May the Fourth Be With You!

Here's my little contribution to Star Wars Day (May the Fourth), a few of the Star Warsy items on the market at the moment. The spaceships have been out for awhile but the pen and LED-light are part of a Lawson's conbini draw. The light saber-pen is kind of neat but I'm disappointed with the light saber-light. I have to provide my own batteries!

Other Star Warsy characters of note include these cosplayers from last month's ComicCon in Toronto.

I'll tell you more about the Con at a later date. Meanwhile, Lt4BWY!

Touring Toronto's Taps.

After a 5 week hiatus, I discovered that Blogger has changed its format and this is a test run to see if I can decipher it. With the use of my brother's car and/or the TTC, I had the opportunity to travel around TO. First up is the Bata Shoe Museum! Nice gams. Didn't venture inside past the gift shop, not that much of a fetishist.

Moving around the Annex, is good ol' Lee's Palace and a welcome beer at Paupers.

Discovered a new bar on Queen Street that seems to have taken up the slack that the Black Bull has lost, a patio for the Biker-boys. Can't remember the name of the pub (help me out here, BigBob) but it has a cool exterior!

While out, I gained a few kilos indulging in Poutine at various locales. Best one: The Spotted Dick! Even better, the Dick still has bar trivia and playing under the guise of Sensei, we kicked some butt. Came 140th in North America, 3rd in the bar and only 50 points out of 1st. Maybe next time!

(Looks like I have a problem lining up the pictures to the text. Hopefully I can iron out the bugs next time.)

Size Does Matter!

I have lots to blab about but I have an early morning, so just a quick cartoon from The Japan Times:

Where is the CN Tower?

The Air Canada Centre.

Finally...The last of my Canada trip's belated entries (I hope.)

I had two opportunities to enter the hallowed grounds known as The Air Canada Centre when I was home. One time, my younger brother and a few of his pals saw The Tran-Siberian Orchestra in concert. A bizarre mix of Classical Music, Heavy Metal & Christmas Carols. I can't say I'd ever dream of going there on my own accord, but the Bro had scammed FREE 200$ tickets for Boxing Day, so how could I disappoint him?

Here's a taste of them:


I also had the opportunity to see the Leaves play against the Atlanta Thrashers (who?) and I'm happy to announce that they won that game. I haven't seen them play since the 60's at the venerated Maple Leaf Gardens (now an eyesore falling apart at the seams) and I must say I was delighted. Alex's father finagled a half-dozen tix for friends and family and I was able to treat my hotelier, Phil, to the game. Awesome seats, just a row from the Greys, another great score of 200$ tix!

Pavel Kabina scored 30 seconds into overtime (after they blew the lead)...very tense.


I took a few dozen photos of each event and I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one is which:





























































I will say one thing about the ACC though, it is incredibly difficult to find while it's under construction. We were a stone's throw away and had NO idea where the hell it was! Fortunately on Boxing Day the weather wasn't too terrible but on the 30th, it began snowing during the game and we inched our way home with no incident until I pulled up to Phil's street and skid into a snowbank.

Oh yeah, and after my brother dropped me off at Phil's, he got pulled over and questioned by a few of Metro's finest. He and his pals kind of stick out like a sore thumb in that neck of the woods!

While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Dangitall, we lose another great. I'd seen Jeff Healey several times in Toronto, playing at his club, Healey's or C'est What and was always enthralled. I'm pretty sure I first saw him at The Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street. (This picture is of a waitress at Healey's named Opal.)

He also had the greatest jazz collection of anyone in TO and played them on his own CBC radio show, My Kind of Jazz every weekend. My favourite memory of JH was watching him perform and between tunes, someone snapped his picture. Though he couldn't see the flash, he heard the whir of the camera and bowed to the photographer acknowledging the snap. I then heard a few people whispering, "I thought he was blind!"

R.I.P. Jeff.



Next month sees the release of "Mess of Blues", his first "Rockin Blues" album in 8 years; I definitely need to check that one out.

Welcome To The Splatter Zone.

(NOTE: I'm extremely peeved that someone has expunged my photos. Was I violating a copywrite?

When I was home last August, I had the opportunity to witness a truly unusual theatrical performance. If you look at the ticket, I suspect you'll be able to guess what the musical was.













Ashes to ashes...
Ash not for whom the chainsaw roars, it roars for thee.

The evil talking book, the Necronomicon.












All those in the first two rows were in the "Splatter Zone" and were warned that they may be sprayed with blood. Of course I eagerly chose to be in the Zone and was not disappointed.












A group of Ash-holes from the Zone.
Splatter aftermath.
Evil Cap.











This play was wonderfully tongue in cheek and has moved into my top 3 Comedy SciFi/Horror Musicals. The songs were deliciously cheesy, the effects were bloody great, the puns were incredibly bad and the cast had so much fun doing it that their enthusiasm was contagious. The show was extended into September, but the chainsaw has run out of gas and the show did close. For those of you who need a taste of blood, check out a few of these clips.

Dino at the Zoo.

Catching up on some holiday posts, here are some pictures of the animatronic dinosaurs at the Toronto Zoo.

Dilophosaurus (two-crested lizard), the frilled spitter in Jurassic Park is based on this guy, though there is no evidence of either a frill or poisonous saliva.










Good old reliable Stegosaurus (covered lizard).













Tyrannosaurus (tyrant king lizard) looms over me.













Baryonyx (heavy claw), menacing and a great Scrabble word.








I still haven't mastered my camera, see how Rex has red eyes?

I'd love to teach all about dinosaurs to my students, but I have a hard enough time instructing them on "How are you?" "I'm fine", let alone terms like "Metriacanthosaurus." I did find intriguing the several dinosaurs named after Oil-drilling sites and recent digs in China, such as Mamenchisaurus or Yangchuonosaurus.

Maid in Toronto.

Toronto now sports an authentic-esque "Maid Café" -- a Japanese café where women dressed up in anime maid outfits and wait on patrons with lavish attention. It's out in a part of town I rarely frequent (Scarborough: at McNicoll Ave and Kennedy) but maybe I'll have to make a special trip for Christmas.

For hours, menu etc., check out Maid Café. (NO, don't.)

Just so my Japan readers don't feel left out, here's one in Tokyo (I have yet to find one in Sendai.)

Talking to Important Americans.

If you don't want to wade through 5 videos of Rick talking to obviously good-hearted, but ignorant Americans (I strongly suspect that some of them were put up to it or he edited out the people who called him an a--hole.) THESE are only a few minutes long, so watch them!)

Here are some examples of Mr. Mercer speaking with some American individuals who should know better. (By the way, poutine is a Quebec specialty with french fries, cheese curds and gravy.)



And another wise man...



(Of course all you intelligent readers of my blog know that the Capital city of Canada is not Toronto...it's Regina. You will see Regina mentioned on all Canadian coins right next to the Queen's bust.)

But finally Rick gets nailed...

Ahhhh Hooters!

After the game, we fought the Caribana crowds and wandered over to Hooters Family Restaurant for some greasy chicken wings. The waitresses lived up to their reputation as buxom young lasses, but the sweltering heat caused several of the patrons to upstage them in skimpy outfits highlighting greater cleavage. But definitely a nice way to end one's trip.

Friday was also the 15th anniversary of the death of my friend Ed Kowalski who succumbed to liver cancer at the age of 35. Bob and I toasted him with his older brother Richard over the phone with a shot of scotch. He'd appreciate the irony.

Okay, Blue Jays, Let's Play Ball!

On Friday night, BigBob and I trekked downtown to the glorious Roger's Centre to see the Blue Jays play. Last time I went there, it was called the Skydome, but rather than go bankrupt, Roger's Cable Station owner bought it and endowed it with its much less descriptive appellation.

We had some cheap 11$ seats in the nosebleed section, but they were rather good seats and you could see all the action (but the likelihood of snagging a foul was slim.) With my handy-dandy binoculars (UFO Catcher, of course), we could see the players well, including the Second Baseman for the World Series Champion Boston White Sox,
Tadahito Iguchi
Born: 12/04/1974
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 5'10" Weight: 200
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Batting Average: .282
MLB Debut: 04/04/2005

Although he didn't get a hit this game (I was the only one who yelled out,
"がんばって!" {or Ganbatte Let's try!}), he fielded well and helped the White Sox defeat the Jays 6-4. (The Jays got their revenge on Sunday to win 7-3!)




The one thing I noticed after going to all those Rakuten games is how QUIET the fans are in comparison to Japanese fans. Apart from the Wave, there wasn't any organized chanting or cheering, though the booing was well co-ordinated.

Here's The Beatles with "Blue Jay Way."