Paralysis by Choice

Supermodel Daria Werbowy graces the cover of the newly released (May 2011) Fashion magazine (Canada’s source for fashion and beauty)

In the accompanying article she speaks about her changing body and mind, saying…

“A lot of people used to tell me I was wise for my age, but they’ve stopped saying that…as I’ve gotten older, I feel like I’ve gotten more confused, which I guess is normal because when you’re in your early 20s you think you know everything.”

Daria is 27. She is successful, accomplished and has a lifetime (in model years) of experience and knowledge behind her.

Which begs the question – why is she so confused?

We have more options today than we’ve ever had before. There are countless opportunities and choices for everything: career, car, house, education, style, travel – take your pick.

But are all these choices making us feel lousy?

Were things better when they were a lot worse?

This is the question that Psychologist Barry Schwartz asks in his famous TED Talk.

In Schwartz’s estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied and confused.

Have a look and let us know if you have a tried and true method for dealing with choices.

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New York by Gehry

At 870 feet tall, it is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.

Opened in February of 2011, New York by Gehry (originally known as Beekman Tower) is a 76-story skyscraper designed by Canadian born architect Frank Gehry.

Gehry, who hails from Polish Jewish ancestry, was recently selected by a panel of architectural experts brought together by Vanity Fair as “the most important architect of our age.”

Located at 8 Spruce St. in Lower Manhattan the sparkling stainless steel skyscraper contains 903 luxury residential units. The first five floors of the building are home to an elementary school attended by 600 children.

The building is a breathtaking addition to the Manhattan skyline. Its exterior facade looks like it is being blown by the wind.

Although Frank Gehry created the outside, he was not responsible for the interior design. Nevertheless, it’s still worthwhile to have a look.

The interiors are sleek, simple and warm.

Ladies and Gentleman…New York by Frank Gehry.

What do you think?

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Polish Night with the Toronto Raptors

Remember when basketball was cool?

Michael Jordan and his in-your-face tongue dunking.

Air Jordans.

Spike Lee.

The Magic vs. Bird rivalry.

“Da bulls” and…Vlade Divac?

Classic.

Those days seem so long gone. Perhaps what everyone needs is a little infusion of the good ol’ Polish spirit (and we’re not talking about Mr. Sobieski or Mr. Belvedere).

The Toronto Raptors are hosting their inaugural Polish Heritage Night.  The event takes place on Wednesday, April 6^th @ 7PM versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Raptors are currently in third place (from the bottom) in the Eastern Conference and the Cavaliers are dead last. So, it promises to be a great matchup of major league underachievers.

But basketball aside. It’s still a great opportunity to get together, paint your face, wave your flag and show your Polish pride all while drinking some (overpriced) beer.

Who knows, with a united effort maybe we can make the Air Canada Centre sound and look like this…

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Fortune Favours the Bold

Camp I overlooking Mt. Malangphulang (6573m)

By Michał Skiba

In July of 2008 I found myself hanging out in a Krakow apartment that belonged to the CEO of a Polish consulting company. The CEO’s name is Marek Romanowicz . I met him a month earlier in a tiny Kashmiri village overlooking Tso Moriri , an impressive lake close to the Chinese border with arid 6000m peaks circling its shoreline. The area had been restricted till 1994 and now travelers can only visit with a permit.

Marek Romanowicz on Zatrwa La (4610m) with a view of Cho Oyo (8201m).

The self-proclaimed “trekking addict” had been organizing private expeditions to the most awesome corners of the globe for the past 17 years. They were a way for him to get out the office, see exotic landscapes and sample the lifestyles of villagers unaccustomed to Western culture and all things that came with it. While pouring Żołądkowa Gorzka  in his living room I suggested: “Let’s do the most difficult route in the world – before death and marriage, and while we’ve still got some freedom”.

Climbing Ama Dablam - a near vertical granite face.

Everest base camp 2km ahead

Phari Lapche (6017m), Arakam Tse (6423m) and Cholatse (6335m - in the clouds) as seen from Renjo La.

Audaces fortuna iuvat - Fortune favours the bold - our motto

Over the course of the next nine months the two of us had planned a seven week route in Nepal’s Makalu-Barun  and Solukhumbu regions that began in October 2009 in the sweltering jungles of Nepal’s lowlands, and guided us to the summit of Ama Dablam, an iconic peak just south of Mount Everest that rises a full six kilometers above our starting point.

The Edpedition Team. (L to R) Marek Romanowicz, Jakub Polasik, Michał Skiba, Piotr Kluz and Some Tamang

Expedition crew at airport

Two university students, Jakub Polasik and Piotr Kluz, joined our group, and when in Nepal, we hired a guide (“Sherpa”) and five porters. Asides from help with carrying our 100 kilograms of food supplies and securing permits, we managed everything ourselves. Along the way we photographed magnificent rice and potato terraces, isolated villages, the base camps of four 8000 meter peaks and crossed two 6000+ meter mountain passes. We bathed three times in those two months!

Makalu base camp (4800m) at night.

Momos for dinner. These are pirogies with either buffalo meat or vegetables in them

Summit of Mera Central with Nepal's lowlands in the background.

This April, Marek and I are flying out to Nepal again and will be completing a four week trek skirting Manaslu, the 8156 meter Mountain of the Spirit.

Photos from this and previous treks can be found on our Facebook page

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L.Stadt and Pustki ROCK Canadian Music Week

Pustki Live in Toronto @ Bellwood Photo By Peter Calak / GravityBureau.com

They came. They played. And now they’re enjoying the Austin bedlam.

From March 13 to 19 over 350 bands from across the planet played in all kinds of concert venues across the city as part of Canadian Music Week (CMW) festivities.

CMW which is labeled as “Canada’s International Music Convention and Film Festival” is a showcase of all things music and every year it attracts a multitude of aspiring domestic and international acts looking to make waves on the music scene.

Among all the artists were two Polish bands L.Stadt and Pustki.

Both played a series of official CMW gigs in venues such as famed eatery Czehostki’s and Hard Luck but also added a small surprise to the mix.

L.Sadt Live in Toronto @ Hard Luck Photo By Peter Calak / GravityBureau.com

On Friday, March 11 L.Stadt and Pustki with the help of former Polish-Canadian music exec Stephen Klus organized a last minute free concert at the Bellwood Bar & Grill.

The venue, although not ideal for a concert, provided a fitting background for the gritty rock n’ roll vibe resonating in the rest of the city.

Pustki Live in Toronto @ Bellwood Photo By Peter Calak / GravityBureau.com

Both bands sounded really great live and proved to be just as interesting and engaging in person. Part of making it out to small shows like this is that you really get a great opportunity to connect with the artists. And it was a pleasure to meet all of them.

One point of interest – among the audience was Basia Bulat who was recently nominated for a New Artist of the Year Juno and will perform during the March 21-29 Juno Week festivities.

Juno Nominated Basia Bulat with Radek Łukasiewicz of Pustki Photo By Peter Calak / GravityBureau.com

And as for L.Stadt and Pustki – after their gigs in Toronto both bands packed up and headed down to the famed SXSW (South by SouthWest) music and interactive conference and festival taking place in Austin, Texas.

Check out these great photos courtesy of Peter Calak from GravityBureau.com from the performances at Bellwood and Hard Luck.

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And have a look at these videos – hope they give you a bit of a taste of the energy that these two great bands deliver. ft

L.Stadt

Pustki Live in Toronto @ Bellwood

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From the Vault: ‘Na Luzie’ Archive 1 Gosia

We are beyond thrilled to announce that YouNxt has teamed up with Na Luzie (Laid Back) – Polish-Canadian television program airing on OMNI TV – to bring you some of the most interesting and entertaining segments, from the past, produced by Host and Reporter Anna Piszczkiewicz.

So, without further ado, here is the first segment.

Enjoy.

Moment on the Floor by Gosia

GOSIA

By Anna Piszczkiewicz

In March, the streets of Toronto are grey and drab, so I thought that for the first look into my archives, we should visit the magical world of elves, fairies and haunted forests. This fairy tale world is created by painter, illustrator and sculptor Gosia.

Gosia arrived in Canada at the age of 12. And it was then, growing up in this strange, new place that she started drawing. Fast forward a few years; she’s a graduate of the Interpretive Illustration program at Sheridan College and a professional artist, who has showcased her work at a myriad of exhibitions and festivals including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and the One of a Kind Show.

Cyrk by Gosia

Enter Gosia’s world below (brought to you in Polish). If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see Little Red Riding Hood somewhere in the story. I took the girl in the red cape home with me.

Gosia will be showing at the Artist Project Toronto from March 3-6, 2011. For more information visit her website at www.gosia.ca

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