2012 is going to be a good year … THE BACHELOR: recap

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Catherine Kitts

Twas the night after New Years, when all through the room,
Not a person was breathing, while awaiting the groom.
The wine was flowing by the TV with care,
In hopes that Ben Flajnik soon would be there.

The holidays may be over, but the best time of the year has just begun. Last night, marked the launch of a new season of THE BACHELOR. And if the scene at your home wasn’t like the one above, then you need to rally your girlfriends (or boyfriends – we know you secretly watch), to partake in the best evening of the week.

Call it a guilty pleasure, sick obsession or plain silly way to spend your Monday night, but flanked with glasses of wine and laptops for easy access tweeting, the four of us had a night filled with wild moments and lots of tears (of laughter).

If you didn’t catch the 8 p.m. premiere, well then you really missed out. But, never fear. In a nutshell is here to get you up to speed so that you can be caught up for episode two, which is sure to be a doozy.

The show opened with a short recap of Ben Flajnik’s devastating end to last year’s season of the Bachelorette. The soft spoken, shaggy haired winemaker, from the Sonoma Valley, thought he had found the one in Ashley Hebert and got down on one knee in front of millions of viewers on the season’s finale. After a long and awkward moment, Ashley helped him back to his feet to tell him that actualllyyyyyy… she hadn’t chosen him. Ouch. Hearts broke around the globe, especially Kate’s.

But, the stud is back to “find love” once again. Aren’t they all? Rumour has it the producers were worried that the quiet former contestant wouldn’t bring enough drama to the screen so they hired an EXTRA crazy cast this time around. Because the girls are never nuts on this show, right? Heaven help him.

Bios of the girls started out with a bang, with Amber who claimed she was 28 – even though the screen listed her at 29 – and went on and on about how she was going to get Ben to try her family’s delicacy, cow balls. See ya later, Amber.

Next, we were introduced to Courtney – the model. You may have missed it, if you watched but she is indeed a model. In her spare time, she enjoys modelling. And she thinks Ben will like her because she is a model. She also talked about money a lot and how she deserves a two karat ring. By the way, she’s a model.

Jamie was our group’s favourite. Her touching story about raising her brother and sister had us at hello. Most importantly, she seemed normal. A rare quality to find among the Bachelor women.

Lyndsie J came next, a completely insane British woman who spoke a mile a minute and decided to dress in various costumes for her short one minute introduction. Meghan said it best, “Wow. Good luck.”

Jenna started off on a good foot among our little group. She is a BLOGGER – woman after our own heart. It affirmed one thing and one thing only: one of the nuts has got to get in there. However, Jenna quickly became the craziest person on episode one, spending half of the cocktail party crying in the bathroom and was clearly drunker than I was on my 19th birthday. And that’s saying something.

Shawn, the single mom and Nicki, a young divorcée both got our seal of approval, not an easy thing to achieve.

Brittany scored some sympathy points by bringing a friend with her to the first rose ceremony – her 72-year-old grandma. Ben, the sweetheart, didn’t seem to mind though. When he said “I love grandmas” we melted. Way to go, Ben.

Lyndzi (not the crazy Brit) rode in on a horse, which was creative and I guess got Ben’s attention because she got the first impression rose.

Amber, the Canuck, had us rooting for her even though her pick up line (about Baconators) was terrible.

I must pause here to note that Kate (our resident wine specialist) has a serious celeb crush on Mr. Flajnik, and was tweeting at him incessantly throughout the program. When he said “I love Canada” that gave her the perfect opening: @BenFlajnik you love canada eh? Sipping on some Niagara wines! Everything is better up north.

Then, despite all skepticism our night was MADE when…. she got a response from the bachelor himself.

@katelalu love Canada.

HE TWEETED ME BACK.

This obviously sent us into a frenzy, since despite the thousands of tweets this stud was receiving (#thebachelor was trending in Canada and the United States) he only responded to a handful of people. And our little lovestruck nut was one of them! Needless to say, the rest of the evening was spent planning the wedding. We were half expecting him to tweet the last rose goes to @katelalu.

The women’s entrances were definitely entertaining, seeing Emily whip out Purrel and binaca before planting the first kiss on the man of the hour.
Kate: “That was ridiculous. She SANITIZED him.”

Holly wore a ridiculous hat, Monica opened by telling Ben she missed her dog and Shawn gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder. But, it was our girl Jenna that won worst entrance of the night. She was trying to tell him about how she liked his quote at the end of last season when he said “Things don’t end, unless they end badly”, but she managed to completely butcher it leaving Meghan commenting, “Well THIS is ending badly.” Awkward silence had Kate chime in, “PLEASE walk away.” We were in hysterics before she was even inside the house.

A strange potential lesbian scene, girl who rapped (“Is she READING it? Shame. Not freestylin?” -Shannon), and the obvious lunacy of Jenna made the cocktail party one for the books. And when the latter secured the last rose it had us all groan that this was probably a producer choice.

Nevertheless, scenes from the coming season had us all on the edge of our seats and the birth of a brilliant idea to help us enjoy the show even more (is that possible!?) was born.

Having all been in relationships at one point or another with men who obsess over their lines and stats in various hockey and football pools, our competitive group thought we should make things a little more interesting.

After scoping out former Bachelor contestant, Ashley Spivey’s drinking game and downloadable pool sheet (http://saynotocosmo.com/) we started arguing about what was the best way to go about choosing.

This is going to get ugly.

We then pointed out that the guys always get additional points for their players achievements and that we should devise something that would give us the same sick pleasure.

After much discussion, we decided that each person would put their faith behind five women.

These women would win or lose points based on their achievements or psychotic episodes during the course of the season. At the finale, all points would be tallied to reveal the winner. Below is the set of criteria we came up with. We urge you to play along with us!

Keep in mind, you don’t have to pick the winning gal to win the pool.

BACHELOR POOL POINT SYSTEM.

Choose five women – BEFORE episode two airs (and before you read all the spoilers, cheaters!)

How to WIN points:

- A cheek kiss: 1 point

- Peck on the lips: 2 points

- Make-out: 5 points

- First rose in the rose ceremony: 10 points

- One on one date: 5 points

- Rose on the group date: 10 points

- Hometown date: 15 points

* 5 points per girl that stays at the end of each show

* 25 points per girl that makes it to the final two

How to LOSE points:

- Crying (in any way shape or form): – 5 points

- Make another person cry (staff, bachelor or other girl): – 2 points

- Storm out of a room: – 2 points

- Saying “I love you” or any variation including the words “love” and ”you” TO BEN before the last three episodes: RESET points for that girl

- If you say any variation of “love” and “him” to the camera before the last three episodes: – 5 points

Check back next week for another update on the Bachelor’s antics and to see the standings after week two. Happy ~~obsessing~~ watching, nuts.

Flipping the S.C.R.I.P.T.

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Jess Huddleston

Although eager to win titles and sharpen his competitive rap edge, something about Ottawa hip-hop artist S.C.R.I.P.T.’s drive to pair words and tell stories goes slightly beyond ruthlessly trampling competition or a hunger for hip-hop fame. Although now a career for Loren D. Whittingham, a pen put to paper, filtering dark thoughts into meaningful pages of prose meant much, much more during an adversity and abuse-filled upbringing in foster care. It meant survival, and it meant an escape.

“Music and writing brought me to life,” S.C.R.I.P.T. says. “And now I’m not afraid to rap to or connect with those who are afraid too.”

S.C.R.I.P.T, broken down to mean “silent cries relived in painful tears”, immigrated from Jamaica to Canada where he was bounced throughout foster homes starting at age twelve—suffering an array of physical and emotional abuse. After painful years spent developing his craft, Whittingham eventually found his way onto spoken word stages – winning three consecutive Capital Slam titles and garnering attention for his prose. Before long, his ability to command an audience through storytelling became increasingly more evident – and after a handful of hip-hop open mics and introducing grittier instrumentals behind his lyrics, hip-hop was the next move on his board.

“These days I rap like a sport. I freestyle every day, write every day, talk into an audio recorder in the middle of the street,” he laughs. “That’s what keeps you above the rest – being prepared for that challenge that might come at you.”

And from the small seed of a vulnerable poet has grown a natural performer. One that has previously played substantial festivals and stages including Winterlude and Canada Day in Ottawa, and within the next month will hit Winterfest alongside DL Incognito, Philly Moves, Spitten Image and a whole other roll of Canadian rhymesters.

“It’s one thing to write, but it’s also the tone you carry and energy you bring,” he says regarding his stage presence. “I really sweat up there; if I’m opening I’m determined to have the crowd forget they came to see the main act.”

S.C.R.I.P.T. credits his voracious appetite for performing and song writing to his innate creative energy, but also players like Open Disclosure Music who have dug a new kind of motivation out of the wordsmith – submitting him for involvement and potential nomination in the 2012 Juno Awards to be held in Ottawa.

“With what I’m doing now, I feel myself blossoming. I thought I was rising, and now I’m flying,” he says. “They cut me open and I’m bleeding.”

Bleeding into new mediums as well. If poetry and a budding hip-hop career aren’t enough, the artist has dipped his pen into other pop culture ink – recently nabbing a starring role in the Parktown Production pilot Grinder, geared towards HBO Canada, as well as Canada’s Got Talent. With Winterfest around the corner (and full coverage from In A Nutshell as sponsors of the event), S.C.R.I.P.T. anticipates the gathering of Ottawa talent will put the capital where he believes it belongs in Canada’s hip-hop world – at the top.

“I look forward to reminding the other artists just to soak it all up. This is an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to our city, so we better give it all we’ve got.”

For more information on Winterfest, visit http://winterfestottawa.ca/. Stay tuned for more artist profiles from in a nutshell!

The First Day of Christmas: Holiday Guilty Pleasures

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Meghan Brown

Welcome to in a nutshell’s FIRST day of Christmas! Inspired by our homegirl, Ellen, we’ve decided to take a page out of her book and bring you our own version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Today marks the first in a series of posts that will revolve around the hussle, bussle and magic that make this season so special. As per the usual, each nut will bring you diverse posts, with a variety of topics that hope to help you truly make this the most wonderful time of the year!

To start things out on a humourous note, we bring you a compillation…of our guilty Christmas pleasures. Guilty pleasures come in all shapes and sizes, whether it’s the horrible song that you can’t get enough of or the most cheesy of movies that you could watch over and over again. Once a year, the Holiday season gives us the ‘legitimacy’ to indulge in special guilty pleasures that revolve around the most shameful Christmas indulgences.

**DISCLAIMER: I may have had some fun with photoshop…

Catherine’s Guilty Pleasure: Christmas movies…specifically, ‘The Santa Clause’ with Tim Allen.

“If by mid-December you haven’t purchased a single Christmas gift, there’s no snow on the ground and you haven’t mentally prepared for the daunting task of the big turkey cook or house clean – there is ONE thing that will never fail in reminding you it’s the Christmas season. Naturally, it’s the onslaught of Christmas movies. For someone who does not dedicate much time for tv or films in day to day life, you will find me glued to the television for Home Alone, Scrooged, The Grinch, Love Actually and my absolute favourite …. The Santa Clause … Call me a closet Home Improvement lover or Santa believer but when Charlie gets to go to the North Pole don’t you tear up too? No, just me? Bah humbug.”

Kaylee’s Guilty Pleasure: Every pretty roll of wrapping paper & Children’s advent callendars.

“There’s something about a pile of presents all wrapped differently that makes me happy. It’s a ridiculous & expensive tradition that I’m not sure ill ever overcome. And who doesn’t like a chocolate each morning, reminding you how close christmas is getting? Probably the best invention in the world….even better than those wristband tape dispensers for wrapping…and that’s saying a lot.”

Kate’s Guilty Pleasure: Cartoon Christmas Carols

“For some reason, I am never fully in the holiday spirit until I watch the cartoon of Santa and his singing reindeer with The Drifters voice over, ‘I’m dreaming of a White Christmas’. Watching that merry little Claus prance around with his back-up vocal reindeer always cracks me up and usually gets me crooning along with them.”

Jess’ Guilty Pleasure: Over-sized Candy Canes & Flannel Nighties

“The giant convenience store candy canes which are so impractical yet so delicious, and the unsexy flannel gem I’ve had since I was little. I wear it every single year when I’m home for the holidays, drinking mugs of hot chocolate and repeating classics like Love Actually and Scrooged. It is so unattractive, I don’t know how I got it or who gave it to me, I would never answer the door in it – but I snuggle in it proudly.”

Meghan’s Guilty Pleasure: NSYNC’s ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’ and Dressing my kitten up like Santa.

“It’s super shameful to admit, but all-year round I listen to my old-school boy band CDs whenever I’m feeling slightly nostalgic…or doing dishes. Anyway, combine that boy band glory with Christmas and you have my ultimate guilty pleasure. I literally listen to Justin, JC and the rest of the gang over and over, proudly belting out the lyrics for all my neighbours to hear. If you add my kitten dressed like Santa into the mix, you literally have my perfect day.”

What’s REALLY Going On?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Meghan Brown

This past week, Jonah Mowry’s emotional video, ‘What’s goin on…’ went viral. If you have been living under a rock, let me get you up to speed: a 13-year-old boy recorded a YouTube video about the emotional turmoil that he has faced as a bullied child at school. In the description of his video, he writes “I’m not going to kill myself but…”, referencing the gross number of teen suicides relating to bullying that have occurred over the past few years.

In a series of hand written notes, Jonah tells his story of facing bullying every day at school. He says that he is scared to start the eight grade because his friends are moving on to high school. He admits to cutting. He admits that suicide has been an option more than once. But, then he flips three cards that read, “I’m not going anywhere…I’m stronger than that…I have a million reasons to be here.”

It is almost impossible to watch Jonah’s video without shedding a tear. The sadness and the strength that pour out of this boy’s message is absolutely overwhelming. I was thrilled to see the immediate outpouring of support for Jonah and his video when at least 15 people on my personal Facebook shared it.

Unfortunately, we live in a cruel world. A few days after the video went viral, many critics questioned Jonah’s intentions. Other videos on Jonah’s YouTube channel show him much happier, laughing and with friends. Again, the internet was in a frenzy, with video responses and opinion pieces saying that Jonah was a liar; someone just looking for attention.

If you actually look closely at Jonah’s original video, you can see that it was filmed and posted in August, before the start of 2011-2012 school year. Jonah has since explained that after posting the video he has sought counselling and made friends at school. Some of his bullies saw the video and apologized. He’s in a much better place. For all of these reasons, I couldn’t be happier; it proves that it CAN get better. But why should he have had to tell us that? Why is this defense even needed?

It’s painful to me that anyone would have the audacity to question this young man’s validity in the first place. The message of the video was incredible. It sheds a truly honest light onto the extremely detrimental effects of bullying, from a first hand perspective. So, instead of embracing and celebrating Jonah and the message, at the first sign that a previously suicidal teen is happy, people jumped at the chance to chastise him (yet again). Are you kidding me!?

We should be rejoicing that another young life was not lost to suicide. We should celebrate the fact that Jonah’s video has touched so many people around the world. We should thank him for having the strength to post his message in a public forum that has undoubtedly helped other teens who are struggling with bullies and depression.

Inspiration. Hope. Love.
Those are the sentiments that should be pouring onto Jonah now. We need to rally behind him, and all our youth for that matter. We need to reassure them that their lives are worth living, and that there really are a million reasons to keep on going. That we support them, no matter what, and that we will not take bullying lightly…in a nutshell.

I hope that all of our readers take the time to watch Jonah’s video and share his inspirational message.

And the winner is…

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Catherine Kitts

Forty mo’s later … multiple texts, emails, status updates … hours of pouring over pictures of staches, from the impressive to the horrendous … scouring social media hourly… checking and re-checking the stats … and finally, ladies and gentleman, we have a winner.

Drum roll please.

Voted the mo’ the MOst people were nuts over …. Congratulations to:

LIAM BORDELEAU!

Liam impressed the pants off of us (well in truth, Jess never wears pants) when he enlisted the help of his girlfriend, friends and family to blow up social media with our campaign. He received an impressive 46 extra bonus points and captured 31 % of the vote. We could not be more pleased to be donating $200 to such a deserving contestant. Well done!

Liam said he’d wanted to get involved with the Movember effort for a few years before joining a team with 20 of his coworkers, this year.

“It’s such a great cause and it’s a subject people won’t really talk about, so it’s just great to be raising awareness.”

With a few donations still trickling in (including ours) Liam’s MoTeam raised between $3000 – $3500 dollars.

“I wanted to do my part, so when I saw your contest I thought it was the perfect way to increase my total and contribute to the team.”

Liam got a late start on the contest and only started growin’ his mo on Nov. 4. A man of his word, he says the razors were not out this morning and he’s continuing to sport his sturdy ‘stache until Dec. 4.

His girlfriend, Eve-Marie, who has been a big help in promoting his campaign, has flip flopped on whether she approves of his furry friend, says Liam. Apparently, she is waiting until the 4th to make her final judgement call on whether his ‘stache should stay for the season.

When asked if he’ll participate again in the future, Liam says he believes he will. “Well, it keeps your lip warm and with our Canadian winters being so cold, I might just have to!”

Once again, congratulations to Liam & your team of supporters. A donation of $200 will be made to your MoSpace this afternoon, courtesy of your five favourite nuts.

Honourable mentions:

Erik Tamm gave a valiant effort and had us counting votes down to the wire, in a close race with Liam! Among all of his Movember efforts, it impressed us most when he created a Twitter account for the sole purpose of following @inanutshellca

Kodie Dorey should be proud of his third place standing. We must admit, his ‘mo got the biggest buzz from the outset, coming out with an early lead in the contest. We hope he chronicled his growing efforts to inspire the masses next year; we like your style!

On a personal note, inanutshell decided to support this cause for many reasons. We all have dads, uncles, grandfathers, boyfriends and friends who we care about deeply, and to us, that is something worth raising money for. We also admire the founders of Movember for inspiring thousands of young people to get so involved in a charitable project. As Movember has grown (literally, grown) over the years, it’s warmed our hearts to see our best buds sportin’ a mo, raising awareness, funds, and lending their time and face to a worthy cause.

From all the girls at inanutshell, I’d like to give a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all participants and voters. This was our first attempt at launching a contest and it exceeded our expectations in every way. The outpouring of love and support we’ve had over the last week, has been incredible and is only pushing us to be even more creative in the future. Expect big things from the ‘shell in 2012 and keep your eyes peeled for another Christmas give away.

One last, big round of applause for Liam Bordeleau and for all the brave souls who took part in the Movember MOvement.

In a nutshell, we salute you.

Wanna know who’s mo’ was who’s?

Thank you to all of the following 40 good sports:

1 – Aaron Deanes 2 – Alex Sirois 3 – Blake Brooks 4 – Brad Evans 5 – Carlos Chacon 6 – Chris McLennan 7 – Cruz Chiappa 8 – David Proulx 9 – George Perry 10 – Grayson McDiarmand 11 – Mike Hons 12 – Cory Fowler 13 – Jackson Snell 14 – Jerod Hutchings 15 – Jesse McCrae 16 – Jon Hicks 17 – Justin Murray 18 – Justin Wong 19 – Anthony McLachlan 20 – Liban Hassan 21 – Luke Broomfield 22 – Maninder Virk 23 – Matt Cimon 24 – Patrick Asselin 25 – Pete Galbraith 26 – Ryan Anthony 27 – Steve Benson 28 – Troy Lajambe 29 – Vince Francica 30 – Kodie Dorey 31 – Cole Derochie 32 – Kenn Waring 33 – Stefano Mion 34 – Erik Tamm 35 – Scott MacDonald 36 – Wells Baker 37 – Jordan Stitt 38 – Liam Bordeleau 39 – Chris Weatherhead 40 – Kirby Barber

We party rocked… and we know it

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Catherine Kitts

Last night, Kate & I attended the LMFAO concert, at the Scotiabank Place, in Ottawa.

What I have to say today is, my body actually hurts from how hard we rocked. Party Rocked, that is.

I would not exactly call the electro-pop group music guru’s, but they do have one thing down pat: making tunes that are instant hits.

As a bartender in a club that plays Top 40 music, I can tell you ever since I’m In Miami B*tch hit the airwaves, a Party Rock nation was born. It’s their songs that get night crawlers jumping up and down, ordering shots and thrusting on the dfloor. Last night, thousands of attendees at the concert, were doing the same.

As Kate noted, there were more people in attendance for LMFAO, than there was for rock icons Kings of Leon.

If you are headed to an LMFAO concert in the near future keep one thing in mind: dress up. Kate and I toyed with the idea all day before throwing caution to the wind and decking ourselves out with fluorescent tops, zebra and metallic tights, lenseless glasses, and even custom-made “Party Rock” shoes. Believing we’d be the only ones in ridiculous attire, we were ready to catch some stares. However, it happened to be, if you WEREN’T dressed up at the concert, then you were being eyed down. Almost everyone in the crowd had some sort of iconic piece of the LMFAO couture adorned.

As an inflatable Zebra got passed through the hands of those with floor seats (like us), Redfoo and SkyBlu played hit after hit off of their most recent album Sorry For Party Rocking, as well as classics like “Yes” and “Shots” off of their first album Party Rock EP, before spraying everyone in the crowd with bubbly for “Champagne Showers”.

The champagne was not the only thing that left me drenched. The show was more like an hour-long work out, leaving me happily sweating only a couple songs in. It would have been an impossible feat not to wildly throw my arms, shuffle and jump in the air.

After exiting the stage without playing their most recent hit “I’m Sexy and I know It”, the crowd roared until the pair came back on, only to strip off their pants, into Speedos, which naturally, sent everyone into a frenzy.

Shocking? No. What was shocking was the number of youngsters that were in attendance. Our crew of about 15 people were aged 22 – 28 but teenagers were everywhere. The average age seemed to get younger and younger the closer you got to the front of the stage. I would not exactly consider the content of LMFAO’s music, which centers largely around, drinking, partying, having sex and being obnoxious, as teenage appropriate material. But, then I have to remember I grew up rapping along with Eminem.

If there’s one thing the Party Rockers accomplished it was bringing us all to the same level; hands in the air, beer in hand, glasses on face, friends by side.

Maybe music genius was not witnessed last night, but great times were surely had… in a nutshell.

Lest We Forget

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Meghan Brown

There has been a lot of talk revolving around the fact that today is 11-11-11. From numerologists featured on daytime talk to explain just how special it is, to gamblers eagerly awaiting to bet the number 11 at 11:11 am and pm today, to a high number of marriages scheduled to take place, people are excited to celebrate this ‘once in a lifetime’ day. However, my 11-11-11, refers to the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month: the signing of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany during the First World War.

Remembrance Day is a day that affects every Canadian. The fact that we were all able to wake up in a peaceful nation this morning has come (and continues to come) at a price. Our world is a beautiful, but cruel place. And it has been through the sacrifice of other, brave Canadians that we have been so lucky as to preserve peace at home.

Today, we remember those who so bravely sacrificed their safety, to defend the country that we stand so proudly for. These volunteers selflessly put themselves in harm’s way to ensure a better tomorrow for all those back home. Some have been able to return home, some have paid the ultimate sacrifice. No matter how, when or where these men and women contributed to the effort, their sacrifices are unmeasurable.

Today, we honour them. We wear our poppies as a symbol of gratitude. We keep all those who fought and who continue to fight for us in our hearts and minds. And most of all, we remember.

*All images courtesy of Google.

Political circus

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Catherine Kitts

In my Twitter bio I describe myself as a news junkie.

A quick anecdote to prove how I came to this conclusion is when I used to serve tables at a small restaurant that played the news on a TV in the corner, I would start tuning out orders to tune into whatever was happening on the screen. It reminded me of times I deliberately avoided sports bars on dates to actually have a prayer of capturing my boyfriend’s attention over dinner. It was a clear sign, at the time, that I was in the wrong profession (and was probably dating the wrong guy) making me happy to eventually trade over my tray of drinks for a desk and a laptop.

Just me and Uncle Lar, catching up.

With that said, if I’m a news junkie, my Dad is a full blown addict. It’s not an exaggeration to say that CNN is on in the background of my parents home an average of 10 hours a day. Larry King was practically a second Uncle to me growing up.

In journalism school, it was great because a quick five minute convo with my Dad and I was fully caught up on all the happenings of the world. Especially U.S politics.

So, I guess you can say my interest in the subject was inherited. I consider myself non-partisan in every sense of the political sphere. While I think it is vitaly important to vote, I would never openly support a candidate (except perhaps Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson; the guy is a loveable machine) be it Canadian or American. But, what I can tell you with one hundred per cent conviction is that the United States Republican candidates are making a complete mockery of the political system as a whole. Tuning in for my daily (over) dose of CNN lately is like flicking on the Young and the Restless. Except it would be named the Old and the Clueless.

The United States run their presidential elections completely differently from how we elect Prime Minister’s in Canada. To give you a little perspective, today is November 10, 2011. The next US presidential election will be held on November 6, 2012 … the Republican candidates have already been campaigning for several months. By the time the next President of the United States is chosen, the campaign will have been going on for almost two years.

Barack Obama is eligible for a second and final term as President and has already announced that he will seek nomination to be the Democractic Party’s candidate – a no brainer, really. But, that leaves Republican candidates to battle it out – and lately, it’s been one gaff after the other. Just as one candidate is getting over their latest public humiliation, another falls hard to a new scandal, on air blunder, or particularly ugly skeleton crashing out of their closet.

It’s seriously tempting not to sit in front of the TV with a big bag of popcorn and large Coke.

The leading Republican candidates are: Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman Jr., Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum.

To give you a brief synopsis of just SOME of the recent madness that has gone on in this political ring, here are a few highlights:

"One thing I know, is that I don't know how to give a speech."

Last night, Rick Perry made a major blunder during a Republican candidates debate, when he was unable to remember which of three government agencies he would abolish. “Oops” was his best way of handling it.

It was such an error, that #RickPerry was actually trending in CANADA this morning. There have also been rumours that he’s gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that) complete with alleged sex scandal. I’m telling you, prime soap opera material.

Not to mention, he’s already been accused of being drunk or high during another speech in New Hampshire. I think he needs to leave public speaking to the professionals, or at least, nervous and awkward grade six students who can keep it together better than he can:

"Say whaaaa?"

Michele Bachman is considered the craziest woman in politics since Sarah Palin, who has now become less of a political figure and more of an A-list celeb. Catch her reality show lately? Well, at least she can admit that it’s where she belongs. Here’s a peek into the thinking of Michele Bachman:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-10-craziest-michele-bachmann-quotes

Trying to convince women to save a horse and ride a cowboy.

Herman Cain is perhaps in the stickiest situation of all the candidates. Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar are two of at least four women who claim to have been sexually harassed by the candidate. He denies any such allegation, but when he referred to Bialek as “that woman” it was almost impossible not to make the Bill Clinton comparison. When will politicians learn? Probably never.

Even Mike Tyson thinks he’s a joke:

In my humble, and far from expert opinion, I think the Republicans are making their party as a whole look like a completely unstable choice.

If it were MY world and MY political party wouldn’t it make more sense to not attack each other, but to bind together and to put all your support into one candidate that will make your party look like a viable option against an already very popular Democratic candidate? Naw, probably makes more sense to fight each other to the death to make the whole pack look like a bunch of idiots. What do I know?

It’s easy to say that the political goings on of the United States have little affect on our daily Canadian lives, but as we’ve seen time and time again, (wars, gas prices, currency, etc.) it really does. And if you’re still not convinced, turn on Channel 33 for a few minutes today. It will make you feel seriously proud to be Canadian, in a nutshell.

Get your haunt on

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Catherine Kitts

I think it’s safe to say that the girls of inanutshell have a slight obsession with dressing up. A brief scan on any of our given Facebook profiles and you’ll see love fests complete with homemade ensembles, painted faces, and recurring monkey costumes that were made appropriate for almost every occasion.

Needless to say that Halloween is obviously one of our collective favourite holidays and we usually celebrate it in style.

A weekend full of messy pirates, Lady Gaga’s, sailors and the like rolling through the bar I work at made it clear that we are not the only ones.

This year Halloween falls on a Monday, boo. But, the most die hard of Ottawa party animals are sure to be out in full force. Here are a few ideas for your night of mayhem.
Stay safe, nuts and Happy Halloween from all of us at Inanutshell!

Screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Mayfair Theatre at 7:00pm
1074 Bank St
Do the timewarp again! One-of-a-kind sing-along featuring the Absent Friends shadow cast! Nobody does Rocky Horror like the Mayfair!
$10 members | $15 non-members

Nightmare on Dalhousie Street
Mansion Nightclub, 19 +
400A Dalhousie Street

The Return of Zombie Strippers
BabylonNightclub, 19 +
317 Bank Street
Rockalily Burlesque with DJ Lowpass
Musical Performances By Billz And Wod Eagleson\

Haunting Season at Proulx Farm
Although the doors may have been hidden from plain sight, rest assured, they are there. As they creak open, the wrath of the Asylum springs forth for all to experience. Come be part of the mayhem at Proulx Farm inCumberland near Innes andO’Toole Rd. You just might escape the insanity.

Ottawa Haunted Walk
Looking for some spine-tingling fun this Halloween?
The Haunted Walk is offering special tours this Halloween. From spooky fun for the whole family to frights for the ultimate thrill seeker, the Haunted Walk is guaranteed to give you a scare.
For more information visit: http://www.hauntedwalk.com/ottawahalloween.php

Haunting season at Saunders Farm
7893 Bleeks Road in Munster in the western part of Ottawa

Dark Carnival Halloween Night
Zaphod Beeblebrox
27 York Street
Dancing With Her Glow-In-The-Dark Poi Spinning, The One And Only “Poi Sin” From The Sin Sisters.Burlesque Performances Ranging From Modern Twists To Classic Gangster Homages To The Very Roots Of Burlesque By Ottawa’s Very Own Bourbon And Spice Burlesque, etc!

Various Halloween parties and following Byward market venues:

- Liquor Store Party Bar & Industry Room, The Drink, The Cabin, Pier 21, Pub 101, Whiskey Bar, etc.

Costume ideas c/o some festive nuts:

Happy Halloweekend

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Kate Lalumiere

Over the course of the last few years, the nuts have notoriously dressed up for hallow’s eve, usually in group costume, usually looking slightly ricidulous…and we absolutely love it. Unfortunately, as we slowly disperse from our University town to different cities, embark upon new employment opportunities and simply let real life begin, time for group costumes and even time to plan one night out with all of us becomes slightly more challenging (especially when more than one of us are overseas. . . ). Needless to say, this year some of us dressed up and some of us didn’t but we still found time to see each other over halloweekend. Whether you dressed up, dressed down, carved a pumpkin or two or this weekend simply isn’t for you, we hope you’ve had a happy halloweekend. . . in a nutshell.

inanutshellca

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