CB2 Comes to Canada

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This past Friday, I headed down to Queen and Bathurst to the old Big Bop building to check out the new CB2 store, the first one in Canada. CB2 is a more urban branch of the Crate and Barrel brand which first opened it’s doors in Chicago in 2000. This year, they are expanding into Canada, opening stores in Toronto as well as Vancouver (in February).

CB2 has done an amazing job and renovating and revitalizing the old building, peeling away the purple paint and showcasing the original brick. The store is large and spacious spanning two floors and is filled with some amazing CB2 merchandise.

Visiting the store last Friday, I bumped into a lot of friends and took mental added a whole slew of merchandise into my own mental wish list. If you haven’t checked out the store yet, it’s worth a visit. You can follow the Toronto CB2 store on twitter @CB2queenwest and don’t forget to visit their website for your chance to win a $500 shopping spree.

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Reel Asian Film Festival: Passion Pick Flicks To Hold a Birthday Candle To

November 8, 2011 By 3 Comments

You know you’re in for a good time when a birthday is involved and the same applies to a film festival.   Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival will be celebrating it’s 15th anniversary starting tonight.  Unlike a human teenage counterpart it’s us that will be spoiled rotten over the course of not just one day but spread across six.

Being as lucky as a waving cat I’ve been able to tear a whole in the movie gift wrapping about to be dished out in the downtown core.  Here are my top picks from talent near and afar.

Not even an image can keep this fellow static and still!  Bashing out a silent beat above is Mr. Kwon.  You might not remember him with his now silver locks but jump back in the YouTube time machine with the dial set back a few millions views & tune in to the 1970′s on TV in Toronto to jog your memory.

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Filed Under: Blog, Film, Queer, Toronto, YouTube Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Halloween 2011

November 3, 2011 By 1 Comment

In the Toronto, there are two important events in the queer community, Pride, which is like Gay New Years and Halloween which is like Gay Christmas. Church street shuts down to traffic and the people, both gay and straight take to the streets to celebrate. This year for Halloween I went with two different costumes. On Friday night, I attended the PitBull party at the courthouse in my army gear and on Halloween Monday, I dressed as a lumberjack and took to the streets with my Canon 5D mrkII.

The camera is new to my arsenal, and for the longest time, I told myself that video on an SLR was not a feature that I would really want or use. I was surprisingly mistaken. During the evening on Church Street, I shot 45 video clips and zero photos the whole night. Below is a video edited by my sister Kidkulit and shot by yours truly capturing the vibe on Church Street during Halloween Gay Christmas.

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TIFF Part II: Short Cuts

September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Eleven days of movie eyeball absorption later TIFF is put back in it’s pretty (Light)box for another year.  Watching way in to double digits is the norm that leaves you unable to focus on a finger at the end of your snout.

Unable to see so many features I took a short cut to keeping my film talley strikes high by attending the programme with the same name.  Averaging 7 per session I managed to amass 21 to my total.   The common theme of the dark & macabre yet visually stunning ran through all of those which I saw.  Here are the highlights from the land you call home:

Patch Town – Programme 1

Cabbage patch & garbage pail kids combine in a dark parallel universe where babies are harvested from leafy greens in a musical adoption industrial fairy tale.  In Soviet Russia blog reviews you…the vegetable also had a come back in Programme 6 with Little Theatres:  Homage to the Mineral of Cabbage with delightful subtitles & miniture animation.

After deliveries from the stalk the grim reaper balanced out the head count.

Lie Down and Die – Programme 1

Not the most cheeriest of titles but beautifully shot, the first film from Ryerson grad Kyle Sanderson, explored a cursed family tree falling fowl of murder & bizarre bad luck.  My favourite comment on the YouTube trailer is “Get Up and Live” which is an amazing motto & ultimately what the short achieves for the lead.

Tabula Rasa – Programme 2

Wet sets of awe.  A flooded town of stubborn people are lost to the waters before ascending led by a sparkler crowned goddess.  Gallons of fun.

The Pedestrian Jar – Programme 2

A Public service announcement inspired, office interview styled film which is a little too close to what the monstrous motorists on the roads of Toronto are percieved as being from a cyclist & those less four wheeled.

Pathways – Programme 6

The biggest jump moment of the programme.  Frustrations at home & inability to express emotions at the kitchen table take a school boy’s adventure in a forest to a dark conclusion.

We Ate The Children Last – Programme 6

Sci-Fi transforms Hogtown literally, with pig augmentations leading to green bin dinners.  Much more than the G20 stand in riot shots.  Left craving a full length porcine feature.

Trotteur – Programme 6

A snow covered train race epic.  Passion Vs. steam power closed the series.

I’m looking forward to see these short cuts grow in to long slices.

Filed Under: Blog, Film, Toronto

The Gladstone’s Melody Bar sings a new tune.

September 19, 2011 By 1 Comment

Over the last month, you may have notice how much quieter it was on the corner of Gladstone and Queen West. During that time, the Gladstone Hotel had shut it’s doors to the Melody Bar to renovate and rejuvenate the space. Gone are the bulky booths, the worn carpet and the dark ceilings, replaced with a variety of softer seating options, crisp white ceilings and a beautiful terrazzo flooring. Finally, today after a soft launch this past weekend, the Melody Bar is going to be celebrating it’s relaunch.

Upon entering the room, you immediately notice how much brighter and spacious the room is. The old bulky booths on the left has been replaced by more functional bench seating, giving the space much more room to breath. You also notice the shiny terrazzo floor which has been uncovered from the original building and resurfaced and repaired which is a huge improvement from the old carpeting that once covered the floors. What I found most striking about the room was the felt installations by artist, Kathryn Walter. It definitely adds movement to the room and totally distracts you from the fact that they have brightened up the ceiling in white, getting rid of the dark ceiling that was their before.

Personally, I think Christina Zeidler, the owner of the hotel and designer of the room did an exceptional job of really renewing the space, without completely changing the space and making it feeling foreign, instead, I feel like the room is brighter, more spacious and more inviting. It should be interesting to see how well it handles a huge crowd of people.

Tonight, the Melody Bar will be open to celebrate the relaunch. But if you can’t make it tonight, make sure to check out some of the other great programming planned this week.

Mon, Sept 19
Melody Bar Relaunch Celebration
Free | Melody Bar | 930pm

Tues, Sept 20
Tweetgasm 2.0 – Melody Bar Relaunch Edition
Free | Melody Bar | 930pm

Wed, Sept 21
Harvest Wednesday Feast
$70 per person | Melody Bar | 630pm

Melody Bar Relaunch with Light Fires & DJ Phil V
Free | Melody Bar | 10pm

Thurs, Sept 22
Toronto Blues Society presents Robin Banks with Teddy Leonard
Free | Melody Bar | 930pm

Fri, Sept 23
Gladstone World & Batuki Music Society present the Donné Roberts Band
Free | Melody Bar | 9pm

Sat, Sept 24
Mill St. Country Saturdays presents Joanne Mackell & Tru Grit
Free | Melody Bar | 930pm

Gladstone’s KARAOKE Relaunch: Pop Culture Edition!
Free | Melody Bar | 11pm

Sun, Sept 25
Mill St Acoustic Family Brunch
Free | Melody Bar | 10am

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The Toronto Botanical Gardens is Buzzing with Bees

September 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with the bees at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. I got to see the inner workings of two hives and learned a little bit about it’s thousands of inhabitants and of course it’s Queen. Never having been stung by a bee, I was a little reluctant, to check out the hives, but once there, a natural hum takes over your senses which totally relaxes you.

This season, the Toronto Botanical Gardens had scheduled 6 public sessions with the bees which includes all sorts of education on what is in a hive and how to extract and handle bee frames from a hive. For example, did you know that bees don’t like it well you blow on them. And they disperse when you do.

This Sunday, September 18th, the gardens is holding their fifth bee session, and likely the most fun and delicious of the sessions, the Honey Harvest. In this hands-on session participants will sort and pull the capped honey frames, remove the wax cappings and extract the liquid honey in the TBG kitchen. The session runs from Noon to 4pm and costs $35 to the public or $30 for members.

For more information on the bees program and all the other interesting programming at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, check out the schedule here.

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Remembering Jack Layton

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Not really being home much over the last week and a half, I never got a chance to post this photo of Jack Layton from Pride 2006.

Jack, you were an amazing leader, you were such a giving person and overall, Jack was likely one of the nicest and most accessible politicians I’ve seen. You sir will be missed.

Filed Under: Canon 20D, Photos, Toronto Tagged With: ,

Exhibit Highlight: Fellini Comes To Town

July 13, 2011 By 1 Comment

There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life. -Frederico Fellini

I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t say that Fellini is one of my favourite film Directors. His work has influenced and inspired many filmmakers, actors, and fashion designers.  I was overwhelmingly excited to hear that TIFF Bell Lightbox was presenting Toronto with a grand collection of Fellini films and a Fellini Exhibit: Spectacular Obsessions.  The exhibit runs from June 30 to September 18 2011, showcasing the influence pop culture and celebrity had in Fellini’s films, but most importantly how Fellini influenced pop culture, reality television, and “the celebrity”.  Through drawings, photographs, original film posters, Fellini’s cartoonist work, interviews an clips from films, we are introduced to the mastermind’s thoughts, inspirations, and influences.  Noah Cowan, the exhibit organizer observes:

This exhibition takes us through the different ways in which the great Italian director made work that continues to inform popular culture today. From the paparazzi to celebrity reality TV, from HBO’s Rome to MTV’s Spring Break, they all owe a debt to Il Maestro Fellini.

Of course, Spectacular Obsession is accompanied by a curated film programme.  If you have never been introduced to Fellini’s work, make sure to check out La Dolce Vita, La Strada, and 8 1/2. TIFF is also holding several Fellini inspired events, such as; La Dolce Vita – Food and Film and Fellini Dream Double Bills. If you are looking to further your Fellini exhibit experience, TIFF is inviting visitors to Tweet their obsession–using the #FelliniTIFF hashtag and attaching an image.  The visitors’ responses appear on the big screen at the Bell Lightbox.

What’s your obsession?

Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Culture, Film, Toronto Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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