passenger

no, i am not making reference to the Antonioni film, though this is my plug to see it. It's good. Instead, I am references my introduction to Iggy Pop. here's a detailed rundown:

I walk onto set with the Executive Producer (aka my boss). We go inside, through the set which is in an alleyway. She says hi to a bunch of people and then approaches Iggy who is casually sitting in a chair. He smiles, they banter. She says "This is my Intern Casey". He says "Hello nice to meet you". He shakes my hand. We banter as a group about travel. He does his scene. I watch. I commend him on a great job, and he says "Thanks" and smiles politely.

All in all it was very anti-climatic. We talked to his wife a bit about Mexico City, and Gabriella's troubles with shooting Romeo and Juliet (the Danes/DeCaprio joint). I leave for my work Christmas party. It was fun. I am really glad that he is so personable and nice, especially when you consider his influence on punk music and music in general. I guess I was expecting someone more jaded and drugged out. What a pleasant surprise.

little miss pretention

so TIFF was amazing, going to it and volunteering at it. We did catch only two movies which was sort of a bummer but both were really really good, and Canadian haha. We saw Cooper's Camera and Ponypool. Both films are completely different but it was good to have the directors there to speak. ALSO Brian DePalma was in the audience for Pontypool, which was so cool.

It was really interesting to scan passes and see the types of people reviewing movies. The faces of the people contributing to the scope for film through criticism. I felt like I knew a lot about film at some points and nothing at others. A lot of people use their criticism to reinforce their self worth and their knowledge is not of passion at all. It was for them all about making themselves look good, and the actual movie mattered little. This was discouraging initial but once you dig, the ones with passion reveal themselves. It was refreshing.

I did party at the Park Hyatt, in a dress and heels even. It was an interesting scene, but the rooftop VIP party was so much fun!

Now back to Greek, where in which i will most likely finish the entire 1st season by tonight and then we are hitting up hump day bump at wrong bar. woot woo.

labour of love

labour of love was Sunday night and it was AMAZING.

admittedly, the tickets were very pricey and the line was very long and full of dbags to get in. Johannah and I went with Adam, Ashely and Becky and the hardest part of the whole thing was staying in a group. The venue was the guvernment, and i have never been in a place so big. The min room itself was big, but there were different kinds of bars throughout the whole things, even on the roof. Mstrkrft was in the tent and we caught him, which was pretty sick.

Then the best part of the night for me, Steve Aoki. For the first part we were at the very front dancing it up, and periodically he would jump from the table his DJ set was on and party with the crowd. At one point he fell on some people including Johannah, and then i accidentally groped him....okay well sort of accidentally.

After the epicness of Aoki, it was 5 am and we decided to leave. The party was until 9 but we had seen all we wanted, and all the rockstar/red bulls were starting to wear off. We wondered aimlessly for a bit, overly excited with what we just experienced. Jo and I caught a cab and found the nearest place to eat, which happened to be the Golden Griddle. It was amazing, the whole night. We wondered home and got into bed very happy at 7 am.

dissing the kids on degrassi

Johannah's mom is knitting me a hat. This is pretty much the most exciting thing ever to me right now.

Aside from such epic news, the Faint show was brilliant. They played a solid set, and every single song I wanted to hear, save Symptom Finger. The crowd was really into it too which was good because they are one of those bands that depend on a dancy atmosphere to be entertaining live. The use of video projections was actually really cool too, so much so that i caught myself staring at them instead of the band.

I am gearing up for TIFF which is something I was wanted to do for years. I'll most likely get to see three films with my hectic schedule but they are pretty much free for me AND Jo (im nice like that) for volunteering.

We did go see Hamlet 2 during Ralfie/Rafie/Rafael's visit. it was mediocre, but i had very low expectations. The visit on the other hand was good, we had fun. Raf came for a brief stop over from Brazil and now he is en route to Vancouver. Actually he left yesterday so I am assuming he is there by now.

I should tell you too that you should listen to Delta 5. I was at work and my coworker put it on and I liked it. I've listened to The Slits before, but not this band and I cant stop listening to it. Their debut single "Mind Your Own Business" is savage.

OH and Thania's wedding went over nicely. I am anxious to the sweet video footage I took haha as the videographer. I am glad I now have a tent, because no matter what I will never live in a box. It's like social security. Hahah. just kidding...sort of...

The Great(est)

i haven't updated in a very long time. mostly, i am not sure why i haven't except for the fact that I have been either too lazy or too busy to. I do work a lot, especially on Wednesdays, when my shifts are 13 hrs.

i just watched Paranoid Park, which was a very good film. If you've seen in, than you know what sort of state of mind I am in. Yes, i'll admit, films do have that effect on me.

I've spent most of the past month thinking too much about nothing, and having lots of fun with cool people. Vague, I know. I've been craving more specific and epic adventures but my current position forbids it. Not that I am trapped or things are mundane, in fact i've been feeling the complete opposite of those two. It is just that, instead of necessarily indulging in a brief and gloriously fleeting moment, I can only sit back and enjoy the ride. I am "driving", though, to use a cliche metaphor.

I did see CSS/The Go Team, which was really fun, especially CSS. Loverfoxxx is a very engaging performer, and I appreciated their energy on stage.

I've seen obscene amounts of movies, so I won't even go there.

I will say this, though. Big city living never ceases to amaze me. Mostly because with all of these people, I've never felt so comfortable being myself and being content here. All of the things i've left behind, a short 2 hr drive, have left me completely. The ones that are still around, obviously I miss dearly and still feel a connection to, but I have lost connections with so many things in the best way. Specifically, the negative. If memory is at least a little malleable, then why not shape it positively?

things have been busy stop friend rafael is visitng stop it has been fun stop will fill you in later stop

attack of the flies!

there are a lot of flies in my room. not fruit flies, fatty flies that look they have been eating away like piglets. i can see their arms move when i look at them, and then i kill them one by one. the only thing is that there are so many of them, buzzing around, catching the corner of my eye. the most annoying kind of bug on the planet in large numbers in my room. but why?

i've scoured my room looking for food. nothing. nadda. zip. it is messy i know, but there is not food laying about, just little papers i jot movie codes down on for work. if not the food then they are attracted to the light, but they still evade me. i question friends, and i worry. i thought i killed them all the other day. where are these flies coming from in such great numbers? through my window, perhaps.

should i sleep tonight? i must. should i worry? is this healthy? will there be more flies in the morning, buzz around. up my nose, in my ears. they are fatty flies. the john goodman of flies. if these flies were human they would have trouble fitting through door frames, and sitting at restaurants. are these special metro toronto flies? they can't be. what have they been eating and where is it hiding?

my room feels clausterphobic because of this problem. no room for the new DJ set yet. lame. i will be cleaning until i sleep...which will probably be in the near future. i need to get rid of this problem. ill by fly tape tomorrow.

July! July!

Two plays were seen, on last night and one the night before. The one last night, Zombie Dialogues, was amazing. Sometimes Fringe Festival events are a gamble but this one had me laughing most of the way through. I mean, come on, it's Zombies, what could go wrong really?

The second was How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Abortion, which seemed really controversial but wasn't. Still, the story provided an interesting take on the matter but wasn't as entertaining as Zombies.

I missed Ladytron's free show, which was a drag, but thats the fun of taking a Friday night shift, not that I could say no.

OH and I got two free turntables, so watch out for my DJ debut in the near future. I am still taking suggestions for DJ names.

I keep forgetting to update, mostly because I am away from my computer often, but I promise soon i'll hae pages and pages of fun cool things ive done. Just you wait. haha.

post apocalypse parade

wake up, sort of. worry about money, payments missed, but not mine. back to bed, let's try this again.

let's drink wine and make matching shirts. let's coordinate colours. lets meet up with some friends. j behind starbucks. lee's palace. cherry bomb.

the dj's were good, the crowd eventually arrived and fun was definitely had. the weekend looked very promising. let's celebrate being us (and not them?).

then came another j behind starbucks, are we trying to make a political statement? no. let's get stuck in a half-broken shopping cart and take pictures. hilarity ensues. head to get food with a shoddily drawn map. it tastes like treasure. let's listen to some dbag trying to sound smart and tops it off with an ill-placed use of "postmodernism". head home, not mine though.

wake up. flood. fuck. let's try this again.

wake up. get ready and go to the dyke march. they're cheering for us. happy. excited. i'm speechless.

run into everyone I know. j on private property. ICE CREAM. delicious delicious ice cream and cake. hotel room. uh huh her concert. strive to catch a glimpse, just a glimpse. stand in line for Snatch. cheese and crackers, how practical. get in to wait some more. hurry up and wait? silence.

head home, wallet lost. fuck. sleep.

wake up, figure it out, and eat an overly priced buffet. miss the parade. it's looks like we survived an apocalypse. everything is less illuminated, but we soak up the aftermath as best we can. let's meet up and burn one. wander and then home.

hbox the car? why not. to the beaver, wait in line. the woman is a spectacle, as she talks to us about the evils of the white man. she also apparently slept with alexander the great. i wonder how close genius and insanity are. drink inside. head to the rooftop.

the four of us, on a roof top with parts of the city in a view i have never seen. i reclaim my perspective.

Days are seemingly bleeding into other days, and by the time I have a moment to write it all down i realize an entire week has passed. At any rate, a recap is necessary, but I am not making any promises in the way of chronology.

Jo and I went to go see Young People Fucking (the movie, perv). It was very hyped for me, so I thought it best to see it. In the end, it really did live up to what I was expecting, and its tongue-and-cheek approach to certain things with an honest approach to other really worked well. It 's a film that stay on one topic, while simultaneously showing how complicated it can be in a multitude of (heterosexual) experiences.

The other day there was a rainbow in the sky and Johannah said "aww there is a rainbow in the sky for pride...take THAT christians", which was amusing. Speaking of Pride, I must say that I am very exited for this weekend. Not only will I get to see the parade, but i'll also get to see many of my awesome friends.

I worked at two different stores this weekend, covering shifts, one on Queen St. W and the other on College. The one of Queen St. was fun, but my usual store on Bloor was definitely the best to be trained at. I like it.

I just watched Bickford Schmeckler' Cool Ideas, and I really liked it. It was quaint and the soundtrack was amazing (the faint did the first song, so i knew i'd like it). I heard of the film awhile ago in my Olivia Wilde crushing days so I was glad that my store had it. Woot Woot.

Speaking of the Faint. Their new albums comes out the 5th of August and I am very excited. They posted a new song on their myspace, which i never go on but I made an exception for them. I'd suggest listening the "The Geeks Were Right". For reals.

"Try to get the blonde, she looks like a young Monica Vitti"

Thank you in advance to Officer Wang, who kindly not only found my wallet and got in contact with my parents (which i am excited/surprised was in my wallet) but for the money that is still apparently still intact. Tomorrow I have to phone around, but I am confident it will be in my hands, and all will be well. I suppose I should thank some higher being, but in the end this just fortifies my belief in things working themselves out eventually.

Lately some have been commenting on my need to mention films in this blog, about my life here in Toronto. Since I am almost always a character of routine, I'll continue with said theme. I just watched The Squid and The Whale. Noah Baumbauch really had me wooed with Kicking and Screaming, and this film followed the same melange of wit and comedic sense of irony while simultaneously maintaining a consistent direction. Seemingly shocking elements are given a mundane twist through use of an overanalytical and unemotional dialogue which proves both interesting and entertaining. I really enjoyed the Monica Vitti reference too (obviously haha). In short, you should see this film.

I also watched the documentary Dig about The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre. It was really really interesting, and I am glad that Dan from my work (shout outs) recommended it.

E to B

Last week was pretty hectic, mostly because I worked everyday of the week. Last weekend was fun, we went to go see Death Cab For Cutie/Stars/Rogue Wave/Young Galaxy. It was actually a phenomenal show and at a perfect location.

Yesterday after some wandering we went to go see the Happening. Wow. It is messed up, and really graphic. There are some truly frightening parts and some funny parts. There is an interesting mixture of horror with Mark Wahlberg playing his character from I Heart Huckabees. It was a ride though, i'll say that much. Then we headed off to the Beaver for drinks with friends.

I also just watched Control. It was a really dark film, and the choice to have it all done in black and white added to the melancholy feel to the film. So many things lay unfulfilled in the story, but I guess that is inevitable when dealing with a film that ends in a suicide about the lead singer of Joy Division.

there is a light that never goes out

Jo and I went to go see Rilo Kiley, which was fun, very spur of the moment, and pretty much everything I expected it to be.

I have been working a lot lately, which I don't mind since I love my job. I am currently watching Death Race 2000, and reaping the benefits of free movies really makes me feel like I am carrying on my film education. The basics are covered, and now I get to converse with people about what to watch and have immediate access to it. I am however, sad that I am missing my store's sweet DVD sale (thats like 2 DVDs for $6), BUT i have to miss it on account of my convocation.

I am pretty excited to graduate officially, and I even got a sweet outfit to wear. I can't believe it's final but at the same time i catch myself saying thing like "back when i was in school" like it was ages ago to customers.

ps- life is pretty much awesome right now. awesome in that comfortable happiness that happens at the beginning of summer, where there is always so much to do, but when it comes time to relax, it' possible too. Conversation is so easy because there is less thought about time, for me. There is only floating through an immediate happiness, and I am just enjoying it at this point, ya know. And because of that, I can be confident in what's in store.

sigh.

accidental music

for the past few days i've been sleeping at jo's, so i haven't been near a computer. hmm where to begin. i've had an amazing time.

i worked tuesday-thursday. one of those nights we watched Rocket Science, which was amazing. I admittedly have a thing for Aaron Yoo but beyond that the film was very well done and showed considerable depth without being overly sentimental. The soundtrack was also very good.

We went to Dance Cave on friday night after we saw Razzle Dazzle at insideout. The film was very well done, and hilarious, but admittedly i have a predisposition to Australian accents in comedies. DC was fun. This guy totally looked and me, then Johannah, then me, at our hands together and then us again and then left. It was funny, to the point where we joked about it. THEN the next day we went to a party and guess who walks in the door. We actually asked him too, if he was there last night and he totes was. Speaking of the party, it was rad. Right near a hipster party though. AA fashion show to the max with an average age of 19. We did go to some random guy's house above the party, enjoyed some tunes.

Yesterday we saw Femmetastic! at insideout. I will hold back too much ranting, but I have to say that we really have to move beyond a butch/femme binary. What was so offensive was that most of the short films in the program tried to pass themselves off as being revolutionary. Bring proud of being femme is one thing, but doing so only in relation to butch is hugely counterproductive and not at all progressive in my opinion. Yes, femme lesbians often have to deal with the validity of their sexuality being questioned, and get a lot of flack for "passing" but shouldn't we invent new ways of talking about identity beyond such prescriptions. If we are so fucking liberated by coming out in a sexually oppressive society, then lets not use its words to describe how and why. We did talk to the director of the best film in the program, and she gave us some hope for the future of queer female filmmaking.

So i needed my filmic pallet wiped after some ranting with Krista and Jo and some ice cream/book shopping. we watched Smart People. It was good but an hugely hurried ending. Ellen Page showed depth and was not at all a Juno type character. I was happy.

ps the subject title refers to seeing Los Campesinos briefly, and Chantal Kreviasik (or whatver) while finding Jo in Dundas Square.

cinephelia in cycles

many awesome filmie adventures were had in the past couple days. FIRST, i met John Greyson which was exciting. it was very quick since he was going into the theatre, so i just basically ripped his ticket. still, it was good. I worked the filmmakers brunch as well and talked to some cool people. So many of them were supportive, and were actually interested in what we were doing too. Volunteering at InsideOut was so encouraging. Plus, people I was volunteering with were so cool, and I hope to see them in the future.

The other day we saw Nosferatu with the music from Radiohead's Kid A and OK Computer (dubbed "Kid Vampire") at this place on Bathurst called 'Cineforum', which is basically this guy's living room. The chairs are nice office chairs and he has a big screen and a projector. It's right across from the beer store, so the guy who runs it told us to get beer, which actually costs less than getting theatre snacks. Not to sound like an alkie, just sayin'. We now have memberships so hopefully we can go again in the future.

Yesterday, we saw Patti Smith: Dream of Life at InsideOut. The tickets were free, so that was already amazing but the movie ended up being really really good. Poetic, informative and interesting. Her philosophies on life, especially when talking about inner narratives was particularly interesting. Some live footage, and cameos provided good accents to the film. I'd strongly suggest seeing it, if you ever get the chance.

Toronto has provided endless fun, and I am glad the DJs play good music. We went to Sneaky Dee's and they threw some Hole and Pixies in the mix which was good. The Beaver had some good tunes as well. Other than that, I have just been experiencing the city as much as possible as well as film festivaling and working at Queen Video. filmgasms, all the time.

punchbugied by a stranger

the other day, Jo and I were walking down the street and I saw a beetle so i punch buggied her. As I laughed and walked a bit ahead, another man talking on his cell phone proceeded to punch buggy her too! haha! you know you must be AMAZING at the game when even people you don't know are beating you.

in other news, i adore my job. I work at Queen Video on Bloor St. (drop by if you are in town) and I am starting to get the hang of everything. I'll be working those 12hr shifts in no time. I also get to talk about movies with people, which is a big highlight. AND i get to rent out free non-releases too. The people I work with are chill and we get to play our own music. Usually something hilarious happens every hour. Yesterday this girl came in and told us to remove another girl from her account, because she hates her now. She wanted to give us a picture just in case this girl tried to come in, but we kindly told her it wasn't necessary.

OH AND, to add to the excitement of my life currently, when Jo, Krista, Vic and I were at the Gladstone this guy came and gave Jo and I free tickets to the Patti Smith documentary playing on Monday. I only get so many tickets volunteering at InsideOut, and I though i'd have to miss it. Thankfully i don't. Today is my first shift volunteering from the festival at the ROM, we'll see how it goes. I have to work on my last shift, and they are already short on volunteers, so I feel bad but money overrules.

everyone should check out Ghost of The Russuan Empire. they are a great band, very dark.

bread becomes toast

the past few days have been filled with interviews and a lot of wandering. it has been really fun though, exploring the city.

so many random and funny things have happened though. on the street car last night, Johannah and I were DYING because this super lanky kid was talking to his mom on the phone. What as so hilarious was the fact that he was practically screaming, and getting so worked up over this one conversation. He kept saying "I have a backpack!! A backpack!!" "Mom, I am on the bus!! the bus!!". We both had to hide our faces because we were laughing so hard.

next order of business, Shy Child. amazing band. you should love them, especially if you are into electroclash with guts. I located the entire CD at it is pretty good, robot rock never sounded so good, i'm sure.

you can check it out here, and other tracks. this blog is always good to look over.
http://theyellowstereo.com/?p=2591

O'G(r)a(d)y's

fun was had last night. much fun. Vic and Krista and I hit up O'Grady's to eat some good food and drink some beer. the usual, just a different city. we then went to Slack's for a bit. apparently we were being loud an obnoxious because the table next to us apparently gave us weird looks (unknown to me). One of them said "good luck on your exams" as we were leaving, i think she was trying to take a stab at us. I wish i heard it initially so i could reply "i finished them a week ago!" haha.

today i had to go to the public library to print off my resume. turns out you have to a) wait in line with a 30 minute pass to use the computers and b) pay 20 freaking cents per page. 20 cents, on campus it was 8! ri-diculous. so i decided to print off just one copy and photocopy it for a mere 3 cents a page down the street. my first round of job hunting that followed went okay, though nothing too promising. at Queen Video they did ask me my favorite directors/movies which was exciting. i thought they might but i wasn't totally prepared so i just wrote down 6 of each. hopefully the film degree will help me! haha

ALSO, i had a funny moment at the library. In the film Monkey Business there is a scene where a young kid speaks and has an old man voice, which ends up sounding hilarious. While waiting for a computer there was this kid playing online games. He was dressed in cargo pants and a puffy vest and looked about 10. His mother came to pick him up and she told him his had to end his game. I was expecting a whiny "10 more minutes mom!" voice, but out comes the deepest voice I have heard in a long time. It was like Barry Manilow low. all i can say is that it took a lot for me not to laugh out loud.

"The summer movies are going to be off the chain dog"

Walking down Queen St. West was a little weird today. I was putting up posters for Inside Out which required me to walk a huge portion of the street. I felt a little self-conscious initially because everyone seemed to have that hipster look to them, but all in exactly the same way. I am not too naive to believe I am an individual, but i didn't think I would fit in so well. The problem is, there is nothing comfortable in my opinion about fitting in with thousands of strangers. It's not like I am going to change my style, and I can make use of all the sweet stores a block from my house, but it was certainly an experience.

I went to a bar last night. I met some cool people thanks to Vic, and one big lesson I learned it is that yesterday's scars are tomorrows friendships.

I also watched West Side Story. For the most part, every character in the film is not the least bit attractive, except for the two lead characters. Even then, they have unique qualities, but Natalie Wood definitely looks better in Rebel Without A Cause. Also, I want Action's sweater in the opening sequence.

fire! fire! fire!

while walking home, i heard tons of fire trucks and saw smoke. I couldn't tell where it was coming from though, because it was really windy. living in the big city, there seems to be excitement around every corner!

i am officially a volunteer for the Inside Out Film Festival, which is pretty exciting. I'll be ripping tickets, postering, and working the parties. One of the events is the filmmakers brunch, so hopefully I can meet some contacts there though we'll see. There was a girl at orientation that had an "I Survived Jurassic Park" t-shirt on. glorious. i think i am going to like this city.

i really despise Clap Your Hands Say Yeah because Alec Ounsworth's voice sounds like your dog chewing the shit of a novelty chicken that makes noise when you press it. The music itself is good, but his voice is atrocious. I don't get it, is it some indie kid competition to see who can withstand awful (avant-garde?) music the longest. If you like donkey voice, go for The Decemberists.

the first full day...

My friend Krista took me out on the town today, which was fun. We went to a really good sushi bar. At said sushi place, i definitely went the wrong way looking for the bathroom and walked through a sketchy area in the basement filled with several different rooms. The waitress literally had to find me wandering, and take me to the washroom.

We then grabbed a beer at The Horseshoe Tavern and then headed to Timothy's to meet up with some cool people. On the street car ride I not only ran into Jordan, some random person was like "you are Tanea right"...i actually don't know how to spell it but she pronounced it Tah-Nee-Uh. We went to Tangos for 10 minutes but Krista left the bar briefly to take a phone call and then couldn't get back in to the bar so we peaced.

ALSO, i discovered a new comic book shop (well new to me) called Labyrinth. The guy was really nice, and helped me fine the volume of Fell and gave me a free magazine. I also went into an Asian film store and picked up 4 movies for 10 bucks (Battle Royale 2, Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance, In The Mood For Love, and Seven Samurai). Most of those films were suggested to me by awesome people so i have a lot of movie watching to do. I have to at some point cancel my zip.ca account, but not before watching Revenge of The Nerds.

Here is a mix of five songs I adore currently:
1. Becky - Be Your Own Pet
2. The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Is That They Die) - Pony Up!
3. We're From Barcelona - I'm From Barcelona
4. Killer - The Job (i just saw this band at the richmond taven, very good show)
5. Wolves In The Garden - The Deadly Syndrome

http://www.mediafire.com/?tp1mc51tgja

quick note

okay, so i made it to Toronto in one piece and am settling in nicely. Today i wandered around for awhile, after thinking i locked myself out of my house (apparently my key opens more than one lock). I also randomly got pink in my hair because i spilled Mac eye shadow in a little box and in the process of putting back in the container i got it on my fingers. I THOUGHT i washed it all off, but then when i went to adjust my hair in the mirror, i noticed it. i really hope it comes out, but the hilarity of the situation is sort of worth it.

I went to Queen video also, and felt immediately at home. They even have a Faster Pussycat Kill Kill poster on their wall. It is signed, but i am not sure if it is by Meyers himself.

I'll fill more in later, but now i have to get ready. OH also, if you are in Toronto, I live on Markham St. (in Portugal Village) so if you are near there give me a call!