news feeds feb 28

--

No, this is a good idea... for reals! A fool-proof plan. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, with more money than brains, has decided to build an exact replica of the Titanic and in 2016 it is set to sail from Southampton, England to New City, the original Titanic's planned maiden voyage. Palmer claims that by 2016, the Titanic II will be the safest cruise ship in the world (Umm… didn't they say that about the last one? I believe the word 'unsinkable' was also a word mentioned to describe the first ship). Palmer commissioned a Chinese shipyard to build the replica in 2012, and while he won't say how much money he has invested in the product, he has noted that he's gotten offers of up to one million dollars to be on that first ride. Bring extra life boats and don't skimp on the Buoy-O-Buoy life jackets. Just sayin'

--

The Oscars, the Rolls Royce of awards shows, took place on Sunday evening with 'Argo' taking home the biggest prize of the night winning Best Picture of the Year. The film pulled off the rare feat of winning Best Picture while its director, Ben Affleck didn't even receive a Best Director nom (that award went to Ang Lee for his adaptation of "Life Of Pi"). Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his portrayal of the the title character in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," while Jennifer Lawrence took home the Best Actress statue for her turn in David O Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook." The other acting awards handed out went to Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) and Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. "Argo" also won for Best Adapted Screenplay while Quentin Tarantino won his second writing award for Best Original Screenplay for "Django Unchained." To be honest, none of the winners were a shock, taking any dramatic elements away from the show, but the fellow who was taking the brunt of the slings and arrows was host Seth McFarlane. Put yourself in Seth's shoes. He is a guy who created a show about a talking dog and a homicidal baby. And you ask him to host a show for a bunch of stuffy 60 somethings (70-80 somethings) and now you are upset because he sang a song about boobs, ripped into George Clooney (RE: dating minors) and Scarlet Johansson's exposed boobs on the internet during his aforementioned song. I'm just saying Hollywood, you get what you deserve. You wanted him to host and now he's offensive and sexist. Tell us something we don't know.

--

Did anyone watch the "Amazing Spiderman" franchise reboot? It was good, despite being completely unnecessary since it covers most of the origin story told by Sam Raimi's "Spiderman" (2002). I didn't despise the earlier films, in fact, I thought the second one was brilliant. However, I was never really a fan of Tobey Maguire, nor did I like the idea of having Peter Parker's first girlfriend Gwen Stacy used to make Mary Jane jealous in the third film instead of including her right from the start. Geek problems. Anyways, whatever, the new incarnation shows a Peter Parker, skateboarder and science geek coming to grips with his new powers. Andrew Garfield was great as the title character, while Emma Stone was adorable as Gwen Stacy and Denis Leary plays her curmudgeonly father, the chief of police. Uncle Ben and Aunt May are played by vets Martin Sheen and Sally Field, who can generally make any film better except for "Soapdish". In the sequel, Jamie Foxx will play the main villain 'Electro' while Paul Giamatti will portray 'Rhino,' It has been confirmed that Chris Cooper will play Norman Osborn (played by Willem Dafoe in the Raimi trilogy) meaning all three of the villains have an Academy Award to their credit so if they can't beat Spiderman they should be able to act better than him.

--

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won some games here and there and find themselves right in the mix of things in the Eastern Conference with almost half the season behind them. Bright spots for the Leafs in the (almost) first half include backup goaltender Ben Scrivens filling is admirably, and at times spectacularly for injured starter James Reimer. In Reimer's absence Scrivens picked up two shutouts and is among the league leaders in save percentage and goals against average. Another bright spot is former franchise goat Nazem Kadri, who leads the Leafs in scoring, and recorded a hat trick in this evenings 5-4 overtime win against the Islanders in New York. The team does have some flaws. They can't seem to keep a lead in the third period, or if they do they cling on by the skin of their knuckles. Goaltending, a major question mark coming into the season, has been excellent but the defence has sprung a leak in the last two outings, giving up 9 goals, way above their season average. And what is going on with Phil Kessel? He's looked uninspired the last two games, and not only that, he has been turning over the puck way too much, more than once leading to goals. Leafs should expect Jofferey Lupul and Matt Frattin back in the lineup soon which means the Leafs will probably have to sit two of their three tough guys, all of whom have been playing great hockey, and not just by fourth line standards. Don't kid yourself, Colton Orr, Fraser McLaren and Mike Brown (not to mention Mark Fraser and Dion) have made the Leafs one of the toughest teams in the league due to their penchant for fisticuffs. Leafs are off until Monday when they take on the Devils.

--

Here's some shows coming up:

Bob Mould March 1: Horseshoe Tavern

Deftones (with Periphery) March 1: Kool Haus

Every Time I Die (with The Acacia Strain) March 6: Opera House

Teenage Bottlerocket (with The Queers) March 6: Horseshoe Tavern

Texas Is the Reason March 8: Lee's Palace

Fuckface Unstoppable (Bam Margera) March 13: Opera House

Coheed & Cambria March 21: Sound Academy

Protest the Hero March 22: Hoxton

Grade & Choke March 23: Mod Club

Lucero (with Shovels & Rope) March 26 & 28

Bad Religion (with Against Me!) March 31: Kool Haus

REVIVAL TOUR Featuring Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Rocky Votolato, Jenny Owen Youns, Toh Kay April 1: Lee's Palace

Today Is the Day (with K.E.N. Mode) April 13: Lee's Palace

Parkway Drive April 16: Phoenix

3 Inches Of Blood (with Goatwhore) May 3: Opera House

The Breeders May 11: Danforth Music Hall

Integrity May 25: Wrongbar

Cannibal Corpse (with Napalm Death) May 31: Phoenix

Bad Brains June 13: Phoenix

Agnostic Front June 15: Hard Luck Club

Warped Tour July 5: The Flats

At the Gates August 9: Phoenix

Bad Religion's "True North" release shows in Toronto & Los Angeles:

news feeds jan 28

Last night the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild awards were handed out in Los Angeles. Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones won the Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively for their roles in "Lincoln." Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her work in "Silver Linings Playbook," and the super boring (no offence) Anne Hathaway taking home Best Supporting Actress for her turn in "Les Miserables." Ben Affleck's "Argo" took home the award for Best Cast, and the latest James Bond film "Skyfall" won Best Stunt Ensemble. On the television side of things awards were given out to screen vets Kevin Costner and Julianne Moore after switching over to the cable miniseries game, Costner in "Hatfields & McCoys" and Moore in "Game Change." Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Claire Danes (Homeland) took home the acting awards in a drama series while 30 Rock stars and the King and Queen of New York Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey swept the comedy series awards. Awards season closes out on February 24th, hosted by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. "Lincoln" has 12 Oscar nominations, while "Les Miserable" and "Silver Linings Playbook" got 8 nods each. "Argo" received 7. 

--

What the hell happened to Sarah Palin? Not that she ever had all that much going for her once McCain lost out to Obama in 2008. Anyways, that kind of cute, intelligent looking woman without actually being too smart is not going to have her contract renewed by Fox news where she served as a correspondent. In 08, it seemed Sarah could do no wrong; she was lovingly mocked by Tiny Fey on SNL, she had her own reality show, and a best selling book out. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes decided to scoop her up quick and even built a modern studio for her in her Wasilla, Alaska home. What is she going to do next? I don't think anyone cares.

--

While director JJ Abrams has been attached to direct the new Star Wars film, it appears the 2015 release date that was circulating online could be premature. Abrams has a full plate (and then some) in front of him with his second film in the "Star Trek" reboot series hits theatres May 17, followed by the inevitable press commitments leading up to and once the film is released then is slated to produce "Mission: Impossible 5" and a third film Star Trek film. "You know, obviously, it's so early," Abrams said. "I can just say what I want to do: I want to do the fans proud. I want to make sure the story is something that touches people. And we're just getting started. I'm very excited." So start speculation on Episode VII's title (from google: The New Republic, Legacy Of the Shadows, Legacy Of the Sith, and Knights Of the New Republic) and get ready for Star Wars: Disney style.

--

Well, this is just brill. A 20 year old prostitute from Portland, Oregon drove 50 miles to meet up with a john who had solicited her via text messages. The address she was given turned out to be the Salem Police Department. She walked up to the building, clearly marked 'Police Department,' entered the station, walked past several uniformed officers before coming to an unmarked door within the station where she tried to get ahold of her client. Once the officers stopped staring at her inappropriate attire they arrested the woman for prostitution and promoting prostitution. As it turns out, the messages were part of a sting operation by the Salem police department who first identified the woman online. Darshhh!

--

Reunited and it feels so good… Actually it's a double Black Flag reunion. Punk rock pioneers Black Flag will have two versions of the outfit performing this year. Greg Ginn, the bands founder, guitarist and principle songwriter has put back together their 1978 with Ron Reyes on vocals to play this summers Hevy Fest in the UK. Another incarnation, this one know simply as "Flag" will include Circle Jerks/OFF! vocalist Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski (who will play in both reunited units) on bass, Descedents/All drummer Bill Stevenson, as well as Stephen Egerton of the Descendents/All playing guitar. Egerton is the only member of the two acts that wasn't an actual member of Black Flag, but if you've ever seen Stephen play, you know he can hold his own with the best of 'em. Looking forward to seeing at least one Flag in 2013.

--

Every Time I Die and Jose Canseco? Amazing.. I don't use twitter but gosh darnit, it makes friends of people who probably wouldn't be friends other wise, which is obviously hilarious. Don't know if this is serious, or a lampoon, but it is pretty funny either way. CHECK IT HERE.

--

08/08 AM notes

You know what $2.6 billion buy you these days? It'll send a little robot (the size of an SUV) to Mars and take pictures (that we could already do with powerful telescopes). It landed flawlessly on the Mars surface and is put work right away; day one the rover is tasked with putting up a high-gain antenna so its transmissions with Earth will be a lot quicker, then it will start to collect weather information. The rover will then cruise a couple miles over to Mount Sharp, which rises 3.4 miles above the base ("sea level") of the landing site, checking out soil samples and the composition of rocks. The aim of the mission is "to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms," NASA said. No life whatsoever, not even plant has been found in any past rovers, have been found on the martian surface even though that's where most people think the Bush-Cheney administration came from.

--

Upcoming marriage? Looking to save money on your catering bill? Now you can! Denny's restaurant has leased a 6,400 square foot space in downtown Las Vegas' new Neonopolis centre that will house a wedding chapel at the centre of it. If the line up is too long at the Star Wars chapel or you can't find enough Elvis impersonators for guests at the Graceland themed one, you can have a wedding cake made out of pancakes! …"It's going to be an icon within Vegas. People are going to travel to see this Denny's. The wedding scene is such a part of Vegas, and who doesn't want a wedding cake me out of pancakes?" says Denny's chief marketing officer Frances Allen. Um, I was joking about the pancake wedding cake. They aren't. If you want your bride to say no, and possibly start seeing a psychiatrist, then for the love of God don't get married there.

--

I saw a headline that said Roseanne reunion. I clicked it, read the story. There is no Roseanne reunion. And that's too bad, because did we get screwed on the last episode of that show. Such an amazing show, even the last season where the Connor's won the lottery and got rich (not like it mattered anyways as it turned out!), and then out of nowhere, it's over. That last episode was one of the most unexpected, shocking endings to a series ever. Or at least for a sitcom about a blue collar family(I'll just post the last episode below - it's one YouTube). Anyways, the Roseanne reunion reported was for the upcoming Comedy Central Roast of Rosie, where she was joined by Michael Fishman (DJ), and the two Becky's, Sarah Chalke and Alicia Goranson. The Roast airs on August 12 and includes roasters Sharon Stone, Carrie Fisher, Katey Segal, Jeffrey Ross, roastmaster Jane Lynch and an appearance by Roseanne's ex Tom Arnold.

--

We all know Daniel Day Lewis can act. If you have seen any one of his movies you know the English star is good (my favourite Lewis character is Bill the Butcher in "Gangs Of New York"). Well, anyone who is a fan should look forward to his upcoming starring turn in Lincoln, slated for release this November. The historical drama has taken years to get off the ground, with producer Steven Spielberg buying the rights to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team Of Rivals," before the book was finished. Apparently, the final screenplay doesn't resemble the 2005 best seller anyhow. The film focusses on the last four months of the presidents life and will hit theatres November 9th.

--

At the Drive In have been playing reunion shows here and there since their show at Coachella and will hopefully be making their way Toronto again one of these days. Here's a new interview with the band for Rolling Stone (CLICK HERE). And a concert stub from last time they were in town… October 24, 2000 at the Reverb (which is now a Crate & Barrel store) for $11! There was a copy of NOW magazine out that week to coincide with their show that had the band on the cover with the headline "THE NEW NIRVANA?" Don't remember what was said, just that they were none too happy about it.  At the Drive In/International Noise Conspiracy/Murder City Devils. Great gig!

--