The LOST season finale will make my brain explode!

Before inaugurating my new travel blog "I Forgot the Directions" I thought I would announce a couple of deals that are circulating around the interwebs for those looking to book last-minute summer vacation:

• fly to Dublin, Manchester, or London from Toronto for as low as $94 - 114, air only(holidaymarkettravel.com)


• fly to Madrid via Toronto (or Buffalo) for $431 CAD (via itravel2000.com)


• stay on the island of Elba, Italy with an all-inclusive trip starting at 110 euros a night (MBeTravel.com)

So, final thoughts.... was anyone's mind completely blown away by the season finale of LOST last night?!

WOOT, that was some 'effed up action towards the end, with the flash-"forwards", what with Locke (who lethally administers a swift killing to Naomi the parachutist with a quick launch of his handy knife) facing down Jack, and finally contact being made with the "enemy" the offshore ship waiting to rescue them!!!!

I am severely disappointed that Charlie's dead at the hands of I-must-be-robot-cuz-I-just-won't-stay-dead Mikhail (Charlie, incidentally, drowned just as Desmond predicted). It had been rumoured for weeks, and I figure the hobbit is probably going off to make some exciting films in la-la-land and can probably crash with Evangeline if he is called back to do flashbacks a la Boone.

But H-E-L-L-O - why can't Ben/Locke (they've started to develop very similar characteristics) just reveal their motives!!!! Aaah, the writers are going to kill me with all of these raised questions, and the plot keeps twisting in the wind!

How glad was anyone to see Walt (who's all grown up), and to see that Sayid/Bernard/Jin had survived!

And, what exactly is the deal with the ship? Why shouldn't they want to be rescued??? As we see from the flash-forward, all with the island may not be what it seems, but it apparently causes you to either develop a bad addiction to pills/renegade doctor if you leave it (Jack) or a lady seriously flaunting her need to star in a Pantene ad (Kate) - whew! hot!!

I am so frustrated it will be drawn out for 3 more seasons, sigh... If you still can't get enough, check out screengrabs, closeups and more goodies from last night's episode here, losteastereggs.blogspot.com/

The Internet in winter: some use it more, why some use it less

So I've just reconnected with one of my old best friends through FaceBook, and it's gotten me to thinking... why is it so easy for these social networking sites to completely suck us in?

It is pretty anti-social, don't you think? Couldn't I better spend that time out at the movies with my buddies, out for a drink, or even engaged in that tired old activity known as *exercise*. And doing a little quick Goggling, I discover that according to the Pew Internet & Research Project the majority of Internet users (54%) say the amount of time they spend online is about double the number they spent online only two years ago but is the same as that they spent six months ago (Ed. note -- how can that be true in Toronto? It's so cold that I think in response people have been decamping to their computers much more frequently) .

A buzz-term I've heard bandied about is "Internet addiction", and I think we're all a little bit guilty of that with possible spring election in Canada, intrigue in the U-S (will Hillary make history? Is Barack the only man for the job? Why do we care so much in the Great White North?)

I easily spend about 20 mins to an hour a day checking in with my face-crack, on my MSN space, uploading to FLICKr or previewing new bands on Myspace. And this is during work hours, eek! Although the American Psychiatric Association it doesn't expressly recognize such an addiction as an actual disorder, but then again, it took until the late 1970's for homosexuality to be declassified as a psychiatric disorder by this same organization, so keeping pulse with the fabric of today's society they are not so much. Some would say people also spend too much time watching television, reading, or following sports, and no such diagnosis exists for those activities either. Conversely, I may be adding fuel to the fire by asking people to pay attention to my posts, eh?

What about you - do you think we are all Internet-addled and are you addicted to Bebo/MySpace/Digg and the like?

What gets scary for me, is how prevalent cached information is. The pervasive rumour is that GOOGLE, the behemoth and undisputed champion of Internet search engines, has vast stores of databanks set up all over the Midwest where they keep reams of data on every keystroke ever entered on their homepage. Are you taking note, Big Brother? The government (e.g. the CRTC) in Canada may wade into the fray next year by beginning to mandate what constitutes User-generated content on private broadcasting sites such as CTV, Canwest Global's, and the CBC.

Do you want someone to keep the results of every Google search you've ever keyed in Enter to? I don't think so. But we broach a fine line between outright regulation of Internet ownership, and what constitutes viable, and unfiltered fair comment and speech. Just keep that in mind the next time you try to do a search for a journalism story on foot massages and enter "Massage Parlours." I learnt my lesson, trust me.

As a total aside, do make time to see both of the following in your spare time: Half Nelson, which I watched this weekend, is hands-down one of the best films of 2006. Ryan Gosling turns in easily the best breakthrough performance of any actor struggling to broach independent/mainstream success, and won a well-deserved Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards last month in Los Angeles.

And, make time to check out the new Landymore-Keith Contemporary Art Gallery at the end of my block along Dundas West, near Little Italy. A great retrospective is starting soon called Illuminated Cities, and opens on March 12th.. For more information e-mail info@landymorekeith.com or check out http://www.landymorekeith.com/

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....

Wanted to draw the blogoverse's attention to a couple of things today.

Being that it is Chinese New Year and that 2007 is the Year of the Pig, I went out for dim-sum with some girlfriends last night. Forestview Restaurant at Dundas and Spadina, to be exact.

Being that it is snowing and *wonderful* outside, I will be cross-country skiing all weekend.

And being that I have some announcements to make shortly on this blog, and a potential leap across the pond in May, I am putting My Canadian Tuxedo on hiatus.

I will still be posting (periodically) for the time being, but will be writing fulltime for some other publications. The new Travel-slash-Photo blog, I Forgot the Directions, will be launched once I am across the Atlantic later this spring.

Catch you on the flip-side!

Better late then never -- 2006, a Mini-Review

Okay, so according to Wiki, amongst other things 2006 was the Chinese Year of the Dog, broke records for having some of the hottest days on record in the UK, and Sydney, AUS (take that, global-warming opponents!), and will go down in infamy as the year a sitting American Vice-Prez shot his good friend in the face during a February hunting trip gone awry. Sigh, Dick Cheney, what are we going to do with you.

On our side of the border, things weren't much better. Bad news for our public broadcaster, bad news for our newly elected Prime Minister (a cabinet shuffle, eh?), and bad news for skiiers and snowboarders....to sum up, a very bizarr-o, weird year, all in all.

But some of my favourite new discoveries were found stomping around my own particular backyard, and they include (in no particular order, rhyme or reason):

1. Caldense Bakery - for some of the best European-style custard tarts and breads in Little Portugal! Seriously!! give them a try...
[Caldense Bakery & Pasteries. 1209 Dundas St W Toronto ON, M6J 1X3 Phone: 416-534-3847]

2. Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom, Imogen Heap, Corinne Bailey Rae, and the rise of the female singer-songwriter who can actually sing (gasp!), write their own music (no!), and (gulp) play their own instruments....

3. Blogs I actually read - Pink is the New Blog / the Torontoist / Frugal Fashionista / I AM FASHION / Pitchfork Media / Chart Attack / Azerbic, Toronto Star Media Columnist Antonia Zerbisias / the Tea Makers

4. Sneaky Dees' aka Sneeky Disease - for creating food that matches the best late-night nachos craving! Also for their support of Wavelength new music nights and the best cheap (not so good) beer around! [Sneaky Dee's, 431 College Street, Toronto ON, M5T1T1, Phone: 416-603-3090]

5. The Slippery Boot aka 'the Boot'- for giving my brother a job! And having an excellent buy a pitcher, get a free beer stein policy! [Slippery Boot Tavern, 1552 Avenue Road North York, ON M5M 3X5. 416-782-5198]

6. Best new (Canadian) bands -- Malajube, les Trois Accords, Swan Lake, the Decemberists (oh wait, they're from Portland OR). Best international music this year: Sufjan Stevens, Mates of State, Hot Chip, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, etc etc

7. Best new local restaurant -- Torito in Kensington Market, followed by Dos Amigos at Bathurst and Dupont and a distant third would be... hmm. I haven't eaten out enough at any hot new night-spots per se. But I'd like to try the Swallow on Queen West, Saving Grace on Dundas West, and Leslie Jones in Leslieville.

8. Best new revamped website - I wanted to say the Toronto Star, but I think I will go with New York Magazine. It reads better than Time Out New York, and has better reviews then the New Yorker.

9. My dream vacation for 2007 -- a trip to Caucassone/pays de l'Aude, in south-central France, to sample wines, eat grapes off the vine, and a visit to both the North and South Islands of New Zealand with my honey-bunny...

10. Best idea for a non-snowy Toronto day -- A day-trip to some of the amazing film showcases we have (the Green Reel Environmental Film Festival in Jan-Feb, Hot Docs in March, the Toronto Intl Film Festival aka TIFF in Sept) or the ROM once it opens its new exhibit halls in April, or the AGO once it finishes its huge Reno job. So much to do, so little time!

Some of my plans for 2007:

- get more $$ (cha-ching) so I can afford a better apartment, a new laptop, maybe a vacation or three.....

- write more. and write often. And figure out a damned direction for this, and my travel writing blog!!

That's all for now. Peace out, homes