sentence.  Daniela explains, however, that 60 minutes of exercise doesn’t mean spending an hour on the stair-climbing machine.  “For example, you can do 10 minutes of activity at six different times of the day,” she says.

It still sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?  After all, between work, family, friends, daily chores and the limitless viewing options provided by digital television, squeezing even 10 minutes of physical activity into our day, never mind doing it six times, seems virtually impossible.

You’ll be shocked to find out how easy it is.  I was.

Of course we’ve all heard that walking more and taking the stairs instead of the elevator is an easy way to lead more active lives.  I actually gave this one a try, and was amazed at the results.  I started by just walking up the stairs instead of taking the escalator out of the subway.  When I started, I could barely make it to the top of the stairs.  In just a few months, I’m not only walking up the stairs more easily, I’m taking the stairs two subway stops early and walking the rest of the way to work.  10 minutes down.

Oh, and those daily chores I mentioned?  Things like cleaning the bathroom, washing windows and vacuuming count as physical activity.  If you live alone, you’ll be doing all this work yourself.  If not, help out; it’s good for you.

Still, after work and chores, who wants to spend time exercising?  I, for one, would rather spend my free time in front of the television.  Many of us have felt guilty at one time or another for spending too much time watching the box instead of doing… well, just about anything else.  Believe it or not, TV time offers yet another opportunity to raise our fitness levels.

“There are plenty of exercises that can be done at home and use your own body weight,” Daniela says.  “Squats and lunges can be done while standing in front of the TV during commercials.  Abdominal crunches and push-ups can be done on the floor, and you can use the edge of the couch to do body dips.”

There are many resources online that can help you design a home-based workout plan of your own.  Medbroadcast’s fitness channel (http://www.medbroadcast.com/fitness) for example has several exercises that can be done without any special equipment.  There are also feature articles and online tools that can help you get motivated.

If you want to increase the intensity of your workout, things like thera-bands and resistance tubing can offer increased benefits at very little cost.

“These items add external resistance which helps make the exercise more intense than just using your own body weight, Daniela says.  “The more intense the exercise, the more calories are burned, and thus the better the workout.  You can stand on the middle of the thera-band or tubing (to anchor it) and stretch the tubing up over your head to work your shoulders,” among other exercises.  Thera-bands and resistance tubing are very versatile.

The age-old dumbbell can also be easily integrated into a couch-centric workout.  “You can put dumbbells in your hands as you do squats and lunges,” Daniela says.  “You can even lie down on the couch and do dome dumbbell bench presses.”

In the few months since I started with extra walking and a simple thera-band routine, I’ve noticed the difference that just a little exercise can make.  I haven’t seen any drastic transformation, but I have tightened my belt a notch and can lift heavier dumbbells.  If a TV junkie such as myself can stick with it, it must be easy.  My next blood test is in November, and I’m actually looking forward to it.

Watering hole doubles as museum of technology

Opening the door at 609 Queen Street West is to step into the future we were promised. Robots mill around the bar, computers vigilantly watch over human patrons, and dusty souvenirs of space travel line the walls like your grandmother’s set of collectable plates. The whole scene is bathed in a green glow generated by backlit circuit boards embedded in the bar.

“The circuit boards are from a defunct computer graveyard place that we found when we first opened,” says James Applegath, one of the owners of NASA Dance Pub. “They had piles and piles garbage lying around. We just sorted through it and came up with those.”

The distinctive bar is just the beginning of NASA’s unique ambiance. The walls are rife with items honouring its namesake space agency including mission patches, photos, and one small piece of fabric that has actually made it into orbit.

“This little NATO flag was flown in outer space, on Columbia’s 3rd mission,” says Applegath “It was donated by one of the customers here. Her father worked for the Canadian Space Agency. He gave it to her and she gave it to us.”

Another one of NASA’s claims to fame is its collection of vintage video games. There are few places where you can see original Atari 2600, Sega, Intellivision, Gemini and Vectrex systems on public display.

“We actually had a guy who’s a huge Vectrex fan from Ottawa,” Applegath says. “He happened to come here one night and saw this, and he was so impressed that he actually programmed a cartridge for us. When you turned it on it said ‘NASA’ on the front, and he put five or six games on one cartridge.”

“One of our DJs, DJ Gadget, donated the Commodore Pet,” says Applegath about another piece of cast-off computer hardware. “He’s a huge technology buff. He can pretty much fix anything, so he put that together and brought it here. They used to be state of the art. Now I don’t even know what you’d use it for.”

NASA also makes a home for an impressive collection of science fiction memorabilia. The list of items is extensive, and it includes a cornucopia of action figures, comic books, toy UFOs, and movie posters for such classics as Tron and Battlestar Galactica.

“We got a lot of stuff on eBay before we opened,” says Applegath. “A lot of little toys and robots are from Goodwill. You just go to Buy The Pound and rummage through. A lot of the stuff was just donated by customers.”

It’s not just electronics and collectibles that are finding new life as NASA’s decor. Applegath and his partner, Ben Ferguson, have even sought out secondhand fixtures and furniture to create the bar’s ambiance. Sitting in the front window is a distinctive floor lamp that Applegath says was purchased from a set sale after the movie X-Men completed production in Toronto. Flanking the lamp, two rows of airplane seats provide a comfortable vantage point for watching the action on Queen Street.

“The airplane seats came from a guy that was doing independent theatre on Jarvis just before we opened,” says Applegath. “He cancelled his plans and we got them from him. They’ve got the ashtrays in the arms, so you know they’re old for sure.”

Hanging above the circuit-board bar is a row of silver lamps, each displaying the NASA logo. Even these pristine-looking silver orbs are part of Applegath and Ferguson’s assemblage of used items.

“We purchased the lamps from a club that closed down,” Applegath explains. “Our doorman does sandblasting, so he did the logos on the glass. It worked quite nicely.”

Applegath and Ferguson opened NASA in December of 1999. They gained their management experience working at legendary Toronto hot-spot Industry, then decided to go into business for themselves. As for the collection of toys, machines and furniture that give the bar its vibe, Applegath cites his mother as a big inspiration.

“I was going to auctions with my mom,” he says. “I saw all this cool stuff, and I thought it would make a good space-aged retro-themed place. It’s a cool way to do it because it doesn’t cost a fortune and it’s really unique.”

The low cost of keeping the atmosphere alive at NASA is a plus.

“There’s a bunch of stuff I have at home that I just don’t bring here, because it disappears,” says Applegath. “I had a C-3P0 piggy-bank. That lasted two weeks. We had a cool 8-track tape player that disappeared. It happens all the time, where things are just missing.”

NASA also had to stop its practice of making the vintage video games available for customers to play while enjoying drinks.

“You get some drunk guy playing it and the joystick breaks, and the joysticks are impossible to find,” says Applegath.

Still, for better or worse, it’s the constantly changing collection of items that keeps NASA’s look fresh. Even though the items change, the bar keeps comfortable, friend’s-basement appeal… much like the bar’s owners themselves.

“Back when I was 12 or 13, I had this buddy and we were totally into all this stuff,” Applegath explains. “Years later, he showed up here and said: ‘This is weird. Last time I saw you we were playing Atari and doing all this stuff.’ I haven’t changed at all.”

NASA is open seven days a week from 9:00pm to 3:00am. For more information, check out http://www.nasadancepub.ca