Holidays

Let's see...

Last night Leah and I met after work and went to the Festival of Lights, in Kensington Market. This festival/parade is basically a pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Giant puppet-mask costumed actors stage various crazy scenes in the street, involving the cyclical life and death of summer and winter. Stilt walkers and fire-breathers do their respective things. And various shadow shows, costumed singers and paper-mache creations play out on rooftops and sidewalks. All of this is accompanied by the drumming of the crazy marching/dancing band that winds its way through the market.
We missed the grand finale in the park... Leah tells me that mostly it involves more drumming and the burning of giant effigies. Partly, this is a little too pagan for my liking, and partly it was freezing and I was hungry... so we went to Tastys and ate blue-cheese burgers.

The parade was fun - although it is a little scary when you overhear someone telling their kid that this is what Christmas is really all about. I am glad that we get to celebrate something a little more significant than the shortest day of the year.

After all of this, we went home and finished watching the Office. If you don't mind some pretty crass humour here and there (there are only one or two spots where they go way over the line), I highly recommend it. Hilarious, but with much more depth than anything I have seen on TV in a long time. (OK, so we haven't even had a TV for a long time, but trust me...)

In 4 hours I will be on Holiday.

Ouch

Today I burnt the mess out of my tongue whilst eating some delicious Tim Horton's turkey and rice soup.

Quick

This last weekend we were involved in a chaotic dinner event for new immigrants to Canada. Ironically (for me at least), we played the part of the Canadian hosts. It was fun.
Also, we had people over for dinner on Sunday, after church, to help us eat a lot of left over turkey.
For the rest of the weekend, we did dishes.

My silk-screened cards turned out OK, despite being a bit frustrating. It all comes down to having the right tool for the job - or in my case, never having the right tool for the job.

Also - The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is a crazy book. I highly recommend.

I haven't decided if I fully recommend the TV show The Office (the BBC version - I have not seen any of the US version)... I will say that the few episodes that we watched last night were funny (and sort of not funny)

Happy Holidays

This is what it looked like waiting for the streetcar this morning...

Unfortunately, we are going to be quite busy the next few days, otherwise I'd be hitting up the giant hill at Cedarvale Park with some cardboard. Maybe if there is still snow everywhere on Sunday...

Some animal links...

Scientists discover what might be a new mammal - it is crazy that there are still things on earth that we haven't found yet.

Also, this guy creates some pretty neat things out of chairs and nikes.

December

So, three weeks until the holidays... I am looking forward to a week off. Somehow, 10 days of vacation a year seems a little unreasonable to be a socially acceptable and widely practiced norm.

We made a big breakfast this Saturday for 11 people... pancakes and fruit for everyone. It was just the warm-up for this coming weekend. Turkey for 10...

Hipster Bingo

Forget taking this to shows, I'm going to start playing at church...

Blazing Out Yo La Tengo

This seems to be turning into a music blog of sorts...

Anyway - for whatever reason, I seem to like songs that reference other bands/songs. Of course, the song has to be good too. (Check out Nada Surf's Blonde on Blonde if you want an example.)

So, how could I not like Playboy, by Hot Chip... I mean, the idea of rolling in your blinged out ride, with the Yo La blazing...

That is hilarious.

Havalina - Space, Love and Bullfighting

I forgot about this CD - I like it.

Bullfighter
The bullfighter had come to town, summertime he'd been laid down, the bull had took his winning crown, and left him lying on the ground, his wife and children hung their heads, the bullfighter wished he was dead. He couldn't stand the pain that day, and all his pride was torn away, the sky it was a bitter gray, and bitter were the things they'd say. Madrid, Madrid reach out to me, I'm down upon a bended knee, I need the fight to be set free, Oh Lord above have you cursed me. Wintertime had brought despair, and all the news had spread of what had happened there, the bull had nailed him to the floor, and though the pain was bad his pride was wounded more, the bull fighter was feel'n down, and though his scorn had passed he wore it like a thorny crown, he couldn't take another day, he went up to the highest roof and flew away.

Space and Places
I'm moving futher from the ground, I'm losing touch with things around, I'm finding out I'm needing you, I start to see the awful things, that I do, It's a big world, to fall in love girl, It's a warm night, it will be all right, even space has, empty places, everything has, time and spaces, everything falls out of places, leaving us their empty spaces.

Pluto
Out a ways in the solar system, Pluto lies so cold and distant 12345678, (9) planets from the sun, and right about here in the solar system, lie you and I so cold and distant, I guess you could say we're not having any fun. And the world goes by and life is grand and people fall and people stand, and the planets spin around again as you're reaching slowly for my hand. Out in space it's awfully cold, and only you can make me whole, things aren't always what they seem, and Pluto's caught right in between. Not quite a planet and not quite steam, Pluto's caught right in between. Some things they may fall apart, and sometimes love may break your heart, and sometimes I may lose my way, and Pluto is now yesterday.

Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Here it is not Thanksgiving. Here it is snowing like a dumptruck.

Genius

If I were ever lucky enough to own an iPod AND a scooter, I would definitely have to check this out...

CD Update

Here's another CD that is well worth listening to if you ever get the chance...
The Langley Schools Music Project.

I can't get the audio of this NPR story (about the album) to work - maybe you can...

Weekend Update

Saturday - I went to the Freedom Clothing sale... I didn't buy anything, but you should definitely check out the store if you like vintage/used/cut-paste design type clothing.
I then went to Mitchells and bought this CD by the Newsboys from a friendly South African lady. Yes, the Newsboys.
Saturday night was the biggest Indian food feast I have ever seen this side of a Miranda Stone concert. It was for Katherine's birthday. There was seriously enough food for two of everybody.

Sunday - We went to the Santa Claus parade. We also bought the Bell Orchestre CD and tickets to a Final Fantasy / Great Lake Swimmers show which is going to pretty much rule. Other shows drool.

Winter

Winter is officially here, with snow and all.

As we get closer and closer to the shortest day of the year, I ask why this particular day seems to drag on so long...

Let me know if you have any suggestions for my aforementioned CD list. (see previous posting)

CDs

Every now and then I try to think of CDs that I wouldn't mind purchasing... Here's the list right now, off the top of my head:

My Favorite - The Happiest Days of Our Lives
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Stars - Set Yourself on Fire
The Violet Burning - Faith And Devotions Of A Satellite Heart
Jolie Holland - Escondida
Iron and Wine - Any album
Innocence Mission - Befriended / Small Planes / Birds of My Neighborhood
Citizen Cope - The Clarence Greenwood Recordings
Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors

I'm sure there are more, which I will add if I think of them...

Wednesday

Half way through the week... not much to report.

Leah helped me to print some shirts last night for the Paintball game that some guys from church organized. I will post a picture or two on the IMMIGRANT Design site when I get a chance.

Urban Designs

I missed the Toronto Zombie Walk, but I still have a chance to check out this weekend's pillow fight.

Party People

If (and only if) you're in the right mood - the United State of Electronica makes for a pretty good listen...

Heroes

The Loitering Heroes show last night was fun. I think it was the best show I've ever seen them play. The new songs were good, and the band seemed to be playing more as a band somehow.

It was cool to run into Kate - and catch a glimpse of what is sure to be a strange and fun show... (there was a guy dressed as Teen Wolf..!)

I submitted a few logos for the New Orleans Restoration Fund design contest. Its good practice at something I haven't ever done much of - turns out its really hard to do well...

IMMIGRANT Design is back! There is nothing new to see though, but I should be adding some logo design and maybe some web design at some point... Also, I might have some ideas for some silkscreening projects, but who knows whether I'll actually get to doing any of them...

Blah...

I somehow messed up IMMIGRANT Design... something to do with name-servers that I don't really understand. Anyway, I'm hoping that maybe it will come back on its own (stuff like that seems to happen with hosting and domain nonsense)...

I really should get the My Favorite double CD of there 4 EPs...

Yesterday, I started reading the interview with Bono, in the latest issue of Rolling Stone... it is really interesting. I also watched the rest of 13 Conversations about One Thing. I think it is one of those movies that is more interesting in theory than in actuality. What I mean is that it is trying to deal with a very interesting, and pretty tricky, topic... something to do with finding the balance between contentment and complacency.

Goings on

Some things that have been going on this week.

Monday - I finally registered for a new Social Insurance Number. This is something like a Social Security Number, and my previous number was set to expire. I was surprised to not have to wait in line for hours at the Human Resources and Development Canada Office, so I had loads of time before my doctor's appointment. I managed to find a Goodwill store near the doctor, where I bought Fables of the Reconstruction (REM) and Loaded (The Velvet Underground). I was also stoked to find Jolie Holland's Escondida, but somebody had taken the CD and left the cover... let's rip off a charity organization AND keep Trent from scoring a sweet album for $3.79

Tuesday - we went to dinner at Elena's. It was good to see her and Katherine... We also stopped by K's super sweet place on the way home.

Wednesday - Leah's show was really fun. Shelley and Brendon played sax and trumpet, I played some melodica, and Leah broke out some flute. I am tired today.

Some things

Yesterday I bought some groceries for dinner. I noticed that they seemed a little more expensive than I had expected, and checked the receipt. Somehow I was charged for cat food instead of an orange pepper. How is a pepper like cat food?

Also, if you've ever watched ALIEN, you know the scene where they discover that that one guy is a robot, and he starts freaking out. If you turn off the sound and crank some music, it is pretty funny.

I managed to stretch my own screen last night, using some leftover wood from our bed for a frame. Instead of $30, it cost maybe $4... and it worked pretty darn well too.

Weekend

Friday night - I met with Andy to talk about making some shirts for him.
Saturday - I came in to work (yay!), and then Leah and I rented Alien.
Sunday - Laundry, and then I went down to the lakeshore and walked from the Harbourfront Centre over to where Tent City used to be. I also bought a melodica before church. Green Mango. Bed.

On the side

Kevin came over last night to take a look at the small amount of progress I have made on the Loitering Heros website. I have to say that it is looking fairly sweet, not because of anything we have done, but solely due to the awesomeness of Pete's watercolor illustrations.

I also have to meet with Andy tonight to go over some flyer/tshirt design stuff. If I get the chance this weekend, I hope to be hooking myself up with some silk and canvas frames, so that I can stretch some new screens. I am toying with the idea of making some shirts / cards of some famous buildings, either modern icons or Toronto buildings.

Reunion Tour

My 10 year high school reunion is this weekend. High school in Georgia was definitely not the 3 favorite years of my life - but there are a few people I wouldn't mind seeing.

I left the US about 5 years ago now. I have been back for a few summers, Christmases, and other occasions. I never really planned to leave; I was just going to graduate school! It is really only recently that I even realized I left. And it is only recently that I have realized that I miss things and places and people in that weird way that you can miss stuff without really knowing it. It isn't a surprise now.

Weekend Update

Friday - the wedding was FUN TIMES. The service was great. The reception was great. Everybody was so stoked for David and Jen, and therefore ready to party.

Saturday - I had this sweet headache, which lasted for the rest of the weekend. I suspect that it was mostly due to being so busy for the last while, and so tired from staying up for wedding rehearsal dinners and weddings. Leah and I went on a date Saturday night. We saw the W&G WereRabbit movie, which Leah did not like - but I certainly did, and then we ate sweet Mexican food (Hot Tacos, Cold Beer)

Sunday - Prayer meeting / pancake breakfast at Jeremy and Pat's. We prayed for Jeremy and Ann Marie's dad. We went home for a while, and then we went to church.

Some random things

The White Stripes album Elephant is good.
This IKEA website is pretty neat.
David and Jen get married tonight!
Work is busy.
American Sasquatch is where its at. Yes, click Media, and then Audio

Weekend Update

So - I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving / Columbus Day weekend.

Friday - FT prayer meeting for some friends, whose dad is getting ready (chemo) for a bone marrow transplant.
Saturday - Brunch at Mars. Then we bought a turkey. Then we went to Kevin and Don's, where I started working with Kevin on the Loitering Heroes website. That night we rented and watched Sleepy Hollow. I liked it. Leah did not.
Sunday - the feast (potluck Thanksgiving is the way to go). And then church. And then dishes, lots of 'em.
Monday - Kensington market, and then to friends for dinner.

I also managed to print another IMMIGRANT shirt over the weekend. I just need to iron it and mail it.

Hey Ya

For some reason, which I can't explain, I keep listening to this screaming frantic cover of Hey Ya...

I guess its a good song, if it can take that kind of abuse...

Readings

Last night, Leah and I heard some Strong Words at the Gladstone Hotel. Kevin's one-act-play-in-progress was great, and I also really enjoyed Ryan's stories.

When we got home, we heard some strong words outside, as some girl sobbed and yelled at her boyfriend out on the street, while the rest of the neighbourhood was trying to sleep.

Weekend Update

This weekend was busy. Leah finished playing the last of her Viking musical shows. I went on a 24 hour camping/bachelor party outing to the Toronto islands.

Around 10 of us managed to spend the night camping out, without being caught or fined, in celebration of our beloved pastor, and the end of his bachelorhood...

Player

Thanks to Jeremy and Pat, our neighbours to the east, we now have a record player, with a tiny old-school amp. Now I just have to find some speakers...

Oh yeah, and some records...

Weekend Update

This blog should be called Weekend Update, since that's pretty much all it is...

Busy weekend - especially for Leah... she had her first wedding gig...
And then she played a show at the Free Times. It was fun...

Sunday, we had to set up for church, and then afterwards we scored a free couch; Thanks be to God! (and to Debbie, who is moving apartments this week, and kindly handed the couch on to us.) We shoved the couch into the back of a Jetta, and then tied the hatchback down with some random exercise / fitness-training gear...

I also bought New Adventures in Hi-Fi at the Salvation Army.

Loud

Sometimes music needs to be loud. Not some songs, but some times. One of those times is now...

In related news...

Check out CFTPA.

Crash

Leah and I watched Crash last night. It is good.

The busy weekend kicks off with me working late today!

Concert

Announcement

Half-Handed Cloud

For all the bible story songs you didn't learn in Sunday school, check out Half-Handed Cloud's CD, Thy is a Word and Feet Need Lamps.

A few song titles from the CD:

Famine's Hard
Animals are Cut in Two
Everyone Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes
Grandfather Foreskin

Yes, these are mostly Old Testament jams...

Weekend Update

Let's see...

Saturday: We went to the wedding of a Nigerian/Canadian man to a Korean woman. There was some crazy gold robe meets traditional korean dress action going on. Then we had a meeting with church people, and the dinner at Red Lobster.

Sunday: Went for a walk. Went to church. Church was great.


In more interesting news... check out this pink bunny.

New Site

Check out this fresh new site:

IMMIGRANT DESIGN

If you want me to stick some of your work on the site, holler. Better yet, if you want me to make you something...

Checking in

Just checking in so that people don't give up on ever checking this site.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone has a CD called Twinkle Echo. I bought it for Leah for her birthday, and then stole it to listen to at work today. I like it.

Also - Some changes are afoot for this here website. I will let you know when to get excited, because changes can be slow...

We did not get to see Sufjan Stevens over the weekend.

Show up

Check out this show coming up...

Weekend Update

The long weekend is over... It was pretty uneventful, for the most part.

Highlights included

helping with some painting
a barbecue in Etobicoke
watching that penguin movie
church
cleaning up our apartment

Reading

I am currently reading (again) Out of the Silent Planet.

Weekend Update...

Not too much of note this weekend... so I'll stick to the things with some amount of lasting impact.

Leah got a new(ish) part-time job at a coffee place...
We went to the going away party of a friend who leaves for a year, to teach Math in India.
We bought the new(ish) Coldplay CD. Not as good as the one before, which was not as good as the one before...

And a few items of no lasting importance whatsoever...

We watched The Grudge... learn from our mistakes and don't bother.
I got a sweet headache yesterday.
The alarmclock somehow got set ahead an hour. I mistakenly awoke at 6 (but really 5) this morning. I proceeded to shower, dress, eat, make lunch, and almost step out into the darkness to go to work, before Leah pointed out that it was just after 6.

Don't Procrastinate

Sufjan Stevens is sold out. I don't know if I will be able to get tickets at the door or not. =(

Flickr Pictrs

I started adding pictures to my Flickr site. Since it is a little slow using dial-up, expect pictures to appear periodically, as I have time to upload...

Back

So... Leah and I are back from our trip to Nova Scotia.

I will fill you all in when I get a chance - and will add pictures to my newly created Flickr account...

Sufjan

In response to Zellyn's recent post regarding Sufjan Stevens... September 10th is a Saturday, so for once I can go to a concert, and as an added bonus, Laura Veirs is opening.

SWEETNESS.

3 days...

until vacation. I am ready for a week off. Actually, I'm ready for more than a week off, but I'll take what I can get.

Nothing much to report - here's a pretty neat site for picking colors.

The Usual

Friday night we rented Goin' Down the Road.
Saturday we went to the Escape Goat Records barbecue. Half of Loitering Heroes (the Leah and Kevin half) played, as did Neil Haverty and Ohbijou.
Sunday we watched some cricket in the park, and then went to church.

Mid Week Update

Wednesday. Work is pretty busy - I am working on two different jobs, so I have to learn to juggle (more an exercise in dimplomacy than in time management, since every job is the most urgent.)

Tonight Leah plays a show at the FreeTimes. The person she was opening for cancelled sort of last minute, so I don't really know who else is playing.

I have to go down to Toronto Western in about fifteen minutes for a meeting. I will conveniently be able to walk over to the FreeTimes after I am done.



Nothing exciting really.

Weekend Update

So... the long weekend:

Leah and I went to a cottage for the weekend, with a bunch of folks, most of whom we didn't know. (The cottage belongs to the brother and sister-in-law of a friend of mine from work.) It was fun, and good to get out of the city.

We mostly sat around, and occasionally ate food. There was also some swimming and on Monday we went wake-boarding, which I was surprisingly pretty decent at.

Leah unfortunately stubbed her little toe really hard, thereby breaking it. It turned purple.

Anyway - Like I said, it was fun, although I do feel like I need another weekend...

Cinderella Man

Let's see...

Last night we went to see Cinderella Man at the Bloor Cinema. It was a pretty good Hollywood movie, and by Hollywood, I mean just about as Hollywood as it gets. Luckily the movie is based on a real story and 'actual' events, so some of the absolute over-the-top things that might have happened were prohibited by history!

Anyway, see it if you like movies about Russell Crowe as a character-flawless underdog triumphing over bad guys, hard times, and pretty much everything. Or, see it if you liked Paul Giamatti, as Harvey Pekar in American Splendor. (If you haven't seen American Splendor, then watch that instead. Definitely.) Or, see it if you feel like playing "Spot the Toronto-as-Depression-Era-New-York Location".

Lastly, and most importantly, see it if you happen to know Joanne Ritcey, one of Leah's friends from Middleton since about birth... If you are vigilant, you will spot her on screen for about 1.3 seconds, as a "Baer Hotel Hottie".

Weekend Update

Friday - met some people at Ka Chi for good Korean food. Then Baskin Robbins. Then went to see Howl's Moving Castle. We unfortunately missed the first few minutes, but since we knew we were running late, we had been briefed beforehand on the setup. Still, it would have been nice to see the beginning of what was a pretty sweet movie.

Saturday - I finished the Keith Green biography, No Compromise. It is a crazy book - I order you to read it at once. That evening we had a church meeting, and then went to help some friends paint. We arrived late enough for Leah to help paint one closet door, and for me to play poker, since the painting was pretty much over...

Sunday - church was great. We helped set up and teardown, which for some reason seemed to be twice as crazy as normal. I think we had a smaller than usual team, with less people than normal to direct. Also, it was VERY hot and humid. Jess and the team tore it up - which was definitely the highlight of the evening. He is so amazingly gifted by God at leading people into worship.

Reading...

I am reading No Compromise, by Keith Green. I just started a day or two ago, but I would highly recommend it to anyone...

I also discovered that there is a whole world of MP3 blogging out there - who knew!? Last Night an MP3 Saved my Wife.

One more link...

I forgot to post this link...

Voltron Gets Served.

Some Music...

Lately I discovered Music For Robots. I enjoy it daily.

I also recommend Good For No One, by Herman Dune, and The Lord God Bird, by Sufjan Stevens. For more info about the second song, check out this NPR article. I hope to see Sufjan Stevens and Laura Veirs in September.

New Site

So this is my new blog site. UtterEast is restructuring / possibly destructuring, so blogspot it is.

Not much to report. It's been a week since I fell off of my bike. For those who don't know, a pedestrian stepped out from behind a parked car, without looking to see me coming (at a fairly high speed). I tried to go around her, assuming she would keep walking across the street; she looked up, stopped walking, stepped back... anyway - I hit her.

So, the front wheel of my bike is quite bent, not to mention my right shoulder and my left knee! I also hit the right side of my head on the road. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I think it involved going over the front of my bike and basically landing on my head and shoulder. I can only imagine what might have happened were I not wearing a helmet.

Anyway - the girl that I hit seemed OK, although I'm sure she must have a couple of bruises here and there. I was amazed at how relatively unhurt I was, although a couple of nasty bruises surfaced over the next day or two. I still have a pretty nasty one on the back of my left thigh, where I think my bike landed on me. I also had a bit of a bruise on my head, and my shoulder turned a sort of dirty yellow colour.

Anyway - I should be getting a new wheel from a guy at church some time this week. I am a little nervous, but I think I will be back into riding to work and back pretty soon. I thought I was pretty careful before, but I'm sure I will find ways to be much more so once I'm back on the road!