Weekend

Busy

Friday night was the work party. I was so freaking tired - the week was busy, and Thursday night was the TSV show at the Horseshoe. By the time Friday evening happened, I was ready to fall over. The party was pretty good, and then we went home pretty early.

Saturday, we went to the Eaton centre and bought some gloves for Leah. We went over to David and Jen's for dinner, and watched Bobby on their big TV.

On Sunday, we had church, which involved a big huge band... afterwards we went to the Woods for dinner.

I am ready for a holiday.

SNOW-MAGEDDON

!!!

Horseshoe

Go to the Horseshoe tonight to see the Cavaliers CD release show. Their Shallow Valley will be one of the opening bands.

Pantaloons

Check out Ghostface Kilobyte...

Movies

I finally watched a couple of movies that I've been wanting to see for ages.

Over the weekend we watched Old Joy. It stars the freaky-looking Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and some other guy, in a movie about two guys that go camping with a dog. It is the kind of movie that I often like, where not much actually happens in terms of plot... Also, Yo La Tengo does the soundtrack. (Check out Junebug, if you want more BPB+YLT, although BPB is barely in that one.)

Last night, while Leah was at practice, I watched Everything's Gone Green. It wasn't bad - it was Coupland-for-the-movies, with some of the pointier edges smoothed off. In a lot of ways it was similar to J-Pod (the book - I haven't seen the show), with some shared plot points, but the lead characters at least recognized their loss of a moral foundation, and tried to move against that. I found J-Pod brutally amoral - and it had more of an impact for being so - but it was interesting to see a reintroduction of some moral conflict.

Weekend

This blog should be called Trent's weekends.

On Friday night we had practice. I rented a recorder from L&M, so we were able to get some really rough copies of our songs. Afterwards we went to the Rex to see Don and Michael's new super-band.

On Saturday, we stopped by Miriam's Christmas Sale. She is raising money to go and work in Brazil, with Word Made Flesh. Leah took over some GGH Christmas CD's, and the band gave Miriam the profits of any sales.

That night we had Becca T over for dinner.

On Sunday, we went to Billy's for breakfast. After church, we went to the Bowser/Cumby house for dinner.

weekend

Friday - we had practice. We really need some way to record our practices, so that we don't waste time trying to remember all the stuff we figured out the week before. Also, the future of the rehearsal space is possibly a little unsure, since the band we are sharing it with is likely disbanding. We shall see...

Saturday - I went to an elders' meeting. Afterwards I bought eggnog and made muffins, and then headed over to St John's Anglican church, where Leah and GGH were setting up for their Christmas concert.

Sunday - we went out for lunch, and then I went to FT for church. Leah skipped FT, and went to mass with Jen. Afterwards, I made carrot soup with purple carrots.

I also bought the Neil Young live at Massey Hall CD. It is good.

Weekend

On Friday night we went to practice, despite a desparate need to stay home and do other things (like laundry). On the way home, an extremely drunk guy asked us if we knew if there was a corner store nearby. His friend (there were about 5 drunk guys in total) then informed us, rather loudly, that the real question was whether we had bought Chinese Democracy yet.

On Saturday we helped Joel and Anne move. Afterwards we went to Tim and Kate's Christmas/Engagement party. Their Shallow Valley (4/5ths of which was moving all day) played a set, and then Glory Glory Hallelujah played a few Christmas songs too.

On Sunday morning, Leah went to play at the Anglican church with GGH. I managed to do epic quantities of laundry. I think I made 3 trips to the laundromat and back. When Leah got home, we went grocery shopping. When we reached the checkout counter we realized that the lid of a bottle of window cleaner had come unscrewed, and that a portion of our groceries, and our old-lady shopping cart, were soaked in soap. When we got home, I washed the groceries in the sink. Leah went to church for sound-check/practice, and I did the dishes.

After church, we went to Andrew and Esther's (and Joel and Anne's!) and ate sushi, whilst listening to GGH's Christmas CD...

Today, on my way to work, I reached the part in A Prayer for Owen Meany where Owen Meany devises a way for the narrator to avoid going to Vietnam. GROSS!

Neil Young

If you (or your employer) has the bandwidth, check out this live concert recording from 1968...

We have Harvest, and we have the Decade double album... and I have been listening to them quite a bit recently. Perhaps I will have to get some more Neil for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Last night I went to the AGO - it is free on Wednesdays.

I wanted to see the newly unveiled Frank Gehry renovation. Overall, I think it is well done - it is sort of the opposite of the ROM. Fairly reserved - well thought out - and I found the new galley spaces way less annoying than the labyrinthine older galleries are.

Also - I saw some pretty cool art. There was a FREAKY sculpture by Evan Penny - I can't find a picture of it online - it is an astonishingly realistic bust, but stretched out vertically to an alarming aspect ratio. It is really crazy.

There was also a huge cube sculpture covered in iron filings, by Mona Hatoum. The filings make visible the magnetic field formed by a whole bunch of covered magnets. The thing looks furry and rippled, and is almost impossible to not touch.

Lastly, in that big windshield of a space along Dundas street, there were huge vertical sculptures by Giuseppe Penone. These consited mostly of huge pieces of wood, with portions carved down to the size and shape of the tree at some point in its past life. They are amazing - check out some pics...

The weekend

I am surprised that I have kept up doing the old weekend update blog for so long...

This weekend had us practicing Friday night - we had an almost 4 hour rehearsal, which was good.

On Saturday, we went to the FT leaders meeting/day. We showed up late, skipping the pot-luck lunch part...

Afterwards we went to Andrew and Esther's to record a couple of parts for a Christmas CD.

On Sunday - I went to the Common in the morning. I was halfway home when I realized that I hadn't paid for my coffee and shortbread, so I had to walk back.
I went to get a haircut before church. I ended up running sound, since there was no sound guy. Marty had managed to figure out enough for the band to get through sound-check/rehearsal, and it ended up being a pretty easy job.
After church we went to Andrew and Esther's (again!) with a whole bunch of people, for a pot-luck dinner and game-playing.

The end.

Weekend Update

On Friday, Brad came out to the rehearsal space with us and played bass. It was fun, and useful to have a new set of ears listening to a couple of our songs. We have a lot of work to do...

On Saturday, I went to the (first ever???) FT men's seminar. It took up the bulk of the day. That evening, we bummed a ride out to the 'Sauga for Cyril's birthday party. We ended up staying pretty late (after a bunch of people left, we stuck around and watched B-Boy Nation).

fun fact - the previous owner of the house that Cyril and Mae bought was the guitar player for Megadeath.

Sunday was kind of a write-off. We tried to sleep-in (I pretty much have to fight to NOT wake up before 8), and then were pretty tired all day. Leah played music at church. Afterwards, we went to Anne and Joel's for a pot-luck dinner, but didn't stay super long.

Last night we had a really crappy sleep, so I am TIRED today.

Weekend

Friday night was practice.

On Saturday, Leah and I walked along Queen street from Roncesvales to Ossington. We went into a few antique stores and art galleries, and ended up having lunch in a small cafe.

That evening we went to see Changeling with Brad and Sarah. My recommendation would be that you do not watch this movie. I don't understand the fairly positive reviews this one got. (I didn't understand what was supposed to be good about Mystic River either). Clint Eastwood seems to be mistaken for a good filmmaker simply by telling miserable/horrible stories. And then, in this case, cranking up the drama as much as possible. I actually threw my hands up on multiple occasions. I suppose I shouldn't go to see a Clint Eastwood movie if I want subtlety and nuance. Or good storytelling. Or anything other than badass tough guys.

I don't understand how the same guy made A Perfect World.

On Sunday - I cooked a whole bunch of food, and then a whole bunch of people came over for dinner after church.

SP

Last night Leah and I went to the first of two Smashing Pumpkins shows at Massey Hall. Despite the venue being a bit weird for such an event, and our somewhat odd vantage point from the side balcony, it was a pretty great show.
The band only played a few of their huge hits - saving the rest for tonight's show, I suppose. They did take the opportunity for some long-form guitar/pedal/feedback numbers, which were pretty great, and some almost Canada-Arts-Council ambient noise (guitar/pedal/feedback) sessions too.
Embarrassingly, some of the audience was a little less receptive to these pretty freaking cool sections, and there were some embarrassing moments of idiots yelling things like, 'Play a song'. For the rest of the time, they seemed mostly satisfied with the full on onslaught of noise and volume.

BARACK THE VOTE !

Halloweekendupdate

Leah and I pretty much skipped Halloween for band practice.
On Saturday we went to a wedding, and then watched Bladerunner until Leah fell asleep.
On Sunday Leah played music in the morning at the Anglican church. I did laundry and then went to non-Anglican church early to help set things up. I also ran sound - which was hard work as usual, but I was pretty pleased with how things went.
Afterwards, we finished watching Bladerunner - that movie is pretty freaking good.

I also managed to find some almost-at-cost tickets on Craigslist to the sold-out Smashing Pumpkins show tonight. I never knew the huge number of idiots who try to make a killing off of selling tickets on Craigslist for WAY more than they paid for them...

Some things I forgot to mention

Re: the election
My previously stated reasons for voting democrat failed to mention perhaps the most important one. This is a less definable overall need for change in the USA. Obama has been branding himself as the candidate of HOPE - and for all the vagueness of the assertion, I think it identifies a real need. This is a little difficult to guage, living outside of the country (there is definitely a desire for change in the USA from this side of the border).
But I do think that there is certainly a place for HOPE and a place for dreams - and it seems like at this particular point in time, a healthy dose of optimism is necessary. I think people are waiting to see if America can change for the better - and I think we have a candidate who is calling for such change. Whether he can deliver on any of his claims remains to be seen, but this doesn't take away the need to believe that we CAN change.
Anyway - enough about that. Remember to vote.

Re: a movie we watched
Don't Come Knocking is a pretty cool movie. It is sort of a bit of a western... about a washed up cowboy actor who finds out that he has a son. It is the kind of movie that I really like - character driven, with not a whole lot of action, and a somewhat stylized treatment of characters and photography.
And the soundtrack is kinda cool.
And Sarah Polly is in it.

Lunchtime

Today at lunch I mailed my absentee ballot. As mentioned before, it is my first time voting. I am generally not eligible to vote where I live, and this is the first time I applied early enough for my ballot to come to me.

I am pretty ignorant when it comes to politics, so voting for somebody to lead 300+ million people is sort of scary. Here are some things that I do know:

Denying the human rights of enemies and suspected enemies of the USA is extremely worrisome. It is unAmerican, and violates rights protected in the constitution. Rights which we believe to be unalienable and god-given should surely be granted to all people (of all nations) even if there is a chance that it compromises national security. Otherwise we could, for example, have rounded up Japanese americans and held them in camps during WWII, on the grounds that they might be a threat. (Oh yeah, we did that too... but that doesn't make it OK.)

Healthcare in our country is ridiculous. Having seen the system in Canada, I can assure you that it is better - even with the higher taxes. When people make decisions about whether or not they will see a doctor based on whether or not they can afford to, then something is wrong.

A hands off approach to the economy seems a bit dodgy. I don't know much about economics, but I don't trust humans enough to do the right thing without regulation. If left to our own devices, greed would have us borrowing irresponsibly, lending irresponsibly, and the freedom of the market would lead us all into a big economic crisis. Hypothetically, of course.



Anyway - like I said, I'm not an expert, so I feel a little unqualified to be chosing a leader. That being said, I still think you should vote for Obama.



Also at lunch, I bought the new Mt Eerie CD (featuring Julie Doiron - hooray), to which I will now listen.

Weekend

Friday:
Leah and I headed to the rehearsal studio for a good 3-4 hour practice.
Saturday:
We went over to the Kelly's for brunch. It was fun.
That evening, Jen came over for dinner and then we headed to a party at the Bowser-Huang residence. There were 4 floors of party, with the most popular being the giant projected rock-band floor. That game is ridiculous.
Sunday:
We did loads of laundry in the morning.
After church we went to David and Jen's for dinner. Their lizard is steadily growing.

Obama Mix 2

I posted this Obama mix a while back...
If you want more Obama themed tunes, check out the Yes We Can Mixtape [Sendspace]

Week Update

I spent last week on vacation - but stayed in T.O.

Highlights:

My parents visited from Thursday to Sunday.
We ate a couple of Thanksgiving meals to kick off the week.
We went to Hamilton for an afternoon.


Today I am back at work - and I left my headphones at home... =(

Party for Change

If you've got the bandwidth, check out this Probama dj-mix.

I tend to be pretty politically ignorant. This is perhaps partly due to the fact that I've never lived anywhere where I could legally vote (I have legally paid taxes a lot though!)

To be honest, it probably has more to do with ignorance and laziness. I did make the effort to register to vote from abroad this time around.

Anyway - what prompted this (unusual for me) post about politics was a message on my church bulletin board linking to a YouTube clip (which, to be honest, I didn't bother watching) about how Obama supports letting babies die. I responded with a link to an Obama interview where he talks about this exact bill...

So - I figured I'd link to that interview here too...

Moonlight Shadow

For the last week I have been taking transit to work. The back tire on my bike needs a new tube, and I haven't had a chance to replace it. Also, the weather has gotten colder, so my motivation to get the thing fixed is waning.

As I was rushing out of the house this morning, I stopped to grab a book from the bookshelf. I didn't have anything in mind, and ended up with Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen. This book is on my list of titles that I have read, and will read, over and over again.

I started with the short novella in the back, Moonlight Shadow, and I finished it at lunchtime. This story makes me want to make films. Actually, not films in general - it makes me want to remake this story in film. Yoshimoto translates feeling into hues and images, and translates those into written words. I can only imagine that reading her stories in the original Kanji is even more magical.

busy weekend

On Friday, Kate and Tim came over for dinner. Afterwards, we went to see Laura sing in the semi-finals of a bizarro Gospel Idol type TV show. The mash-up of church and contest show was completely ridiculous (not in a good way), but is was cool to see Laura do her thing (very well).

Afterwards, we were able to stop by the rehearsal studio and play music for about an hour.

On Saturday, we went to pick up a rental car, and then drove with David and Jen out to the Niagara region for Karl and Nicole's wedding. They were married in the back yard of a BIG house, with vineyards in the background. The ceremony was great, if a bit cold, and the reception (in a huge heated tent) was super fun. Justin DJ'd for hours, and I think the party went a bit longer than the parents expected...

We got home around 3am, and didn't feel up to going out to Nuit Blanche.

On Sunday, we had to get up around 9 to take the car back. Afterwards, we went to Mars for breakfast. Anne and Joel picked Leah (and her amp) up for church... They also came over for dinner afterwards.

zzz

Last night I slept for almost 10 hours

weekend

On Friday night Jen came over for dinner, and then we went to the Royal to watch the new Patti Smith documentary. It was filmed over ten or so years, with the intent of working as a portrait. If you like musician documentaries, or Patti Smith, then you should probably check it out...

Saturday - we went out for breakfast with the Cumby's. Afterwards, we went to L&M, and bought an amp for Leah. She ended up choosing a newly reissued Traynor tube amp, which sounds really good. We are going to start practicing each Thursday night.

We also went to look at an apartment. It is really nice, and a good price for the size (still expensive), but we decided that it is out of the picture since it is available a month before we need it.

On Sunday Leah went to play at an Anglican church. I made my own pilgrimage to the Common, for a coffee and shortbread. That evening, church was kinda crazy. It was extra decorated by resident art-school kids. The music was great. And Cyril has been preaching really kick-ass sermons recently (listen at freedomize.com, if you want). The service ended with a crazy worship set, glowsticks, and a live-music freestyle benediction.

Afterwards we went out for dinner with a big church posse.

I slept badly and got a flat tire on my way in to work, so the week should be getting better from here on.

Signage

Check out this super-rad parking garage signage

wknd

On Friday we stayed home and watched a movie
On Saturday we went to the Common, and then grocery shopping. That night we went over to Joel and Anne's
On Sunday we went to Billy's for breakfast, with David and Jen. We went to HMV and Criminal before church, and bought some CDs

Leah and I had some CDs made of some old songs. We will sell them for money and get rich some time in the near future.

Weekend

It was a crazy weekend.

Leah had a couple of wedding shower/bachelorette events to attend, and we had a couple of birthday/leaving for germany parties which we were supposed to go to (we went to one, and skipped the other).

Also - it was David's last Sunday as the pastor of FT, so we had a party after church last night too.

Leah signed up for a couple of classes at UofT - which she started today.

Midweek weekend update

It's Wednesday, and I'm back to work after a couple of sick days off. I'm still not 100%, but I'm on the mend.

The weekend:
Friday, I met Leah after work at Andrew and Esther's wedding rehearsal. Leah had to be there, and I sat around trying not to cough too much. Afterwards we went to Hosu for dinner.

Saturday - we went to the vet. Mabel seems to be doing better. She got another shot, and is on hypoallergenic (= more expensive) food. She is no longer rocking a cone on her head, so she is much happier.

Later we went to the wedding, and then the reception. It was great.

Afterwards we watched Talladega Nights, which is actually hilarious.

On Sunday, we went to church. Afterwards, some people came over to help us eat Leah's birthday cake!

On Monday and Tuesday I mostly lay around on the couch. I also visited the doctor (for free). She was an old grandmother from somewhere vaguely eastern european. I also consumed my own body weight in Ricola.

Today I am back at work. This American Life is replaying the episode with the post-traumatic stress guy from Iraq. It is definitely worth a listen.

Weekend

In no particular order.

The show on Saturday was fun! It was good to see the band fresh back from their tour - and fun to watch Leah play the bass. There were a bunch of people there, and everyone had a great time.

We went over to David and Jen's new place. Jen has done a great job of turning it into their new home. We watched Walk the Line on their giant screen tv.

We also hung out with Katherine and Michael - we went to Alternative Grounds, but it was closed...

The weather was great. I hope that the fall and the winter are delayed as long as possible.

Wednesday

I have a weekly meeting at 7.30 on Wednesday morning.
I am tired.

I heard from Leah. The band is not playing in Sydney anymore, and are heading back today. The drive to Cape Breton was too far too make it worth their while. It sounds like all of their shows in the maritime provinces were lots of fun.

They are planning on driving straight back without stopping (3 drivers on rotation...) so they should be back tomorrow.

Hooray.

Last One

The band should be home sometime tomorrow.
Check out their CD release show this Saturday at the Rivoli, if you know what's good for you.

TSV Tour Update

Monday

I pretty much hit you up with the weekend already.

Last night the cat managed to get cat-poop on a) herself b) the cone that is on her head to stop her from killing herself. I was very excited to have to clean it all up.

When I woke up this morning there was puke all over a) the kitchen b) the living room c) the cone that is on her head to stop her from killing herself. I was very excited to have to clean it all up.

Last night I watched a strange movie called the Princess and the Warrior. It was made by the Run Lola Run people, but with less electronic music. It featured the most artfully directed tracheotomy scene ever.

Mid-weekend - part two

I just talked to Leah - she called from PEI - the band seems to be doing well and having a good time for the most part! It sounds like they had an amazing show in Sackville (I'm jealous that I wasn't able to hang out at a barbecue with Julie Doiron and the Sappy folks)... and a good house-party show last night.

Here is a video that Reg made (with music by the talented Mr Peter Katz)


Yesterday - after doing laundry, I went to the islands. Their was a man-shower/hangout of sorts for Andrew - although I wasn't sure where/when on the islands people were meeting. I ended up walking around by myself on the islands for about 2-3 hours (and at least 10 kilometres). It was hot and I wanted to swim, but I didn't have a bathing suit so I was out of luck.
At least I would have been were it not for the clothing optional beach at the far end of the island. Relying on my non-north american upbringing (and subsequent lack of naked-phobia), I was able to enjoy a quick swim in the lake, along with a bunch of old fat nude guys.

Eventually (reclothed) I ran into Esther, and met up with Andrew and co for a little while. Then I made my way over to the little island church. I stopped behind a bush to put on a dress-shirt and tie, and then went to watch Dylan and Joanna get married. Afterwards, David rang the church bell a bunch, and then got me to give the rope a tug too (you don't get to toll a bell everyday!) The groomsmen looked even more like Reservoir dogs once they got outside and the sunglasses came out.

We all walked over to the little coffee shop before taking the Ward's island ferry back to 'the mainland'.

Midweekend Update

On Friday night I went to a show at the Horseshoe. Despite being a bit lonely sans my lovely wife, it was probably the funnest show I have been to in a long time.

I was a bit early, so I walked to the Horseshoe, and then hung out in the coffeeshop across the street. I had never heard of the first band, the Stables, from Oshawa. They were a country-ish trio with a definite punk bent. Also, their instruments were amazing. Instead of a bass, they had a metal wash-basin, with a rope attached to a hockey stick. The bass-player (which rotated from song to song) would stand on the upturned basin, with the hockey stick between his legs, and pluck the rope, pulling on the stick to adjust the pitch. And (with a mic stuck underneath the basin) it totally worked.



The drum kit was an old suitcase for a kickdrum, a snare, two bongos, and a tambourine. The guitar and lead vocals switched from song to song, and a banjo (with a light-bulb hacked into the body) would show up now and then. Everyone had a vocal mic for harmonies and yell-along choruses.

Novelty instruments aside, these guys put on quite a show. Their country-punk energy and enjoyment was contagious... and their cover of the Dead Milkmen's Punk-Rock Girl was awesome.

The second band was Toronto's own Bruce Peninsula. They were in amazing percussive sing-along form, and were clearly enjoying themselves. This band has amazing vocalists - between the three female singers (crazy voices), second guitarist, and Neil Haverty (with his gravelly voice), not to mention the rhythm section joining in when appropriate, they are able to nail their gospel/slave-song/american music anthology sound. Coupled with their crazy percussion, this band is pretty crazy (not to mention eerily creepy). Their last song, with the guitars cutting out and Neil at his most vocally devastating, over sing-along backup vocals, was amazing.

Cuff the Duke was the main act. These guys seem to me to be the ultimate Canadian small-townish band. Understated and well-mannered, they could easily be extras in a 50s era movie (or the perfect live backing-band for label-mate Hayden). Wayne, with his Buddy Holly/Elvis Costello glasses, is the most charismatic of the lot, in his own understated way. They could almost be a boring act to watch, if it weren't for a) their songs are good b) they play well c) by the time they got going they were having SO MUCH FUN. They seemed to improve steadily throughout their set, and by the end of it they were pretty amazing. Highlights included a guest appearance by label-mate Basia Bulat and her backup vocalists (Sep12 at Nightfall, Sep13 at Eddie's Attic, for all you southerners who might read this), and an encore sing-along cover of Bob Seger's Against the Wind, with Basia and co, the Stables and Bruce Peninsula all on stage.

It was fun.

Thursday

Yesterday I had a 7.30 morning meeting. I also had a site visit to a new clinic in Markham in the afternoon, so I got home at around 7. That makes for a work day just shy of the 12 hour mark. At least it was broken up with meetings and field trips...

Marcus came over for dinner. We ate some salad and each had half a chicken, from the cooked chicken store.

Today, I take the unstoppable Mabel back to the vet. She is determined to sever her head from her body, using only the power of her ever-licking tongue.

Leah and the rest of the band are currently in Fredericton (I think). Tomorrow they are playing in Sackville, at a barbecue. Leah's parents will be in attendance.

That is all!

News

The band is now into New Brunswick, and getting ready for a bunch of shows all over the maritimes.

Tour Update

Check out the Their Shallow Valley myspace page for tour updates from Joel.

I have talked to Leah a couple of times. So far it sounds like they are having a fun and exhausting time. They started off playing their first show to an audience of about 3 people, and spending their first night in a rather filthy house - so things could only get better after that!

Since then, things have gotten better. They played to a rammed bro-crowd in a bar in Kingston, and then spent a night with Josh, Corky, Hannah, and Molly. When Leah got up for breakfast, she was greeted by Hannah, who told her that she looks like a pixie.

They had a day off, and spent last night in luxury in a house in... I forget where (Brockville?) Leah had her own room and bed, and everyone had a chance to sleep. Today they are off to Ottawa, to rock our nation's capital.

Weekend

I got home early enough on Friday to see Leah and the rest of the band off on their tour. The van was absolutely rammed full of stuff, and they managed to leave an hour or two later than planned, but just before a crazy storm landed.

I watched quite a few movies and went for quite a few long walks over the course of the weekend. I also took another trip to the vet with Mabel. Due to her obsessive-compulsive character, she has been trying to lick her own head off. She left with a cone around her head, which she likes to lick instead. I hope she gets used to it, because there are times when she licks at it non-stop - like every second = 60+ times/minute = 3600+ times/hour = 86400+ times/day. Luckily she takes breaks to sleep and to walk around the apartment hating everything, otherwise I think she would seriously lick her own tongue to shreds.

I also got a haircut.

TSV

Today is Leah's last day at Evergreen. Yesterday, Joel picked up their band's CDs. On Friday they all leave for a 15 day tour.

wknd

Friday night - We rented and watched Back to the Future. That movie is good!

Saturday - We took the cats to the vet for vaccinations. It was a mission that traumatized all parties involved. In the afternoon we went to the Dufferin Mall. That night we went to a show at the Whippersnapper gallery. We were old. Luckily we were able to get earplugs at Shoppers, for the sound was ridiculously loud. By the time the first three bands were done, we were kind of too tired to stay for the whole Bruce Peninsula set. It was still fun though.

Sunday - We went to the Common (favorite coffee shop in the city), and while we were there, Jen dropped off a dresser for us. It is now in the living room and working out very well. Church was good, and afterwards Brad and Sarah came over for dinner. We stayed up too late.

Weekend

Blogging is a bore

On Friday, I got off work a little early. I went to a bookstore and a record store. I bought A Story Like The Wind, and Herman Dune's Not On Top. I've read the book before, so I know that it is a good one. The CD is typical Herman Dune - weirdly awesome. (sample chorus lyrics - I woke up in/Seven different cities/With the same stain/Of ketchup on my khakis... check out some tunes here and here.)

That night we braved the club district on Caribana weekend to try to see Batman in Imax. Unfortunately, it was sold out, so we watched the 'regular' version instead. The theatre was so packed that Leah, Jen and I had to sit in different parts of the room. I was in the back row. I like superhero movies, and I had heard that this was the best one ever. I had also heard that the Joker performance was mind-blowing. I think I disagree with both claims. The movie was pretty good though - I think the best part was the writing of such an evil insane character (the Joker acting was good too, don't get me wrong).
Somehow, I think I might have enjoyed the Ironman and Hulk movies more... even though (because???) they took themselves less seriously. Also, every time Batman said anything, I wanted to laugh. The effects on his voice were more over-the-top than any insane clown posse.

On Saturday my uncle was in town, so Leah and I went out for dinner with him. It was great to see him, and to hear about what he, and my cousins, are up to.

On Sunday, we did laundry, and then went to church.

On Monday, we went to Cedarvale park for a picnic with Anne and Joel, and later Dan and Enoch showed up too. It was fun to sit around and do nothing. Afterwards, we watched Superman Returns at Anne and Joel's house. My weekend was bookended by Gotham and Metropolis. During the course of the movie, I managed to get a crazy headache, so we biked home and I took a shower and crashed.

Superman is by far the cheesiest of the superheroes! The movie was pretty sweet though.

August 30

Last night we listened to the Their Shallow Valley CD master in Joel & Anne's car.
The CD is currently being duplicated, and should be ready in time for their tour, which starts on the 15th.

If you are in or near Toronto on the 30th, be sure to be at the Rivoli for the official CD release. This is also the closing show of the tour, and it is sure to be legendary.

345th

So voting closed on that DMBoot competition. At one point I made it into the top 300, but due to a lack of interest (I stopped voting as regularly) ended up at 345.

Not bad though (even though it means nothing!) given that my optimistic hope was to end in the top 500.

I still wouldn't mind a pair of these, actually.

Weekender

I may or may not get to the last two facts of the factoid-meme...
Meanwhile, check out the weekend:

Leah was of course away - she flew out to Sydney last Sunday. I went to the Tranzac on Friday night to see the Gertrudes. This is the big band that Josh Lyons plays in. I stayed long enough to watch their first set - it was super fun and chaotic. Their was even a song featuring 5 accordians.

On Saturday, I did a whole bunch of chores - everything from laundry, to yardwork, to cleaning house. In the afternoon I went to watch the Incredible Hulk. It was pretty good (although I tend to be pretty forgiving of superhero movies). The coolest part was seeing Toronto scattered throughout the movie. Since I went to see it at the AMC at Dundas Square, the big fight at the end was given an added level of weirdness. The big street fight takes place in 'New York', just around the corner from the theatre on Yonge street. While I was watching, it sort of felt like all I had to do was run outside and I would see the Hulk throwing down with the other beast-guy. Also, it was kinda fun to see Bruce Banner being stalked by army guys as he walked across Kings College Circle.

That night I stopped by Jessica's birthday party.

On Sunday I went to the airport to meet Leah. Her flight was early enough that I had to take the Bloor bus rather than the subway. This turned out to be way less terrible than I expected. We were both pretty wrecked from lack of sleep - so we took a nap before going to church early - Leah had to lead a couple of songs...

The end.

Fact #5

I have to sleep quite a bit in order to function. This is not unusual for humans, I guess... although it seems I have always known people that can function on a lot less that 8 hours a night. I pretty much cannot - it is not an option.

In college I studied Architecture. There are countless heroic tales of students spending sequential sleepless nights working on projects... and this seems to be a worldwide phenomenon of architecture schools everywhere. Something about design (a project is never ever really finished), combined with the control freak tendancies of those drawn to the field, make design school the perfect environment for sick sleep deprivation experiments. Classmates often had tales of falling asleep in unusual circumstances (in the shower; waiting at a red-light whilst driving home - both true stories)

I however, after a couple of all night sessions, pretty much decided that I would have to find another way to do things. After all, what good is it to complete a project if you always feel like dying???

I have heard that as you get older, you require less sleep. I hope that this is true.

Bikes

Hopefully the more bikes they find, the more chance there is of this guy never having the chance to sell another bike again.

Fact #4

I like walking. It's sort of hard for me to think of things that I like doing. Watching good movies is pretty high on my list.

I have a hard time doing nothing - just relaxing - sitting around. I am much better off doing something - although this can result in the feeling of being constantly busy. Unable to rest.

Walking forces you to do pretty much nothing, but at the same time, you're not doing nothing. Sometimes it can fool me into relaxing.

As an added bonus, it's kinda good for you, and it's pretty cheap...

Walking also seems to give my brain more space to work.

Fact #3

These are a few books that I have read more than once:

Kitchen
A Separate Peace
Life After God
Perelandra
A Canticle for Liebowitz
The Chosen
Lilith
Riddley Walker

Fact #2

During my last few weeks of high-school, I was taking some pinhole camera photographs for an art class, and was given free reign to roam around the building and premises. On one occasion, I grabbed two of my friends out of their class, and we took some pictures together.

This wasn't remarkable, but I remember being amazed that nobody questioned us. We were all decent students, and I suppose that the staff assumed (correctly, I guess, at least in my case) that we were supposed to be roaming around. And we certainly were not missing anything by not being in class.

I also took a few weeks off of school right before graduation, to go to Hawaii with my dad. I took my Calculus book, and the work that my teacher had assigned. I flew a few days before my father (frequent flyers can't be chosers), and had to navigate all kinds of screwed up flights and airline sponsored hotel accommodations on my own. While I was there, my dad was working. I would integrate and derive for a few hours each morning, and then bike to, and hike down into, this great Hawaiian valley. Or I would get a ride into town, and hang around on my own all day. When I got back to Georgia, I found out that my classmates had only covered a fraction of the material that I did.

I sort of wish that I had skipped a lot more of high-school.

Meme

I don't really like the term meme. I suspect that this is maybe because it sounds like a madeup word. Or maybe it is because it could usually be replaced by any number of much less fancy sounding words ('idea' for example). It sounds like it was cooked up by a PhD student.

Anyway, it seems that Felicity tagged me in a blog-meme of sorts... which is basically a blog-based chain-letter. I am supposed to list seven odd facts about myself, and then get seven other bloggers to do likewise... This continues until the world runs out of bloggers, or until enough lazy people like myself don't follow the rules.

So FACT #1 of the Seven Factoid Meme goes like this:

Anybody who knows me at all knows that I grew up in South Africa, and that my family left at some point and moved to the USA, before I ended up in Canada. What people might not know is what a big deal this ended up being for my parents and my brothers and for myself. It seems obvious to say that the move changed our lives... but I didn't really expect it too. Silly me!
Another related part of Factoid One is that my memory is horrible. I forget almost everything I ever learn.
I sometimes enjoy the use of amnesia/memory loss as a literary device.

Let's wrap up fact #1 with some related quotes that I like:

There's so much I want to tell you about the way I'm disappearing. - The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers

I think there is something we were supposed to do before we lost our memories. - Michael Grace Jr

Weekend Update

It's Monday - and I feel somewhat sluggish.

Saturday - I did laundry while Leah went and bought some stuff that she needed for her trip to Cape Breton. In the afternoon we went to Andrew's to record some singing for the Their Shallow Valley record. There were quite a few people there for some singalong anthems. It was ridiculously hot, with the airconditioning/fans off (too noisy) and a bunch of people in a little room near the top of the house.

Afterwards we went to Anne and Joel's for dinner.

On Sunday we got up really early to go to the airport. It was rainy and grey. After a cab ride there (expensive and fast) and a TTC ride home (slow and cheap) , I took a nap for a couple of hours. Afterwards I went to the Green Room for breakfast. If that place has one thing going for it (and it does), it is the insanely low price of breakfast.

After church I stopped by Blockbuster on the way home. I randomly rented The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, knowing absolutely nothing about it. Turns out it is the true story of a guy who had a stroke and ended up being able to move nothing but one eye. He wrote about it, dictating by blinking to an interpreter who would recite the letters of the alphabet, in order of frequency of use.

The book he wrote was the basis for the movie.

Weekend

Friday - We didn't do much... went for a walk after dinner.
Saturday - I went to the outdoor art show with Jen. Leah stayed home to work on some music for Sunday. We went to see Joy's new paintings, which are always pretty amazing.
That evening we went to Joel and Anne's for dinner.
Sunday - Leah played at church in the morning and the evening. In between, I went grocery shopping.

Chameleons

Last night we walked up to the Reptile and Hand Carved Walking Sticks store, to see the chameleons. We happened to meet the owner of the store, Paul, who told us all about them, and about bearded lizard creatures too. He brought one of these out to run around on Leah, and then showed us the full grown parents and the babies.
Turns out the baby chameleons were just hatched over the weekend. They were having their first ever meal yesterday. This explains why they are so freaking small.

Also, the full grown male chameleon that he has is HUGE. It is proabably over 18 inches long! Check out more pics on the website...

Are You Flying?

I don't have much sympathy for your fear
What is so hard to grasp about the idea
That everyone goes away in their time?
You have yours, you do, as I have mine

And do you cry every time a baby is born?
Yes, do you cry every time a baby is born?



I bought a CD this last weekend (influenced by Mary) - Fear of Flying, by David Karsten Daniels. I have listened to it a couple of times - and am not sure what to think yet. The songs don't shy away from difficult questions, and it seems to make for a difficult listen. I'm not sure I would say I am enjoying it exactly, but it is pretty sweet.

Weekend

On Friday I went out to Orangeville for work, to visit a doctors' clinic.
When I got back, I headed straight to Evergreen for the Summer Team Fundraiser. Leah played some songs with Rachel and Mike (from church). Some other people played some other songs, and one guy read a story. Evergreen was unable to get as much government funding as they have in the past, so the summer team volunteers are kind of on their own in terms of raising support.

Speaking of which, it was interesting to learn from Leah that Yonge Street Mission relies on corporate and private funding more than the government. Otherwise one election can end in all of your programs being suspended...

It was also interesting to listen to This American Life last week - with a story about two guys that decided to live on the streets in NYC. They said that nobody needs to go hungry, and that it is the churches that keep people fed. The government run places are apparently stingy, and their food sucks too..!

On Saturday, Leah went to the recording studio (Andrew's house). I stayed home and got sun-burned planting flowers in front of the house. I hope they can thrive on gravel and bus fumes.

On Sunday I did the laundry. I also bought a knitted bag at a one-woman yardsale.
She was ten, and was selling bags that she had made, lemonade, and barbies!

On the way back from the grocery store I saw baby chameleons in the window of the weird-reptiles store. They were maybe 2 inches long!

I played drums at church. I haven't played in months, so it was... interesting.

Speaking of shoes...

...Happy Independence Day!!!




Hopefully you're not at work =(
(although I guess I can't complain... I got 2 days off)

Speaking of shoes...

...check out these fly kicks...

500

Thanks for helping me reach my goal of making the top 500!

Weekender

In Canada, we like to celebrate things before they happen in the USA. Thanksgiving comes way earlier, and Canada day comes before the 4th of July.

And Christmas happens on December 21st, to coincide with the solstice.

This weekend was a long one, in order to celebrate our home and native land. With the holiday landing on a Tuesday, some people were lucky enough to get Monday off too. I was one of those lucky people.

On Friday evening, Anne and Joel stopped by for a barbecue, and to practice some music with Leah.
On Saturday, we (mostly Leah) did the laundry, and then went to Anne's birthday party. For some reason it was themed (cowboys), and it featured a living room performance by Their Shallow Valley. Actually, half the performance took place in the living room, and then it moved out to the UHaul parking lot on Queen Street. It was quite the spectacle, since most of the band were ridiculously dressed due to the cowboy theme.
It was interesting to see who stopped to listen, and which nervous hipsters walked right past. I think maybe they were unsure how to interpret the situation (actually cool? / ironic cool? / actually lame ?... somebody please tell me if I am allowed to enjoy this music!)

On Sunday we had church at St George the Martyr (one of my fave Toronto churches). Afterwards we had a picnic in the park.

On Monday Leah had to work. I did perhaps the biggest/most expensive visit to the grocery store of my life so far. I also made the long trek out to Ikea, to buy a shelf that they were sold out of. Thinking quickly, I bought some random other piece of a bookshelf unit, which was actually a better size. I also bought a much needed fan at Canadian Tire. That night we went to the Cameron House for a rousing country extravaganza. Leah played bass and pretty much killed it. Anne and Joel were their usual engaging selves. And Chuck Diesel was in fine form. Among other things, he managed to strip down to his wife-beater mid song.

Yesterday we went to see the Visitor. I didn't know anything about it, other than the fact that it was written by the guy who wrote the Station Agent. I love watching good movies.

Keep Voting

You can vote every 24 hours! I know there is no chance of winning, but I kinda want to see if I can make the top 500.

The Update

On Friday we went to Kensington for dinner, and then afterwards were thinking of going to see Dave Binney at the Rex. Instead we ran into some folks from church and ended up in borrowed bathing suits, swimming in the Delta Chelsea pool on the 20-somethingth floor, with some Fennels, Rob F., Kate and Adrienne. It was strange and fun.

On Saturday, Bloor street shut down from Christie to Lansdowne, for a BIG Street Festival... (BIG as in Bloor Improvement Group, although it was pretty large too). We walked around to check it out. I signed up for a Spacing subscription, and we saw a lot of silk-screened tshirts for sale.

We also stopped in at Long & McQuade for a few hours. Leah played a bunch of guitars and we ended up buying a really nice one. We aren't used to spending a lot of money on things, but figured that it was worth getting one that she really liked, since we will likely have it forever.

We met Michael at the Moon Bean on Sunday. I asked him quite a few questions about mixing and mastering an album, and it was super helpful. Afterwards, we went to church - Leah played music with a pretty small band (guitar, drums, bass), and I ran sound so that Bradley could play bass.
Also, Leah played her new guitar and it sounded pretty amazing. I have little to no clue about EQing things, but it didn't matter.

Afterwards, we watched My Architect.
Turns out Louis Kahn was a jerk.

Weakened

I'm not sure what happened this weekend.

Leah worked a lot... for Evergreen on Saturday, and then playing at two churches on Sunday.
I did groceries on Friday, house-cleaning on Saturday, and laundry on Sunday.

Somewhere in between, I also walked to The Common for coffee, and on the way stopped at a yard sale, where I purchased a copy of Wyclef's The Carnival.

In my last year at Georgia Tech, I discovered the Music Listening Room. Since I was living on the opposite side of campus from all of my classes (and most of my friends), I would often hang out in the listening room if I had an hour between lectures. I'm not sure who ran the place (WREK geeks?, and by geeks I mean music nerds who were 1000% cooler than pretty much all the Tech geeks), or why I didn't know about it sooner. Anyway - one of the albums that I steady rocked in the MLR was the Carnival... (another one, btw, was Guru's first Jazzmatazz record.)

On Saturday, we were walking around and ran into Katherine, which was cool.

And on Sunday, we hung out with Joel and Anne after church, which was also cool.

The End.

Rock that Vote

I want a pair of classic Doc Martens with a cross shaped hole cut in the side.

Google Drive

Reeve sent me a link to the best website ever...

Geography

The other day I was listening to an All Songs Considered episode exploring the idea of the music of a generation.

The show naturally kicks off with Nirvana... and then looks backward to hippie-era rock, hip-hop, and punk, before tackling the question of the current crop of music listening kiddies. Interestingly enough, there doesn't seem to be a clear voice for Generation Whatever You Want To Call It. There is even some discussion on the show about whether the concept of music that 'defines a generation' is even applicable, or whether the topic of discussion itself is characteristic of other generations.

Sadly, the show ended off with some American Idol references, and talk about 'new distribution' (Soulja Boy ringtones).


Anyway - the other day at work we were talking about CANADIAN MUSIC, and more specifically, Blue Rodeo. I can't really think about a band that fits more comfortably into the CanCon category. Somebody asked what the equivalent would be in the US, and I couldn't really come up with a clear answer. I think the question there might be more regional (the South doesn't 'sound like' New York). Furthermore, it is difficult not to approach the discussion with some regard to time periods. I associate Beck with Los Angeles, but LA at a certain point in time.



Your thoughts ???

unusual weekend

Leah was 'working' this weekend. As part of her job at the Evergreen Centre for street youth, she and the other volunteers got to 'simulate' homelessness by spending two nights and a day living on the street.

I ended up buying groceries on Friday night, and then renting Thumbsucker. I'm not sure why I picked that one... but it ended up being a whole lot better than I expected. And it isn't often you can say that about a movie with Keanu Reeves in it.

On Saturday I went to an elders' meeting, and then that night went to Sound Ministry, at Sanctuary.

On Sunday I went to meet Leah at Evergreen, where everyone was meeting for breakfast. I took some gluten-free pancakes so that she could eat. Afterwards we went home, and she slept while I did laundry. I also stopped by a Pedestrian Sunday event in Mirvish Village (does anyone actually call it that?!) to see the Don Scott Quartet. It was good to see a bunch of people that I haven't seen in FOREVER, even if it was only very briefly.

And then last night we went to see R.E.M. We had lawn seats in the back, which was a bit of a bummer, 'cause when it rains you get wet. Luckily it didn't rain much (despite the thunderstorm predictions), and the sky cleared up after the (surprisingly boring) opening sets by The National and Modest Mouse. It was fun to see R.E.M. live... Towards the end of the show we moved down to the back of the seated area, which we should have done much earlier.
The band is (unsurprisingly) very good live... they have been doing this for a while. They pretty much nail their songs, mostly sounding as good as they do on record. Funnily enough, this is also one of my main criticisms... there was very little reformatting of arrangements, or reinventing of songs for a live setting. If you watch the R.E.M. Live DVD, you pretty much know EXACTLY what to expect. The only surprises are which songs are going to be on the setlist. There are quite a few older songs getting played on this tour, which is neat, as well as most of the new album, and a handful of required hits...

Michael Stipe mentioned that this is the first show of the tour where he was sweating on stage, and that, as a Georgian, he was !$#%ing loving it. I AGREE.

All in all it was fun...

Last 24 Hours

It's about time summer happened...

Toronto weather can be pretty abrupt.

fire alarm testing...

...is driving me mental.

Weekend

So, what happened apart from bboy movies and shoe buying?

Not much, including a birthday party for my employer's 50th birthday. It was not dissimilar to the client version of the office Christmas party... (catering, drinking, schmoozing, drinking, me leaving before things get too out of control)...

Usually I feel like I would be more comfortable eating in the back with the catering staff than Great Gatsbying it up with drink in hand. Even when I am having a good time, I still feel sort of out of place. The highlight of the evening was probably a story from one of the deluxe film people... It ended up with him in Willie Nelson's trailer, nervously watching a behind-the-music type WN documentary, smoking a joint the size of a cigar.

Leah went to London on Sunday, for a baby shower. I picked up the ridiculously ticketmaster-inflated R.E.M. tickets that I bought last week (I had to sneak around the instore WWF-or-whatever-its-called-now autograph signing table, and oversized autograph signer). And I also bought some pants, as well as the aforementioned shoes.

CanCon

I bought some new dress shoes today, and unknowingly picked up my second pair of Canadian designed kicks.

Planet BBoy

Leah and I went to see Planet BBoy on friday night. I would recommend this one to anybody - amazing dancers, and very interesting to see the different cultural approaches. Check it out if you have the chance.

Cyborg Monkey

UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE

concert

I finally bought tickets to see R.E.M.

Workend

On Friday night I made dinner and then biked to the ROM for the kickoff of this year's Doors Open. I wanted to a) see the ROM for free, and b) see the Pecha Kucha presentations.

The new ROM addition, for those who don't know, is Toronto's version of a Daniel Liebeskind building... which, for those who don't know, means a bunch of jagged forms smashed together to make architecture. This building was supposedly inspired by the ROM's crystal collection, which is a joke because it looks pretty much like all of his other buildings. From my perspective within the architecture industry, Toronto's local architects don't think much of this building. This could be for a number of reasons: a) they didn't get to design it, b) they have conservative Canadian taste, c) the building is actually kinda crappy.

I actually like the thing from the outside, which is the only view I had ever seen. From what I had heard, the interior is where the thing doesn't hold up. Having finally made it inside, I have to say I sort of agree. The interior is pretty underwhelming. Also, the place was filled with one million people which, to be fair, is probably not the best scenario for evaluating the space.

Anyway - for such a crazy building, the inside is a little boring. The walls are mostly large expanses of white drywall and aluminum, which at times seem somehow unfinished. Worst of all (in my opinion) is the lack of grandness. The huge crazy shards don't really translate into any huge crazy interior spaces, and when I found my way into the old entryway (which is now just an emergency exit, I guess), I couldn't help but prefer the scale (and richness) of it. (I also like that quote in the ceiling.)

I also way preferred the old dark dinosaur hallway, with the fake environments and dramatic lighting. Now the dinos all hang from oddly inclined white surfaces, like pieces of art in a 'neutral' (although not neutral, 'cause there are no right angles anywhere) field. I realize this is probably not a 'new ROM' thing, and likely reflects the latest in Museum Curatorial Theory - but I liked the drama of the old setup.

Anyway - the Pecha Kucha. The theme was Sacred Spaces, which I thought would be interesting. Most of the presenters were architects, and most took the opportunity to just show their own work, with a brief introduction to shoe-horn it into the theme of the night... 'Sustainability is the new religion', 'Healthcare (architecture) is sacred', 'Here's some of my (sacred) work!'. To be fair, some of these presentations (like the healthcare one) were pretty cool... but I was hoping for a bit more creativity, and a deeper exploration of the idea of the sacred.

My favorites were maybe this guy (his presentation was kinda terrible - but I just like his paintings!)... and this church, by Larkin (the coloured light on the concrete is amazing - like modern stained glass)


-----

And on with the weekend...

Saturday, I cleaned up the front yard and scattered some wild-flower seeds. I hope they can grow in gravelly dirt and bus fumes...
We also went to the Dufferin Mall and Leah bought a dress. We ran into the Cumby's and friends in a random alley on the way home, so we hung out with them briefly on a rooftop deck.

Sunday - I did laundry. That afternoon we went down to Queen street to find shoes to go with Leah's dress. After looking at a LOT of shoes, Leah bought some crazy nice Camper shoes...

We skipped church and watched Shaun of the Dead!

Rock Show

Last night Leah and I went to Rancho Relaxo to see The Books Elusive (Leah is a fan)...

Slugging

I just found out about slugging - essentially a form of commuter hitchhiking in which the 'slug' gets a free ride, and the driver gets a quicker commute (by accessing HOV lanes). It's anonymous carpooling.

This is pretty interesting... The American landscape (physically and culturally) has evolved in the context of large space. In this environment, the automobile became the ideal form of transportation - it is an effective means to navigate the distances involved, and it also enables a very high level of independence.

Slugging maintains the geographic distances, but the independence of driving your own car is traded in for a 'free ride'.

---

Ironically, the independence once offered by the automobile has been replaced by a kind of slavery. As gas prices rise, people realize that they have no real alternatives to driving. The form of our landscape (outside of very few urban centres) offers little to those without a car. (This has long been known by bored suburban kids, trapped elderly populations, and the very poor - but these are easy groups to ignore).

Hopefully our geography can be retrofitted to allow for alternative means of getting around. Until then I will try to remember that it is a luxury for me to NOT have a car.

weekender

It was a long weekend, with the crappiest cold, wet weather...
I watched quite a few movies... we rented The Graduate and The Sixth Sense (which I never bothered to watch when it came out, since somebody ruined the ending for me). I also went to the new AMC theatre yesterday to watch Iron Man. Generally I like the whole superhero genre, and I thought this one was pretty decent. It was also something to do that involved not being out in the cold.
We also did the usual weekend laundry and grocery shopping.

Leah starts working today at the Yonge Street Mission.

Giger

I was talking to mom and dad on the phone last night, about their recent trip to Switzerland and Siberia.
Dad was telling me about visiting the tiny village of Gruyères, Switzerland. Apparantly there is an art museum in the village, and dad told me about a large sculpture of a gun loaded with little metal people instead of bullets.

So I looked it up. Turns out the museum they saw is the H.R.Giger museum! I had no idea that he was Swiss, and would never have guessed that the museum would be in a tiny mountain village. This would explain the black clothed pierced kids that mom says were hanging around the place - this is probably an international mecca for nightmare obsessed goth kids!

You of course know him best for his Alien movie sets... but check out that gun sculpture - it's actually pretty cool...

On Monday, Leah went to Guelph... After work, I randomly went to the Free Times Cafe for their open mic night. This is where Leah used to play each week, a long time ago. It was pretty much the same thing as I'm sure it has always been... a range of pretty good to pretty awful random people (many of whom have CDs to sell, for some reason) playing 2 songs each. My favorite is usually some old guy who can play guitar well, and isn't interested in 'making it'...
This time, my favorite was a vaguely Coldplayish sounding guy, who played keyboard, and covered Video Killed the Radio Star.

On Tuesday, we went to Supermarket for Karl's short film screenings. The best part of this, aside from the joy of watching Karl bring his creations to the public, was seeing Lisa on the big screen! The other best part was Pants' HILARIOUS set after the films. And then the other best was seeing Leah and the rest of Glory Glory Hallelujah perform a set of hymns afterwards (on stage at Supermarket)...

wknd

Friday - we rented and watched The French Connection
Saturday - we made sunchoke pancakes for breakfast, and then did laundry. That afternoon, we went to a barbecue birthday party at Anne and Joel's.
Sunday - Leah played music at an Anglican church in the morning, and I went grocery shopping. In the afternoon, I stopped by the OCAD grad show on my way to church. Check out some of /dr.'s thesis work... (more to come later)

Reading

At 'church' last night, Adrienne lent me the 4th Scott Pilgrim book... I started reading it on the subway this morning, and almost missed my stop.

MySpace

It's Gangsta Wife.

...

On Friday night we went to the Jays game... we were in about the 6th row, behind the first base, which was pretty fun.

Saturday was all about chores. I finished doing the taxes, and then filed this year's and last year's US taxes... Since we exempt all of our income as foreign, US taxes are mostly just an exercise in beaurocracy, with no money actually changing hands.
Afterwards, we celebrated by going to the laundromat!

On Sunday, I woke up at 5 and took various buses to Yonge and Eglinton. Luckily for me, one of the buses never showed up. I had to wait at Eglinton and Marlee for about 45 mins. When the next bus came, it was crammed with runners and pissed off shift workers who were late for work.
After that, I ran 10 kilometres... It was cool to see the endless river of runners down Yonge street, as far as you could see. I finished with a time of 50.56, which I think is pretty good considering I went running all of 3 times to train... I came in number 3450.

We were on setup for church, and I ran sound... so by the end of the day, I was pretty much wiped out.

weekend preview

Tonight Leah and I are going to a Jays game...
And on Sunday I will be waking up super-early for the 10k run.

Run like crazy

I'm running a race on Sunday - I found out you can sponsor me...
(the money goes to kids camps for kids affected by childhood cancer)

AM

Karl Blau rocks Winnie the Pooh like no other...


Give me work to do. Give me health. Give me joy in simple things. Give me an eye for beauty, a tongue for truth, a heart that loves, a mind that reasons, a sympathy that understands. Give me neither malice nor envy, but a true kindness and a noble common sense... at the close of each day, give me a book and a friend with whom I can be silent.

Corn Nuts

Also...
Since Leah had never seen it, and I hadn't seen it in probably 10 years... we watched Heathers this weekend.

I remember liking this movie back in the day, and was interested to see whether it held up.

I also remembered the movie being pretty dark, and that it skewers all kinds of (80s versions of) highschool stereotypes. What I didn't remember was just how mercilessly and indiscriminately it mocks... and how unflinchingly brutal it is.

There are a few things that make me still like the movie, despite the unexpected coarseness, violence, and general anarchy...
Firstly, this might have been one of the first movies I saw that so forcefully throws (at least chapters of) the standard hollywood rulebook out the window. Characters that would typically be set up as outsider heroes end up being straight up psychotic... And the rules are broken without pulling any punches. Standard high-school movie stereotype mocking is dialed all the way up to cold-blooded murder. I think I will ALWAYS like movies that bend the rules...

Secondly, some of the dialogue is actually funny... albeit a LOT less of it than intended.

And thirdly, Winona Ryder's protagonist adds a hint of hope to an otherwise dark world. The movie basically sets her up in the (now) stereotypically clique-filled highschool movie world... which she rejects with the help of the cool outsider guy (who in this version is unexpectedly NOT the good guy, but a crazy murderous anarchist)...
Given two messed up approaches to life, she somehow rejects BOTH, opting for a much more complicated third route than is unusual for a highschool movie...


I am very glad that the producers didn't follow the original screenplay - which ended with suicide as the third option... and would have made for a pretty hopeless movie.



Your thoughts???

weekender

The big news from the weekend is of course the TTC strike... I still don't fully understand the political strategy behind losing any public support that you might have had by not giving any (previously promised) notice... and then purposefully leaving people stranded by shutting down at midnight rather than at the end of the night shift... Also, doesn't being ordered back to work by the government take away any political power that striking gave you?? I guess being considered an 'essential service' maybe gives you more political power, at the end of the day..?

In other news, we continued to rip pieces off of the front of our house. We tore off the frame and transom from the old sliding doors that were added (badly) to enclose the porch...

We also (finally) got a new oven! The landlord had somebody disconnect the old one, install an outlet in the wall, and then had a new oven delivered! I roasted some vegetables, and then baked cookies...

weekend

Friday night we went to see Second Sight, at hotdocs. It was pretty cool, especially if you like awesome old people, or Scotland, or just oldness in general. You can check out the trailer here, and read about it here, if you want to...

On Saturday we went up to St Clair to get some cat food and other stuff. When we got back we attacked the front deck, which has been full of our landlords stuff pretty much since we moved in. He finally told us we could get rid of the old metal screen doors that he had been saving with the hopes of making a couple of bucks...

Brad and Jeremy came over for dinner.

On Sunday we did laundry... and then in the afternoon, I cleaned my bike. I still need to fix the brakes, but don't have the right set of wrenches... If you or somebody you know wants to buy a pretty sweet low-rider bike for a pretty good price, let me know...

After church we watched Marion Bridge. It is a Canadian movie, so it pretty much had to involve some pretty messed up stuff (I think it is a requirement to get grants or something). But overall, I thought it was pretty excellent, and unusually redemptive for CanCon... (I would rate it as even better than Nickelback)

weekend

The weather is finally warm enough to go outside in a t-shirt, at least in the afternoon.

Tonight we are hoping to go and see a hotdocs movie about some old people (and ghosts) on the Isle of Skye.

Tomorrow is record store day. Like earth day, it is an attempt to save something that is meaningful to some people.

Drake You Ho

Here is a fairly good article on the appropriation of counter-culture into the mainstream, with specific focus on advertising... Nothing new, but always an interesting topic to think about.

etc...

Today I signed up for a 10k run, which takes place in less than 3 weeks... I should start running, I think.

I also posted some songs, for your listening pleasure, at immigrant design.

weekend

On Friday night we went to the wood's place to hang out with them and the Cumbys, which was fun.
On Saturday we made a trip to the dentist... and then went to Bradley's for a thesis practice. His thesis presentation is tonight, at 7, at the Music Gallery/church at Grange park.
We also did loads of laundry.
Last night after church we watched Hot Fuzz. I had heard a lot of hype about it, so I was nervous that it might disappoint.

It did not. That movie is hilarious.

Weather

Today is dreary and grey. It is also rainy and blustery and cold... It is supposed to be this way for most of the weekend.

Mulholland Drive

Leah and I watched Mulholland Drive on Monday.
It's been a long time since I last watched a Lynch movie, and I'm never quite sure what to make of them... His ability to blur the line between everyday banality and freaking insanity is definitely compelling! As is his incredible tight-rope walking between making sense (at least in this movie!) and not making sense.

Weakened

Don and Jessica came over for dinner on Friday night...
Saturday was a day of thesis and church related meetings.
Sunday - Leah played at an Anglican church in the morning. I went to BMV and sold them some old books. And then we went to church in the evening, as per usual.

In other news, it is finally getting a bit warmer...

Funny

Check out this sweet Frank Gehry house.

Weekender

The rundown...
Friday night we went to JFL for dinner, and then to the Freedomize coffee house...
Saturday I went to Bradley's to work on his thesis project for a bit. Afterwards I went with Leah to a Presbyterian youth gathering in Etobicoke. This was the first in a continuing series of youth services organized by Andrew Rennie and some district Presbytery that has realized that young people don't go to church anymore. The FT band supplied the music, the Presbyterians provided the pizza...
That night we went to Lee's Palace to see Basia Bulat. She and her band are fresh off of a US tour, and it is very evident in how much tighter they are. She seemed delighted to be playing to a very enthusiastic crowd - and it must have been a great thing to come home to. There was also a guest appearance by the Mecija sisters, who sang backup on the first song.
Sunday - Leah and the FT band played music at an Anglican church in High Park. I did laundry... and skipped both the Anglican church service, and the evening FT service. I ended up going for a walk, purchasing the live Mark Kozelek album, and renting A Scanner Darkly (which was average).
Yesterday I had a pretty sweet headache, so I didn't go to work. I slept on the couch all day.

Across the Universe

We watched Across the Universe last night... by which I mean I watched, and Leah half watched and then fell asleep.
Overall it was pretty bad, and sort of Leah's worst nightmare (she generally hates musicals that aren't Annie). I actually enjoyed it!
I couldn't help but wonder how the generally dangerous idea of writing a story around pre-existing songs might actually be pretty amazing, in the hands of a Tom Stoppard/Umberto Eco level genius. Of course, these guys generally busy themselves wrapping stories around things like Shakespeare's entire canon, or the history of western civilization...
It also seems like the (quite profitable, I assume) trend of turning much-loved music into musical theatre is probably going to continue... and that begs the question: Which music from my generation is destined for the stage/screen treatment?

This question is sort of frightening.

Happy Easter

Indeed.

The weekend was not too eventful...

Friday we pretty much did nothing all day. That night we went to watch Persepolis (one of the good things about living in a big city is that you get the chance to see pretty much any movie in a theatre if you want to). The movie was good, although Leah was a bit bored, having just read the books. I have only read the first book, and that was a few years ago. The story is crazy, and a lot of bad things happen... but there is also a sense that some people are able to remain human and civil in spite of ridiculous circumstances - and this adds a bit of hopefulness to an otherwise sad movie. And the drawing is great.

On Saturday we went to Brad's, and played a couple of his thesis songs. Afterwards, Leah had a rehearsal for Sunday, and I bought groceries and wasted time. That night we did laundry.

On Sunday I ran sound at church, so I had to be there pretty early. It was kinda fun, although it always feels like I am observing church, rather than participating. It was a crazy Easter service, with ridiculous decorations, chocolate, and a large, large band. Working the sound board was a little like trying to control a wild beast - but I think it sounded pretty good.

Afterwards, we attended the annual Easter Feaster, and ate our heads off.

People Don't Blog No More

It's true...

The weekend was OK. On Friday night we went to watch Persepolis - except the theatre was having power outages, so we ended up NOT watching it...

On Saturday, we went to Brad's for the afternoon, and then Katherine's that night. It was fun, but we ended up going to bed some time around 3 or 4... (Luckily, we had a pretty decent nap before we went).

On Sunday, I bought some groceries, and then there was church...
Afterwards we went to Hosu, where Leah and Andrew had a meeting with a guy from a church they are going to play at...


Oh yeah - it's St Patrick's Day. Better drink green beer and hunt for leprechauns.

Do the Test

Reeve sent me this video link...
Do The Test

I also failed.

Weekend

Leah spent the weekend sick and on the couch.

The weather spent the weekend snowing some more. I was at the laundromat and noticed an article in the paper about how the last time there was this much snow in Toronto was some time in the 1930's.

It was also Canadian Music Week, which means pretty much nothing to most people, as far as I know. I did make it out to a free in-store appearance at (the other) Criminal Records, to see Julie Doiron, Canada's leading lady of nineties alternative music, play some of her solo songs. Opening acts where Calm Down Its Monday (with Julie on drums), and the Superfantastics. I left before the last band (Dog Day). Overall it was pretty fun - and I couldn't help but notice that even the kids were sounding kinda 90's. Some guy took some pictures...

On Saturday evening I hiked through blizzard conditions to support friend Kate, and her ongoing efforts with DreamNorth... her friends' theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare plays to parts of Canada that I hope to never experience (at least not in the winter). The event was a fundraiser at Fort York, and the snow seemed somehow appropriate...

Sunday was church - where I got to try my hand behind the sound-board. I hadn't run sound for quite a while, and it was a bit frustrating at first. Once everything was finally working, those in attendance where at my mercy, as I aligned levels to my own personal preferences...

Today I am a bit sluggish, given that it is Monday, and that the time change means waking up in the dark again. Luckily, Delvyn (I miss my family), sent through the pre-release version of the Sparrow Love Crew EP, for my listening pleasure.

Frozen

The weather people say we have more snow coming this weekend.

Check out this video (I'm not sure how old it is, so you may have seen it before) of the coolest thing ever.

The weekend...

...was fairly action-packed.

Leah and I rented Stalker, and managed to watch about 15min of it on Friday night. If you're kinda tired - don't rent a 2 1/2 hour long Russian movie.

On Saturday - I went to Bradley and Andrew's for most of the day, to work a little on Brad's OCAD thesis. Afterwards, Brad and Leah and I went to Tim Horton's.

On Sunday, we went to Marche (or whatever its called now) for Evelyn's birthday. We hadn't really hung out with folks from the church that we used to go to for about the last 4 years or so - it was fun.

This morning, I found this PSA type campaign, which informs parents about spotting delinquent graffiti related lifestyle signifiers.

I am also having a hard time this morning downloading the free portion of the new NIN album. Generally, I can't stand NIN - but I suspect that an instrumental album might actually be totally sweet. Also - I like the idea of publishing music with a creative commons license.

friday

Last night, Leah and I went to the Eaton Centre... for no real reason other than a combination of boredom, and a resolution to finally procure a copy of the 'new' Radiohead album...
We just kinda ambled around the mall sort of aimlessly, and picked up the CD at HMV... They were out of the Once soundtrack (I think maybe the Oscar win caught their stockers by surprise), so that is all we got.
We also went in a couple of shoe stores, since I will need some new dress shoes pretty soon (I still rock the ones I bought for our wedding..!), and realized that the mall is where you go for totally boring shoes.
Also - Leah tried on a couple of bathing suits... The whole time we were in the store, some idiot was sitting outside on one of the benches and periodically whistling at girls walking by. I asked the (visibly annoyed) staff if there was some mall security they could call, which they seemed more than happy to do once I suggested it...
Also, we went in the Apple store. Surprisingly, I have never been in an Apple store before. For someone who is not exactly a gadget-phile, I thought the new skinny metal laptops were pretty sweet... also, the touch iPods are cool too, if only for the stupidly impressive ability to pinch-zoom pictures.

In other news, if it isn't freezing... it's snowing. My mood with regards to winter is currently defiant. Yesterday I went for an hour long (-17ish) walk at lunch... I'm sure this will change to defeat soon enough!

weekend

On Friday, Leah and I met Jeremy for dinner in Koreatown.
On Saturday, we went to an elders' meeting for church - we also had dinner with the Cumbys.
On Sunday, I went grocery shopping, and then went to church early for super-setup.
After church, we had pancakes for dinner.

update

FAITH
HOPE
LOVE

I have been thinking a little recently about how these three things will remain. This implies that nothing else will remain, which is a pretty crazy idea.
That means that all the things that you do each day that are not about faith, hope, or love, are ultimately insignificant - they will pass away.

Last night I went to meet with the pastor at the Salvation Army, and I noticed that these words were hanging on the wall... which is funny, 'cause I had just come up with the idea of hanging them on the wall at home.

In other news, I am losing most of my faith, hope, and definitely love for the TTC. I know that the weather hasn't been helping, but this IS Canada... so snow shouldn't take anybody by surprise.

And speaking of snow... I had just finished showering this morning when I noticed that the guy that parks behind our apartment was totally stuck. Since he was still there by the time I got dressed, I figured I'd go out and help. It took at least 20 minutes to get him going - every time we managed to move his car a few inches, it immediately got stuck again. We took turns at pushing and driving, and eventually got the car going while I was driving. I managed to get all the way down the alley... at which point he promised to buy me beer - and then took of to go to work.