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Under more stars than there are prostitutes in Thailand…

On Friday night, I went to my first ever Hot Docs screening. Yes, I had never before been to Hot Docs after living in Toronto(ish) for 28 years. How long? 28 years.1 I lost my Hot Docs virginity to Strange Powers, a film about Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields. For those who don’t know who Stephin Merritt is, or who the Magnetic Fields are, you’re obviously new to my blog, and my life.2 The Magnetic Fields are one of the most ambitious pop artists who are best known for their monumentous3 triple album project 69 Love Songs. Stephin Merritt is the band’s songwriter, leader, visionary, and in all honesty,… Read More »Under more stars than there are prostitutes in Thailand…

Music Monday

The second greatest show in Canadian history, Open Mike with Mike Bullard. Let’s start with The Flashing Lights.1 Joe Dick The Headstones Fellow former Thornleaer, Hayden Hey! I uploaded that video, you can thank me. [↩]

How Did JFK Get My Spaghetti Video?

I was recently paid a visit by a dreamy woman, in a dress. As any man would do, I took out my camera. She’s got a fashion blog, which recently used these photos.

Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, You.

On the weekend, I went to Massey Hall with the ever famous Millers. There was a gentleman who stood on the stage for hours on end ranting at us. His name was Eddie Izzard and he was rather funny. He talked to us about the Queen1, God, and a summer he spent in Ontario as a kid. He’s a really funny man, he talked about Charles Darwin’s book “Great Expectations,” which led him to Darwin’s better and more famous book “Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, You.” Most importantly, I believe that Izzard put forward a very good question, if the universe was created through Intelligent Design, then why is there poo… Read More »Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, Monkey, You.

Realism – In Depth

Some months ago, The Magnetic Fields released a new record called Realism. I briefly wrote about it, with the intention to go back and write something more in depth. We’ve now come to that point. Song: You Must Be Out Of Your Mind Sung by: Stephin Merritt & Claudia Gonson Favourite lyric: “I no longer drink enough to think you’re witty.” You think I’ll run, not walk to you Why would I want to talk to you? I want you crawling back to me Down on your knees, yeah Like an appendectomy Sans anesthesia If you think you can leave the past behind You must be out of your mind… Read More »Realism – In Depth

Mix albums!

I recently reconnected with an old friend, from back in my high school days. We never went to school together, after all, she was, and still is far off in a foreign country. So I made Beth this mix, but I didn’t know what I might have sent her all those years ago, so I decided to limit myself to nothing older than 2000. I also didn’t know what she had been listening to since then, so I decided to limit the selection to Canadian music. “The Indie Queens Are Waiting” by Dan Mangan This is my favourite Dan Mangan song, and I’ve been on a bit of a kick… Read More »Mix albums!

Music Monday

The greatest Canadian show of all time, Rita & Friends.

April 2010, in review

In December, I set goals for myself, how many films to see this year, how many shows to attend, how many records to purchase, and how many books to read. This is the standings, as of the end of February… Books I read (6/10) – 60%: Nothing this month. Films I saw (32/52) – 61%: The Sweet Hereafter | Originally released 1997    Nine | Originally released 2009 The Runaways Sleeper | Originally released 1973 Albums I bought (24/52) – 46%: “My Father’s House” b/w “The Digger” (Regional 7″ Volume 2) by $100    What The Boat Gave The River by Mark Berube & The Patriotic Few    new EP by… Read More »April 2010, in review

Greg Keelor

I’ve been to a lot of shows in my life. In my top five is a show that Greg Keelor played at Lee’s Palace around the time of the release of his second solo record called Seven Songs for Jim. The band consisted of Keelor on guitar, Bryden Baird on flugelhorn, and Travis Good on guitar and fiddle. He broke the set into two. The first was the funeral, in which they played the seven songs from the record (plus a Tom Waits cover) which were written while his father was in the hospital dying. The second set was the wake, and the band played a lot of great folk… Read More »Greg Keelor

Governor General James T. Kirk

Friday morning’s Toronto Star had William Shatner on the cover, the former star of Star Trek, who has a fan movement on Facebook vying for him to be Governor General of Canada. For those unfamiliar, the Governor General is the nation’s de facto head of state. While the monarch (currently Elizabeth II) is the actual head of state, she cannot perform those duties, as she is also the head of state for numerous other countries, and resides in the United Kingdom. Governors General provide a mostly symbolic role, they represent the nation on an international level, are a spokesperson for the country, sign bills into law (once they’ve passed through… Read More »Governor General James T. Kirk