Absolut

My fave part of JB's lower Bay project was definitely the subway car filled with plants... Here is a video that I found on Flickr, which doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

Absolutly

Le weekend

I registered to take part in the square foot show at the AWOL gallery... and the deadline for submission was this Saturday. So Friday night had me working on trying to transfer a photocopy to a canvas, without screwing it up too badly. I worked on it 'til two in the morning, and then woke up on Saturday and kept working. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out according to my perfectionist liking, but I finished it up and dropped it off that afternoon. Good enough.
Leah went out of town on Saturday, to hang out with some high-school friends. I had brunch with Brad, and he walked down to the gallery with me.
That evening I was kinda bored - and walked to the Annex. I bought a falafel sandwich and a coffee, and looked through CDs and records at Sonic Boom. Their store window displays are always amazing - and the Dinosaur Jr one at the moment is maybe my favourite ever!
On Sunday we went grocery shopping. After church we went to Rice Bar with the Germans (Robby and Tirza). We were on the patio when the most wicked lightning storm rolled in. Over the course of the evening, I got a crazy headache. We ended up getting a cab home and I went straight to bed.

back to work

Some things from the weekend:

Birthday party at D&Js
Star Trek at the Bloor Cinema
Art galleries
Cedarvale Park
Rice Bar
Barbecue at the Woods
Taking out 6 weeks of garbage

weekend

let's see...

Bradley came over on Friday night. Afterwards we watched Singles - which I had never seen (and wouldn't necessarily recommend).
On Saturday we did laundry and then went out for Korean food. That evening we went over to D&J's and played Yahtzee.
On Sunday we went to L&L's for brunch/an elders' meeting. Afterwards we walked through Kensington (there was a brief period where the rain actually stopped). Pedestrian Sunday = lots of weirdness in the market. We went to No Frill's for some groceries. And that evening we skipped church and Jen came over for dinner.

This morning is actually sunny. Also, it looks like the big garbage strike might actually be coming to an end.

weekend

Friday - there was a show at the Woods' house. I was tired but it was fun.
Saturday - we had breakfast with D&J at Billy's, which is always good. Afterwards we walked to the Annex with Jen. I got my hair cut by an old barber - I can understand about 25% of what he says to me while he is cutting my hair. We ended up at BMV, where I bought a book and Leah bought a CD. On the way back we walked past the temporary garbage dump at Christie Pitts Park. It is getting gross in this city.
Our upstairs neighbour was rebagging the garbage behind our house when we got home. Critters have been getting into stuff and it was getting nasty.
Sunday - Leah went to play music at our first morning church service. After helping carry her gear to StStephens, I walked into the market. Sunday morning coffee on a patio is way better than church...
When we got home, I watched Slacker. I have been meaning to watch this for years - and it did not disappoint. I have a high Linklater (excessive rambling dialogue) tolerance - and this is now maybe my 2nd fave movie of his (next to Before Sunrise). It sort of made me want to move somewhere a little more sprawling and a little slower paced.
Church was pretty good, and afterwards we went to Rancho Relaxo with the Woods.

It still isn't summer in Toronto - and I'm beginning to think we're just not getting one this year.

long weekend

Not really a long weekend, just one that had a lot of stuff crammed into it.

Friday evening was the wedding rehearsal for K&T's wedding. Leah was playing bass, and I was running sound. On the way home I went tie shopping - it is weird spending money on a piece of clothe to purposefully wrap uncomfortably tightly around one's neck.
We were back at the wedding in the morning. Afterwards, we went home and hung out with P&B, who were spending the night at our house. P and I managed to back a giant van into the neighbours' fence, and then we all headed off to the reception. It was insane.
In the morning, our guests took off after breakfast. Having them stay with us was wonderful - probably my favorite part of the whole wedding weekend!
I walked to the hardware/lumber store and bought a few fence boards! And then we went to church. Leah was playing music and I ended up as the last-minute (literally) sound guy. It is almost fun (but still work) when everything ends up sounding good - and it sounded great! Also, I get to turn it up as loud as I want to.
T.C. was preaching! and it was pretty much everything you might expect. In a good way.

After church we went home and made dinner. Also, I fixed a fence.

weekend

Since I worked last Wednesday (Canada Day), I had Friday off instead, as well as Thursday afternoon.
Leah and I borrowed a car from some generous friends, and drove to a bed and breakfast outside of Orangeville for a couple of nights. It was great (necessery) to get out of town for a little while. We spent a day getting lost at the Elora gorge, and also stopped by Guelph on the way home on Saturday.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping in Kensington, and did some laundry. After church we went to D&J's for dinner.

Toronto is burying itself in garbage.

Happy Canada Day

I'm at work... =(
But I'm taking friday off instead =)

Its the Weekend Update

Hello

On Friday we went to the Rex, for our friend Michael's CD release. It was a great show, and his album also sounds goooood.

On Saturday I went to get a haircut. We had Jen over for an evening barbecue, and then Leah and I went to the Bloor Cinema to watch The Harder They Come. It is a Jamaican movie from 1972 - one of the first ever real Jamaican films - about a singer and gangster played by Jimmy Cliff. The soundtrack is great, and Leah has been listening to the title song on Youtube for the last few days.

On Sunday, I went down to Queen to look at galleries. I talked to someone I used to work with who just graduated from OCAD with a fine art degree. Her first degree was in interior design (1978!).

After church we went to the Woods for a barbecue.

Dramarama

The Weekend...

Friday night... we went out to the (far) east end to feed Dorothy the Cat.

On Saturday we had an elders meeting for church. Since we were in the (far) north end of the city, I went to Ikea afterwards to buy some picture frames. Ikea is insane... and not in a good way. I did enjoy a 50c hotdog though. Leah went to feed the cat.

Afterwards, I hung out with Brad, and we walked the length of the slightly soggy Big on Bloor festival. It was (as always) the strangest possible mix of vendors, with a fairly high toronto diy hipster art school kid representation. My favorite was a stall of journals made from old recycled hardcover books.

That night we went to a low key birthday gathering at the huang/bowser/cumby house. Even though it was Anne's birthday, baby Calla sort of stole the show. I guess it was her one week birthday too.

On Sunday I went east one last time to feed Dorothy. I also played guitar with Leah at church, which meant hauling gear around in cabs. Afterwards, we went to D&J's, to hang out with them and their couch-surfing house guests. We were also hoping to catch the Gertrudes at the Rivoli, but due to some unforeseen factors (like realising mid-cabride that we had left a bag of our stuff, including house keys, at church) by the time we had eaten, the band would have been half-way through their set.

Also, it is summer here now. =)

weekender

On Friday we watched a super-old (1938) Hitchcock movie - The Lady Vanishes - which we borrowed from Bradley.

Saturday involved meeting David and his nephew for breakfast, going jogging with Leah, buying an amp at a yardsale =), finding out that it only half works =( (no left channel), going to Saving Gigi for coffee, and eventually going to Becca T's birthday party. We also talked to Mike periodically, who talked to Laura periodically, who was at the hospital with the Cumbys... who had a little baby in the afternoon.

On Sunday we went grocery shopping, and then walked to church. Afterwards we snuck away to Women's College Hospital and visited baby Calla (and new mom Anne - dad had gone home to sleep for a while). I don't think I have met and held a one day old person before!

On Friday we disassembled the big iron gate on the front porch. It was my first experience drilling out screws (surprisingly easy)... and the place looks much better. Woods and McGhees came over and we hung out.
Saturday involved the landlord being a dork and 'hanging out' half the day. The upside is that the electrical outlet in our kitchen got fixed. That night we had a somewhat successful barbecue (I ran out of fire/charcoal... but most of the food eventually got cooked) with the McGhees and Hodgert/Fennells.
On Sunday, I did laundry. In the afternoon I biked down to Queen and visited some art galleries before heading to Kensington for church in the 'new' building. Afterwards we went to the Cumby/Bowser/Huang residence for dinner.

In other news - it still isn't really summer yet.

Blogging Fatigue

Read an article about some guy's thoughts on twitter here...

Personally, I don't know how or why I continue to check in to Blogger at least (only) once a week... I seem to have managed to maintain this discipline for much longer than any other (more useful) habit I have ever tried to cultivate.

Anyway - sometimes I still think back to the days of scribble.nu... and when writing, and the web for that matter, seemed to serve more of a personal creative purpose. I was also wondering recently if the internet will ever be something people opt out of in their homes... like people without a television. But I think there are far fewer people without a phone than without a tv, and this is probably a more accurate comparison. Maybe people will opt out of having a computer in the house - and will use their phones (the new computers) for email and for checking the weather, and for facebooking their lives...

But when (everyday) I see people walking down the street and typing into a little phone, sometimes I just stop and think, man, that has to be messed up somehow!

ANYWAY - the weekend... moved church from St Andrews to St Stephens (trading saints)... did some laundry... painted the entry hallway at home... had our last ever church service in the old building (FT Unplugged - some originals, mostly covers)...

weekend

Friday night - we went to TACF... it was far away. On the way we passed an anime convention. The world was filled with outcast teens in goth/furry/weird-cloaks-and-swords outfits. TACF was not quite as strange.

On Sunday, I went to meet people at Mars for breakfast, and then we went to put new floors in at St Stephens. I actually ended up painting for most of the day - finishing up what we did last week. The floors look great.
That evening, we ended up going to the Rex to see Michael and Don's new(ish) band.

On Sunday we went to hang out with D&J at their street sale event. I bought a few books and records. After lunch at saving gigi, Leah and I walked to church. Afterwards we went to the Wood's for a pot-luck.

On the way home (walking from Ossington station) we saw a couple of sketchy guys running down the street. Afterwards another guy ran after them, and then a distraught lady ran by a minute later. Turns out she and her friend were robbed going into the subway. The cops showed up a few minutes later - Leah told them the guys ran into the subway - so the cops peeled out and locked down the place. Apparently they caught 3 out of 4 guys - and we got to wait around forever and eventually give statements.

In the midst of all this excitement, I missed my bedtime...

May Two-Four Weekend

I got off work early on Friday, for the long weekend. That night we went to Laura's (karaoke) birthday party.
Saturday was an epic day of painting at St Stephens church. Our church is moving in June, so we are having a few weekends of getting our space in the "new" building ready. We met up with Kate and the Royals for breakfast at Mars (at 8.30)... and I got home around 9pm. We watched Rachel Getting Married, which was a pretty crazy movie.
I walked to church on Sunday, and then we went to LL's after church for dinner. We walked home afterwards - so all in all I walked for about an hour and a half.
On Monday we were dead tired, and I had a pretty sweet headache. We went for a walk, even though I felt like collapsing. That night we went to D&J's, and watched the Wrestler, which was a very crazy movie.
Somewhere in there we also did some grocery shopping and laundry. And I also hit up a couple of yard sales, where I picked up some Annie Dillard, Flannery O'C., Beck and Bad Religion...

weekender

On Friday night we went to a birthday party for Joel. There were a good few people there, and an unsceduled performance by Nicholas Cage was a part of the evening's festivities.

On Saturday morning I made a big breakfast. We also bought Sonic Youth tickets. That night we went to another birthday party...

On Sunday, I walked to the annex, bought a coffee, some art supplies, and another(!) birthday card. I went to church early, to help set things up. I also ran sound at church. Afterwards, we ate carrot-turnip soup and apple crisp!!!!!!

weekend

On Friday night I went to Joel's let's-play-video-games-while-Anne-has-a-baby-shower party. Everyone pitched in money to go towards pizza and beer and diapers. I haven't really played video games for a good decade or so... and I now find them almost seizure inducing in their ridiculous speed and camera zooming (yes, I'm old).

On Saturday we had an elders' meeting at our house. Our church is moving at the end of the month, so there is a lot going on. That night we went to a birthday party for /dr., which was fun. We partied like married people, which is to say we were home by 1...

On Sunday, I went to see the Wolverine movie. I am generally quite forgiving when it comes to superhero movies... and I really enjoyed this one. It could have had a better bad guy character (see the last Batman - which I actually didn't enjoy as much as I was supposed to), and it could have had a better female lead (see Iron-Man - which I did enjoy as much as I was supposed to), but it would be difficult to find a more bad-ass/awesome hero than Wolverine. He's Canadian!

After church, we ended up (with Brad) at D&J's again, for dinner.

weekend

On Friday we went grocery shopping. When we got home, Leah made granola and I went to bed.

On Saturday we took M to the vet for her shots. She was scared, as usual...
In the afternoon we went to A's to play music. And that evening we went to D & J's, where we finally watched Slumdog Millionaire. I'm still not sure why I didn't love this movie as much as (almost) everybody else did!? I really do like movies with fully developed characters (and where nothing happens!). This one has everything happening and pretty flat characters.

On Sunday, I walked down to Queen street and stopped in at a bunch of art galleries, where I saw some pretty cool stuff, like this. After church we went to D & J's for dinner.

Update

Well...

Friday night I went to A&E&J&A's house - Andrew was hosting a party to give away/swap some of his old unwanted records. It was a fairly low key affair - but pretty fun.

Saturday morning had peoples' fists in my mouth. Turns out I had a cavity in one of my molars, so that was a good time.

Also, it was record store day! Leah and I went down to (a rammed) Queen street, to stop by Criminal Records. It was crazy! The only time I have seen that many people in there was for the Julie Doiron in-store show. Leah bought a Cat Steven's record, and ended up winning a grand prize, which turned out to be mostly a massive amount of City and Colour swag!!! If anybody is a big fan, we have autographed CDs, DVDs, t-shirts, a bag..(!?) (Leah loves the song Coming Home, so she was pretty excited.)

I bought the Dan Auerbach record (which came with a CD copy). If you like the Black Keys, then you will probably like this too...

On Sunday - Leah did some laundry... and I went to the Dufferin Mall to drop off some film at Blacks. How old-school is that??!

Church.

The end.

Fun

Zellyn tweeted about this music maker thing...

Easter Weekend Update Extravaganza

Leah was complaining that I did not update yesterday.

Thursday night we watched Napoleon Dynamite at D&J's. I forgot that that movie is so good!

Friday, we went to church at St Andrews for the (first ever?) joint StA+Ft service. Afterwards, a bunch of people came over for a giant brunch. Later we all migrated to the Woods' place for a giant dinner, and a game of Apples to Apples. It was an exhausting day of hanging out.

Saturday, we didn't do all that much.

Sunday - I did laundry. Easter church was good, and we went to Korean Barbecue afterwards with a bunch of people...

The end

weekend

Mostly we did things like taxes and studying. We also watched some movies - Thank You for Smoking and Dog Day Afternoon - both of which I would recommend.

I also got a bad haircut, and then shaved it all down to 1/4 inch.

Ha ha ha

This study is funny. Since I ran across the article whilst at work, and am now blogging about it, I guess that makes me a more productive worker...?!

Weekend

This weekend involved some epic moving. Three couples that we know all moved into a mansion - so Saturday was a long day of loading, unloading, and driving back and forth across town. The weather was great, there were many helpers, and it everything went well. It was actually fun.
That evening Leah went to a wedding shower for another friend. I stuck around at the mansion to drink some post-moving beer with the lights out (earth hour seems like such a bad joke to me, but whatever...)
On sunday Leah worked on some homework while I went to drink coffee and read about minimalist art. Church was good - David was pinch-preaching due to the early arrival of baby Justus. Afterwards, we had a last minute pot-luck dinner at our house.

W33K3ND

On Friday night we went over to David and Jen's. We ate delicious food (as always) and watched Happy Go Lucky. I really liked this movie...

On Saturday I did laundry in the morning, and we went grocery shopping in the afternoon. I also bought the Saint Etienne Travel Edition CD.

That night I was kinda bored, and ended up renting Mystery Train. We watched 2/3 of it before going to sleep. I love the first third with the Japanese rockabilly kids making a pilgrimage to Memphis...

On Sunday, I finally reassembled the record player table, with Leah's help. It took quite a bit of swearing on my part before things were together and not too crooked.

I was on setup for church - which went pretty well. We had a guest preacher (Joe Manifo), and after the service he showed a documentary that he made on churches in Canada (he himself is a church planter in Sarnia). It was well done and interesting. After that there was a panel discussion starring David, Justin Broadbent, John Franklin (of Imago), and Joe, about faith and the arts. It was excellently moderated by Jen McNaughton, and actually super interesting. After tear-down, it was really late and I had a wicked headache.

Colored Lights Video

I finished making my first ever video tonight. It is shot on the world's worst digital camera, and it is my first time trying to do video or audio in Flash, so bear with me... (and let me know if you have issues running it).

Check it out over at Immigrant Design. IT'S INTERACTIVE!!!

WKND

This weekend was good. Leah had an idea for a new coffee-table. After some design alterations to account for the fact that we can't make 45 degree cuts, and have to rely on the 'accuracy' of the peeps at the hardware store who cut the wood, we ended up with a new coffee table. It turned out quite well. I will put some pictures up at Immigrant Design when I get a chance...

On Sunday, I went for a walk and took some pictures (35mm film - oldschool). I also stopped in at a few art galleries.

Church was good.

Toe Knee Heart

Today I was walking to work from the streetcar stop - and I was looking off to the side at this mysterious huge house on Wellington...
when I walked right into one of those posts that you lock your bike to.

It was funny, but I totally smashed my knee into it.

weakened

The weekend was somewhat busy and mostly unremarkable.






I should trade in blogger for twitter.

Mrzic

I need some good working music...????

£€$$

This American Life has another very good program on the current economic situation - explaining what is going on and why...

Listen to it here, if you want to understand more/scare the mess out of yourself.

wkkendupdtte

I am slightly sick today - my head feels heavy and full and my throat hurts.
On Friday I met Leah after work and she went to buy a bathing suit. Later we went to visit Kate in her fancy-schmancy Yorkville hotel. We went swimming in the lap pool, tried out the sauna, and hung out in her room.
On Saturday, Leah and I complained about the cold. We went to greenavi for coffee, where Leah read Thomas Merton and I read Flannery O'Connor... Afterwards, we went to Magic Oven Pizza, for expensive gluten-free pizza. Instead of doing anything that evening - we fell asleep for a few hours. When we woke up, we ended up watching/rewatching Before Sunrise.
On Sunday we did laundry. After church we watched Before Sunset - which was interesting but not as good...

wweekkeenndd

Leah was (is) away all last week and for the weekend.

Friday night I stayed home, and went to bed somewhat early.
Saturday I got up and went to Ikea. I bought a bunch of stuff (some lights, picture frames, sheets etc.) and then went home to get it all set up, Trading Spaces style. Afterwards, I went to the paint store and bought another gallon of brown paint. After I had the living room prepped, Pants called to see if I wanted to go bowling that evening. I had a few hours, so I decided to try my hand at speed painting...
Bowling was fun. I still don't understand why it is so hard to find a bowling alley in Toronto (well - I sort of understand that they are big, and renting that much office space must bring in WAY more money than renting old shoes and selling cheap beer...) Anyway - this one was in some random basement up near Lawrence and Bathurst..?
On Sunday I got up early and hit the living room with a second coat of paint. I decided to NOT do laundry (in spite of a fairly dire laundry situation), 'cause I figured I needed to relax for at least a part of the weekend. So I sabbathed around town aimlessly for a few hours (stopping in at Sears to buy socks).
After church I rented Before Sunrise - which I had somehow never seen. I have a fairly high Linklater tolerence factor - and this one had a high Decent-Babble:Pretentious-Babble ratio. I really enjoyed it, and I believe I will have to now rent Before Sunset...

Tonight: Laundro-geddon.

Long Weekend

On Friday night I went up to Eglinton and Mount Pleasant (!?!) to meet a bunch of guys from church at a pub, and to play chess. I got my bum thoroughly kicked by Scott Gray.

On Saturday I got my hair cut. Afterwards Leah and I went to The Queen Mother for a Valentines day lunch! That night we went to the Royal's to hang out with church peeps, and make vegan paté for a church feast.

On Sunday, Leah went to play at St John's Anglican (for the last time). I went to The Common and read the latest Scott Pilgrim book. I just found out that I am too old to be an extra in the movie... =(

After church there was a baptism/feast at St George the Martyr.

On Monday, Leah and I stayed home all day, packing etc. for Leah to go away for a week of silent retreat at Loyola House. After going down to Union Station with her, I headed to the McG's for dinner and a movie. We watched In Bruges, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend. (it wasn't terrible... but it wasn't super-awesome)

Weekend

On Friday night we rented Vicky Cristina Barcelona. If you like Woody Allen movies (without Woody Allen) in general then you will probably like this one too.

On Saturday we had an elder's meeting for church. Afterwards we went to Sears to return an electric space heater. We didn't go to be mistreated by a surly Sears employee, but we ended up doing both of these things.

As previously mentioned, I also went to see Coraline. There were one million children+parents in the theatre.

On Sunday I was on setup and teardown at church. I also got to run powerpoint (actually MediaShout, which, if possible, is maybe worse than PP), which means I sort of skipped church to sit in the dark and occasionally push a button.

Coraline

Yesterday I went to see Coraline. Unfortunately, the theatre I went to was not showing it in 3D - which I only discovered after I got there. Anyway - it was still pretty amazing! I recommend - unless you happen to not like crazy magical fantastic things.

If you want to replace your eyes with buttons, you can do so at Coraline.com

Weather

We are into February and the dark of the year. Not literally (our days are getting longer), but figuratively. These are the long months of winter.

Our furnace stopped working some time on Tuesday night, and was out of commission until 7 this morning, when a guy came with the part he needed to fix it. This time we had power, so we were able to at least run a space heater (and the oven!) whenever we were home.

Leah also bought me the 808s & Heartbreak album, to add to my winter music collection. Speaking of which, here is some free music you might like... I downloaded and burned the Blue Laws album, and find myself putting it on fairly often. (I assume the rest is good too, but I have yet to listen to anything else).

What we missed this weekend...

Weekendupdate

So I heard that that previously posted Shad video is not all freestyle...

The weekend.
On Friday we trekked out to the rehearsal space. It is not that far away, but trying to get there on the Dufferin bus is about as much fun as waiting out in the cold. Actually, it is waiting out in the cold.
We cleared out our stuff and took a cab ride home, and then went to the McGhee's for dinner.

On Saturday we had our Annual(ish) General Meeting, for church. This was more or less as fun as an annual general meeting is. After dinner, Leah watched about 6 episodes of Degrassi, and I wondered around the Annex sort of aimlessly.

On Sunday, I sent to the Common in the morning, and then did some more aimless wondering before going to church. Afterwards we went to the Cumby/Huang's for dinner.

ShadK

I haven't really heard Shad much at all, short of a few YouTube clips... But what I have heard (and seen) has been pretty great.

Check out this freestyle clip that /dr. posted... it is unbelievable.
(Here is a ripped mp3 version)

Also, check out his Fresh Prince video that won CBC3's video of the year...


And stop by FT on Sunday - Shad will be at church.

Weekend

I kept reading great reviews for Let the Right One In. (I also kept seeing ads for the movie, like the one above, which I found amusingly similar to the Rachel Getting Married ads that were out at the same time)

Anyway - it was showing this weekend at the Bloor, so we sort of had to go. And it was the most enjoyable movie I have watched in a long time. It is a sad and beautifully shot story about two lonely twelve year old kids becoming friends. It is also a vampire movie.

Anyway - On Saturday I went out to the Beaches. It was sunny and bright and white. The Water Filtration Plant is open again, so I took some pictures.

On Sunday, we cleaned up our apartment. After church we had a whole whack of people over for dinner.

Country Ain't Dead

If you want you could come to this show tomorrow night...

Weekend Update

So the big news was of course the power outage. Thurday night at 10, to Friday night at around the same time, we had no power at home, and therefore no heat.

I had a deadline at work, so I abandoned Leah to deal with things on her own, which sucked. The main concern was that by the afternoon, when the temperature in the house was down to 5 or 6, the cats were starting to show signs of coldness. Eventually Mike Wood drove over and picked up Leah and the cats, and we spent the evening at their place.
The house pretty much took all night to warm back up to normal.

On Saturday, Leah went to a baby shower, and I went to the laundromat. That night we went back to the Wood's for a party.

On Sunday, Leah played music at churches ALL DAY. I went to the Common, and then walked all along Queen street, from Dufferin to Spadina. I also finally bought the Bon Iver CD. I thought it might be the right soundtrack for surviving the winter.

Power Outage

The last few days have been brutally cold.
Last night the power went out at 10.
This morning the thermostat was reading 54F (12C) and had dropped another degree by the time I left for work.
And the subway isn't running from Jane to St George.

It's pretty crazy how unprepared we are for stuff to not work.

BPB

If you're interested, check out this article from the New Yorker about Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

Weekend

On Saturday, I went to an epic elders' meeting for church.
That night we went to the Tranzac to see Hobson's Choice. It was uncomfortably rammed with people, and we only stayed for the first set.
On Sunday, I bought some pants and jeans. I ended up buying both at H&M. Sometimes it is just easier to buy something plain and cheap.
Leah went to church early, for practice, and I threw together a TSV flyer before heading to church myself.
Afterwards we got takeout Korean food.

Create a Blog - It's Free

Yesterday I called in sick to work.
I spent a good deal of the morning on the couch. Later in the afternoon I went to the walk-in clinic at Queen and Spadina. That place is sort of ghetto. I sat around waiting for a couple of hours, and eventually saw the doctor, who said exactly what I expected... it's the flu - do nothing.
Today I decided to come in to work. I pretty much feel ok, except I tend to get tired.
On Sunday, Jess Cantelon played music at church. He is the old-school worship leader from back in the day. It was kinda cool, and also kinda strange to see a lot of people show up that used to come to church...
Afterwards, we had dinner at the McGhee's, with the Cumbys.

MerryChristmasHappyNewYear

Well... I ended up taking the last two days before Christmas as vacation. Leah and I went out to the airport on Christmas eve. It was a zoo - even the bus to the airport was crazy. After waiting in a line for around 2 hours, we discovered that our flight was upgraded from delayed to cancelled.

We kept hearing that all Halifax flights were full, and that our earliest next flight would be boxing day, if we were lucky. Eventually, I got super lucky, talked to the right person, and we ended up booked on a 6-something-am Christmas day flight.
We went home and set the alarm for 3-something. We got up and waited out for the late-night Bloor bus to the airport at 5 am. The bus never showed up!!! We got a different bus as far as Islington station, and then, after almost freezing whilst waiting some more, eventually took a cab to the airport.

Christmas in NS was good, despite the fact that I got the flu or something, and ended up in bed/on the couch for almost the whole time we were there. We played quite a bit of Mario 3, and watched the ends of a lot of movies that were on TV. It was good to see Leah's folks.

We made it back home at a minute or two before the new year. I have sort of continued to be in bed/on the couch since then, with short excursions. Leah is away today to play a Their Shallow Valley show in New Market.

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.