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

Snow Patrol

No, this isn't a post about the band, but according to a recent Toronto Star article, regional ski operators are having loads of trouble mucking up business this December.

This is no real surprise, as the brunt of early ski-season subsists on snow making equipment, which requires steady temperatures between -2 and -6 degrees Celsius, so it looks like local boarders and skiers may have to get their exercise from other places.

Anyone for a game of Wii? Or perhaps some Amped for Xbox??

HOLIDAY WRAP-UP: 2006 - Coming soon....

Gingerbread hearts for all of you : ))))
What mattered to most Canadians who 'live it out' online in '06? As it turns out, according to Yahoo, in terms of overall Internet searches it's quite sad really. Britney Spears, the Croc Hunter's death, the WWE and Shakira top the US Top 10 most searched items. And, aside from the Yanks, we differ in one respect. We Canucks really like... hockey?

Yes, you read that correctly. In the news of the obvious, Yahoo Canada's Buzz-o-meter says our national past-time comes out on top in the Top 10 most searched items. Let me break it down for ya. As of November 30, 2006 - this is what we were searching for the cumulative months of January to November 2006:

#10. Madonna (no surprise here, what with the Raising Malawi, and raising a little Malawian initiative)
#9. NBA
#8. Perez Hilton (again, no surprise, as you will note your dear writer is quite addicted to the Gossip Gang-star!)
#7. Angelina Jolie (no doubt for all her humanitarian efforts, and not her plushy lips to peer out from their screen wallpapers)
#6. Happy Feet (for peeps need to know more about a animated talking penguin movie. Huh?)
#5. Toronto Maple Leafs
#4. Deal or no Deal
#3. Britney Spears
#2. Michael Richards (sigh, Kramer, I'm tired of even thinking about you...)

And the #1 search term for 2006?
.
.
.
.
the NHL!

Look out for My Canadian Tuxedo's Great Canadian Holiday Wrap-Up on December 30th, where this author will take the year in review, and post some general thoughts on what's to come in '07. [Also: for a great gingerbread men recipe, check out the following from 101 cookbooks]

The cryptic key to the LOST Season premiere, and a prize I won't win

Just a short post today. Found a great new TV-breakdown blog, Lost and Gone Forever, which I will add to the bookmarks on the side of the page. It also includes a great ramp-up from TV.com as to what to expect in the upcoming Season 3 LOST premiere "A Tale of Two Cities" (don't forget: Wednesday on CTV/ABC at 8/9 ET!!!).

Basically, there will be an eye that opens, followed by some really cryptic shiznatt that no one understands, Jack/Sawyer and Kate will stare at each other mournfully through some prison bars, Sayid may or may not build something, and Locke may or may not get back his faith in the island. Oh, and what about the others - are they marooned Dharmites stuck on the island still conducting their own mad experiments - who knows? But I effin' love this show!!!!

Also, the (Scotiabank) Giller prize finalists were announced today in Toronto. Unfortch, I have not had time to do much reading this year, but will have to get to it before the Winner is announced. They are, as follows:

Rawi Hage - De Niro's Game

Toronto's own Vincent Lam - Bloodletting and Other Cures

Pascale Quiviger - The Perfect Circle

Gaetan Soucy - The Immaculate Conception

Carol Windley - Home Schooling

Although I'm still (slowly) getting through the Undomestic Goddess, I hope to be onto De Niro's Game shortly, as Hage's novel sounds so good, here is the synopsis from the publisher, House of Anansi Press:

"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
In Rawi Hage's astonishing and unforgettable novel, this famous quote by Camus becomes a touchstone for two young men caught in Lebanon's civil war. Bassam and George are childhood best friends who have grown to adulthood in wartorn Beirut. Now they must choose their futures: to stay in the city and consolidate power through crime; or to go into exile abroad, alienated from the only existence they have known. Bassam chooses one path: Obsessed with leaving Beirut, he embarks on a series of petty crimes to finance his departure. Meanwhile, George builds his power in the underworld of the city and embraces a life of military service, crime for profit, killing, and drugs.
Told in the voice of Bassam, De Niro's Game is a beautiful, explosive portrait of a contemporary young man shaped by a lifelong experience of war.
Rawi Hage brilliantly fuses vivid, jump-cut cinematic imagery with the measured strength and beauty of Arabic poetry. His style mimics a world gone mad: so smooth and apparently sane that its razor-sharp edges surprise and cut deeply. A powerful meditation on life and death in a war zone, and what comes after. "

NB: The Scotiabank Giller prize will be handed out by a panel jury including former Governor-General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson and authors Alice Munro and Michael Winter at a gala on November 7.

The Show to end all shows

As part of International Music Day (September 31) I've received the go-ahead to interview an up and coming band at the Kool Haus this Sunday night.

Les Trois Accords will be playing as part of a CBC Radio 3/Bande a part Sirius satellite radio showcase. They're all francophones, so it should be a challenge for my rusty school French - but here we go - we've got a direction for the blog!

For information on this free concert, check out: http://www.bandeapart.fm/seevousplay/index_en.asp (Update: It appears to be sold out - a free show - what gives??)

STAY TUNED!!!

Facts & Figures

What time is it at the start of post? 4:32 p.m. EST

What are you watching on TV? Forest Whitaker talk about his film the Last King of Scotland, on Oprah

Reading on the subway? The Undomestic Goddess (goddless chick-lit dreck, I know, but I can't help myself), by Sophie Kinsella

Listening to? Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton (they are part of a CBC Radio3 live show being put on at Kool Haus in Toronto soon), Brazilian Girls, Super Furry Animals, Mash-Ups, and selections from Cat Power's great unlamented album 'The Greatest.'

Doing this weekend? Dunno, but it will probably involve seeing my friend Ian's band Thomas Matheson play the Rivoli on Saturday night and see my friend Ams' new apt in the Beaches

End of post time? 4:37 p.m. EST

I'm out for the day!!

My top 7 at TIFF and.... birthday party ideas?

Much to recap today. A guide to some of the films I saw, some that had hype, and the ones I wished I had seen. Also, I have the duty to get my a** to South Africa in time for CBC's host broadcast duties at the soccer World Cup festivities in Durban..... should be fun!!

So, in no particular order, are some of the Canadiana - followed by a special feature on the Kiwi ones I saw with my lover, that Merino-wool wearin', Marmite-loving expat - that in my humble pie opinion, may or will make some kind of an impact in the coming moviegoing saison:

1. Fido

In a world where zombie movies have become all too common place, a new film seeks to put yet another spin of the genre on the map: zombies as pets/menial servants.

Young Timmy (Canadian actor K'Sun Ray - do ya think his parents
might've been hippies?) longs for his emotionless father and frigid mother (the Matrix Trilogy's Carrie-Anne Moss, another Canadienne) to pay attention to him.

Instead, they purchase from ZomCor down the road a pet zombie (the always brilliant Billy Connolly) for their son. And when zombie pet's collar malfunctions, B-movie hilarity ensues....

2. Monkey Warfare

An original screenplay, one real-life Toronto locale (the West Queen W. nabe of Parkdale) and a kickass soundtrack about revolutionary music all combine to make this one of my 2006 TIFF highlights.

A laid-back plot (written by an ex-editor, Reg Harkema, as it turns out), the story spins out randomly from the origins of two secretive loners and maybe lovers, Dan (McKellar, again playing oddball like he did in CBC's Twitch City and Child Star with panache) and Linda (Wright, master of the one-liner) smoking pot and scavenging through garbage for hidden treasures, to the sudden danger presented by Dan's encounter with less-innocent-than-she-seems Susan (Nadia Litz).

The Kiwi didn't really like this one, but I've gotta give Harkema his due: this is the first film to educate me on the counterculture revolutionary movement of the 60s and 70s, and how cool records can still be!

3. Sarah Polley's Away From Her

This is Sarah Polley's (anyone of my Generation will recall her of the late, great, Road to Avonlea) extremely assured debut feature, is an apparently absorbing and affecting adaptation - enough alliteration already! - of the Alice Munro short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain". As I would like to read the story before seeing the film, I imagine it will be a lot like my Grade 10 required reading, The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence.

Slow, ponderous, but likely to be entirely compelling (and depressing, just like the Polley starring vehicle The Sweet Hereafter) grounded by lead actor's Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent's performances. Pass the hankies!

4. John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus

Made by a New Yorker, but starring a fellow Public Broadcasterite, Sook-Yin Lee, this film courted controversy for its opening graphic sexual montages, as well as its much-hyped, well opening graphic sex montage.

I absolutely loved the soundtrack and film to Mitchell's first film, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and cannot wait to see this in a live (lovey and I tried to get tix, but as with any controversy-courting film at a film fest, it was one of the first to be sold out).

Count on this to be the first of many films coming out in the coming years that take to embracing Third-Decade malaise: ie. the fear thirtysomethings have of losing their youth and/or appearing unhip. A must-see.

5. Sharkwater

I missed this one, by fellow Lawrence Park (by way of North Toronto) high school graduate Rob Stewart about the illegal shark-finning enterprises springing up in parts of Latin and South America to support a burgeoning trade for shark fin parts in Asia.

The mostly underwater-shot film was first viewed by Yours Truly at a rough cut screening at Stewart's birthday party late last year, and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Someone puts his WASP-y, North Toronto connections to good use. Yay!

6. Manufactured Landscapes

Another fully affecting (this time documentary) film, about Toronto photographer Edward Burtynsky, if the screen-grabs are anything to go back, I'm definitely going to have to buy the accompanying Burtynsky coffee-table book.

Another must-see for a rainy day rentals at Queen Video, fo' sho'.

All film briefs were compiled by My Canadian Tuxedo, courtesy of free weekly Now Toronto magazine Annual Film Fest Guide, Toronto Life magazine, or TIFF's website itself.

* * *

As for my upcoming 27th B-Day (as Beyonce would say) -- no idea what's happening yet, other than to say it will involve food, drink, laughs, and probably somebody white-boy dancing (I hope?)

Let's Go To the EX! $5 after 5 pm - One Night Only!

Photo courtesy of Flickr CNE blog and gabe.toth

Going to the Ex tonight, the Ex tonight, the Ex...... aka. the Canadian National Exhibition (the 'Ex') where I will eat junk food till I drop dead, or hurl up my guts on one two many spins on the Gravitron or the Zipper. So exciting - the Kiwi has never been himself! And the Soccerroo is coming too!
I just made a rhyme, wheeeeeeee!

Touched by Water

Alerted to this new film this morning by CBC Arts Online, Touched By Water, opening at the Montreal World Film Festival this week.

"Shot in 13 countries over the course of 10 years, the exquisite Touched by Water is both an ode to the social ritual of public bathing and a thought-provoking look at water’s spiritual significance. From Christian baptism to Muslim prayer ablutions, most key ceremonial rites of passage involve water. “I wanted to make a film to try to understand humanity’s relationship with water, to get at the essence of what bathing meant in different cultures,” (filmmaker Tamas) Wormser says.

The film is narrated by Quebec actor Jean Marchand, while the original music by Ganesh Anandan and Dino Giancola provides an aural backdrop to Wormser’s lush images. We see bodies sponged down with soft foam in steamy Turkish hamams and underwater shots of Hungarians dancing at a spa rave party in Budapest. Wormser joined the ruddy-faced men of the Finnish sauna association, who, after sweating together, whip themselves with birch branches and dive into the frigid Baltic Sea."

Looks like it will be worth checking out when it hits theatres (The French version of Touched by Water [Eaux de vie] screens at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 29). For more on the festival check out the Montreal Mirror's reviews on their website here

And speaking of water did you know that:

- It appears colourless to the naked eye in small quantities, though it can be seen to be blue with scientific instruments or in large quantities (as in a swimming pool)?
- Thales of Miletus -an early Greek philosopher known for his analysis of the scope and nature of the term "landscaping,"- believed that "all is water"?
- Water strongly absorbs infra red radiation, and as infra red radiation is next to red-coloured light on the electromagnetic spectrum, a small amount of visible red light is absorbed as well (translation: Water absorbs more of the red light in sunlight; the water also enhances the scattering of blue light).

Food for thought when applying your waterproof sunscreen, no?

A rainy Friday in Tee-Ohh....

For all those addicted to horse-race wagering, here is a nice but slightly sad song to comfort yourself until the next Sunday afternoon at the track (what I'm currently listening to while I attempt to do work at the Big Canadian Broadcaster):

Pale Green Things, by the Mountain Goats
(fyi - it is from a newly downloaded old album of theirs, the excellent '05 release the Sunset Tree)

The lyrics go something like this:

Got up before dawn
Went down to the racetrack
Riding with the windows down
Shortly after your first heart attack
You parked behind the panic
Cracking asphalt on your foot
Coming up through the cracks
Pale green things
Pale green things

You watched the horses run their workouts
You held your stopwatch in your left hand
And a racing form beneath your arm
Casting your gaze way out to no man's land
Sometimes I'll meet you out there
Lonely and frightened
Flicking my tongue out at the wet leaves
Pale green things
Pale green things

My sister called at 3 AM
Just last December
She told you how you'd died at last, at last
That morning at the racetrack
Was one thing that I remembered
I turned it over in my mind
Like a living Chinese finger trap
Seaweed in Indiana sawgrass
Pale green things
Pale green things

Who are these Others? *LOST* Season 3 premieres Oct 4 @ 9/8 ET/CT

Hey hey hey, blogophiles! A quick, short, and sweet post to tell you about today. As many of you who join me in the cult fan-dom that is being a Lost viewer on ABC/CTV can attest, the season finale in May was frustrating to say the least. Among the questions that it left unanswered, were:

1) What exactly happened to the Hatch?

2) Were the contents (and the unlucky peeps stuck inside, including Locke, Desmond, and Echo) gone for good after that supernatural seeming electromagnetic blast?

3) Who are these pesky Others?

4) Are the Others actual scientists left to examine the crash-landers, or part of some major government conspiracy. There's even a wacky theory floating around ABC forums that L O S T stands for Land Of Scientific Testing (or some such nonsense)

5) What do the Others have to do with the shady Hanso Foundation?

6) What is the deal with Clare's baby - is he really some sort of Messiah-like figure?

7) Will Charlie officially kick his smack habit now that he's rediscovered the Virgin statue stash?

8) What will happen to Walt and his dad? Are they really gone from the program for good?

9) And will Walt's damned dog ever get his Kibbles n' Bits? Kidding, that's not part of the show..

10) Finally, who is this Emily What's-her-face character that is trying to locate Desmond on the ocean at the culmination of Season 2????

To better satiate your thirst, click on The Tail Section, Lost Links, or Station Zero for Season 3 promos. YouTube and Google Video will also be featuring video stuffs of our favourite conspiracy theory show.....

The North American Hype Machine

So, two items I'd like to cover today. Well three things in fact. John Mark Karr, the advent of Mr. Britney Spears, aka. Kevin Federline, and the American news cycle.
I have been addicted to news-media sites of late with the reemergence of a 10 year-old unsolved murder case, that of JonBenet Ramsay. With it, come the media hordes that have descended upon the benign press conferences and incoherent ramblings of a man who 'allegedly,' might have, possibly been the instigator of a tragic killing of a 9-year-old Boulder, CO girl that brought with it gruesome fascination and rabid (often inaccurate) media reports.
And here we go again, with ever more virulent "Did he, didn't he?" speculation, and rumour and recriminations that he may have been investigated previously by authorities for prior acts. The often-imitated, never-duplicated, Anderson Cooper (AKA. my American journalism hero) flagship CNN program even interviewed a couple last night for the sheer fact, that they were Mr. and Mrs. Claus impersonators at the Ramsay home Christmas party in 1996 who may or may not have been under suspicion for the murder at some point. I mean, ye gads! This case knows no bounds of common decency!!!! I can't imagine how hard this is for friends and family members to rehash all of this over again, only to be informed, that this "gentleman" may just be a fame-seeker who has deluded himself and possibly inserted his presence into her final days.

And unfortunately, where our American brethren do not fear to tread, the Canadian news media, is quick to follow. When I did a recent Google news search, intrepid Canadian reporters have included such news worthy items as
- "Snake On A Plane" (the infamous headline to describe Karr's extradition from Thailand on the front cover of this Monday's Toronto Sun);
- "John Mark Karr's Confession Raises Even More Questions" (from the venerable Globe and Mail, also on Monday); and of course, the stating the obvious headline:
- "Who is John Mark Karr?" (i.e. if you've been hiding under a rock, this is what you missed)
This guy, even if not yet proven guilty by virtue of DNA or (an eventual appearance) in a court of law, has at least guaranteed himself the enmity of her family, and his own 15-and-a-half minutes in our own ravenous news-media coverage.

On a completely different tack, the other deluded individual who is occupying much of my free pondering time (move over, Lindsay Lohan, and your ability to undersleep and over-party)...
The question I seem to be asking myself more and more goes roughly like this... Who is Kevin Federline, and why should I care one iota about him?
I really can't help it, he's everywhere, lauding his *ahem* artistry and his upcoming CD (gasp!) Britney Spears, I blame you and your meddling ways for unleashing this man on the world, lol! I mean, it is pretty impressive that the American dream has allowed this ex-backup dancer cum artistic thespian his moment(s) in the sun.
And now, according to GQ magazine and People, he apparently wants a career acting as well...
Why, why, why? I mean, really, what is his real claim to fame, other than possessing his cash cow (Britney - who oddly he never calls by name in interviews, other then making frequent reference to his 'old lady' or wife)
If his album (shudder) doesn't do that well, I smell a lewd tape of he and his baby-mama Britney being leaked all over the Internets a la Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee!
But for now, take comfort in this small fact: there is still time to stockpile your supply of earplugs, to destroy your personal and satellite radio receivers, and to disable your TVs and video sharing on your PCs, because his album don't drop until November! Cos' you better believe this guy's music is going to be all over the 'net soon. In fact if you need a taste already, here is a link to K-Fed's (shudder) MySpace profile
Who knows, maybe he'll become My Canadian Tuxedo's mascot, if I could only locate a .jpg of him in jeans and a jacket!! Sad. And sorry for venting, dear readers.... a better post tomorrow, I promise.

The rest of the Europe trip....

Breakdown of the trip to come, but a recent poem was just itching to get posted:

*NYC|Subway*

[Photo courtesy of Kestan.com]

Dead cat on the pavement
There are cracks in it
I can see the steam escaping
Like breath.

Wicked smells, the sights and sounds
Surround me like a cloud,
Of unfelt whispers.

Lost, I crawl back to you
But you’re not there
I’m lost in a sea of unknowns
A river of rivers
Pools at my feet

I crawl out of sight for you, dear
I melt with the night,
And I disappear

I won't have more fun with you -
never get drunk with you
I'll let you go for good.

A woman nearly slips in a manhole
Her daughters steady
Her unsteady gait

I’d pull it apart for you dear
And for my heart to shift gears
You'll only let me down in the end.
The end.

I'll never go back to you
never shoot smack with you
I'll let you go for good,
For all that's good.
The night sings my song.

That steam keeps rising
Are there really rats in this sewer?

Penn Stn is crawling
Full with passengers of no destination
We look at each other
Spent.

I wait for my heart to shift gears
I come with the night,
I disappear
You don’t know me,
You don’t own me.
You never will.

I'll let you go for good
But not till I’m through with Chelsea.

note: This poem is not reflective of current or past events to do with my relationship, and is just a collection of randomized free verse recollections of three days in August in downtown Manhattan.

Vacation - Part II: MILAN / BERGAMO

So, part II of the pre-trip checklist starts now:

To Do while in Milano

* La Cenacolo (The Last Supper), Santa Maria Delle Grazie Church, central Milan
* Parco Sempione (beautiful midtown park much like Central Park, in NYC)
* the Brera, Navigli-Porta Ticinese, and San Siro districts
* too many great restaurants to count, including:

Paper Moon, Dice Corso Como Cafe, Al basilico fresco, Shambala, Sushi Hiro, Old Fashion Cafe, La Bitta -- you can't really go too wrong eating in Milan!


I'd also like to scale the top of the Duomo/the main Cathedral (above) - it is pretty much the symbolic heart of Milan - to see the cityscape (on clear days you can see as far as the Ligurian coast!)

Of course I'll be headed to my friend's wedding in Gorgonzola, with the after-party/reception taking place here.

I will let you all know how the hotel is.

** DETAILS/WISH LIST FOR BRATISLAVA, VIENNA, and NEW YAWK to come : )

What to do while on vacation - Part I: AMSTERDAM

"All my life I have been trying to learn to read, to see and hear, and to write." -Carl Sandburg, author and poet

"You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes." -Vivienne Westwood, designer

Ok, ok, I know I said I thought I would stay away from de blogspot until I finished up the site revamp and gaining access to a new laptop, but I just had to post my meager thoughts about the upcoming vicenze. So what follows is just a brief summary of my Wish List for July 24-27...

Amsterdam Highlights I hope to hit (keeping in mind I'm only there for 3 days):
- the Bloemenmarkt
- the Leidseplein
- Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Gallery, Heineken Brewery
- A canal tour of the various grachts (canals) - Prinsen, Rozen, and Kaiser among
others
- A couple of bike tours of Amsterdam (suggestions on this much appreciated!)
- PC Hoofestraat (best shopping street in the Netherlands)
- Of course de Wallen, aka. the Red-Light District!

[Other spots I'd like to see while in Amsterdam but won't have time for: a day trip to Antwerp or the seaside, the Vondelpark, the Jordaan neighbourhood, a beautiful restored neighbourhood full of cobblestoned streets, the Nieuwmarkt - one of the oldest Jewish neighbourhoods in Western Europe, and includes the world-famous Anne Frank Huis, as well as being the birthplace of one of the formative influences on my writing and life, Baruch "Deus sive Natura" Spinoza.]

So excited, any other suggestions before I move onto Milan - Bratislava - Vienna - and New York City for Parts II/III/IV and V??

Oh, and on a complete aside, according to a New York Magazine article, after the completion of the latest Fall-Winter couture shows in Paris and Milan, the following are the (ahem, unofficial) Top 5 Fashion Trends for the upcoming fall season, with my personal spin on it:

The Various Fashion Trends for Fall/Winter 2006
(Courtesy of Style.com - Comments and spin by My Canadian Tuxedo)

Trend #1. Knee-high boots - prepare for the Return of the Sky-High Legs(tm), such as at Anna Sui (below), who began to offer the dark hosiery/patent boots option once again. For some reason, even though it's very "pimp", gold and metallics are also making a resurgence. Call me crazy, but I like it! Glam is in!!

Daria in Anna Sui jumper and accessories - my question is this: How will sleeveless fly in mid-December?

Anna Sui gold boots. Because she loves GOLD, bwah-ha-ha!

Trend #2. Black is the new.... black? As there was not much colour on offer at the various runways of Karl for Rochas, Lacroix, Zac Posen et al, it appears that my charcoal and black wardrobe that's been languishing in the back of my closet will see the "light" of day once again. In other words, Goths are it (as in Olivier Theyskens' for Rochas, below):

She looks like she'd be into Marilyn Manson, non? Memo to make-up artists backstage at Rochas - raccoon eye makeup is what happens after the club!

Lacroix also enjoyed plum, turquoise and other jewel tones for his collection. My question is - whhhyy a black pageboy haircut?

Trend #3. The Annie Hall look returns -Unfortch for the rest of the world that doesn't receive the royalties that Diane Keaton surely must for all the blatant early 70s image ripoffs designers have been copping to over the years. Seriously, she was so visionary, doncha think?

Alexander McQueen had tartans, ties, granny boots, and antlers on his F/W 06 runways. Whew!

Just like Diane Keaton, old-school and menswear inspired, eh - seriously, do she and Woody realize how ubiquitous her look would become?

Trend # 4. And the Canadian Tuxedo vote for *WORST FALL TREND*... THE CAPE! How dare they offer this as an "alternative" to my love for tweedy, fall coats! Unacceptable, ugly, unfit in a Canadian deep freeze , but it appears it is (sigh) fast becoming a new trend. Paging the Phantom of the Opera!! Oy, Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs, what were you thinking....? Don't we remember what a bloody fiasco the poncho was way back when? DO YOU?

YSL Fall 2006 shrug/cape thing= ugly, ugly, ugly.. For a variation on the (ugh) trend, see also Marc "I love the 1970s" Jacobs:

Trend #5. Feminine edges and fur-lined cuffs - Some very cute looks were offered from Burberry Prorsum for fall, and included cutesy feminine detailing like bows, puffed sleeves, more empire waists, and... the return of fur? Somebody page PETA, it looks like protests outside of Bergdorf's and Neiman Marcus will abound if they've got anything to say a about it. For inspiration look no further than Gemma Ward on Burberry Prorsum's runway. So cute!

Gemma Ward is cute as a button isn't she. Now this I can see working in a Toronto winter - this is more of what I want to see in Ready-To-Wear!

For more wickedly good posts about upcoming fashion looks for fall, check out:
* Elle Magazine
* W
* New York Magazine
* I am Fashion
* Shoewawa
* Allure Fashion

That's all until tomorrow, folks!

Battle of the Titans

I can hardly contain myself.... it is now 2:33 into the first half of the Portugal-France World Cup match up [click here for a Matchcast and play-by-play]. It is also a little over 3 weeks, 2 days, and 11 hours (give or take) until I take off to jolly old Europe with my lover - the Kiwi - for a few weeks of vacationing and fun in the sunny old country - i.e. Amsterdam-Milan-Vienna and then back to Toronto via... New Yawk City baby!!!!

It's going to be a blast and I pretty much log onto TripAdvisor about 80 times a day to determine where the best spot is to stay in the 'Dam, and what to expect in Vienna? Speaking of Beethoven's former crib, check out these amazing Flickr streams of Viennese landmarks....

I also may be getting a promotion at work, at the Really-Really Big Canadian Broadcaster (full of Really-really Good Looking People), which could mean that I might soon be able to afford a proper notebook computer to post more than once a blue moon! Yessssss, and here comes the sun outside my cubicle window.... whoo-hoo, it's gonna be a bright, sunshiney day :)

* Further posting to come after 4:00 p.m. EDT, when the nail-biting football game has ended. I will either be toasting the French fries with a nice Bordeaux tonight, or it'll be some bacalhau and vinho verde picked up on the way home (salted cod and Portugese wine for the uninitiated)....

Okay, so I'm back and I must say, I FEEL for the Portugese.

Their loss was heartbreaking, their goalie stellar, but in the end they were felled by a brilliant (but somewhat innocuous) penalty shot by the equally brilliant Zidane.

I can't WAIT for the finals!!!! It's going to be a cracking good game between les Bleus and the.... Blues (Azzurri) on Sunday. Even the consolation match between Germany and Portugal is shaping up to be a good one [Source]!

Oh, and a quick note that I need your help determining a theme for this Bloggety blog blog, of which I've been told by the Kiwi, is sadly lacking. I guess random posts about technology, sports, and the history of music isn't a very unifying structure..... so I promise to have something neat and nicely stitched together by the time I get back from vacation / get my new Laptop, whichever comes first....... so MY CANADIAN TUXEDO OVERHAUL TO COME. DO STAY TUNED!

HAPPY EFFIN' CANADA DAY :))))))

A day early, but not a moment too soon, comes a little Canadiana fun today courtesy of CBC News [source]. You can also take Time Magazine's Super Cool Quiz here - there is even a (patent pending) Canada Day Quiz!!!!!!!

Or if music's more your thang, check out Exclaim! Magazine's magazine's interview with Jesse Keeler and Al-P of MSTRKRFT re: their upcoming album.

And raise a cold one this weekend, sleep in extra late all three days if you can, because Tuesday will come soon enough, my dears!

Love,
My Canadian Tuxedo

A crap day indeed

Okay, not only has the sky decided to empty itself on Torontonians who are prepping for the long weekend, it's also a truly sad day - a depressing couple of weeks in fact - as I've learned that not only is the BBC's beloved Top of the Pops to go off the air at the end of its summer run, but now after perusing the Arts headlines at my Neighbourhood Friendly Public Broadcaster it also appears that - barring an Act of Gawd or somethin - four of Toronto's most famous landmarks, the Rep Cinemas, are due to shutter their doors to the moviegoing public. Permanently.

That's right.. the Paradise, Revue, Royal and Kingsway Cinemas will all be closing in short order. UN-EFFIN'-BELIEVABLE! I've had so many milestones at each of those theatres (bonding with my Dad - exchanging my first kiss with a boy - sneaking in to R-rated movies I couldn't see at a 'reputable' theatre) *sniff* it's actually making me quite sad to think what fate awaits these lovely examples of early-Mod architecture in our shining city. Has anyone been to the Eglinton Event theatre lately, cos it sucks now....

Sigh, I guess it's true what they say - all good things meet an untimely end. **Update: As it turns out, the lovely Revue Theatre has been bought for $2.2 million by Theatre D Digital, who intend to refurbish the landmark theatre, loaning out the premises during the day for post-production, and the evenings will remain for the cinema-going public. Yay! Read Hayley Mick's article about the save-the-Revue campaign in the Globe and Mail here.
{Oh, and BTW, the Filter Magazine article about BBC's cancellation of TOTP also links to a Google petition to get Art Brut (they're a band, not some kind of fizzy lager) to the top o' the pops before season ends on July 30. I have to say, their song Good Weekend is fast becoming my ultimate fist-pumping, summertime lovin', driving to the cottage go-to tune. So vote here! And download Art Brut's brilliant auditory masterpiece here.

Peace the eff' out everybody (and I promise to start posting fast and furiously soon).....

Just a quick note....

To remind Y'all that even though me and My Cdn Tuxedo will be up north camping with the Antipodean boy, there's still time FOR YOU to go catch great unsigned indie musicians and up-and-comers in and around the Big Smoke at the NorthbyNortheast Music Festival. For the lineup, check out the Zoilus Toronto Gig Guide and of course, BlogTO for updates.

Among the bands that I'd try to make time to get out and see if I were around:

~ Scandalnavia (what a name!) will be at the Gypsy Co-op (817 Queen W) Thursday, June 8th
~ the Stars' Amy Millan features her solo material at the Reverb (651 Queen W) Friday, June 9
~ MUST-SEE: the legendary Buzzcocks will be at the Phoenix on Saturday, June 10

Really, for a CAD$28 wristband, and entry to over 400 band performances over three nights you can't go wrong.

I've been to Halifax and back....and I won't EAT anymore of my lobster friends lest we meet again.

Just returned from a weekend trip to Halifax, NS for a little wining-and-dining, and quality-time-spending with fam for the middle Archibald sibling's graduation from higher learning at Dalhousie University.
(Egads, he actually has a B.Sc. -- I guess he can out smart me at anything now). Pictures to be posted on Flickr shortly, but just as a little update....

I will performing site maintenance in the coming weeks, adding
~ an RSS feed
~ a music blog called 'I Forget the Directions'
~ more links to the Toronto area, especially up-and-comers in the in the vodcasting and Blogoverse

Also, currently listening to: Baby M by Marumari, and Do the Whirlwind by Architecture in Helsinki (and the excellent new Twilight Singers album Powder Burns);

Currently reading Bob Dylan's biography Chronicles Vol I in honour of his filling 65 years - see May 24th post;

Trend Alert:
I'm also attempting to figure out what Nordic walking is? Witnessed on Sunday afternoon, while walking near Halifax Citadel, it looks like a cross-between X-country skiing and speedwalking. Very odd, and if anyone can shed a little light - much appreciated.

Salutations, as that is all for now.