Find out on my full post Here, on the DDB Canada Blog

Want more Easter eggs to light up the tree? Go to www.ChristmasSpiritTree.ca or text 70734
#Volcano
#Santa
#Candycane
#Christmas
#Barber
#Magic
#Polkadots

One man, Colin Clarke, had the opportunity to spend a week with Monroe, desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work, and show her some of the pleasures of British life in an idyllic week. He shares his story in a novel-turned-film My Week With Marilyn.

The film is being released this week and Alliance Films are sharing the excitement of the release by gifting 8 pairs of free, advanced screening passes to you, awesome people.

When: This Thursday, Nov 17th at 7pm

Where: Varsity Bloor Cinemas Toronto

What do you have to do to win? I will be giving out 8 pairs through Twitter and through the comments section of this blog post.

Contest starts today, Monday November 14, 2011 at 9:30 am EST and ends today at 6:30 pm EST. Winners will be announced throughout the day tomorrow, until 5pm EST.  All you need to do is answer this question: If you had one day to spend with Marilyn, what would you do? and use the tags @smichm and #MyWeekWithMarilyn

You can enter twice by tweeting and leaving a comment! Leave an email also if you are entering through the comment section!

Please note:

- Contest is open to residents of Toronto/GTA only

-  You must comment in the comment section of the blog or through Twitter

- You must use the tags to be eligible

- You must leave an email address to enter via the comment section

- Winners will be chosen at random through Random.org

- One entry per person, per media channel (double your entries with a tweet and comment)

- Winners have 2 (two) hours to respond after being announced to claim their tickets, otherwise their tickets will be forfeited and another winner will be chosen at random.

Good Luck!!

“More than half of the study’s respondents could not live without the Internet and cite it as an ‘integral part’ of their lives. In some cases, they call it more essential than owning a car, dating, and going to parties. Also, one in three would prioritize social media freedom, device flexibility, and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer.” – Cisco report

While most of  this seems like common sense, many companies have yet to acknowledge the change and need to adapt. To those, this study brings to light interesting considerations about hiring, retaining, stimulating and mentoring Generation Y.

Personally, I found Generation Y’s connection to mobile very interesting. The study  reveals Generation Y cites a mobile device as “the most important technology” in their lives, half would rather lose their wallet or purse than their smartphone or mobile device, and more than two-of-five would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

Additionally, the study revealed the importance remote access as a major influencer to a Generation Y’s job decisions. In fact, three-out-of-10 feel that once they begin working, it will be their right- more than a privilege -to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule.

For more information or to see the report for yourself, check the link.

Its a social media based personalized horror film that is sure to knock your socks off. You need to sign in with your Facebook account and grant the app a LOT of access to your personal information. It then takes your personal info, images, etc and turns it into a personalized horror film.

It’s been getting a lot of buzz for being a social commentary of sorts – intended or not – on social oversharing. Either way, its a pretty spectacular example of an app that’s interactive with high share value. It’s an interesting case study for marketers in the future.

The video is reprtedly created by Jason Zada, who has created awesome interactive campaigns like the “Elf Yourself” videos for Office Max and commercials for Ray-Ban and Coupons.com

Here’s my film (sorry, sound’s screwy)

Make your own horror video here http://www.takethislollipop.com/

Its super easy to vote, just click here, press the vote button, and put in your name and email. Tada! That’s it!

http://www.notable.ca/awards/vote/david-coleman/

Here are 5 reasons you should vote:

1. He runs a successful startup and speaks at some of the best media conferences in the world as an expert

2. He really is an expert

3. He’s really involved in the Toronto tech community

4. He’s a founding member of GenYTO. So if you’ve ever had fun at one of those, you need to vote. It’s your duty.

5. He’s really cute.

Please show your support and vote!

Luckily for you, I’ve seen some of the best and worst Toronto has to offer and hopefully can give you some tips as to what has and hasn’t worked for me. Please leave your top choices in the comment section!

Dog Supplies
When I first moved to Toronto, I had a very difficult time finding a downtown pet store that had fairly reasonably prices. There were times I went into some boutiques, found something cheap but necessary… but once I turned the price tag around to reveil the price, I nearly screamed Extortion! Down town shops will never be as cost-effective as a Petsmart/anything in the suburbs but there are a few great finds with really high-quality stuff that make the price point of value. Here are my favourites in no particular order:

• My Pet Boutique: I Love this little shop in yorkville. It’s a great place to get sweaters that will really keep your dog warm in the winter, toys you won’t be embarrassed to have laying around the house and super friendly staff.

• Helmutts Pet Supply: Helmutts is my new fave place in Queen West, with friendly staff and tons of healthy dog food, you won’t need to go anywhere else.

Honourable Mention

• PJ’s Pets: When I was living up at Yonge and Eglington I always stocked up here. The staff is great, as are the prices.

Dog Food
Its no secret I LOVE food. I like to try to make sure my dogs eat well too… while still minding a budget and my hectic work schedule (sorry, boys, I’m not prepared to make dog food from scratch). I was blown away when my friend introduced me to this treat:

• Carna4: A Canadian dog food company that’s pretty damn impressive — 100% table-grade meat, no meat meal, sprouted seeds and gentle baking to make sure there’s still nutrients in the food. Nope, you wont find corn as a first ingredient here, no crap additives, and it doesn’t cost a fortune. Find out more here.

Training

Its been over a decade since last having a dog in training, and let me tell you: things have changed! I’ve been very much impressed with When Hounds Fly and their clicker training technique. If you want a no-BS, scientifically proven training that works, go here. We saw results after one class.

Groomers

I have two dogs: one old man with arthritis and one pup, both poodle mixes. Through the older dog, I’ve seen just about every cut, style, blowdry pricing and service quality you could imagine. Safe to say, I’m no dog grooming n00b. As the older dog got older, a good, careful groomer became of increasing importance.

• Pooch Salon: That’s why I love Pooch salon. The asian lady there is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Just be sure to go to her and not the other dog groomer operating from the same location.

Black Listed
Of all my experience, Timmies Dog Outfitters was the worst dog grooming experience I’ve had in the 15+ years I’ve had poodles. After she didn’t finish the old dog’s nails (I even expressed unhappiness when picking the dogs up) I ended up having to take my puppy to the vet because she cut him and it got infected (which is the first time I’ve ever had to take my dog to the vet because of a grooming experience). Needless to say, after getting their nails fixed elsewhere and the vet vet bill cleared, it was by far the most expensive grooming I’ve ever experienced! Don’t go there.

Vets

My absolute favourite vet I’ve ever taken any of my dogs to is Mount Pleasant Veterinary Clinic. By far the sweetest staff, great service, yummy coffee on site, and the best doctors in the city, this vet has been by far the best I’ve experienced.

Dog Parks

I’ve actually only been to a few of these, Bellwoods most notably, so I would LOVE for you to send me your tops choices for this section!  Until then, check out these suggestions from BlogTO!

Anyhow, hope that helps and send me your best and worst choices in the comment section!

As for the award show, it’s going to be a party and then some: open bar, 400 young professionals, and wicked venue (Andrew Richards Design, from this video)

Here’s more about the event: Notable.ca launched the first ever Awards in Canada, solely dedicated to Young Canadian Professionals. The Notable Awards are a first-of-its-kind award that recognizes Canada’s Young Professionals, the future leaders of our country, who are doing incredible things both professionally and socially. We are looking for young professionals who not only have a steadfast dedication to their career but also to helping make the world around them a better place – what we call “a 360-degree Young Professional”.

With 13 different industry categories, there is something for everyone. The Categories are: Architecture & Real Estate, Best Personal Brand, Community Impact (Medical and Not-for-profit), Culture Curators (Literature, Fashion, Design, Arts), Entrepreneurs, Finance, Future Builders (Teaching and Human Resources), Internet Start-up and Technology, Law, Lifestyle (Hospitality, Cuisine, Travel), Media and Communications, Social Media, Sports and Entertainment AND **Young Professional of the Year**

The Notable Awards present an opportunity for young professionals to receive major recognition for their accomplishments on a national stage, especially with Metro Newspaper and CP24 as media partners for the Awards.

To learn more and to nominate yourself, a colleague or friend visit: http://www.notable.ca/awards

The actual Notable Awards Show is taking place on November the 10th in Toronto, I hope to see you there!

In a 2010 study, Toronto was found to have the highest rates of motor vehicle collisions with both cyclist and pedestrians in the country. (click that link)

In fact, I Bike TO reports, “If we can use the 2006 census as a reference for mode share, it appears as if cycling is twice as dangerous as walking in the city. While there were twice as many pedestrian/car collisions as cyclist/car collisions; there are about 4 times as many people walking to work as biking to work (1.7% bike mode share versus 7.1% walking mode share). A cyclist, it appears, is twice as likely to be in a minor or major collision compared to a pedestrian. While cycling is overall still a safe transportation mode, we could still do a lot to create better conditions for cyclists so they can at least reach the lesser risk levels of pedestrians.”

These collisions are very strange, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Here’s what Toronto Life says, “The data reveals that Toronto leads the country’s biggest cities in cyclist collisions, which we find more than a little bizarre. Usually, as more and more cyclists populate a city’s streets, the accident rate drops, not rises (New York and Minneapolis are but two examples). The reason is simple: as cyclists become a predictable part of the local traffic environs, they’re in less danger of being run over. Except, apparently, in Toronto.“

Yet I rarely see people point the finger at motor vehicle drivers who may be the bigger cause for concern on Toronto’s streets (Gasp! More so than cyclists!)

So, does this make cycling Toronto’s streets an extreme sport? Well, I’m beginning to think so.

I was hit by a car today while cycling to work.

I’m not a Toronto cycling n00b either, I used to ride my bike almost every day (weather/season permitting) when living and working downtown. Since moving into the new house this past weekend, I was so excited to bike to and from work again… and today was supposed to be my first day biking to work from the new house. I was so excited for this momentous occasion and bought new lights, cup holder, and a rear-view mirror for her… even tightened her locked screws for a safe ride. She’s a beaut.

This is like the standard, mine was one piiimmpped out GX W.

Barely made it 2 blocks when a taxi cab ran a red light and t-boned me while I was crossing the street along the pedestrian crossing. It wasn’t until I was about mid-flight that it hit me (pun intended) what was happening. The only thing that ran through my head was “you have got to be fucking kidding me.” See, even my internal dialogue swears like a pirate.

Luckily, there were oodles of witnesses, including the cab driver’s passenger. They all ran out to attest to the fact that he ran the red and helped me gather my personal objects, strewn from my purse and scattered across the road. There were people organizing names and information, others calling for help, and others even helping me to breathe and not hyperventilate.

The cab driver stuck around and was charged with careless driving. He claimed the early-morning sunlight blinded him so he didnt see the red light, or me for that matter. #Sunglasses… ‘nough said.

My David also called the taxi company to, well, probably yell and vent some frustration, but they were apparently very respectful and helpful. They hadn’t yet been notified by the driver of what had happened (was he still taking customers?!) and assured us that he would lose his licence with their company. I’m not going to reveal the name of the company because A) before today, they were my favourite taxi company and B) why bother giving their PR people a headache over one stupid, reckless employee. (Am I wrong?)

At the end of the day, I’m alive. I’m battered and bruised, pissed off that my precious bike is a mess, and a little bit terrified of ever getting back on her (assuming she still rides)… but feeling very lucky to not have any body part broken. I hope my bike gets fixed and these pain meds keep coming. Otherwise, I’m getting a metro pass for my work commute and I’ll save the cycling for the off hours. I think its a shame, but the drivers in Toronto are a little to dangerous for the faint-of-heart. Instead, I think I’ll watch and cheer on the cyclists from a cozy street car, sipping a latte, as they battle the streets with the reckless motorists during the busy commute.

Want to lurk moar? Check out the Urban Country’s response to the Toronto Star article accusing cyclists of being rude