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Possibly The Best Video Ever

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:13 +0100

Please check out this youtube video of spiders being studied under various psychoactive and otherwise intoxicating substances. The findings are very true to life, and downright hilarious. I'm absolutely flabbergasted at the quality of research put into this particular study, and urge you all to take a close look at what could provide fascinating insights into our own lives and livelihoods together.
I'm almost at the point of weeping, it's just such a beautiful and harrowing tale that these spiders tell.
Like an episode of the Wire when a main character finally gets got, or when they introduce another layer of time traveling paradoxes in Lost.

Podcast

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:54:05 +0100

In news that may or may not be related, depending on how cynical or optimistic you might be, I recently recorded an interview with ex-Headstones singer and Flashpoint/Hard Core Logo star Hugh Dillon, for my inaugural podcast entitled "Sex, Drugs, and Spoken Word".

Mark Linkous Dead @ 47

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:59:00 +0100

Terrible news to report: Sparklehorse genius Mark Linkous, perhaps best known for that Wish You Were Here cover with Radiohead, was found dead Saturday after committing suicide in his Knoxville, Tennessee home.

His recent collaboration with Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse, Dark Night of the Soul, is coming out shortly.

Blue Jay Bats Come Alive

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:09:16 +0100

While the Jays had at least two offensive juggernauts by the end of 2009 in All-Star starting Second Baseman Aaron Hill, and .305 average, 35 home run hitter Adam Lind, they were still a shadow of the team they might have been at the plate. Gold Glove center fielder and former 30/100 man himself Vernon Wells was recovering from a wrist injury that underwent surgery in the off-season, and bright light Travis Snider was still struggling with coming into his own as a power hitter in the major leagues.
The signs from early on in spring training, however, are very encouraging.
Last night versus the Detroit Tigers, Toronto's bats sprang for 13 hits and three home runs in an 8-5 trouncing of the tabbies who just failed to make the post-season last year in a one-game playoff against the Minnesota Twins.
Making the difference for the Jays were the very same Wells, swatting his first home run of the pre-season, as well as Jose Bautista's second, to give the utility player five RBI's, matching young DH Randy Ruiz who had four on the night.
Brian Tallet, everyone's favorite lanky lefty starter took the win despite giving up four runs in only two innings of work, landing him with an 18.00 ERA. As a team the Jays struck out eight, two of which were Tallet's, while Jason Frasor, Scott Downs and Shawn Camp each pitched one of Toronto's five perfect innings.

Don't Mind Destroyed by Time

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:48:00 +0100

It's finally through.
The shortlived career of Don't Mind Dyin', spanning less than two years, has come to an end.
Last night at the Jimmy Jazz in downtown Guelph, one of the fastest growing metal phenomenon's in the region called it quits, as previously reported on this blog.
The Time the Destroyer opened performance was a genuinely sold out free show, christening the Jazz's brand new PBR tap, and it was a stellar night. Free t-shirts abounded, bouncing off the walls all night from the merch booth, and the entire building, staff and patron alike, were a frenzy with excitement.
Top it all off that pre-teen heart-throbs Abandon All Ships had played an early evening show at Vinyl just before things got underway at the Jazz, and the recipe for classic concert-going was in effect.
Tragedy did ensue however.
Don't Mind's set was most un-righteously cut short 30 minutes in due to their gear being completely blown. Now for a band that says their main intention with the music they make is to be as loud as humanly possibly, that's not an unfitting fate for a show, but for nearly a hundred screaming, moshing, hungry for thunder fans watching their best friends and favorite band's final fairwell, it's pretty damn sad.

Fortunately, at least there's another band called Don't Mind Dying in the States.

Marcum's Back in Dunedin

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:52:34 +0100

The Toronto Blue Jays continued pre-season action today, clobbering the New York Yankees 9-1 with the help of young but nearly forgotten starter Shaun Marcum, who came back to pitch for the first time since 2008.
Marcum pitched two scoreless innings, allowing only one walk and striking out two, showing that the Blue Jays may have more help for the bullpen this year than has been expected since Marcum and Dustin McGowan were announced to be missing out on the entirety of the 2009 regular campaign.
Check out the box-score here.
The Jays are 3-1 in Grapefruit League play so far, but we all know the real deal doesn't start until the regular season... Or for fans who remember the Blue Bird's collapse last year in May after being number one in Major League Standings for all of April, not until October.

Spoon Fed

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:57:12 +0100

If you're anything like me, you're interested, expentant, and maybe even a little sceptical about the new Spoon album that's just come out, called Transference.
We all know that Kill The Moonlight, the Austin, Texas band's 2002 masterpiece, was, well, their masterpiece, and that Paper Tiger from that record is the best song they could possibly produce, and that people going GaGaGaGaGa over Gimme Fiction and it's single I Turn My Camera On thanks to the OC and the likes, are a little late to the party.
But that shouldn't change the fact that Brit Daniel and co. pulled off this fairly wicked performance on David Letterman's Late show.
Check it out yo.

Full Disclosure: Canadian NCAA Threat

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:57:40 +0100

With electronic media being a dodgy source for legitimate information and news at the best of times, I feel it's necessary and even to a certain degree benevolent for internet sources to be up front about any conflicts of interest that arise out of their publishing of issues that may be, for lack of a better term, close to the heart.

So I'll come right out and say that this next item, though not without value as a general piece of Canadian trivia, is of particular interest to me in particular because it regards the life path and trials/tribulations of my mother's brother's son.

Cousin Jared, at three years my junior, has always been better than me at basketball. Maybe when I was in second grade or something I could sneak a game of horse or two out of him, but it wouldn't have been long after that since I'd been physically and athletically dwarfed by him.

Flash forward to a couple years ago and Jared's playing D1 ball at Lafayette on a scholarship.

Highlites from this year include his being NCAA top 50 in shooting percentage well into February this year. No small feat for a youngun from Marlee and the jungle.

Recently, the one sports magazine I bought for years as a teen, Slam published an online story about Jared Mintz.

How dope is that?

Check it out on me ;)

Wilco Lawsuit Pending

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:46:02 +0100

PFM reported yesterday that Toronto's Bloor St. W. by Palmerston is now home to Sky Blue Sky Sandwich Shop, a restaurant that features food exclusively named after songs by the great American rock band of our time, Wilco.

Though the best songs referenced in sandwich form are 'She's a Jar', 'Outta Mind (Outta Site)', 'California Sun' and 'Mermaid Avenue', these are obviously huge Wilco fans. Unfortunately, no food is represented by songs from the recently bygone decade's bonafide best album, 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'. So how big of fans can they really be?

More importantly, a lawsuit is sure to come.

Blue Jays Update

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:14:55 +0100

The regular Baseball season is just about underway, with Spring Training action begining tomorrow in Dunedin, Florida, and here's a little feature I put together on the subject for CJIQ 88.3 FM.

The source material is from a sit down that Blue Jays front office held at the Skydome last month called State of the Franchise.

Check out the short piece here and find the full feature from Blue Jays dot com here