Wise Man says "Dont Fret the Bass"

I got off the bus at 6:15am, back in sweet Toronto, I went home and then slept all day.

Now I'm hanging with my friends The Stormalongs in the jam space, and they sound fucking great.

Here is what they worked on tonight:

The Stormalongs Jam List, Notice no "Freebird"

Red State out October 19th, see it early

Kevin Smith debuted his new film Red State at Sundance this week, and then announced with much fanfare that he would forgo selling his first horror film to traditional distributors and release the film himself. Kevin Smith alway bets on Kevin Smith. It's a good bet and it's paid off before (Kevin backed his first film Clerks on multiple high-intrest credit cards). He is willing to make this gambit because he has supreme confidence in his work and in his ability to secure an audience by networking directly with his fans. He blogged for a long time, and then he pretty much stopped blogging the minute he discovered twitter, and hasn't stopped tweeting since.

The movie will Open October 19th 2011, but US fans can see it early, buy tickets here.

March 5 Radio City Music Hall, NY, NY
March 6 Wilbur Theater, Boston, MA
March 8 Harris Theater, Chicago, IL
March 9 State Theater, Minneapolis, MN
March 10 Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
March 11 Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis, IN
March 12 Midland Theater, Kansas City, MO
March 14 Clark State PAC, Springfield, OH
March 22 Paramount Theater, Denver, CO
March 26 McAlister Auditorium, New Orleans, LA
March 28 Paramount Theatre, Austin, TX
March 29 Cobb Energy Centre, Atlanta, GA
April 4 Marion Oliver McCall Hall, Seattle, WA

I'm sure he will add some Canadian dates, perhaps around the Walter Gretzky Ball Hockey Tournament in June. I hope the screenings happen at the Lightbox but I could see it happening at the Underground since they have a bigger room. Either way Red State will sell out when it screen in Toronto. I will be there and if you want to know about it keep checking this blog.

Incendies at the Tiff Bell Lightbox

My good friend Regimbal wanted to see Incendies. the Canadian film that was nominated for a Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award on Tuesday. It's playing at the Lightbox (it opened at Tiff). I picked up the tickets early because some showings have been selling out. I finally got to use some of my massive Volunteer Voucher stockpile to get the tickets. When I told Regimbal that he would have to reimburse me for the ticket with his time, he said he would rather pay me in cash.

The movie was fantastic. It's no wonder it was nominated. I would recommend it for anyone who can handle some heavy subject matter. The movie is about a mothers dying request of her children and their journey to fulfil it. Thats all I'm gonna say. Go see it and support Canadian Cinema.

"That's Called Chin Music"

Eric Nagler hands you a brick in a sock and you ask "What kind of music does this make?"

I'm at the jam space watching the guys run through the set, just heard them play a great Clowns. Colin was getting shocked by his amp being plugged into an ungrounded outlet. They worked out the beginning of Days Alight, different since Momo is gone.

The Stormalongs played in Sudbury this past weekend. The show went well I'm told, although the car battery died on them as they tried to leave. I really want to go with the guys next time they go out of town. I'm missing all the rock n' roll adventure.

I had a Johnny Cash dvd I was going to sell at a CD store, but since they would probably only give me 2$, I figured I might as well just give it to Colin. 

 

Waiting in line for a new Health Card

I just downloaded an update to this blogger-droid app and figured I would test it out while in line at Service Ontario.  I need a new health card. I love socialist medicine but I can't get any without a Health Card. In the past this app has not worked well, so if you are reading this on my blog then it works, the next step is seeing if it works with a photo (this has given me a lot of trouble before).

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Coffee for Intenet is fair trade

I'm in a coffee shop across the street from my place. I can actually see my bedroom window from where I am sitting. I would like to be enjoying the interwebs from the comforts of said bedroom but my brother has yet to secure an interweb provider. I used to come to this Second Cup when the net was down at my old place which was quite often in the past few months. I'm pretty much a regular here now, which fuels paranoia that the staff no doubt talk about me behind my back.

 

Birthday Lightbox

I had decided to work on my birthday because I really like being at the Tiff Bell Lightbox and it was the only Captain shift available for the rest of the month. I went and met with Granny Mo, we went to Tim Hortons for some lunch. She did not have any of the bread, she is sticking to her new diet and loosing weight. Gmo feels like she has been getting really old really fast, but its been a gradual process from my point of view.

I started my Captain shift and Granny Mo explored the Tim Burton Extibition for over two and a half hours. She really enjoyed it, and was inspired to try some stop motion herself. I have an idea I will write out for her and see what kind of sketches she comes up with. We grabbed dinner at the Canteen on my break and talked about the exhibition. I'm lucky to have such a cool supportive granny in my life. It made for a great birthday.

Facebook has made birthdays way too easy on people. People can post best wishes on your wall and feel satisfied with a job well done. Facebook is fine for wishing someone you went to grade school with a happy birthday, but if I was your best friend since we were 5 and you almost killed me in a car once and I performed your marriage last year, then maybe I deserve a personal call on my birthday *hint*. I got so many posts on my facebook I put up my cell number and asked for text best wishes, and overloaded my phone with texts. I also had no idea who the messages were coming from since I didn't have their contact in my phone and the senders usually only wrote "happy birthday!".

After my shift I went and picked up a few cans of Steamwhistle and went back to my place to celebrate my birthday. It was low key affair. A few friends came over for a few beers. I really enjoyed it. Ian brought me a bottle of Wild Turkey, so I made some Rusty Nails with Wild Turkey Burbon and Wild Turkey Liqueur.

Breakfast and Green Hornet

Paul and I have a bounty of food in the fridge, thanks to me. Today I started breakfast while he was doing his ablutions. Bacon and sausage cooked on ye olde Geogio Forman and a super-cheese omelet and hash browns. It covered all the grease groups. Over coffee Paul mentioned how he would like to see some Captain Crunch in his cereal bowl, I recommended he try the grocery store.

Ian and I like to see every new movie we can, and opening weekend is a great time. We both wanted to check out Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg penned Gondry directed Green Hornet. Ian picked me up in his production wheels and we drove to the Carlton since the snow was going to prevent us from making it to the Queensway in time for the 1:30 show. The old Carlton Cinemas was owned by Cineplex and had fallen in disrepair, but the Rainbow Cinemas bought it and cleaned it up a bit. The screens are still ridiculously small, and I probably would avoid going to see a movie there again if I was offered any other option. The movie itself was very entertaining. James Franco has a great cameo up against Christoph Waltz, who as the villan can't seem to gain the fear and respect he so deserves. Jay Chou is a great Kato and Rogen maintains plausibility as a hero. Rogen and Goldberg are my heroes, their writing is so violent and so funny.

My other hero Kevin Smith had a go at Green Hornet back when it was a Miramax picture. They have adapted his un-produced screenplay into a comic book, I'm going to check it out for sure.

Gmo Monday!

I went shopping with my Granny Mo today. I got a pair of black New Balance shoes for working at the Lightbox. My dress shoes are just too uncomfortable to stand in for long periods. I have a few shifts this week so I'm glad to have good comfy shoes. We went to lunch at Baton Rouge, it was a little pricey, but Gmo loved the soup. She thinks she's been getting really old really fast. She has to take a lot of breaks to sit down and I cant really walk slow enough for her, I don't mind slowing down. I'm lucky I get to spend time with her. Her questions can be frustrating. Sometimes she wants me to elaborate on Yes or No answers.

My buddy Ian started working on reshoots, so he has a production vehicle again. We went for an evening drive. I love rolling around the city with Ian. We just talk movies and the conversation is always so enthralling.

Danny Husk in a Comic Book

I was at the CNIB all day helping distribute the 2011 TTC Metropasses. Afterwards I hurried to the Beguiling to pick up Scott Thompson's graphic novel The Hollow Planet and meet the man himself. I'm a huge Kids in The Hall fan and it was great to meet him in such an intimate setting. He was very nice and the book looks really funny.

 The book features one of Scott's most memorable characters from the series, Danny Husk. If you don't remember Danny then watch this video: