19 March 2005, terribly early in the morning
I may be one of the last people on the planet to have seen The Incredibles. It turns out Carvill, Mez, and Dave were the three other remaining hold outs. Krishna had bought the DVD, so tonight after a good meal at Blue Bay Cafe we came back to my place at watched the film. I enjoyed it a lot. Visually it was amazing, which was to be expected. The scene where the mother and children are swimming in the ocean looks great. But, the movie isn’t simply good because of it’s eye candy. It’s a funny little comic-book movie, with all the cliches one would expect. The film is definitely worth checking out.
The official The Incredibles web site
Movies
18 March 2005, the wee hours
I just got back from the PubliCity exhibit being hosted by Toronto Free Gallery. Spacing were the sponsors for the night, and happened to be selling their TTC buttons at the show. I am now the owner of a Kennedy Station button. I couldn’t find myself a High Park Station button, which is a shame. I brought my SLR out with me to snap a few pictures. A room full of photographers is strange. People don’t flinch when you take out a camera. No one gives you strange looks as you take photos of strangers. The photographs on display were amazing. It was very inspiring. I feel like I should start updating my site daily again.
Life | Photography
17 March 2005, lunch time
“I’m not trying to be reasonable,” I told Tyler and his friends. My meagre attempts to elevate the status of Scarborough in their minds fell on deaf ears. (Actually, since I was doing a pretty bad job at defending my favourite suburb it’s not fair to say say my words were falling on deafs ears.)
It’s hard to defend Scarborough because it is a bit lame when compared to downtown Toronto. Nevertheless I tried. I told them that one of the reasons I like Scarborough is because it’s so ethnically diverse. Tyler’s friend Heather asked if I simply meant there are less white people there. I told her no, I mean it’s more ethnically diverse. She’s probably right though. I think when I say a place is ethnically diverse, I totally mean there are just less white people. I didn’t bring that up last night though. It wouldn’t have helped my cause. I tried to explain how Scarborough had character, but that’s something that’s hard to quantify. I guess at the end of the day my Scarborough zealotry is irrational. The whole topic came up because I was making fun of stank-ass-Mississauga.
I met Tyler at Supermarket, a bar in Kensington Market, a bit past 11:00. As you can imagine, I’m quite tired today. Supermarket has a mod night on Wednesdays, and apparently it can get quite busy. At 11:00 the seats and booths were all taken, but the place was far from full. By 1:00 the place was much busier. The dance floor was full of people. The music was great. They played lots of motown and old soul music.
A couple sitting across from us were playing a game together. The girl would pull the top of her blouse forward, and thy guy she was with would try to spit ice cubes into the opening.
[13] Life | Restaurants and Bars
16 March 2005, lunch time
I had read many a good thing about Hood prior to seeing them last night. Now Magazine, in a very short review of Hood’s new CD, had compared their last album to something Zero 7 may offer up, high praise in my books. Other reviews of Hood compared them to Radiohead. They are apparently looked upon quite favourably by music critics.
I met Steph around 9:30, and the two of us headed off to the Drake, where we would meet up with Tyler and two of his friends. When we arrived there was already a band playing. The group played very experimental progressive rock music. The lead singer sounded like his microphone was being played through a flanger. I think the band would have been alright, had they hired a good drummer. Everyone else had lower opinions of the band. All of us hoped that the band playing wasn’t Hood.
Thankfully, they packed up a half hour later an announced Hood would be on shortly.
Hood are a quartet. For the most part everyone would take turns playing different instruments. Each song usually featured a keyboard, guitar, bass, and drums. Occasionally they would throw other instruments into the mix. They are in some ways similar to Radiohead, but I don’t think similar enough to warrant comparisons.
I liked them more honestly.
The band’s drummer was amazing. His performance was phenomenal. I remember being quite impressed when I read that Breakbeat Era had live drummers playing the beats when they toured. Now Hood don’t sound like Breakbeat Era, they have a more heavy, pounding, off-tempo sound to their drum line. My point is simply that I was impressed the drum line wasn’t programmed into a machine. The energy from the drummer was intense. The second last song of the night had a drum line that would make the most avid electronic music fan smile.
I bought their new CD and am listening to it now. It’s very mellow. It’s a shame you can package up the energy from a show into a small plastic disk.
Life | Restaurants and Bars
13 March 2005, mid-afternoon
I was watching Au Courant with Shima this afternoon, a television show on the CBC about current events in Quebec. I’ve seen the show a few times and thought the host looked familiar, but couldn’t figure out where I recognized her from till today. The host is Mitsou Gélinas. When I was a younger boy she was a pop star, somewhat like Madonna in that her music videos were usually a little bit racy. She had earned some notoriety for a music video she made called Dis Moi, Dis Moi, in which she, and most everyone else in the video, appeared nude — yummy. It’s a little bit strange seeing her hosting a current events show on CBC Newsworld.
Television | Life
And all my people thats drug dealing just to get by
Stack your money till it gets sky high
We weren’t Suppose to make it past 25
Jokes on you we still alive
Throw your hands up in the sky
And say we don’t care what people say
—We Don’t Care by Kanye West
9 March 2005, the wee hours
I’ve been waiting a long time to watch Casshern. When I saw the trailer for the film I was blown away. I decided to pick up a copy of the DVD at Pacific Mall over the weekend, and I watched it tonight. It was good—very good. I’ve heard the movie described as Japan’s answer to The Matrix; I suppose in some ways it can be viewed like that. In a nutshell, a born-again robot boy must fight an army of robots and a corrupt government for reasons that aren’t particularly clear. The film is a serious treat for the eyes; I don’t think I’ve seen another film like it. The film is very much like an anime in its style, both visually and in terms of story: there are huge chunks of the plot that aren’t explained clearly, much of the story is over-the-top and fantastic, and the movie is quite melodramatic. The movie is at its heart an anti-war film. I can’t help but like that I suppose.
The official Casshern web site
[5] Movies
6 March 2005, late afternoon
Saw was quite the thriller; I really enjoyed it. The movie begins with two men waking up in a dark dank room. There is a dead man in the centre of the room, holding a gun and a tape recorder. Each man has a tape in their pockets. The movie unfolds in this room, and through a series of flashbacks. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you engrossed in the film. The ending is quite cool. This film is definitely worth checking out, assuming you don’t scare easily.
I watched 4 movies this weekend, which was excellent. I haven’t done something like that since I started working.
The official Saw web site.
[2] Movies
6 March 2005, late afternoon
American Splendor was the name of a comic book series written by Harvey Pekar. The books were about Harvey’s life, and the things about his life he found aggravating. In this regard, the movie is much like the comic books. American Splendor shows us Harvey’s life from when his second wife leaves him (a hilarious scene) to the present day. The movie is very post-modern; midway through the film the real Harvey Pekar questions how he will feel about watching a movie about himself. The real Harvey Pekar is the narrator in the movie, and several of the real life counterparts of the characters in the film are interviewed throughout the course of the movie. The actors did an amazing job portraying the characters from Harvey’s life. Paul Giamatti who plays Harvey was great. He grimaces throughout the whole film; it’s awesome.
The official American Splendor web site.
Movies
6 March 2005, late afternoon
I watched Napoleon Dynamite with two of Krishna’s friends. The film is strange. It reminds me of a series of deleted scenes from a movie. The movie focuses on the life of Napoleon Dynamite, a strange boy living in an equally strange town. There isn’t much in the way of plot to speak of. The movie is a series of strange events strung together. I think the movie is worth watching, you probably won’t see another film like it any time soon.
The official Napoleon Dynamite web site
Movies
5 March 2005, terribly early in the morning
I had planned to see Magneta Lane tonight at the Horseshoe, but instead opted for a quiet evening back in Scarborough. I met up with Carvill, Mez, and Dave, and the four of us went off to Blockbuster to rent some films. We decided on Maria Full of Grace, which I have been meaning to watch for a long time. The movie follows a young Columbian girl, who travels to New York city while working as a drug mule. The movie is quite gritty, which is to be expected I suppose. It was depressing, but not nearly as depressing as it could have been. The girl who played Maria did an excellent job. I enjoyed the movie, and would recommend it. I really liked the very last shot in the film.
The official Maria Full Of Grace web site
Movies
4 March 2005, lunch time
Dave and I were waiting for Controller.Controller to start their show. The Canadian Independent Music Awards were running ahead of schedule and their was a small pause in the festivities. Two girls were leaning against the left side of the stage in front of us. One of the girls looked familiar. I turned to Dave and said, “That girl looks like the lead singer of Magneta Lane.”
“Which one?” Dave replied.
“Over there, against the stage.” I then made a meagre attempt to describe the girl so Dave would know who I was talking about.
By the time Controller.Controller had taken to the stage the two girls were right in front of us. I don’t recall exactly how we started talking, but we did end up exchanging a few words.
“Are you the lead singer of the Magneta Lane?”
She smiled, leaned back a bit, and replied, “Yeah, I am.”
“Your show at the Drake was excellent.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you since that show, what’s your real name?”
“Lexi—”
“Bullshit—come on, what’s your real name.”
“It’s really Lexi.”
“Really? You looked to me like a Roshanak or a Sarah,” which was my not so subtle attempt to tell her she looked Middle Eastern.
“She’s not Indian, she’s Mexican,” interrupted her friend, a British girl.
Now, I wasn’t calling her Indian, I was calling her Middle Eastern, but I decided there was no point bringing that up.
Lexi then went on to describe that Lexi is in fact a strange name regardless of whether you are Mexican or not.
[6] Life
3 March 2005, terribly early in the morning
I saw Esthero live tonight, and she was fucking amazing. I have so much to say about the night, but it will have to wait till I have some time to write. She sounded incredible.
[5] Life
2 March 2005, the wee hours
The first time I watched Days of Being Wild was probably 6 years ago at my friend Shawn’s place. I think I may have seen 3-4 of Wong Kar Wai’s other films by that point. I remember enjoying it, but not thinking much of it compared to his other films. I suppose at that time I was thoroughly obsessed with Chungking Express (I suppose I still am); I certainly didn’t remember Days of Being Wild being as good as I feel it is now, after watching it again tonight. The movie is depressing. There are several characters, their lives are all intertwined, and none of their relationships work out. Leslie Cheung is the lead in the film, a womanizer and tortured soul. All the actors in the film do an amazing job. The cast of this film consists of most of the top actors in Hong Kong (in my opinion). Christopher Doyle shot this film as well, and the cinematography is gorgeous. The soundtrack is also good. Wong Kar Wai is fucking awesome. This is the first film of his I have had the pleasure to watch on the big screen. It was a really nice experience.
The Days of Being Wild trailer at Apple. (The review I originally linked to revealed way too much of the plot.)
[5] Movies
1 March 2005, late evening
I’m on episode 17 of Lost now. This episode is about the Korean couple, or so I would assume judging from the flash back. I haven’t actually watched the show yet, because a conversation in the opening forced to stopped to write this.
Old Korean Man: What would you do for my daughter?
Jin: Anything
OKM: Even work for me?
Jin: Of course.
OKM: Why should I give my daughter to a man who sells his dreams so easily?
Jin: Because … she is my dream.
Damn—Jin is smooth. I’ll have to figure out how to work that line in to every conversation I have with Shima’s dad.
Also, Jin’s wife is hot.
[10] Television
26 February 2005, terribly early in the morning
Dave sent me an ICQ messsage telling me he wouldn’t come downtown to see Femme Generation tonight. I suppose I don’t blame him, the trek from Scarborough to Downtown Toronto is long to say the least. I was torn as to whether I should go out alone or not. I discussed the matter online with Shima for some time. Since the last time I went out by myself worked out well enough I decided why not try going out by myself once more. Plus it was Friday.
I arrived at the Drake at 9:00. This was my second time there, but this time I was in the Underground, not the Lounge. The show had been postponed an hour, probably because the place was still quite empty.
I got a beer and stood at a table by myself. Two other fellows joined me since I happened to grab the last empty table. I didn’t feel like chatting, so I just drank my beer quietly. Then I noticed Neil across the dance floor. Neil is an old friend from Woburn and Waterloo who I haven’t seen in quite some time. I got his attention and we started chatting. He was there with his girlfriend Helen and his friend Phaedra. So, as luck would have it, I didn’t have to spend the evening by myself.
Femme Generation
Close to 10:30 Femme Generation finally stepped up on stage. This was the second time I saw them perform. I thought they were amazing the first time, and was looking forward to seeing them again. There is something about hearing a band live that you just can’t beat. We made our way to the front, in part because most of us were short, in part because its the polite thing to do when the band requests people move up.
The band played several songs from their EP Circle Gets the Square, and a couple songs I didn’t recognize. I’m hoping they put out an LP some time soon. The keyboards and guitar were sounding great; the bass player is a maniac on stage. They put on a really good show.
Femme Generation are playing at the Comfort Zone March 5th as part of the Canadian Music Week. If you are in the city, they are worth checking out.
Magneta Lane
The ladies of Magneta Lane were up next. The trio make rock music—not quite punk, but it’s loud and distorted. One day I will be able to tell you more clearly what a band sounds like, but I still haven’t mastered that skill yet. Thankfully you can just listen to them at their myspace homepage.
They sounded a lot more raw and a bit less professional than Femme Generation. The lead singers microphone wasn’t powered enough for the first half of their set, which made it a pain to hear her sing. Of course, I think part of the bands appeal is probably that they sound a bit raw—they aren’t a progressive rock band.
The lead singer, Lexi, has a delightfully low and flat sounding voice. If I may digress for a moment, the lead singer’s “name” is Lexi Valentine. She reminded me a bit of Shima’s friend Roshanak. She didn’t look like a Lexi—at all. The drummer was called Nadia, and she looked like a Nadia. If the band is two-thirds Middle-Eastern I would give them even more props. You don’t see too many slightly ethnic rock bands out and about in the city. But, as I said, I digress. (Update: I met Lexi. That’s her real name. I couldn’t believe it.)
The band played a short set, in part because their songs are all pretty short. I thought they were quite good. I bought their CD which Neil’s friend Phaedra took around and got signed by all the band members. (Shima would be proud I didn’t go talk to any strange women.)
On a side node, the ladies are on Paperbag Records, which is the same record label as Plastikman, Controler.Controler, and Stars.
After the show we all headed off to the Gladstone, which has a karaoke night on Friday. I will need to write about that one day, but not today.
[2] Life | Music
25 February 2005, lunch time
I finally watched The Motor Cycle Diaries last night. The movie chronicles a trip Che Guevara took with a friend in which they travelled through much of South America. The trip opened Guevara’s eyes to the poverty and injustice prevalent throughout South America. I imagine the movie aims to inspire similar feelings in its viewers. I thought the film was great; it’s definitely worth watching. The scenery is incredible. Some of the shots in the film are absolutely breathtaking. I think the film will definitely leave you with an urge to travel.
The official The Motor Cycle Diaries web site.
[1] Movies
24 February 2005, lunch time
Walking along Queen St. last night I noticed there were plenty of end-of-season sales going on. Queen St. is littered with little boutique shops selling over-priced designer fashion for rich raver kids, fobs, and artists types. I walked in to a random shop to see how good its sale actually was; there were plenty of clothes marked down by as much as 60%. At first glance that’s not a bad sale. Of course, if you are selling 200 dollar diesel sweaters, that moves them from the realm of being really expensive into the realm of being just expensive. I didn’t feel like spending that much money on a jumper. What caught my eye was a pile of hats on sale for $15. It was cold outside so it seemed like a good idea to get a toque—a designer toque no less. I could impress my friends, family, and strangers on the street.
How much was the original price you ask? $55 dollars—for a toque. Chances are the store still made money when they sold me the hat for $15 dollars. That’s 72% off.
Now that’s what I call a mark-up.
[2] Life
22 February 2005, lunch time
Jason Kottke has decided to make running kottke.org his full time job. These are interesting times we live in. You may notice that I steal plenty of the links I post here from the man—28 links as of today—so I certainly wish him success in his venture. I’m tempted to donate I donated; I like his site a lot. There is a buzz building around this, with Megnut and Signal vs. Noise being the first two blogs I’ve seen to chime in. I predict by the end of the day the blogosphere will have imploded in on itself in some sort of linking orgy.
update: I donated. This whole venture seemed too stupid not to support. Also, being one who makes poor decisions with respect to my money on a very regular basis, I decided who am I not to support this man. Actually, donating money to a dude so he can write a weblog probably qualifies as a stupid way to spend my money.
update: In true Metafilter fashion, there is a snarky, omfg kottke sucks thread for you guys to enjoy. I predict it will be full of people bitching.
update: As I predicted, the MetaFilter thread was in fact full of people bitching. I think the reaction people had to Jason’s attempt at Blogging for Bucks is actually more interesting than the attempt itself.
[13] Weblogs
22 February 2005, lunch time
Ju-lian and I had devised an encryption scheme when we were in University called Eve’s Not A Bitch Encryption. The security of the scheme hinged on the fact no one wants to read your stupid email.
[2] Life | Computer Science
As soon as we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as religion over-riding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side.
—Mahatma Gandhi
20 February 2005, evening time
The plan was to meet up with Rishi, various law school students, and a few of Rishi’s friends for drinks last night. The problem with this plan was that no one actually said where or when to meet. When I left my house at 7:00 to meet some other friends for dinner I hadn’t the faintest idea how I would actually end up finding Rishi. (I wasn’t the only person in this predicament. Steph had a dinner of her own, and was supposed to meet up with us after. Carvill was watching a movie with her friend Jose, and was supposed to show up after the movie with Mezan and Jose. None of them had managed to get a hold of Rishi either.)
Of course, by the time we were all finished with our respective dinner plans, we still hadn’t heard from Rishi. We decided that we’d just meet at Butt’r and figure out what to do later. Butt’r is a nice lounge in Little Italy that is usually quiet and empty. The last time I was at Butt’r was a lot of fun.
Carvill, Mez, Jose and I arrived at Butt’r first, a little bit past 10:00. Steph needed to get ready before coming out, which usually means she’ll be late—very late. The place was quite busy when we arrived. Since new years I’ve been trying to drink more and more Champagne; so Jose, Mez and I split an Italian sparkling white wine between us.
Shortly after we arrived, a girl with a blue top walked in. I wrote down my initial thoughts about her in my Moleskine:
And then out of the blue Rishi called. He had been at work all of Saturday—the poor son of a bitch. We explained where we were, and he said he’d meet up with us shortly.
I called my friend Philippe to see if he wanted to join me and my friends on our misadventure. I haven’t seen Philippe in years, but stumbled on his telephone number because my friend Yang has done a better job at keeping in touch with him. Philippe was ready as ever for a night out drinking, and showed up shortly after with two of his friends, Kevin and Ryan.
Steph arrived shortly after Philipe; not as late as I has initially expected her to be. Rishi arrived with Sheliza, Constantine, and James. The law school students had decided to sleep, so only Sheliza remained to represent the Queen’s law school massive.
So, there was a big posse of us out now. At this point Butt’r was busy and loud. We got bored of yelling at each other and decided to head out to a new bar. This was a foolish time to leave, as last call in Toronto is 2:00AM, and we left Butt’r at 1:30AM.
We managed to go to 2 more bars before calling it a night.
[3] Life | Restaurants and Bars
19 February 2005, early evening
Yesterday night my friends and I went out to watch Constantine, Keanu Reeves latest film. The movie is an adaptation of the popular comic Hellblazer. Keanu plays John Constantine, an exorcist who sees demons, hangs out with other supernatural types, and is for the most part a bit of jerk. The movie has received some prety mediocre reviews, but I actually thought it was quite entertaining. It’s definetly one of the better comic book movies I’ve seen—I’m not sure if that is saying much. I think the movie is worth checking out.
The official Constantine web site.
Movies
Gene Frenkle: Can I just say one thing?
Bruce Dickinson: Say it, baby. Say it.
Gene: I’m standing here, staring at Bruce Dickinson!
Bruce: The cock of the walk, baby!
Gene: And if Bruce Dickinson wants more cowbell, we should probably give him more cowbell!
Bruce: Say it, baby!
Gene: And, Bobby, you are right – I am being selfish. But the last time I checked, we don’t have a whole lot of songs that feature the cowbell.
Bruce: I gotta have more cowbell, baby!
15 February 2005, the wee hours
I watched Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason with Shima this past weekend. The movie takes place a few months after the first one, and follows Bridget Jones as she adjusts (or fails to adjust) to being in a steady relationship with a nice young man. The movie seems a lot more forced and contrived then the first one. I didn’t think the film was particularly good. That is not to say the film is without it’s moments. There is a scene with Colin Firth chasing Hugh Grant that is quite hilarious. However, for the most part I thought the film was a bit lacking.
The official Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason web site
Movies
