EARL STEVENSON
What's the difference between a Toronto hipster and a prairie hipster? Let's use Canadian Idol contestant Earl Stevenson - who delighted this week, singing Rock 'n' Roll Suicide while sauntering around the stage in skinny jeans, a vintage leather jacket and a fedora - as our sample for the latter. First off, notice his name is Earl, not Zev. He sports a goofy smile, not a sarcastic sneer. His job is - really - swamper for a backhoe operator. Much more fun than rude record-store clerk, no? Oh, and his favourite song is Turn Me Loose by Loverboy. (He has probably never even heard of Vampire Weekend.) But the most important difference: Clearly, prairie hipsters are actually cool.
GREECE
Ask a tween girl where she wants to vacation and odds are she'll say Mexico or some Caribbean destination. But if we were a tour operator, we'd start planning girly Greece packages: The nation has a starring role in two big chick flicks this summer: Mamma Mia! and The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2. And wait until they find out about the fried cheese!
ELTON JOHN ICE CREAM
What does Elton John taste like? Wait, let's rephrase: What does the new Elton John-inspired ice cream taste like? Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road is chocolate ice cream with peanut-butter-cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks. The limited-edition flavour from Ben & Jerry's was created to mark the singer's first performance in Vermont this month. Proceeds will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. How sweet is that?