Ho Ho Ho!

Sunny J's VIP Festivus Guests Hollywood, Thompson, 

Regim, Sunny J, Roly, Paul, Jordie, not pictured Marc. 

Back in the Fall, I bid in a silent auction at a fundraiser for Princess Margaret Hospital. it's my philanthropic nature. I ended up winning and never wrote about it here cause I wanted to keep it a bit of a secret. I leave a lot of shit out, believe me. The auction was for a ViP tour of the Steamwhist;e Brewery for me and 9 friends. Since the Brewery is being renovated in January I decided to schedule it in December as a bit of a Christmas gift to my friends. I set it up for the 19th, the same day as Santarchy, the Toronto Santacon. For all you squares, Santacon is a shit ton of Santa's on a pub crawl. My Mom has been working tirelessly on this totally bad assed Santa costume for me, so I was totally prepared.

I really wanted to take full advantage of the tour, and spent a lot of time inviting people and replacing those who couldn't make it. I wanted as many friends as I could to enjoy it with me. My brothers Marc and Paul, Marc traveling from North Bay. My dad, in town for the weekend from Montreal. My good friend Ian, Thompson and also Regim and Jordie, two people I don't see enough.

I ran up to a costume shop for a Santa beard around Yonge/Bloor-ish, then bolted to the historic Roundhouse.

Marc and Matt met me at the entrance, Marc with my special suit. I set up the tour with Gord(?) and ran to the bathroom to put my Santa gear on. I walked out in Full Santa to a brewerey of Strangers, then quickly found my pary at the end of the bar bottles in hand. We waited a short time for the rest of the guys to show up, and once we were all there it began.

The tour was great, as hot as I was in my Santa suit. We had beers the entire time and were allowed to bring them on the tour with us (like true V.I.P.s). At the end of the tour they served us pizza and we picked up a few tallboys for the road.

I'm so glad my friends could make it out and it really meant a lot to me.

We walked up to King street loosing a bit of our party. We got terrible service at the Elephant & Castle, and I was harassed by two kids who's parents didn't have the sense to keep their children away from a half lit Santa. I was nice the first 2 times, but the kid kept coming back to bug us and Dad was getting pretty fed up(we all were). So we headed up to Yonge/Dundas to meet up with the other Santas.

We all filled the Black Bull and Dad Marc Regim and I found a seat at the bar. We had a few, some girl hit on Marc and her friend told me about her kid at home. It was so great to have a beer with good friends and so many Santas, and my costume looked so good. Eventually Dad gave up and headed back to Paul's place in a cab. Marc Regim and I tracked some of Santa's little helpers first to Bovine and then to Velvet Underground.

A great night and truly memorable, I can't wait to do it again next year with even more Santas

The Room, again, still terrible

I went to meet Dad at Union Station. His train was delayed, so I killed some time in the arcade. They had a sweet Simpsons cabinet, me and Paul will have to hit it up with a roll of loonies. Dad showed and we walked up to Bay/Dundas to meet Marc coming off the bus. We grabbed a Heinie Keg and walked up Yonge towards Pauls. We had some beers at Hoops (Marc heard "Poops"). Paul showed up after he had finneshed work and we had another pint, then went back to Paul's place to tap the mini keg.

My plan for the evening was to go see The Room again. It's so bad I just had to share it with Marc and Paul, and I had already told Dad all about it after the last screening so he was pumped.

We headed towards the Royal. On the way Dad tripped and fell scraping his face. We stopped at McDonalds to tidy up. I was concerned but Dad assured me he was fine and still wanted to go to the movie.

The Room was so bad. People did a lot more screaming than the last time, it was a lot less coherent, but still a great time. We chucked spoons, screamed "Your tearing me apart Lisa!" and passed the football around in our tuxedos. Good times. Big day again tomorrow.

Avatar IMAX 3D

Ian and I saw Avatar in IMAX 3D at the midnight showing. We got there 2 hours early, but they had already let people into the theatre. We got good enough seats that got better as people gave up seats they were holding and we closed in towards the middle.

I was really excited and a little nervous, I have been let down by big hype movies in the past. The shitty  Star Wars prequels case in point. But where George Lucas failed, James Cameron succeeds! Avatar delivers on all the hype of Episode One with none of that Jar Jar aftertaste. The movie was awesome, it looks incredible. Everything is rendered so beautifully, it seriously reminded me of Burning Man, a strange glowing planet, naked blue people, spiritual connections.

From what Ian said the 3D was cool. I wish I could see depth but I can't. I really hate having to wear the glasses and not get any of the effect. The Douche in front of Ian sat forward the whole 2 hours and 55 minutes which slightly ruined the effect for him.

You have to go see this on the Imax in 3d, your TV at home can't match it. Now I'm going to sleep cause I have a huge day/weekend and it's 4am and I need some sleep.

If your wondering if I want you to read my blog (I want you to read my blog)

I'm a Weezer fan, and I have been since I was thirteen years old.

Every summer I went to Camp Oochigeas, a camp for kids with cancer. It was me, Jose, Kyle Shawn, Jeff, We would listen to a compilation CD called Absolute 90s, and we all agreed Say It Aint So by Weezer was one of the best songs ever. At the time Weezer was only known for the Buddy Holly video, and passed off by most as a one hit wonder.

The next summer when camp started they pulled our Cabin aside to tell us Jose had passed away. The first thing we did back at our cabin was listen to Say it Aint So, alone just me and Kyle and we cried.

I love Wezeer, but not what they have become.

Dear Santa,

I know I it might be getting too late, but I wanted to let you know I was a good boy all year, and if you were going to order something off amazon in time for Christmas you better do it now!

All this Nintendo stuff sure would be fun to play, I put a book in there in case you think I should be reading..

Kevin Smith Lays The Podium Down in 2010!

Kevin Smith is coming back to Toronto for a Q&A at Roy Thompson Hall in February. The public onsale is Friday. Thankfully, 2010 is a new fiscal year and the expense is justifiable. I'm guessing the Bloor Cinema might have another film fest too. Kevin directed the new Tracy Morgan Bruce Willis buddy cop comedy COP OUT Feb 26 2010. Formerly referred to as A Couple of Dicks, it is the first movie Kevin directed but did not write.

The newest Smod is great if you like his hockey talk/gush.
Check out SModcast 100 Here!

I'm so lucky my favourite Writer/Director spends so much time in Toronto. He really likes it here, his shows consistently sell out, we have Degrassi, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Date with Mom

Saturday night I escorted my mom to her work Christmas party. It was at a Doctors house, a very nice place. We had a good time, all her co workers were fun and the food was good and beers were plentiful. She and I sat in a room with some people talking about traveling to Munich and Israel for vacation, of which we could not relate and thus had nothing to say. Later I got to use my Tiger Woods material while still current.

Today we went to Fabricland for white faux fur for my Santa suit. Santanarchy is this coming Saturday, I can't wait! Mom and I watched the new Simpsons episode Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou? A good ep with some great bully gags, and a sweet Maggie scene.

Decomp is for Poseurs who can't hack it in Black Rock

O.k., they sent out a request for people who attended Toronto Decomp (A Burning Man party) to answer a survey, and someone replied to the whole list with this long rant, and this was the best part:


"There was no one in charge! Everything just ran itself. If there was an issue, it was up to the people in the immediate surrounding to sort things out ie. the artists. Why am I paying to be here again?"

If you have been to Burning man then you understand why this is funny. Especially the "Why am I paying to be here again?" part, you could put that on a T-shirt.

Happy Birthday Baby Lula!

My cousin Treya and her husband Andre had a party for their little girl Lula Pearl's first birthday. Mom couldn't make the trek due to illness and Granny Mo just plum forgot. Most of the guest were Treya's coworkers, and not a single other baby (Lula keeps a mature crowd).

She got a ton of toys, just what she needs leading into Christmas. I'm so broke I didn't get her anything, kind of a jerk move but in the grand scheme of things Lula will never notice.

The cake was reallygood and Lula got her very own to smash and make a mess of.

You could tell she was finished when she began to drop hands full of cake over her face from above.

Happy Birthday Lula! Can't wait till number 2!

Rivers is hurt =W=

I can't believe it! Weezer's Rivers Cuomo was injured in a bus accident. Even though I didn't care for Raditude I never wished him harm. I hope he is ok and takes the time to recover, so he can continue to rock in the future.

KARL's words and pictures from weezer.com are better.

Put some Weezer on your iPod.

New Smashing Pumpkins track is FREE! A Song For A Son!

MTV Shows

A Song for A Son is the first of 44 tracks from the Pumpkins new record Teargarden By Kaleidoscope. Teargarden will be released track by track for free as it is recorded, and then in a 4 cut EP format, eventually totaling 11 discs. I saw this song debut at the Bridge School Benefit last year, and it blew my mind then.

I love the chorus, and it has a dead sexy solo.

The Pumpkins came back from the ashes of their 2001 breakup with 2007's Zeitgeist, just Billy and Jimmy. The new incarnation of the band features Mike Byrne.

Billy fucking rocks.

A Christmas Carol & a "personal injury at track level"

I went to Yonge/Eglington to meet Granny Mo, we missed each other the day before, one of us was late. So this time we had all the bugs worked out, except the movie wasn't playing at Silvercity anymore. I suggested we go to the AMC downtown, so we hopped on the TTC. On the way south, the train announced a "personal injury at track level at Dundas", and our train would stop at Bloor and head north. We got off at Bloor and I managed to navigate us through the throng of diverted passengers. We made it to the street corner and caught the first shuttle bus down.

Lots of police at Yonge/Dundas, and they were putting someone in an ambulance. I have tried to find some more information, but the TTC cloak of secrecy has been dropped over the whole situation. I found this at the National Post. It's shameful that we are kept in the dark, but the TTC doesn't want to talk about suicide. LET'S PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED!

Besides all that crap, Granny and I had a great time at the movie.

Disney's A Christmas Carol is the classic holiday story told with the most modern computer animation available. Robert Zemeckis, director of my all time favourite Back to the Future 2 continues on his quest to push mo-cap and 3d forward, and it looks so much better than Polar Express (the people look a lot less wooden this time arround). Jim Carrey is fun, but nowhere near the top of his game. Go see it if you need some Christmas spirit.

We went back up to Eglington to meet Andy for dinner. The trains were running again. We had a nice meal at The Pickle Barrel, but it couldn't hold a candle to last Friday's dinner. We went to Genghis Khan's Mongolian Grill. That place was fantastic. I had so much fun, I'm still smiling about it. I can't wait to go back again.

Chocolate Lies

I met up with Cayen as soon as I got home. We walked around, stepped into the Steam Whistle Brewery for a sip. They only give 1 sample now(used to be 2). But now you can buy a bottle for 3.50$. We were down by the Air Canada Centre to maybe see a Raptors game. We fucked with the scalpers and then went to check the box office. We didn't want to pay the 27$, so we walked up to Queen West and had a pitcher at Java, I haven't been there in forever.

Cayen is my good friend and it was great to see him and hear about his trip to England. He was glad to be back in Canada and really looking forward to getting back home to Timmins.

I bought a bag of chocolate covered peanuts, but one in thirty seems to be a chocolate covered coffee bean. This is not the snack I wanted.

TTC Subway Suicides

Ok, I don't want to be a downer but I think this is important.

I remember reading about subway suicides in Fortean Times back in the 90's. The article stated that they were surprisingly rare in most major cities around the world, except Toronto.

It happens all the time.

The Toronto Transit Commission doesn't report suicide statistics. The TTC was required to release this information in compliance with a Toronto Sun freedom of information act request.

I'm putting it here because I think people should know that that this is going on. People kill themselves by jumping in front of our subway trains. People should talk about suicide. It should not be kept secret, I think the TTC is wrong in this regard. The numbers on this chart were all people who needed help. Also, people love to bitch about TTC, but can you imagine being a subway conductor? It would just be a question of "when?". I mean how many times a year to people try to kill themselves on your shift where you work?

I'm putting this link if you want any information about suicide:

Centre For Suicide Prevention

Fox is, dare I say, Fantastic!

Fantastic Mr. Fox was excellent. One of the best films I've seen all year. George Clooney's voice talent is undeniable. Wes Anderson brings the Roald Dahl story to life with brilliant stop motion and his fine stable of talented animals, such as Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and especially Meryl Streep as Mrs Fox.

Also out this weekend is Cooper's Camera. I saw it last year at tiff and really liked it. I would love to see it again this holiday season. The Canadian Christmas comedy stars The Daily Show's Samantha Bee and Jason Jones. It's a dysfunctional family Christmas set in 1985.

A-TEAM takes the Cake!

The A Team movie is coming in 2010 and here is an exclusive view of Sharlto Copley a.k.a. Capt. "Howling Mad" Murdock's birthday cake on set:

"Sharlto Copley's mom sent this cake to him on the set of The A-Team for his birthday!! That is totally badass and awesome!!! And his mom rocks for making that amazing cake, dreams do come true!!"

Thanks Hollywood.

Scot Card

My brother Cayen is on tour across the UK, and sent me this postcard form Scotland. He's the best and has a thing for postcards, just like me.

It's so nice to get home and find a quick note from a friend in your mailbox.

He's coming back to Canada on Monday through Toronto, so I'm looking forward to grabbing a beer with him.

WTF happend to our cat!?!

Get Well Soon Bassquarter!

Our house kitty Bassquarter's face was really swollen this morning, it looked like she had a golf ball in her left cheek. I think she might have gotten into a back ally fight and a scratch got infected or something.

Abi said he was going to take her to the vet. I would have gone with him but I had to be on time for my workshop. I got home to find Bass laying in front of Abi's room and her face was bleeding. Abi came home and told me he didn't make it to the vet with her, so the cat must have lanced it herself. I think the vet would have done the same thing but more expensive with less scarring. When it heals he is going to look like SEAL or Dube-X. She doesn't have a cone on her head so I think she's going to keep fucking with her face. I have never really cared about a cat like this before, so I was freaking out at first. now I've calmed down a bit, and I just hoping she will be fine.

Got Google Wave?

First, what the hell is Google Wave? This video explains only a fraction of what wave is:


Now you sorta know. But do you need it? Yes, you do.

I have some more Google Wave invites! I would love to hook you up, just leave a comment below expressing your interest.

Post Like An Egyptian

Sarah I sent me a postcard from Egypt! Very cool. We went to high school together, and now she lives in England with her dude. She's a smart lady getting on my good side in the postcard department. I don't just enjoy sending postcards, I also love getting them.

I'm going to pick up a big stack of cards and stamps to send some out pre-Xmas.

Back to the Future 2

Twenty years ago today Back to the Future II was released theatrically.

I remember my dad brought me to Cinema 6 to see it for my birthday. Unfortunately my birthday is in January, and Marty and Doc Brown were long gone from it's first run. I was seven and too young to see Ski School(Boobies!), so we rented The Burbs and Harry and the Hendersons, went back to dad's house and watched em.

I was so excited to see BTTF2 and was seriously let down when I couldn't. Then I totally forgot about it. That's what happens when your a kid, the most important stuff in your life disappears from existence if it's not right in front of you.

Then suddenly, it's my first Communion, and were celebrating at our house. All my family is there and I'm getting cards with cash in em. I remember getting lots of cash. Then Auntie Chris handed me a VHS tape rented from the QuickMart. It was Back To The Future II, and I was holding it in my hands. I had dreamed about watching this movie, and now I was going to get my chance. I still had to entertain the guests for a bit, but once they left Mom said I could go downstairs and watch it.

I finally got to see it, I must have watched it 10 times before it got returned to the Quickmart.

Stormalongs rock Drake

Colin looks like a devil in this shot, Diablo loco.

My best friend band The Stormalongs played a show at The Drake Hotel tonight.

People of Canada was the first opener, he is just one dude with a uke, but his songs are clever and funny. Check out his myspace for a song called Garbage Day Eve.

A poorly named band called Whaletooth opened for The Stormalongs, and we caught their soundcheck. They had a girl named Elise LeGrow for lead singer. This chick has a crazy awesome voice and the songs were pretty good. They had a wicked set and this girl was really fantastic, I would be surprised if she didn't become famous, at least here in Canada.

The Stormalongs sounded blown out in comparison. They were very loud, which is their trademark, but this time it seemed to be to their detriment. I feel like Huey Lewis in Back to the Future, but I'm afraid they're just too damn loud. Colin's vocals were unintelligible at parts. Still, not the bands fault and more the dude working the soundboard.

All around great night with my favourite band, The Stormalongs. I think this is the only shot I have of me with the whole group.

Sunday Night

Paul and I went over to Mom's place for our traditional Sunday night dinner and Simpsons. We really liked tonight's episode titled "Pranks and Greens", guest starring Superbad's Jonah Hill. Mom made us a sub when we first showed up, so we didn't have too much room for dinner, a chicken stew Mom herself admitted didn't quite turn out right. It's always good to hang out at Mom's and watch Simpsons and Howard Stern On Demand on her sweet TV.

Paul seems really high strung. I think its kind of strange how he surreptitiously began marriage plans without saying "I'm going to get married", he just sorta brought it up casual.

I'm watching some Back To The Future and then it's time for bed, I've got something to do at the CNIB tomorrow.

Twilight: New Moon

I did not see this movie, I will probably never see this movie, I would rather see a Vince Vaughn "comedy". But from the all reviews I've seen it's "The greatest movie ever" and "everyone in it is so hot". Teentards are the worst consumer group.

Don't worry people, actual good movies are on the way.

Cali in my mind

I had a dream last night that I had booked a flight to San Francisco, and then I missed it. I was jumping through the airport like Super Mario, trying to make it even though I was already hours late. My Granny Mo ran along side me with her husband Andy, both of them wanted to see me to the gate and were doing all the jumps and flips it would take to get there. The plane was still there, but I woke up before I could get on.

No Peaches,

I'm missing Peaches tonight at the Phoenix. I would love to be there, Peaches totally rocks and puts on a wicked show.

Grandma called and I went to meet her for lunch. I was in a bad mood all day and I think it really showed.

I went to the gym and it was good. I mostly listen to Howard Stern on my ipod, sometimes switching to something rocking to get me pumped like when I run. I can't listen to talking when I run, but it's fine when I'm on the bike.

I was supposed to go to the movies with my Aunt Christine, but when I called she didn't sound interested, she didn't even sound like she remembered asking me to go to the movies yesterday. I think I just hung up the phone. For some reason sometimes when I'm frustrated or upset I hang up the phone. It's one of the worst things I do. I remember doing it to a girl in high school, and she told me to never do it again, I think about that every time I do it, just after it happens, and I feel like a total dick (which I guess I am).

I went to hang out with Ian, we watched Flashpoint. He waxed intellectual on CSI:Las Vegas/Miami/New York, it was very interesting.

soon to be Santa

Whoever thought it was a good idea to leave me in a room with a Nintendo Wii, New Super Mario Brothers Wii and a bong knows nothing about productivity. I did some laundry and made some progress on some difficult levels. By the time I got to the gym it was 5pm and the place was packed, I walked in and then right out. I will set the alarm and head out first thing in the morning.

Mom and I went to Fabricland yesterday to pick out some material for my Santa suit. She dropped some serious cash, so it looks like this thing is going to be my Christmas gift. I'm going to have to get a lot of use out of it, so don't be surprised to see me rocking a festive look this holiday season.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii

A lot can change in 20 years, some things never do. I submit as evidence, this photo of Paul and I at Mom's house playing New Super Mario Brothers Wii. It was taken yesterday, but easily could have been taken in 1989 playing Super Mario Bros. on NES.

Super Mario was one of the biggest icons of the 80's, and unlike Michael Jackson, he was never accused of improprieties with a child (although he may have been responsible for a few flashing-light-induced epileptic fits). My two brothers and I freaked out when we got a Nintendo for Christmas from Dad (Chloe's reaction could be described as "utter disappointment"). We played all the time, with everyone from the neighborhood. A vast network of players traded games in order to avoid boredom. We would play until Mom booted us outside, and if our NES had the capability to display that days playtime like the current Wii system, Mom would have kicked us out a lot sooner.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii is really fun. Paul and I played with Auntie Chrissy, 3 player co-op at the same time (With one more controller Mom could have helped out too). It was cool, because you could help or hinder your fellow player. We played all night only taking a break to watch the new episode of The Simpsons. We didn't get too far, the multiplayer aspect mostly hindered our progress(PAUL!). It's harder that any other Mario game but you can continue as many times as you need, so it's still a good time. Now I'm getting into playing it solo and it's freaking excellent, I have to stop cause my thumb is sore. If you have a Wii you need this game.

Cameron Diaz's Box

Mom is going to put together a Santa suit for Santarchy (the Toronto Santacon). I wanted to go over to her place today and shop for materials but I couldn't get a hold of her. So I went to the gym and then picked up dinner at Metro. Sausages! Sausages! Sausages!

Ian and I saw The Box, the new Richard Kelly thriller starring Cameron Diaz. It was pretty crazy. I liked it.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii is out tomorrow. I'm going to put my Plumbers Cap on and play all day!

Baby in a box

I just read about the new show from the guys formerly known as the Trailer Park Boys. The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour will air on Showcase sometime next year. The guys will play all of the roles, under tons of makeup. I'm really looking forward to seeing them try something new and I hope the audience will accept them as different characters.

I just found this pic my friend San took earlier this year in San Francisco. We were walking Kosmo towards Delores Park and saw this on the street. Passers by stopped to look in horror just like us, till they realized it was a doll. Now what I ask you:

Is this a piece of urban art, perhaps a statement about the homeless or maybe abortion?

OR

Is someone just trying to throw out a doll?

1 in 4 Stormalongs can't string a guitar

Drum Beatin'

Bass Slappin'

Song Singin'

String Breakin'

The Stormalongs hit the Marley Room for a rehearsal last night and Paul and I joined them. The gang ran through the "A" set, stopping only for Momar to replace a broken string. Oft jested for his love of Brio and Pitzels, MoMo is also one of the most-loved Stormalongs (we kid because we love).

Paul at home in the Marley Room

Getting down to business, the real purpose of this rehearsal was working on the new songs. The Stormies are going back to the Island early next year to record the second album, but before that can happen, they need to bring the new music up to snuff.

The guys only had enough time to work on Effortless and another song called Beggars. Both have that distinct Stormalongs sound, but are defiantly new and a great direction for the group. The band eased through Effortless, Beggars was a bit more complicated in it's format and wasn't played all the way through.

If you haven't already purchased Fell Like Bricks, you should do so now on iTunes (just click here).

Postcard Fail

Mike sent me a postcard from Japan, but for some reason guessed my address, he got the street correct but messed up the number. This approach is new to me, normally people ask me for my address of which I will freely give. Unfortunately the woman at the house where the card was sent to speaks no English, so getting the card looks to be impossible.

Pom-gasm & a Postcard from Japan

Pomegranates are in season (and on sale at Metro 4 for 3$)! I picked some up after the gym today. That's right! I went to the gym today for the first time in 2 weeks (I was in Montreal for a little bit). Pomegranates were my Uncle Paul's favourite. He taught me that the difficulty of getting to the sweet fruit was worth the effort. Hard work has its reward. I spent some time emptying out the four poms, now I have a whole big bowlful and can grab a handful whenever I want.

Here is a vidoe explaining how to open the Pomegranate,

I did pretty much the same thing, except didn't take it appart under water. My sticky shoes and red stained floors are proof.

I got a postcard from Charlie and Rebecka from their trip to Japan, two of the coolest people in the world. I met them at Burning Man and my life is better because of it. Charlie is an awesome Australian and Rebecka is a doctor in San Francisco. I want to cash in my Aeroplan points and visit them in California tomorrow, but my jetsetting days are over (for now). This postcard made my day/week:
Jagger called and we talked about the corporate entity known as Weezer, and their latest product, a 4 cent piece of plastic disc called Raditude. He seemed just as disappointed as I was. We caught up a bit, having not spoken since his nuptials in Forest Ontario last month. Colin and I had a great time, although I haven't finished or posted a blog entry about it yet(1 month ago? I suck at this!). The newlyweds are going to se Auf Der Maur open for STP a the John Labbat Centre in London next week, I'm super jealous and want to hear all about it. Jagger's beautiful wife Ashlie is a regular reader of my blog and I thank her for her patronage. lurkers should take a cue from her and post comments once in a while!

OOOM MADM getting close

Mellisa Auf Der Maur's long awaited second album is approaching the light of day. You can now download the first track Out Of Our Minds for free at her website here. It's cool. She has some shows coming up with STP, but nothing in Toronto. I love this woman, she is brilliant and beautiful and rocks.
save

Matt Returns Superman Returns

I felt like I needed to connect with some human beings, so I called some friends. No one answered. Sometimes when I call people and no one answers, I start to think I'm the only person in existence. Like all the actors who play roles in my life are not in that episode.
Matt called me back and invited me over to his new place. He and Anna have a nice little place near Clinton's, which could be cool for the next Stormalongs show there. We hung out and listened to tunes while Anna got groceries. He returned my copy of Superman Returns, which I wasn't in a hurry to get back but am glad I did. Anna came home and we all had some tasty souvlaki for dinner. It was nice to see them both again. Matt had to go to a Stormalongs strategy session. I missed a show on Thursday, I guess I'm not on the inside anymore. I got a great idea for a music video for the boys, I will run it by them at the next rehearsal which is on Monday (I think).

Already Dead

I had a dream my whole family was together because someone was dying. It was either my Pepere who passed last Christmas, or my uncle Paul, who passed away about 15 years ago. It was weird to be worrying about losing someone you have already lost. I think the weirdest part was when my Mom handed me a fist full of pills, telling me it was the only way I could get any sleep. My mom is a nurse and knows her pills, so I took em. I guess when you take sleeping pills in a dream, they cause you to wake up.

What the fuck. I could read into this shit all day.

Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day

First watch this trailer for Overnight:



Ian and I saw an advance screening of Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day at the AMC.

Director Troy Duffy introduced his film by saying roughy "People on the internet like to trash Boondock Saints and they always say "I went to Film School, and Boondock Saints sucks because a), b), c)." and then Boondock fans scream FUCK YOU!"

He's kind of an asshole.

But Troy Duffy does know Boondock fans, and Boondock 2 is definitely for the fans. It delivers all the guns and vengeance required of the sequel to the 1999 cult direct to dvd crime thriller. Sure some of the dialog sucks, and it runs long, some shots are awkward, and parts don't make sense, but cut the guy a break, it's only his second film, he was in movie jail for 10 years.

So if your a boondock fan, more of the same isn't a bad thing.

Boondock Saints 2 is fun popcorn. Lots of shooting and guys getting shot. Like the first film, Toronto is Boston. But the best part for Canadians will be seeing Rob Welles, (aka Ricky) he has a fantastic cameo that proves he will find life beyond the Trailer Park Boys.

And Troy, if your reading this, I didn't go to film school.

Say it Aint So, Weezer's Raditude sucks

It hurts when someone you love lets you down. Weezer lets us all down with this so called album. True Weezer fans can be a fickle bunch. Maybe I'm asking for too much from Rivers, I want a real personal record from one of rock music's best, but instead get a mishmash of songs of varying quality and overproduction. From track to track it's hard to tell if your listening to the same record. I would rather listen to the red album (which now sucks less thanks to Raditude). A total letdown.

A Serious Man

Ian and I saw the latest Cohen Brothers film A Serious Man. Wow, a great movie, very dark. It gave me a ton to think about. I would have to see it again to really "get" it.

We stopped by Queen Video cause I wanted to rent The Last of The Mohicans. I've never seen it and I love Daniel Day Lewis, so I'm excited to check it out when I'm done this post. I also picked up Observe and Report (the Serious Man version of Paul Blart).

Rogers Sucks

Holy crap! The internet in my house got slow the day the CRTC said Rogers was allowed to throttle it's customers, selling them "High-Speed" while bending the kink in the hose. I know the corpse of Ted Rogers is already rotting in the ground, but there are still a whole bunch of greasy corporate pricks that need to fuck off and die. Rogers fucking sucks (so does Bell). It really pisses me off cause I use Rapidshare to download TV shows, and what used to take 5 minutes now takes 40.

10 cents

Wow. Glad to be back home, but still pissed at barky the dog across the ally.

I made a lot of blog posts in October, but most sucked. I didn't get many visitors and thus, no revenue (These ads are not here for my health). I guess I need to make more interesting posts.

I sent off 2 postcards today. One to Dad and one to Sarah I. I love sending em cause I love getting em.

I watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop with Ian. It was everything we expected.

Grave Robbers From Outer Space

I'm on the bus back to Toronto. Still impressed with the fact it's got wifi. I had to pay the full fare this time, which sucked cause it's 50$ more. The bus says 1$ on the side, total scam. I'm going to write the company an angry broke email.

I had a great time with Dad, drinking beers and watching hockey games and walking all around Montreal. I was looking for some kind of costume and never really found one, just as well since I never hooked up with my friends here. Next year I have to go out for Halloween, I want to hook up with Snow White.

I walked around in the rain all day today while Dad was at work. I cant believe I was in Quebec and didn't get a poutine or a Dance Contact.

I'm looking forward to being back home, but going to miss Dad.

Now I'm going to kick back and enjoy the Halloween tradition of watching Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Beer Run

I didn't get out of the house today other than to pick up some beers. Dad's friend Armand came over. We had beers and he and Dad talked about back in the day. I want to go out tomorrow with some Burning Man friends and have some fun. I need to find some kind of costume.

Montreal Postcard

I'm gonna send a few postcards while I'm here in Montreal. I've gotten a few lately from friends and family (just Kubi and my sister really). I send them out in hopes of getting one in return (HINT!).

Day of the Duce.

Dad pushed FiberOne cereal on me for breakfast. NOTE: 27 year old men don't need fiber, I'm a regular guy.

Lunch at Montreal's famous Schwartz smoked meat sandwich, classic.

Dad and I went looking for a clothing market here in Montreal, it was not what he remembered. it used to be independent unique clothing and sample sales, now it is practically abandond, full of Chinatown-style crap. Speaking of crap...

At this point the Fibre struck, and I felt uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

We watched the hockey game and managed to stay awake (even without a nap!). Habs really sucked against Pittsburgh, only managing to score when they were 5 on 3. We couldn't even continue to watch the slaughter (Sidney Crosby is fucking awesome) so we switched to game 1 of the World Series. I have a predisposed hatred towards the Phillies, so I'm rooting for New York. Even if my teems sucked I got to drink beers and eat chips with Dad. Yankees lost, Habs lost, I win.

We watched a Classic Albums Zappa DVD, very cool.

Dad's place day tue

Woke up so early, couldn't fall back asleep. I had a dream about someone I knew and I swear I looked right into her eyes.

Dad showed me where he works, I met some of his coworkers. we walked down Saint-Cathrines. Had ourselves a beer and then we went to the movies. We saw Law Abiding Citizen, the Jamie Foxx Gerrard Buttler legal-action-thriller. It was pretty cool. I liked that there was more to it than the trailers I had seen. The movie ticket only cost 6.25$, Montreal still has cheap Tuesdays.

Jason Reitman On Scott Pilgrim

Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air) tweeted about a sneak he got at next summers Scott Pilgrim VS. The World:

"In London, @edgarwright showed me 30min of Scott Pilgrim. While sworn to secrecy (so much, surprised blood wasn't demanded) I will say this:It is a game changer for Edgar and the genre. It moves the speed of light and carries more unadulterated joy than Ive seen in recent cinema. >SP does what everyone our age has been dreaming about: achieves the first all encompassing film of the joystick generation. I'm in awe of the sheer control in the filmmaking. It feels like a "Matrix" for love and how willing we are to fight for it.If I had a movie coming out next year, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. Hats off my friend. Can't get it out of my head."

first day at dad's: mellow

I got to my Dad's early. We had coffee and we went and got groceries. We really took it easy, no need to be anywhere or do anything. Sat around and talked, had a few beers. We both fell asleep watching the hockey game on tv. Montreal won in overtime, but we were too pooched to see it.

I'm looking forward to hanging out with some friends from Midnight Poutine. It is Halloween weekend so I might want to party here this weekend. Har Mar Superstar is here on Friday, I might check him out.

Heartburn and Linklater

Oh man I should not have eaten those chips and drank that grape crush.

I'm on the bus to Montreal, I can't believe it's got wifi. Pretty classy. I'm kinda surprised I'm actually on the bus, I thought about calling Dad and saying I couldn't make it. But I really don't have any reason not to go. I haven't worked in over two years so pushing the job hunt back a week wont hurt. Although technically my bank account is hurting. Running a serious deficit. Dad is gonna have to buy the beers.

Now I'm gonna watch A Scanner Darkly and then sleep.

Coffee (and some Baileys) with Dad in the morning.

OK Daddy

P.S. Kensington is awesome and best enjoyed with friends.

Talked to Dad. He's got the week off and he twisted my arm to go visit him in Montreal. So I'm hopping on a bus in a few hours.

The Room

I only found out about this movie on Tuesday, and I was lucky that I did cause Ian and I saw it at the Royal tonight.

The Room is a serious drama that is so terrible it becomes good. The dialog, acting, and direction are so incredibly bad, thanks to writer director producer Tommy Wiseau.

Watching The Room with a theatre full of people is a unique film-going experience. Much like Rocky Horror, audience participation is a huge part of the fun. People hurl complaints about the films plot holes at the screen, but that's not all. Whenever the framed spoon art apears in the background the crow yell "SPOONS!" and pelt the screen with plastic cutlery. I will go again next time it's in town, cause it was so bad.

Always

The new aluminum Coke bottle is a masterpiece of modern design. I saw it in a store today and had to have it. It's classic, but so futuristic. They remind me of the Pepsi Perfect from Back To The Future II. It cost 2$ for 250ml, which is more expensive, but it's probably good to drink less cola anyway. So cool.

Fat Bottomed Girls

I have been going mental about this fucking barking dog 30 feet from my bedroom window. It was going off at 7am, and then off and on all day pretty much. So I was glad when G-mo asked me out to lunch. We went out to Pickle Barrel. When we were walking in the subway she kicked a jelly bra insert thingy on the ground and said "Oh my gosh it's someones boob!". Good times with Grandma.

Ian and I had some beers at Green Room. We talked about writing. It was a good talk.

Where The Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze is great. He did a bunch of Weezer's best videos and Being John Malcovich and Adaptation. His new movie Where the Wild Things Are is based on the classic children's book. Go see this movie. It is fucking brilliant. I'm going to go again and write a better review. I'm too overwhelmed.

Marclons the Savior

Marc stayed over. We had some drinks and listened to The Stormalongs album. Marc was really serious about getting my mess of a room clean. We got busy on it. I went to grab us some coffees so we could Irish them up with my duty-free Baileys. We moved some stuff around, got rid of a dresser. I just have to do some laundry and switch up some posters, then I will post some pics to prove to Marc that I finished.

Paul and I saw Where The Wild Things Are, review to follow tomorrow I swear.

Ketchup

I have a backlog of posts to publish, I have a bad habit of getting halfway through and getting distracted or lose motivation. I went to a wedding and almost became homeless so I have to catch up, which I will do all weekend. So go back and check for posts from the last week, not bad I swear, I'm gonna work real hard on em.

Marc is still in town, so he came over and we headed over to Granny Mo's for some Timmy Ho's. We stopped to watch Ron James tape some of his new show for CBC in Nathan Phillip Square. He was giving a speech from a podium, It was funny from what we could hear. I want to check it out (Fridays at 8pm CBC).

We got to Granny's, checked out the kitchen reno, then got some lunch at Hortons. Grandma's back is hurting, I hope she fells better soon.

Marc and I went over to Treya & Andre's place, we hung out with Trey and Baby Lu till Papa came home. Marc and Dre went to see a Snowboarding movie. I went home to do some blogging.

Now Marc is texting me tying to get me out for a beer, I'm down, but not at the place he's at: Dog's Bollocks, not on Friday (or ever).save

Quadruple Feature: A day at the movies

I went to the movies to get my mind off all this shit. I stayed to see a few flicks to get my moneys worth. 13 bucks is just too much, and I've got lots to see and nothing else to do.

The new Micheal Moore film Capitalism: A Love Story, (which I missed at Tiff) was standard Moore shmaltz without the funny. Where's the funny? Maybe it's because it sucks to be poor watching a movie about the poor by a rich guy.

9: Wicked post-apocalyptic animated feature. Looks awesome on a big screen, so shitty on your little tv.

Now this is where I eat the turkey sandwich I packed. When Theatre hopping, always pack a lunch.

Surrogates: Bruce Willis sci-fi action. Pretty cool, but predictable.

But wait, there's more!

Zombieland: Very funny Zomb-Com, starring Woody Harelson and Micheal Cera's clone.

4 movies for 13 bucks aint bad.

F U Lenny!

Is Carl giving Lenny the finger? It's hard to tell with only four fingers, but it doesn't make sense for him to be pointing. This is from episode one of the twenty-first season. I'm looking forward to next months Playboy (featuring Marge Simpson on the cover).

Molson Canadian 67

I met up with Ian for a beer and a J. We did the J at my place and the beers at Tortilla Flats (He loves the criss-cross fries!). Ian's brother Colin came downtown so we could go buy a train ticket to get to London this weekend (It's Jagger's wedding on Saturday).

Before we got the tickets at Union, Colin and I stopped off at Cheval, my mom got an invite to a launch party for the new Molson Canadian 67. I managed to get us in, and we drank free beers and ate tasty hors d'oeuvres, mini pad-thai, shrimps mmm... High test indeed.

My beer review: Molson Canadian 67 is a great option for someone who is concerned about calorie intake but doesn't want to sacrifice taste. It's better than Canadian Light or Silver Bullets. With only 67 calories (a regular bottle of beer is 153), it is to Canadian as Coke Zero is to Coke, it tastes closer to the real thing.It is a light beer, it's written real tiny, and comes with the same expected low 3% alcohol volume. I would recommend trying Molson Canadian 67 to anyone who wants to grab a beer but still go to the gym later.

That's my bike punk!

I saw a documentary on CBC called Pedal Power, about bike culture. They talked about free bike and communal bike programs that began with these Dutch Provos, 60's hippie anarchists who wanted to provoke the police with all sorts of crazy shit. They loves to fuck with the cops through non-violence in order to provoke a violent reaction. The Provos left free "white bikes" in Holland (the cops seized them, because bikes can't be left unlocked, so the Provos locked up the bikes and left the keys in the locks).

The white bike project is fundamental in understanding Burning Man's attitude towards "Bike theft"(known in BRC as "bike liberation", or "borrowing with no intention to return")

I tried to find some more info about these Provos. One cool way they fucked with the cops was to openly sell fake and real marijuana. The Provos exposed the police ignorance about pot, often arresting busloads of hippies for tea leaves and pencil shavings.

Kevin Smith is the Master of Tweets!

If you don't know what Twitter is you probably live under a rock without wi-fi. Everyone has a Twitter account, but no one seems to know how to use it as well as writer/director Kevin Smith. Here are some examples of what to expect from not-so Silent Bob:

Shameless Self Promotion: Did you know Kevin Smith's book Shootin' the Shit with Kevin Smith is available now!?! Does Kevin have an upcoming Q&A date? He hinted at adding a Toronto date in November, Twitter will be the first place to hear about it (but maybe that retard Dean Blundel might find out first).
Conversing with Contemporaries: Kevin's back and forth with writer @diablocody, directors @jasonreitman & @edgarwright, and even actors like @willw give us an inside peek into the workings of Hollywood coolest (except Will Wheaton, confirmed geek).

Conversing with his fans: Kevin is not silent when asked questions from his followers, often going beyond the 140 character limit, forcing Kevin to give multi-tweet answers. This summer Kevin had a 24hour tweet marathon, and was flooded with tens of thousands of questions. This type of access is unprecedented, even from the King of 5hr live Q&A's.
Hockey: Oh you don't like hockey? Kevin does, and with the new NHL season, expect hundreds of tweets, from the latest Devils game to waxing philosophical about The Great One (That's Wayne Gretzky for you Americans)

Having sex with his wife: Just as candid on twitter as in real life (Jen is so cool).
or
Masturbating (when he can't have sex with his wife): He's human.

Re-Tweeting funny followers: Kevin re-tweeted this message of mine, the trick is to stroke the ego, work the shaft.

Bitch Slapping and Blocking Un-followers: Kevin can go on a tweet-tear that might make you think he's the only one tweeting. But if your twitter is full of Kevin and you want to un-follow (Why?), don't make a scene, or the man will put you in your place and then block you from following him in the future, sucks to be you.
So go follow the man already(@thatkevinsmith), your missing out, and while your at it add me too(@socialdynamo)!

No White Night

Ok, I didn't do Nuit Blanche, but I have a slew of excuses.

Paul came over and we shotgunned some beers. We went to Mod Club to see Kid Koala's band The Slew ("Six turntables meets the ex-Wolfmother rhythm section"). It was really cool. Kid Koala is a fantastic scratch master, I've seen him open for Radiohead a few times.

Paul was pooched (too much pre-birthday partying) and I didn't want to go out alone, so I didn't.

I don't think any of the art would have seriously impressed me after what I've seen at the Burn. I've had fun walking around the city before, but usually with a friend.

Blah-og

Grandma says I'm not blogging so something must be wrong. I've just been lazy I swear.

I finally made it to the gym, but grabbed the wrong shirt and stank like hell. At least I had a good workout. I think I'm back into it now.

Ian said something cool about writing and how I was never into fitness back in the day and now I find time for the Gym everyday(almost). I need to make writing a habit, everyday. I know it's not a new idea, it just sounded right from a friend.

It's my brother Paul's birthday, we are going to see Kid Koala, and it's also Nuit Blanche(Burning Man for Squares), so we should be able to find some shit to get up to.

Mom's house tomorrow for laundry and new Simpsons.

RIP Blake Snyder, Screenwriter 1957-2009

I just went to check Blake Snyder's blog, and he's dead. he passed away in August of a pulmonary embolism. He wrote a great book about screenwriting, and you might remember his masterwork Blank Check (his only other produced work was STOP! Or My Mom Will Shoot!). He was "Hollywood's most successful spec screenwriter", he was paid 1,000,000$ for a script called Nuclear Family, that never got made.

I went to see Blank Check back in the day, during it's theatrical run. I will never get to ask him about the limo scene! Was she going to fuck that kid? I really liked this guy's book, if you want to figure out how to write a movie read it.

Thanks for your help Blake, you will be missed.

Gogle Wave is here, for me

Google wave allows multiple users to collaborate on rich, meta-documents live on the web. It is going to change the way we internet. Thanks to my sweet hook ups, I was one of the leet few to get an invite. Sure right now you have never heard of it, but in a year you will be wondering what you did without it.

Cookies have been on sale at Shoppers so of course I've been skipping the gym and "cookie loading", it's a very unknown fitness technique, and for good reason. Back to the Gym tomorrow I swear.

Wouldn't it be nice

I've done a lot of cool things, been to some awesome shows, but I wasn't alone. I often had friends with me. It makes for much better memories when you were there with friends, the shared experience thing. Morello and I flashed back to that bad-assed Queens of the Stone Age show @ Lee's Palace, with Dave Grohl on drums! Such a good time.

I'm glad I have my friends and memories.