it was good

We went out with Elizabeth & John last night. We met for dinner at La Luna and then met up with Kim at The Casbah to see The Sadies. I've been lucky enough to see this band live a few times now and they are awesome. Their music is hard to describe but their are hints of surfer rock, country and bluegrass.

I took a pictures last night but they're pretty crappy so here are a few I took of them at the Grand Stage Music & Arts Festival this past summer in Paris, Ontario.

Travis Good

Dallas Good

Sean Dean & Mike Belitsky

The Brothers Good

They had a fantastic opening act too. A band I had never heard of called Young Rival. I picked up their EP. Turns out they are a local band, hailing from Hamilton. I was really impressed. Check them out.

it's not unusual...

One of my favourite Tuesday rituals is to check out the new releases on iTunes. Today I was not disappointed. Tom Jones has released her first studio album of new material in 15 years. I downloaded it. And it's awesome.

I have to admit, it's also a bit of a nostalgia thing for me. I remember watching the re-runs of Jones' variety show This is Tom Jones, that originally aired from 1969-1971. I remember the skinny stick-like microphone he used, the untied bow tie he often wore around his neck and that near the end of the show he would mop the sweat off his face with a towel and then throw it to some woman in the audience who would shriek in delight. Just the thought of it totally cracks me up but back then it was so cool. And even now, at the age of 68, he can still illicit the same kind of enthusiastic reaction from an audience. As far as I'm concerned, that's the mark of a true entertainer.

oom pah in the park with Ned

I've blogged about my love for Sesame Street and The Muppets before, but I just had to post this. Steve has a much better memory for TV stuff than I do. I didn't really remember Simon Soundman until he reminded me and we looked up the clips on You Tube. Here's one of Steve's favourites.



Awesome!

comedy tonight

Steve and I have been pretty busy this weekend purging, cleaning and re-organizing the house. As a treat, we are heading into Toronto tonight to see comedian Gerry Dee at the Panasonic Theatre. You might remember him from Season 5 of Last Comic Standing. Really funny guy. Here's a teaser.

laughin'

Another quick post between conference events.

Seth MacFarlane is one funny man. He's the guy behind Family Guy, one of the funniest shows on television, as far as I am concerned. Recently, he started his own You Tube channel. Great stuff and here is one of my favourites.

this is what my youth was for...

I am a big fan of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. I've loved both shows for as long as I can remember. Steve bought me the first season of The Muppet Show on dvd and we spent the better part of a rainy day at the cottage watching it. I was reminded that one of the most brilliant part of the show was the celebrity guests. From Vincent Price to Harry Belafonte to Madeline Kahn to Alice Cooper, the lineup of guests was incredibly diverse but always excellent. Each guest always fit into the show perfectly. So when I heard that Feist was appearing on the first episode of the latest season of Sesame Street, I went straight to You Tube to find the clip. And I was not disappointed. Check it out.

we know the game and we're gonna play it

I'm not sure that I understand the phenomenon of the rick roll, but it totally cracks me up. If you haven't experienced it yourself here's how it works. You will be lured to a weblink thinking it is one thing and it turns out to be the video for Rick Astley's 1987 hit song, Never Gonna Give You Up. If you take the bait and click the link, then you have been rick rolled. I myself, because I am completely naive and gullible, have been rick rolled. Several times. And I laugh my ass off every time. I was just rick rolled a few minutes ago, but it wasn't the original Astley video. Instead, I got this.



Hilarious! And just in case you are interested, here is the original clip.

and I feel fine

I am listening to the brand new and long overdue R.E.M. album, Accelerate. If you were ever a fan of this band, you will love this recording! And if you are too young to know who they are check it out anyway. And then go back in time and listen to Life's Rich Pageant, Document, Automatic For the People and Out of Time just to mention a few. And then explain to me why there is so much shit on the radio these days. The world needs more music like this!!!

And while you're at it, check out this important message from R.E.M. front man, Michael Stipe. :)

i can see clearly now...

Before I was a cat owner, I would have found these cute and funny. But now it means that much more.





Created by Simon Tofield.

that's just the way it is...

As you can tell, I'm spending a bit of time on You Tube and Funny or Die tonight. After listening to an episode of the Daily Source Code Podcast from last week, I felt compelled to look up some George Carlin. This man is brilliant. Here are some examples. (Not work or kid safe.)





And one of my personal favourites. No video, but worth a listen.

early one morning...

The following article appeared in the Globe and Mail yesterday. (I have included the text below since the Globe cuts off access to non-members after a number of days.) For those who did not grow up in Canada, The Friendly Giant was a wonderful children's program that ran on the CBC from 1958-1985. I have very fond memories of this show and can still see Bob Homme's (The Friendly Giant) smiling face. There was something warm and comforting about the Giant and his faithful puppet companions Rusty and Jerome. These clips I found on You Tube will give you the general idea of what this show was all about. I had nostalgic tears in my eyes watching them. (Although the commercials for Fraggle Rock and The Beachcombers that begin the first clip did make me laugh my ass off.)





I was pretty disappointed when I read this article. Not in the CBC. The only thing the CBC did wrong was not ask for permission to use the puppets. But come on people! Doesn't anyone have a sense of humour anymore?

EDIT: Just found the offending clip on You Tube. Judge for yourself.




Rusty and Jerome will live happily ever - after the CBC
GAYLE MACDONALD
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
November 27, 2007 at 1:04 AM EST

Two of the most enduring characters in the history of Canadian children's programming, Rusty the Rooster and Jerome the Giraffe, are about to quit the building. The children of actor and Friendly Giant creator Bob Homme, angered by the CBC's recent treatment of the loveable puppets, are removing them from a museum at the public broadcaster, their home since the iconic program debuted in Canada in 1958.

In an e-mail to The Globe and Mail, Mr. Homme's daughter, Ann, asked for assistance tracking down a video of the recent Gemini Awards, which included a skit showing Rusty, Jerome and other stuffed stars now living in a retirement home after their shows were cancelled.

From friends, Ms. Homme had heard about her dad's puppets appearing in the mock clip, where a narrator described them as sitting around, drinking, smoking and having sex.

Rusty and Jerome were not shown engaging in any salacious behaviour.

“The appearance of the puppets, alone, shocked me, as the CBC is required to get our permission to use them in any way… This is the last straw (a big one) and I feel I have to address it,” Ms. Homme wrote.

“Until recently, we were contacted by the people at the CBC museum, where the puppets are on loan, by a very conscientious woman who seemed to guard the Friendly Giant display with her life. Recently, she was let go, and replaced by someone who seems to think our permission is unnecessary. Needless to say, I am going to remove the Friendly Giant props and puppets as soon as possible.”

Ms. Homme and a brother plan to remove Rusty, Jerome and other Friendly Giant paraphernalia from the CBC Museum Tuesday.

Monday, in an internal memo, the CBC communications group invited staff to “say goodbye to Rusty and Jerome in style,” at a midafternoon ceremony at the Graham Spry Theatre, where milk and cookies were served while classic episodes of Friendly Giant ran on a continuous loop.

“While you may have bid farewell to Friendly when you left your childhood behind, this afternoon, you'll have an opportunity to say goodbye to the real Rusty and Jerome,” the memo said. “After a lengthy stay with us here in the Broadcasting Centre, these iconic creations and other Friendly artifacts, which have been on loan to the CBC museum for many years, will be going home – at the request of the family of the man who made them famous,” the memo said.

None of Mr. Homme's family attended.

For 26 years, young viewers were greeted by the tune Early One Morning as Friendly (played by Mr. Homme) lowered the drawbridge on the miniature castle. He would invite them to have a seat: “One little chair for one of you, and a bigger chair for two to curl up in, and for someone who likes to rock, a rocking chair in the middle.”

Then: “Look up, look wa-a-ay up …” and there was Friendly, soon joined by Rusty, a guitar-playing rooster who lived in a book bag hung on the castle wall, and Jerome, a giraffe with blue spots who stuck his head through a nearby window. The two principal puppets were manipulated by CBC radio veteran Rod Coneybeare.

Mr. Homme produced more than 3,000 episodes before the show was cancelled in 1985 after deep cuts to the CBC budget. Mr. Homme was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1998. He died on May 2, 2000, of prostate cancer, at the age of 81.

In her e-mail to The Globe, Ms. Homme called her father “a truly gentle man” who “never caused much of a fuss.”

“But I can assure you,” she wrote, referring to the Geminis, “that he would be very angry about this breach of trust.”

comedy tonight

I'm off to an evening with the girls tonight so rather than a proper post, here's some more comedy for you. Tim Minchin is an Australian comedian, musician ,actor, writer, all-around hysterical guy. My blogfriend Pel introduced me to him (thanks Pel!) and I have spent many hours on You Tube watching Tim and laughing my ass off. Here are a couple of samples for you.

my lyrics are bottomless...

Yes I am behind the times but in the past few days, I have seen several references to Flight of the Conchords. These guys are FUNNY!!! Business Time seems to be their big hit and it rocks, but the following video really made me laugh. Enjoy!

everyday I write the book...

I don't read nearly as much as I would like to (or should) but I've always been a huge fan of Douglas Coupland. He is the brilliant Canadian author of Generation X among many others. His latest book, The Gum Thief, was released on September 25 and was promoted via You Tube. What, you say? He used a video sharing site to promote his book? Oh yeah! Coupland released 9 videos over a 3 week period that feature him reading clips from his book set to video. Did it work? Who knows? I, for one, did not find out about the campaign until a month after the book was released and only thanks to a news article on CBC. While the videos are a clever promotion, I wonder if they actually helped drum up any sales that the book would not have received through traditional advertising means.

Here are all of the videos squished into one, for your viewing pleasure.

almost as beautiful...

So I'm still a bit bummed about missing Blue Rodeo's series of guerrilla concerts throughout downtown Toronto on Tuesday. Then I checked my You Tube subscriptions and found this piece of footage from the concert outside of the ROM, steps from my office. It broke my heart to watch it. I so should have been there!



I especially love what Jim says about The Crystal. ;)

There is also footage of them performing "C'mon" outside of the Eaton Centre. Check out the Starfish Entertains page for more!

I'm listening to the new album, Small Miracles, as I write this. And it is fantastic! Blue Rodeo fans will not be disappointed.

And I will lay off Blue Rodeo as a topic for a while. Promise.

I even get excited when I see the North Pole...

I love You Tube. Especially when I come across gems like this.



Oh how I miss Corky and the Juice Pigs!

these shoes rule...

This one's been on You Tube for a while but I recently rediscovered it and laughed my ass off. Definitely influenced by Kids in the Hall but very original and funny!



More at Liam Sullivan's website.

squirrel cam

Life has been crazy hectic lately and I'm behind on a ton of stuff. Especially the blogging. I have about 10 posts in the works but can find the time to get them done. For now though, I will entertain you with a little video I took up at the cottage.

stir it up

Obvious advertising for a product but pretty freakin' entertaining. Check out this YouTube channel.

My personal favourites are the iPod, the tiki torch and the magnets.

whatever you do, don't do that

But wait. There's more.

Yet another Canadian songstress thought it wise to cover this classic rock anthem.



I must admit, that this one isn't nearly as horrible as the Celine Dion version, mostly because the backing band, Alison Krauss and Union Station, are fantastic musicians. But as much as I love cover songs (and believe me, I'm a cover song junkie) there are some tunes that should be left alone. So people, please, for the love of God, stop covering this song!