halloween news feeds oct 30

Halloween is tomorrow. Different origin stories are floating around online but our version of Halloween is more than likely based on the Celtic festival Samhain. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of that year. It was brought to North America in the 19th century by Irish and Scottish immigrants where it was confined to their communities and by the first decade of the 20th century it was celebrated by people of all types from coast to coast. We also didn't adopt the turnip as our jack-o-lantern of choice, but the pumpkin which was much easier to crave, you can make amazing pies with them and the seeds are delicious when baked for 10 minutes with some salt. And like any other holiday (is that what it is) there is boatloads of Halloween themed TV shows. I only mention this since the new South Park finds Randy Marsh buying the closed down Blockbuster Video store in hopes of reviving the rental business in South Park, while Stan, working at the store on Halloween, still goes trick or treating as Captain America via Facetime on his iPad with the rest of the gang. They need Captain America to complete their group of Avengers thus a sure win at the schools costume contest. Great parody of 'The Shining' and my favourite episode of the show in some time. Randy Marsh episodes are always key. You can stream the episode HERE from The Comedy Network.

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Hurricane Sandy didn't stop to NYC funnymen from performing their late night duties without an audience, even pausing for laughs, despite (and similar to other nights) there are none. Jimmy Fallon and David both braved Sandy to deliver their monologues to an empty studio. Denzel Washington even showed up to Letteraman's set in a yellow rain coat quipping that he had swam there. "Only for you, Dave." Millions were without power, but the show must go on, and Fallon felt that maybe people needed some laughs after a long, wet day. "I'm assuming that people at home will be watching either on their laptops get their generators out… and they're going to want to leave room to laugh," Fallon said. Good job Jimmy, and David for still putting on a great show even though no one was there to watch it. True pros! Here's some footage:

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Mickey Skywalker and Princess Minnie. That sounds horrible. George Lucas has potentially bastardized the Star Wars legacy even more after selling his company, Lucasfilm for a cash and stock deal valued at $4 billion. Disney now has control of the entire Star Wars franchise as well as the even bigger merchandising operation. Disney also scored a legendary special effects studio Industrial Light and Magic, and the Skywalker Sound audio production studio. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believe that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime." He will act as creative consultant on the already planned Star Wars: Episode 7, the first of a planned new trilogy, with the first one coming out in 2015 if all goes well. "The film is in what I'll call early-stage development right now" said Disney CEO Bob Iger, but Lucas has mentioned for years the he has treatments for the seventh, eighth, and ninth instalments. And it'll be nice to get Mark Hamill some work. Here a staged 'candid' interview with George Lucas and the sale put up on the Star Wars website today:

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In an upcoming TV interview with David Frost, ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney claims that Yoko Ono did not break up the Fab Four, eliminating the second biggest reason for people to dislike her. Her "music" is still the biggest reason. "She certainly didn't break the group up. I don't think you can blame her for anything," adding that Lennon was definitely going to leave. "When Yoko came along, part of her attraction was her avant garde side, her view of things. She showed him another way to be, which was very attractive to him. So it was time for John to leave." The interview will air in November. Here's there song "God" from the Plastic Ono Band (Lennon and Ono's group) first album, released in 1970. "I just believe…. in me… Yoko & me.." Great song, classic album. The only John & Yoko record that is pretty solid front to back. 

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Swedish darlings, the Refused are f*cking dead. Again. After pleasing punk and metal heads alike by announcing their reunion at Cochella then a full tour they have decided to call it quits again. This news break the same day Pennywise announces that former frontman Jim Lindberg is rejoining the band after they released an album mere months ago (that was better than anyone could have expected) with Ignite frontman Zoli Teglas. All is not lost though, since Hot Water Music has announced their first headlining tour in eight years over the winter, with a stop off at Toronto's Danforth Music Hall on January 29th. 

Some upcoming Toronto shows:

Nov 01: Napalm Death, Municipal Waste @ Opera House

Nov 07: Dethklok, Machinehead, All That Remains, Black Dahlia Murder @ Sound Academy

Nov 08: Gallows @ Lee's Palace

Nov 13: Motion City Soundtrack @ Mod Club

Nov 14: Bob Dylan @ ACC

Nov 15: Trash Talk @ Annex Wreck Room

Nov 17: Dropkick Murphys, Teenage Bottle Rocket @ Hamilton Convention Centre

Nov 17: K.E.N. Mode @ Garrison Room

Nov 21: Henry Rollins @ Glenn Gould Studio

Nov 25: Motionless In White, Stick To Your Guns @ Mod Club

Dec 08: Conor Oberst @ Massey Hall

Dec 09: Job For a Cowboy @ Annex Wreck Room

Dec 12: Killswitch Engage @ Opera House

Dec 14: The Flatliners @ Opera House

Dec 15: Madball, Figure Four @ Annex Wreck Room

Dec 26-29: Alexisonfire @ Sound Academy

Dec 28: Rusty @ Horseshoe Tavern

Jan 29: Hot Water Music @ Danforth Music Hall

Rock & Roll!

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Congrats to the San Francisco Giants on winning their second World Series title in three years. The Giants completed the sweep in the tenth inning of game four in Detroit to clinch the series. No one really expected this, but it has been a post season of unexpected moments, from the Athletics stunning run to the Tigers demolition of the hated Yankees. But the Giants really were the most remarkable team of the 2012 post-season. After having to real off three straight wins against the Cincinnati Reds in the divisional series, they were facing a 3-1 deficit against the Cardinals in the NLCS only to storm back and take the series in seven games. They truly showed that you need shut down pitching to win championships and they did just that with all four starters pitching terrific, and Barry Zito, left off the 2010 championship teams playoffs roster, was lights out all playoffs long. Who would have though they would have won the Series when their two time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum was pitching out of the bullpen because of struggles with dropping too much weight in the offseason, came to camp much to small and proved ineffective finishing the campaign with a 10-15 record. He pitched well in the playoffs giving up 5 runs in 17+ innings of work and pitched 4.2 innings in relief against the Tigers in the World Series and surrendered just a walk. In fact, the Giants pitching held Detroit's potent offence to a horrible .159 batting average. Pablo "Panda" Sandoval was crowned World Series MVP on the heels of this 3 home run, 4 hit performance in game one. The Giants have a young team and could be on the verge of legacy status if the win one more series in the next season or two. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 2010 & 2012 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

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And for those of you who like the nostalgia sorta thing (and if you were growing up in the 80-90s) here's a couple Saturday morning Halloween specials for you to check out, thanks to YouTube!:

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news feeds june 19

Nik Wallenda completed his walk across a 5 cm wide cable from the American side of Niagara Falls to the Canadian side. It took him about 25 minutes, and he looked pretty calm during the walk, even fielding questions from his father and an ABC broadcaster. The walk was 550 meters long, and he was just getting peppered with mist from the falls below him. Always the patriotic watchdogs, Canadian officials greeted Wallenda after the walk to inspect his passport, which checked out. "I'm not carrying anything over, I promise, " said Wallenda, completely exhausted. They didn't check out to see if the safety tether was stuffed with narcotics or Philadelphia cheese steaks. Speaking of that tether, it has been a point of controversy, but ABC refused to air a man potentially falling to his death, and I think that's fair. Wallenda went on to say that the tether is extra weight that might throw him off, and although he was initially disappointed about the safety measures, he said it "is what it is." But safety harness or not, he didn't ever come close to falling so it is an incredible feat nonetheless. 

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Well, we're all doomed. Our very own Milky Way galaxy, home to Earth, is on a crash course with the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy in about 3.75 billion years. I'm not saying we should move to another galaxy or anything, but they are thinking that the two galaxies might actually merge and for a super galaxy not unlike some kind of Star Wars or Star Trek scenario. Unfortunately, a galactic merger takes about ten years longer than a corporate one, (two billion years) giving the stars time to realign themselves into new orbits around the super galaxy's new galactic centre. Simulated collision from NASA: CLICK HERE

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An Apple I computer, circa 1976, just sold for $374,500 at an auction in New York this past Friday. The archaic piece of tech history was expected to fetch about $180,000, then doubled when a bidding war broke out between two buyers, then an anonymous telephone bidder phoned in and scooped up the computer. For that price, you could buy 750 iPads, 1880 iPhones or about 650 shares of Apple. The computers were sold at a Silicon Valley computer chain Byte Shop, when the store of Paul Terrell ordered 50 computers at $500 each (retail $666.66) and Steve Wozniak and the late Steve Jobs assembled them in 30 days. The duo also pieced together another 150 to sell to friends and other stores. The Apple I was basically a chipset that had no monitor, keyboard, power supply, casing, but boasted 4KB in memory (which couldn't run a calculator).

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In other tech stuff, Microsoft unveiled their new tablet called "Surface" to go along with their new operating system Windows 8 coming out later this year. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the new product was the ultimate merger of software and hardware. Ok. The models shown included a kickstand that allows the device to stand up and a cover, that's detachable and equipped with a keyboard. The device is also quite slim, at a mere 9.3 millimetres thick. The tablet is bound to do better than Blackberry's dismal Playbook, and one way they have a good chance of survival is full integration with the Xbox 360, which has sold over 67 million units world wide. Microsoft envisions the tablet as basically the nucleus holding together one's computer, video gaming console and TV. Not a bad idea. Would love to see Apple strike up a deal with Playstation then.. well I don't know what then. It would just be sweet.

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Sir Paul McCartney turned 70 on Monday, and what better way to celebrate his birthday then going over some of the best songs ever written (40ish years ago) by the man himself. Paul has 60 gold albums to his credit, with over a hundred million albums AND singles sold. "Yesterday" from the Beatles 1965 "Help!" album has been covered over 2,200 times - more than any song in history. Did you know Paul McCartney was in a bad before Wings? Old Simpsons joke.. anyways here are my favourite Paul (Beatles) songs in honour of his 70th. Sorry, can't do Wings.

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So, if I'm the only one old enough (or who cares) to remember this, stop me here. But Woody Allen and Mia Farrow got together in 1980, two years after Farrow and her ex-husband adopted an 8 year old Korean girl named Soon-Yi. Woody left Mia for his adopted step daughter in 1992. During this time they had a biological son named Ronan, now 24, who tweeted on father's day "Happy father's day - or as they call it in my family, happy brother-in-law's day." That is.. awesome. I love the Wood-man and pretty much everything he does artistically, whether it's writing, acting or directing, but as a person, he seems to have some baggage.

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I love Family Guy. I do… I know, it's really stupid. Not as well structured as the Simpsons. Not as satirically brilliant as South Park. But something about their sense of humour, just makes me laugh. But, something is wrong with teaming up with Kiss. The two iconic "brands" are coming together for "a line of products." Don't really know what that means, other than there is sure to be Stewie dolls with Peter Criss' cat makeup, and more guest appearances on the show, which has been touched on before, when it turned out that Lois and Gene used to get it on. Kiss have been a self-parody since they got back together in the mid 90s (even tho Ace and Peter left, their make up lives on) and for Family Guy to cross promote with Kiss, and for Seth McFarlane to put out that horrible talking bear movie, "Ted", makes me understand why the quality of Family Guy has declined fairly steadily for the last season or two.

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I just watched the best/worst TV special ever. Although I heard about it through various sources (the Simpsons barbershop quartet episode being the main one), I didn't want to know too much about it, and to spoil the surprise, even though I already knew the ending. I wanted to see it unfold. I'm talking about Geraldo Rivera's opening of Al Capone's vault. As the story goes, Capone moved into a suite the Lexington Hotel in 1928 until his arrest in 1931. In the 1980s, contractors were planning on renovating the old hotel and while they were surveying the building they came upon a series of secret tunnels (apparently one behind Capone's medicine cabinet too). The tunnels connected to nearby taverns and brothel's giving Capone a number of different escape routes. The was also rumoured that a "secret vault" was located beneath the hotel, and sure enough there was. The point of the special was to open the vault and live TV revealing riches, bootlegged booze.. bodies. Who knows what the most powerful gangster in Chicago in the 1930 put in such a vault? So the show starts with medical examiners on hand in case there were bodies on the inside, and agents from the IRS to collect any money that Capone may have left behind (I'm guessing he wasn't big on paying taxes). They finally open the vault to reveal… nothing. There was a bit of dirt, which probably seeped in over the 60 years, and some empty moonshine bottles. Thirty million viewers were left going 'what the hell was that?' as was a stunned Rivera, who just looked at the camera and said that they had "struck out." The special aired in April 1986 and essentially launched Geraldo's career. "My career was not over, I knew, but had just begun. And all because of a silly, high-concept stunt that failed to deliver on its titillating promise."

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