Titanic

So Erica and Lynx and I went to see Titanic 3D on Tuesday. I was initially reluctant to give James Cameron any more of my money because I still regret strongly the hours of my life I wasted sitting through that blue tinted Pocahontas rip-off called Avatar, but Titanic is awesome for many reasons, the costumes, the love story, a young Leo. But before you go I'd like to remind you of all the horrible things about the Titanic movie so you can prepare yourself:

- the boat sinks
-1, 514 people die
- you hold your breath through half the movie
- the old couple in the bed about to drown
- the mother and two children in the bed about to drown
- the musicians who play until they drown
- the Irish guy who gets shot
- the captain at the helm when the windows burst and he drowns
- Thomas Andrews when he adjusts the clock on the mantle even though he is about to drown
- The foreign man and his son who go the wrong way down the passage and drown when the doors burst open
- the worker in the belly of the ship who doesn't make it through when they close the doors and he drowns
- all the people who fall off the ship when it is at a 90 degree angle, especially the guy who hits the goddamn propeller! OW
- all the people who sit in the lifeboats listening to the cries of the people in the water, and they DO NOTHING
- Jack Dawson freezes to death

Anyways, the first half of the movie is highly enjoyable, but for your own sanity leave after the car sex, as soon as you see that foggy hand print, grab your coat and get out of the theater. That way you can tell yourself that the boat made it to America and Jack and Rose lived happily ever after, and sold the Heart of the Ocean and bought a big house and Jack did nudie drawings of Rose forever, awwww. Also if you were looking forward to 3D boobs, you should know that the drawing scene is not in 3D.

Also- Erica cried at the end of the film. Apparently, it brought back all the trauma of seeing Titanic when we were 9 years old in 1997.

Rock 'n' Roll

So I popped into the Dakota Tavern on Tuesday for the last Weber Brothers show they'll be doing there for awhile. It rocked as usual and they did a nice little tribute to the great Levon Helm.

Space Sounds

I've found a new trick to relieve my occasional bouts of insomnia. Whenever the sandman is being a jerk and refusing to come visit me, I put on this recording of Jupiter's moon Io. Something about it is so soothing, it's like a galactic lullaby. I won't attempt explain to you the science behind how NASA was able to capture the sounds of planets and moons (I barely understand it), but I would like to tell you about the myth of Io and share my favourite painting of the subject.

Jupiter and Io, Antonio da Correggio, c. 1530,
 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

This song ROCKS

If you need a new ditty to jump around and dance to in your underpants this is that song. I've never heard of Vancouver's No Sinner before, but I read that this is their debut single. Way to hit the ground running!

Architour

Today Oli and I totally architecture nerded-out. We did walk number 15 (Queen Street West) from Toronto Architecture- A City Guide by Patricia McHugh. This walk focuses on 20 different buildings around Spadina and Queen. It took us about 4+ hours but we stopped for a long and yummy lunch at Kensington Espresso Bar (we both had the ham, spinach and feta cheese crepe) and we also did a good share of window shopping including poking around the pet shop at the Dragon City Shopping Mall in China Town (they had albino frogs!)

I'll probably post more photos later but I wanted to post about this beautiful Victorian gem on 25 Augusta Avenue. The building has housed the Felician Sisters Convent since 1938, and the nuns have diligently preserved the building, and it is in much better shape than most of its pals downtown. The picturesque house features bonnet dormers, canopied windows, bracketed eaves, filigreed veranda and gabled tower. The house was constructed in 1876 for a Toronto manufacturer named Edward Leadlay.

Beauty History- 1940s Part 2

Some more beauty history because I just love this stuff! Here are some girlies from 1943- beauty pageant contestants from the General Engineering Company (Canada) munitions factory in Scarborough.

 

Wooden Sky- my oh my

Yes YES! A thousand times YES!
This is what I was saying to myself last night at The Wooden Sky show. I am going to explain my reaction in list form for the sake of brevity:
- Opera House is a killer venue
- all the people standing in front of me were shorter than me = great view! (seriously, this never happens)
- solid folk- rock
- delectable vocals from Gavin Gardiner
- tight vocal harmonies
- tasty guitar riffs
- killed it on the fiddle (also- buddy looked like a hobo who used to panhandle near my high school. nice.)
- egg shakers and a wood block
- a little tribute to Levon on the drum kit <3
- a song called "Angelina"

OK- y'all need to go check out The Wooden Sky now because ages ago Will and Courtney told me I'd love Wooden Sky and for some reason I waited months to look them up. Remember, everyday you wait to check out Wooden Sky is a day you could be listening to Wooden Sky. Don't waste your life not listening to Wooden Sky. WOODEN SKY WOODEN SKY WOODEN SKY.

Here's a little video I took:

Goodbye Levon

http://www.ctv.ca/canadaAMPlayer/index.html?video=662754

Levon Helm

Levon Helm's family just announced that he is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. We all need to join together in sending our good vibes out into the universe for Levon. He has not only been a huge influence on me personally but also on pretty much every band and musician I love. Levon wrote some of The Band's greatest songs including "The Weight" "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" "Cripple Creek" and "Ophelia". I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this man and his music and how sad this makes me. I am not sure I am mentally or emotionally prepared to live in a world without Levon and where Justin Bieber is still making music. I will likely name my first born son Levon (although through a quick google search I just found out that Elton John named his son after Levon Helm).

 

Dear Friends,
Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration... he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage...

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.
From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy 

Beauty History- 1940s

Previously we looked at some photographs of the Miss Toronto beauty pageant from the 1930s. Now lets have a gander at some lovely girls from the 1940s!

Mayor Robert H. Saunders with first place winner Irene Ayers- 1946

Egg Races

wikipedia definition- "An egg-and-spoon race is a sporting event in which participants must carry an egg or other roundish object on a teaspoon, tablespoon or wooden spoon and race to the finish line without dropping the egg or without running while the egg is not on the spoon. Variations include using raw eggs, hard-boiled eggs, wooden or ceramic eggs, potatoes or anything small that may be hard to balance on a spoon, such as jelly.^[1] It is generally regarded as against the rules to stick the egg to the spoon or to hold onto it with one's finger."

Easter Fashions

Are you going to church tomorrow? If so I hope you will be sporting a magnificent hat.

Vintage puppies and kittens!!

pictures of kittens and puppies from the Toronto Archives. Why? KITTENS AND PUPPIES!! That's why.

 

 

Forest Hill crew ship's mascot "Sad-Sad" the kitten and "Screech" the Newfoundland Dog. 1945

The strange, strange story of The Shaggs

Last night my friend Ally told me the strange story of The Shaggs. A girl-group in the 1960s, forced to make music by their overbearing father after his mother (a fortune teller) predicted that they would become the biggest pop group in the world. Their father pulled the girls out of school and forced them to practice constantly in the basement of their home. However, while being made to write music, the girls were not exposed to, or allowed to listen to music. The resulting album, titled Philosophy of the World is guaranteed one of the oddest most jarring things you've ever heard.

And here is an interesting interview with the sisters many years later:

http://www.shaggs.com/

Wooden Sky

Got my ticket to Wooden Sky @ the Opera House in Toronto. I am reallllly excited to see these guys live because Gavin Gardiner has a voice like warm caramel! If you like solid folk rock and delectable vocals, check these boys out.

Save our City

I was excited to see this week that the cover story of Now Magazine is

Disappearing Toronto

The real danger of undervaluing our historical architecture 

read the full feature here: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=185978

Beauty History

Beauty Contest, Toronto, 193-?

Have you ever wondered what ladies swim fashion in Toronto was in the 1930s? of course you have! Well, take inspiration from these local beauties. All of these images are from the City of Toronto Archives, which is an absolutely amazing source for vintage images of Toronto. You can access the archives online here: http://www.toronto.ca/archives/photographs/index.htm just hit scanned photographs only when you search. Another resource that is great for finding old photos is the Archives of Ontario http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/92/1/0?SEARCH&ERRMSG=[IMG_WEB]img_simNo.htm

More images after the jump!