Viva l'Italia

what a fantastic world cup...

may the best looking team win...oh wait....they did!!

I've got nothing to say...

...but I haven't posted at all in May and May is my favourite month and now it's almost over.

I want to know why people keeping going away. Is this a sign that perhaps Toronto isn't the city for me? Maybe I should get the fuck out too. God knows this city makes me unhappy.

So a couple of weeks ago I made the mistake of driving down to the paramount theatre to watch a movie on a saturday night. At 10.30pm. Of course, as soon as I turned on Richmond, I got pulled over at the R.I.D.E. program for having a headlight out. And because it's a "no tolerance" zone he gave me a ticket anyway (how was I supposed to know?). Do the police in this city have nothing better to do? So now, I have to take time off work to make an appointment for a court date which is going to take 6 months to be scheduled. Then in 6 months I'll take more time off work just so I can go down there and show them a reciept for having had the headlight fixed within 15 days. Just so you know, I take a day off work and I don't get paid. Anyway, we were, at this point, 5 minutes late for the movie but decided to go anyway. Not having driven down to the paramount in years I decided to park at the paramount because I remember it not being too expensive. As I drive in I look at the price: $25 dollars. Are they on crack??? I turned around and got the hell out. No movie for us that night.

It's too bad...I don't often go to the movies...but when I do, it sure as hell won't be at the paramount.

There's hope...

Strangers with Candy is one step closer to release.



It hits theatres June 28.

Staggettes, sadness and early morning returns

So my friend Anna is getting married. She's shagged...*erm*...snagged herself an Australian which means she'll be moving back to the backwards country at the end of May. She's in town to ship the last of her things that represent her time in Toronto back to her parent's place in Calgary. I'm really happy she's here but it's also filled me with sadness because when she goes I won't see her again for a very long time.

Losing one best friend to more exotic places is hard enough...two in a week is madness!

Anyway, last night we had a get together for her with lots of champagne and cigarettes and I am never smoking again. I've said that before, I know, I know...but I think I've been turned off again. And it's a good thing because I'm on a slippery slope and I can feel the addiction trying to take hold again. Bad, bad, cigarettes.....how I love you.

Ladytron, Adam Green, and the big white elephant

I went to the Ladytron show the other night not because I'm a big fan but because my best friend is leaving for London on Tuesday and I won't see him for a long, long time. And I'm sentimental that way. It was actually a really good show and now I need to get their album. They weren't nearly as electronic as I expected which is good.

It's always a treat for me to see all the fashion victims at these hipster shows, partly because I used to be one of them and partly because I love to people watch. There was always a part of me that knew I looked a little over the top but I was so drunk that I just didn't care (or was oblivious). Having a good time was all that mattered and boy, did I ever have a good time. Just ask Adam Green. ;) I think that these people know they're over the top and everyone in the venue knows it too but nobody really talks about it because that would be catty.

oh well, whatever, nevermind...

This is the man that will now be in charge of 25% of the Nirvana publishing catalog.

It seems Courtney needed some help administering the estate...or replenishing her bank account, either way, get ready for a barge of commercials featuring the greatest hits of Nirvana. Mennen will finally be able to use the song which was named after it's deodorant. yay.

For the full story click here

The Junos

I didn't watch the Junos but I heard that, as usual, it sucked.

Imagine my surprise when this morning, I was watching the news and I heard that Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene won for Best Songwriting and Best Alternative Album, respectively.

I guess the Junos didn't suck after all.

Deadly Snakes and Dirty Toes

Spring is coming. That doesn't mean that it's here but for some reason when the temperature goes above 10 degrees, women in Toronto feel the need to wear sandals.

Yesterday it rained for most of the afternoon and evening...yet I still saw too many women wearing sandals simply because it was 17 degrees. Now that's all fine and good....we have long winters here in Canada and we get excited when it starts to warm up but for god's sake it's still only the beginning of April! And if you must wear sandals, get a pedicure! There's nothing more unattractive then showing off toes that have been hidden away in socks for six months with the remains of last summer's nail polish chipped away.

Eww.

On another note, does anybody have the new Deadly Snakes album? It came out a few months ago and I hear it's pretty good. I really enjoyed their concert and the songs seem to be very danceable (which is unusual for Toronto music).

Nobody's going to be mad. Everything is going to be alright. Just come out of the closet.

Some of you may have heard about the South Park Scientology episode...the one that Issac Hayes (Chef) quit over...the one Tom Cruise tried to have pulled (and was successful). Well, here it is and it is pretty funny.

Lipstick & Fashion

So last night I went to the most excellent cd release party for Lipstick Machine's very first album, rm. 111 (part one): lipstick kisses and suicide smiles. As expected it was a great success.

I was told that last week was fashion week in Toronto and it got me thinking about what Torontonians wear. Are we fashionable? I think we are, absolutely. But do we know our limits or what looks good? Not so much.

Last night I saw Britney Spears. Well, not literally...but a Britney Spears look-a-like circa 2001. I'm sorry, but hot pink belly tops and two-toned hair are not what I call up-to-date fashion, but if you insist on dressing like this at least make sure the your pink polka dot purse is the SAME pink as your belly top. Sheesh.....

And then there are the guys...enough with the shaggy hair with a deep part so that the hair covers most of your face and we can only see one eye. It's boring and looks too manufactured.

Last night, I was also witness to a revival of beige suits which I don't mind...I quite like the vintage look as long as it fits you properly. There's nothing less attractive than a guy in a suit that's too big for him. It makes him look as though he's playing dress up in daddy's closet. I don't want to take that home.

And speaking of vintage, one or two vintage pieces to complete an outfit are great...a whole outfit consisting of vintage pieces from different decades is not. The vintage look has been popular in Toronto for about 4-5 years and I feel it has run its course. It just ends up looking contrived.

It's sad but Toronto fashion is unremarkable. People are either trying too hard, or they only wear what they like, not what looks good on them. It's much better to wear something classic that suits your body type than trying to squeeze into those ultra low rise hip huggers (why do they still make those???).

Our Lady of Perpetual Success

I confess...

I came late...

It is fantastic...and she's done it again.

Carnevale

So The carnival is now over....and I'm exhausted.

I can't even begin to describe how incredible it was and the pictures don't even do it justice but I'll post some for ya anyway.

These pictures are of the actual parade they have every sunday. The first float is the one that won first prize. The second is the one my cousin and I were on. The festivals they have at night are even better but I don't have any pictures of those because there's too much confusion and my camera definitely would have gotten lost or destroyed.

Candy for Strangers

Finally!

It looks like "Strangers with Candy" is coming to theatres this summer. If you haven't seen this show yet, I suggest you head down to your local video store and rent it (provided your local video store isn't Blockbuster, in which case you should find a better video store...one that doesn't censor their movies....and Blockbuster probably wouldn't even carry SWC).

For more info, go to: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1524005/02082006/story.jhtml

Apparently Australia Loves the Hoff too

It seems his career has moved from Germany to Australia.











Here's the blurb from http://www.thesuperficial.com

"Here's an image from what is apparently an ad campaign in Australia. It looks like the Hoff is about to get raped by a giant Pepsi bottle. And he's decided to sing about it. I don't know what in god's name he's doing with the microphone stand, but the bottle sure seems to enjoy it. If that doesn't make you thirsty, nothing will.
Thanks to Andrew for the tip."

Me Teaching

My friend told me about this website (well, through her blog...is that still "telling"?). I thought it was a pretty cool website...

http://spstudio.linda.hosting-friends.de/spstudio.html

You can be your very own South Park character!

Broken Social Scene and Nutella Sandwiches

So I saw broken social scene in concert last weekend and it was a fun night...Mostly because of the company.

They played a good show but we were standing up at the front and there was a lot of feedback and it was so loud that the music became incredibly distorted. At one point we couldn't tell one song from the next! Finally, after losing some of our hearing we decided to stand at the back (why didn't we think of it sooner? Oh yeah....Hi!). Anyway...I couldn't help feeling like the Friday night show was a dress rehearsal for the Saturday night show. Feist was great though. She's got an amazing stage presence....I could watch her perform all night.

As we left the concert it started to rain and instead of taking a cab we decided to walk to union station...It was only drizzling after all. Yeah...well...2 minutes in a drizzle isn't a big deal....15 minutes in a drizzle is total soakage. Needless to say, I've been battling a cold ever since.

Here's a cool waste of time website http://www.thesuperficial.com/
Check out David Hasselhoff's cover of "hooked on a feeling" (originally performed by Blue Swede and on the reservoir dogs soundtrack). Why does he still have a career? Is he really still that big in Germany?

Everymone must go to White Castle!

last night I watched harold and kumar go to white castle. I've wanted to see it for a long, long time and it was definitely worth the wait.

it's a top notch stoner comedy.

Sometimes trying something new isn't always a good thing

how craptastic can the new strokes album be?

more craptastic than live it out.

more craptastic than standing on the shoulder of giants.

more craptastic than showgirls.

my love affair with the strokes is over....sigh~

(I'm actually starting to like live it out...maybe the same will happen with first impressions of earth?)

Can't get enough BSS

I know some of you want to know what else I'm listening to but to tell you the truth, I'm still listening to broken social scene. It's under my skin, what can I say?

But if you really need some new music try final fantasy. it's a guy with a violin who sings over sounds that he looped through his instrument...I think there are drums in there too. I saw him when he opened for arcade fire and it was pretty impressive.

Last night I watched a few episodes of strangers with candy. If you've never heard of this politically incorrect (to put it mildly) show you must rent it. It's the heart warming story of an ex-crackhead whore highschool dropout who goes back to school. Good times.

~vanessa

Yay for Concerts!!!

I love going to shows.

sometimes you discover a new band that makes you feel new or makes you think about things or makes you let go with abandon.....whatever it is an emotional response has been created and then every time you hear that song or that band you remember.....

on saturday I went to the diableros cd release party. lipstick machine opened and they played one of their best shows ever! grassy knoll and the magic bullit from london were there to take in the show and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed their show at the cameron house a few months back. if you live in london and you hear about a grassy knoll show, GO! they are a lot of fun live and noel, the frontman, is very witty and very much has the right rock star attitude. it's not often that the frontman heckles the two stoners sitting in the back booth of the bar!