bert & ernie

people have WAY too much time on their hands... but i'm SO glad they do!

everybody's doing it!

thanks wayne.

wwwhhhhaaaaaaatttttt????!!!!!

ruben alcantara

interesting....

sorry for all the political posts lately but it's just so fascinating. i can't wait to see how this all pans out. it's actually kind of terrifying.....

palin as president

hilarious. that's all.
Palin As President.com

ps TERRY TATE is back!!!

if you've got some time...

if you've got some time (an hour and a half) and are at all interested, HERE is the final presidential debate between Obama and McCain.

note: i'm not responsible for any of your anger that is built up due to the content of this video.

another note: feel free to enjoy this video with youtube's new features? you can "turn down the lights" and watch it in "theatre view." fancy fancy.

shepard for obama

join the wiserhood

The Wiserhood.com

vote for environment.ca

www.voteforenvironment.ca

the black mobile

here she is. 2 words: SO GOOD. this is downtown transportation made easy. i can't stress enough how easy it has made commuting. this past weekend nuit blanche was on and having a bike made the experience amazing. last year, we were basically stuck on one main street hoping to see a bunch of cool installations and we really didn't want to have to keep hopping on and off the street car and subway. So we didn't get to see much of anything. just a bunch of local stuff. but this year, we actually got to see pretty much all the sponsored international works. there were 3 zones and i can't imagine a better way to have done it than on a bike. you could have walked but that would have been the longest night. subway/streetcar? maybe. but then you've got to buy tickets and stuff and deal with crowds. biking made it simple and a blast. riding through the downtown core and traffic made the night even better and exhilarating.

i ended up setting up a single speed bike rather than one with gears or one that was fixed. gears for downtown really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. i think i would only be transferring between 3 gears MAX anyway. downtown is mostly flat and you can get going pretty quick with the right gear. also, it makes your bike much simpler and easy to maintain and lighter for carrying around and/or hanging. AND much more sleek and aesthetically pleasing. fixed? cool idea. great for going slow. lots of control. but for those times there is a hill or i want to just coast, on a fixed, not going to happen - unless of course you take your feet of and let your pedals just spin and carve up your shins. for the times that i am going down a hill, i'm going to want to coast and enjoy it. not pedal out of my mind. just my opinion.

busking for change

Musicians take to the streets for War Child

Over fifty musicians will be hitting the streets on Thursday October 2nd, 2008, to take part in Busking For Change, a day long busking event to raise money for War Child Canada.

Busking for Change was inspired by Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, who spent twelve hours busking for War Child Canada on Toronto streets last October. Raine raised an astonishing $22,000 for War Child Canada¹s Rehabilitation project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Last year, hope began in the dark on a cold early October morning in Toronto," says Raine Maida. "As the sun began to set on my 12 hour busking journey, hope had transformed itself into $22,000 dollars and a guarantee that a school would be rebuilt by War Child Canada in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This year, Busking for Change takes that little idea and helps it grow into something mighty. Please come out and support all of us artists as we busk the streets of Toronto, proving yet again that hope may begin in the dark but ends on a brilliant ray of light."

Artists busking include Our Lady Peace, James Black & Rick Jackett of Finger Eleven, Die Mannequin, Neverending White Lights, Tomi Swick, Chantal Kreviazuk, Saint Alvia Cartel, The Skydiggers, Dave Bidini, Zack Werner, Flash Lightnin’, Lowest of The Low, Brown Brigade, The Painted Birds, The Waking Eyes, Joshua Bartholomew, Shiloh, Jeremy Fisher, Arkells, Brian Melo, Mother Mother, Suzie McNeil, Brian Byrne, Dodger, Aengus Finnan, The Apollo Effect, Hello Beautiful, Staylefish, The Artist Life, Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle, The Great Lake Swimmers, Crash Parallel, Hunter Valentine and more …

Busking for Change will begin at 7a.m. and continue through 6p.m. Artists will move to various locations throughout the city including Queen & John, First Canadian Place, Brookfield Place (Bay & Wellington), Union Station, Metro Hall Square, Manulife Centre, Queen & Spadina, Simcoe Park, Princess of Wales Theatre, Cumberland Park, Royal Ontario Museum, Bata Shoe Museum, Yonge & St. Clair and 228 Yonge St.

bike building

so part of my large plan of moving downtown was getting a bike. i still have a car (still in the shop) but it's much easier and faster to zip around downtown on a bike. faster than walking, driving, and public transit by far. not to mention it's better for your health and the environment.

there's a place downtown called the community bicycle network and basically what they do is take in old bikes and donations, refurbish them and sell them back into the community. it's pretty sick because they have a wall full of old frames and parts and you can just pick and choose. so what i did was got a frame from them for $40 and am getting all new parts for it i.e. wheels, bars, etc. the frame is in great condition so really, i'm getting a new bike for nothing. total price will about about $300. most road bike are going for at least $600 bucks and up these days.

this is 'stage one' of my bike. after i got the frame i took it, stripped the paint and sanded it down. wasn't a huge fan of the metallic blue. after i had it down to its skivvies, i took it uptown to get it powder coated a sick semi-gloss almost matte black. since at the time they didn't have any forks that fitted the frame, i just went out and bought a black Giant road fork. all that's left now is the parts and the building of it which should be done today. i guess i skipped documentation of all the steps in between so stay tuned for the finished product.