Stormalongs to rock the socks off the ballot box

The Stormalongs have been feeling the political machine grinding at their rock gears and are pushing back this election night. Tonight the Storma-lads will be recording a free digital ep. The ep will be titled Riot Stance and will feature new music as well as covers of Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Malvina Reynolds. Colin Stormalong posted the following quote on his facebook:

‎"when your country and your leaders ignore your protestations and place their evil hands on the throats of the innocent, what other choice do the people have but to adopt a riotous stance?"-Cedrick Karstensen

The Stormalongs new EP Riot Stance

I'm going to see Back to the Future at the AMC tonight, so I will miss the bulk of the session, but I'm hoping to make it out in time to hear the last bit.

Toronto Votes.

I voted.

The new mayor of Toronto will be George Smitherman or Rob Ford.

I ran into my roommate Happy Hardcore, he asked if I was going to the polls. He said he was going to vote this time because "we can actually effect change on the municipal level". He hasn't voted in any recent federal or provincial elections, Once telling me he didn't believe in the process, but today I realized that he only votes when he thinks he has a chance of winning. Our riding of Trinity-Spadina is a left-leaning area and typically votes NDP or Liberal. He's beyond right-wing but I'm sure he thinks he's progressive. He would probably identify with the Tea Party if we had one in Canada (here in Canada, The Tea Party is just the name of a band that sucks). I guess our votes will cancel each other's out, but I have to think there can't be that many assholes who will actually vote for Rob Ford.

Rob Ford beat his wife, and it disappeared. He got drunk and belligerent at a Leafs game, then denied it was him till it was proven he was lying. He drove drunk in Florida and was arrested for possession of Marijuana, again denied it had happened untill it was proven he was again lying. None of his ideas make sense and his math is ridiculous. If he becomes mayor it will be bad times for the city of Toronto.

Scott Pilgrim goes to the Bloor Cinema (Well he does live in the Annex!)

Edgar Wright announced a return to the Bloor Cinema, for a free screening of his epic Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World on November 5th.


"To say thank you to the fans who have supported us and thank you to the residents of Toronto who put up with a lot of fake snow, I am very excited to be coming back to Bloor & Bathurst for a one off special screening. Join me, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Toronto’s home town badass Ellen Wong first at HMV and then the Bloor on November 5th." Edgar said on his blog.

The poster was done by creator Bryan Lee O'Malley, I'm guessing we can get one when we pre-order at HMV(with some autographs!).This event promises to make Aint it cool News talkbackers even more jealous of my Sweet Toronto. Can't wait to see Edgar again and I hope his brother Oscar comes too.

RED

Based on the DC Comics graphic novel, RED is the story of a CIA agent who can't seem to settle into retirement. This movie is perfectly cast, and I would recommend seeing it based on personnel alone, but I don't have to thanks to the witty banter and fun-as-hell action scenes. Malkovich was fantastic, as was Mary-Louise Parker (so nice to look at). Morgan Freeman didn't even phone this one in, he works. At one point I tried to picture Bruce Willis with hair and my mind was boggled. He is a bald man, and always will be.

RED is the third graphic novel adapted into a film that used Toronto shooting locations this year(Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim being the others)

RED will be out on Friday. Yeah, I saw it last week, that is how I roll.

Click here to buy the book on which the movie is based.

Great Scott! Marty and Doc back on the big screen at AMC!

This past summer, we watched Back To The Future in HD on my buddy Matt's big screen. I have seen BTTF at least 500 times in my life. What was special about this screening was that it was exactly 25 years to the day since the original hit theatres back on July 3rd 1985. I made a big deal that we had to watch it that night for that reason. Then the next day Twitter was abuzz with the fact that the date Marty and Doc travelled to in the Future was that day! Not true, but even so Matt's gullible ball scratching neigbour tried convincing me otherwise. Anyone who knows me should know the 2 subjects on which I can not be schooled, The Smashing Pumpkins and Back To The Future.

AMC is re-releasing Back to the Future for a very limited engagement on October 23rd and 25th (the day Marty went Back). As a true BTTF geek I must go, I'm buying tickets tomorrow. Click here to see if your AMC will be having a screening. If not you should buy it on BluRay, here:

Rob Ford wants to axe CNIB Metropass, Blind Torontonians should learn to drive

Mayoral candidate Rob Ford wants to end the TTC/CNIB metropass program, which Ford sees as just another "perk" of being blind in Toronto.

In recent debates and speeches Rob Ford said he would cut the wasteful 21,000 free metropasses the City distributes annually, which includes 3700 metropasses for blind Torontonians. Carol Goar at the Star wrote this article which clarifies where all those wasteful passes go.

The CNIB metropass program offers a year long pass to registered clients living in the GTA. Hundreds of people show up at the CNIB in early January to receive the new pass. I volunteered with the CNIB and helped to distribute the passes. In every single case the old pass was collected, the clients CNIB card number was written on the new pass and the clients name and client number along with the new pass serial number were documented. If a client had moved out of the GTA they were denied the pass. The process is tedious but necessary to ensure the integrity of the program and is required by the TTC. I personally repeated this process over 1000 times, first at the CNIB and then at a local seniors community. Due to the nature of blindness many clients are seniors, although it does affect both young and old, rich and poor, although more of the latter.

Rob Ford is too narrow minded to consider the difficulties faced by others in this city.

Having participated in the distribution of the passes I have seen the power these passes give to the blind of Toronto. I have also felt this power. As a blind Torontonian the metropass gives me access to the city I would otherwise not have. I cannot get a drivers license. I am very thankful to the City of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

I have made attempts to contact Mr. Ford, but as of yet my calls have not been returned.

Live Auf Der Maur in Canada next month!

How could anyone not be excited about Melissa Auf Der Maur's first live dates since the spring release of her sophomore album OOOM!? I just got an email with these upcoming shows, next month is going to rock for anyone with the common sense to get out of the house and watch a red haired Goddess wield a bass like a battle axe. I would love to see her at Call The Office, but Tattoo is conveniently down the street from my house.



CANADA
11/02/10 London, CA @ Call The Office
11/03/10 Hamilton, CA @ Casbah
11/04/10 Toronto, CA @ Tattoo
11/05/10 Ottawa, CA @ Mavericks
11/06/10 Montreal, CA @ Cabaret Juste pour rire

Children and Hobos unite!

I'm in the library since the internet is out at my place. Rogers says someone in my house has a botnet running (it's a virus, grandma) and wont let us back on till we find the culprit. It's nice and quiet, no happy hardcore music to annoy me, although there are a lot of children and a few hobos.

I read almost half of Philip K Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep? but I can't take it out due to a fine on my account which I can't afford to pay($11!?!). It's a really good book, and was the basis for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, however both works differ greatly. I will discuss it more when I finish it next week. I just feel really good about reading, like somehow I made Lavar Burton smile.

Click links and buy these tasty products!

I spent all my time reading and then working on my postcard blog so I'm going to get kicked out soon as they are closing. Perhaps I can find a coffee house with wifi?...

Our blogger packs up his macbook and proceeds to a popular American coffee house, but not finding a seat he proceeds on to a popular Canadian coffee house (Hint: Scott Pilgrim ran into Envy Adams in this very shop).


I don't normally drink coffee, it makes me chatty beyond belief. I'm feeling pooched after a great workout this morning. I'm going to be serious about the gym, and planning on taking every other day off to recover and not burn out. Te plan is to rock sexy washboard abs the ladies will not be able to resist. Which makes me think of Kevin Spacey in American Beauty.

Toronto's all night art extravaganza Nuit Blanche is this Saturday. I wanted to grab a crazy all-white outfit and still might. I think as a burner it's my responsibility to take it up a notch. I will take some pics.

The long one.

I could and should be blogging every day. Not because I think that what I have to say is so important or that the world needs to know that I had a ham sandwich for lunch but because I keeps me sane. I can put things into focus when I write it down. I need it and I shouldn't care about the reader but I do. I sometimes forget people actually read this shit. Friends, family and complete strangers alike. When I remember them I begin to self censor, and edit, or not post at all. Curiosity forces people to inquire about why I'm not blogging.

I haven't been blogging because something was (is?) wrong. It doesn't take any effort to write 500 words about a movie I saw or that Rob Ford is a fucking monster that WILL destroy Toronto IF he becomes Mayor. I have not been blogging because this is the worst it has ever been.

I was an interesting person once, I feel it slipping away. I have always felt a supreme confidence that I was special, but that feeling seems to have slipped away as the months turn to years. I hate this feeling, cause I know it's not real. Mom asks, "Do you think you might be depressed?"

Yeah you could probably call it that, but pills won't help. I need a job, a girlfriend and... I think thats about it. Not a career, just a job, I could take care of my debt and go back to Burning Man in 2011. Not a wife, just a girl who wants to be with me. Then I'm back on top.

How much of what has happened to me in life is by my own actions and how much was just chance or fluke? I can blame my handicap for a lot of things but really laziness was always the issue. 

If you could see my blog dashboard you would probably notice most posts marked as draft, meaning unpublished. I wrote a title and a few paragraphs but never completed the act buy clicking the "publish post" button. The ideas are often fully formed but I lack the fortitude to share them with the world.

I haven't worked in more than three years. I'm not proud of this, nor am I proud of suckling at the teat of an already overburdened social safety net. I could have gotten a job right away. I should have gotten a job right away. Instead I played around, living far beyond my means, my "achievements" during this time amounting to nothing more than anecdotal blog posts.

What kind of person goes to California without any prospect of how to pay for it, and then does it again 10 times? I was convinced some type of spark was waiting for me. I'm back down on planet earth now. No bailouts or lottery tickets are going to elevate my station. I will do it myself.

I have typed it before in this very space that I will do a better job but I really mean it now. I swear. The rash of posts that follow this will prove I am telling the truth. If you notice the months that follow are empty then I am a fucking liar.

I realized today that one year from now I will be almost thirty years old, a grown man with nothing to show for it but a collection of dusty souvenirs in a tiny room. If my loathing of Happy Hardcore* has given me anything it's the drive to not become him.

Click the fucking button, publish post...

*Happy Hardcore is an abrasive form of techno music popular for a brief time in the early 90's, I use the term as a pet name for my roommate down the hall who has little if any respect for the other people living in the house. The deafening sound of his terrible taste in music wafts from down the hall daily as does the smell of off brand cigarettes he constantly smokes. He is in the parlance of our times, a fucking douche bag.  

Weezer's Hurley is awesome & indie, Hipsters rejoice!

Hey Weezer, I'm back. I was pissed off at you since your last album was such a huge disappointment. But now I realize now that Raditude was just the fulfillment of a contractual obligation and a huge fuck you to your former label Geffen.


Your new record Hurley is really good, when I first heard the single Memories I knew you were trying again. Other tracks that stood out for me:

-Unspoken is bad-ass classic high school poetry.


-Where's My Sex? is straight irony looking back to Pinkerton, back when Rivers was Tired of Sex. it has a crazy change up too.

-Smart Girls is on the fucking money.

Your choice of Jeorge Garica from Lost as your cover and no title on the cover is classy. Epitaph is a lucky label.

I will see you next time you rock Toronto. Please consider the recent rumored all-Pinkerton shows to coencide with your Deluxe Edition release in November of your 1996 classic.

So that happened.

Ian and I saw Flash Gordon at the Toronto Underground Cinema, as part of Edgar Wright's Wright Stuff program. It was not as bad as I had expected, still very camp but not bad. Afterwards we went out for beers.

This was a very cool night. I had a fucking awesome time.

Scott Pilgrim Vs Toronto

Jason Schwartzman, Michael Cera and Edgar Wright  

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is fucking great! I saw the Toronto premiere at the Elgin, thanks to my good friend Ian. When it was over I felt like I had just spent 8 hours in the basement playing Super NES, sure that a seizure was around the corner. It was so fast-paced. If you were born in the 80's you have to see this movie. I will write a better review opening weekend, but I'm drunk now and need sleep.

Of course I went to the party afterwards at the Courthouse. It was fucking awesome! Kid Koala was performing on stage all night, a true master of turntableism. I'm a huge fan and I told him just that while he was with Bryan Lee O'Mally (the creator of Scott Pilgrim).  I spoke with Edgar Wright and congratulated him on the excellent movie. Ian introduced me to Michael Cera, he was such a nice guy. I saw Edgar later while I was getting a drink and I realized I was literally brushing shoulders with one of the hottest directors in Hollywood, I kind of laughed to myself a little.

I am so glad to see all that work and creative energy all those talented people put in has resulted in such a fantastic film. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD AUGUST 13TH

If you don't have the books yet, buy them using these handy links:

     

My kitty is gone

I'm pretty sure Bassquarter is gone. I didn't see her at all last week when I got back from California. My roommate Happy Hardcore said he hadn't seen her in at least two weeks.

She is a streetwise kitty and knows where home is, but she picks fights with other cats and doesn't have a chip or collar.

I'm going to miss her. I never had a connection with a cat like that before.

Blue Jays and Stormalongs

I went to see the Blue Jays kick Baltimore's ass tonight al by myself. I was going to go with Paul, but at the last minute he decided not to come. I have never been to a game by myself before, but it was a lot of fun. It was 80's Night! I should have gotten my baseball fill at the Giants game last week, but it just wasn't the same. Ok Blue Jays lets play ball! The Jays hit some decent homers. It was 80's night and the jays were in retro uniforms(click here and buy me one!) The also had an arcade set up on the 100 level so i went down in the ninth(game was a lock by then). I played some free Pac Man and the Jays won 9-5.

I caught the second half of the Stormalongs jam session. They have introduced a few covers that will surely grab some attention at the next show. Ian and Paul were there and we watched the rock together.

On the road to Elliot Lake for more wedding bells

so now I seem to have the power of mobile blogging. I'm packed in the backseat of a car right now. if I were alone I could try the voice to text feature of the phone, instead I'm typing with my thumb. Dad is driving, Marc is sitting shotgun, Paul, Doe and I in the back. we are going to my cousin Christian's wedding. I wish I could still be in Toronto since I only had 3 nights in my own bed. If my sister Chloe gets married more than 20 minutes from my house and I'm not going. Here we come Elliott Lake!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

blogging from my phone

This is an app I just downloaded called Blogger Droid. It allows me to make blog posts on my mobile device, currently a Nexus One. I had to download a special app to do this because the browser on droid is messed. For some reason I can only type in the subject field, and not the body of the post. this is most upsetting since Google owns both Android and blogger but does not support one on the other.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

blogger sucks with android, Google you lose points!!!

(I was not able to write this blog because I could not type in the body field, using the browser on a Nexus One. Even though the phone, browser and even blogger are all Google products, they don't work together)

Gone to FROLIC

We are going camping! It's my last weekend in San Francisco, and everyone I know is going camping at a place called Camp & Sons. It's going to be tons of fun. My good friend Matt is going to DJ tonight, and I can't wait to see him spin in front of a crowd.

I'm getting a ride there with Mike. I'm really glad he and V are coming, I know they are going to have a good time. I'm almost ready to go, just need to gather my gear and grab some Sweet Chinito for me & Mikes breakfast.

I'm not sure what the crowd will be like, but as long as my good friends are there it just has to rock.

Koji is Here!

I waited for Koji at the airport. He laughed when he saw my sign. We took the Bart to Powell Street and walked to the hostel he had booked. We cruised back to the Mission and went to Mike's place first for a few beers. We went to Matt & Kubi's after, hung out for a bit then Koji went back to his room (he's tired).

Mike and I are going to City Hall tomorrow. I'm going to be deputized so I can perform the marriage(which I plan on finishing writing tomorrow).

Deputy Sunny J

I woke a little late. No time to get breakfast at Sweet Chinito, I didn't even have time to hit the bong before Mike swung by to pick me up. We went back to his place and I made coffee with a splash of Irish to get my day started.

V and Mike with the license that isn't official till I see a wedding

Mike, V and I went to San Francisco City Hall to get a marriage license and for myself to get deputized so I can perform the ceremony. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to guard against enemies both foreign and domestic, so if terrorists attack the wedding I am the first and last line of defense. Mike said I looked like i was really getting off on the oath. it was really cool. I am now a Deputy Marriage Commissioner for the County of San Francisco (for a day).

I always thought we would be getting married to

 each other, but they don't do "those" kind anymore :(

We picked up Koji at his hostel and we went back to Mikes place to have some beers and greet people as the arrive. I was so happy to see Mikes mom France, she is awesome. Koji Mike and I went to Taqueria Cancun for burritos. Koji looked impressed, and said it was better than any he had tried in Toronto. I feel bad that Koji is only seeing the inside of peoples apartments but until the wedding stuff is done I can't take him on any tours. We are going to try and do Alcatraz, or something cool as soon as we can.