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The week in books
For those still trying to find some last-minute gifts, here is a list of some notable titles out this week.
Sequels is the name of the game, with some of the year’s most popular authors releasing follow-ups just in time for holiday reading.
This week Greg Mortensen released “Stones and Schools,” the continuing story of his quest to promote literacy in rural Pakistan. The series’ first installment, “Three Cups of Tea,” was well-received among Canadian audiences on its release in 2001.
Craft-making couple passes through Toronto’s One of a Kind show
As The One of a Kind Show comes to an end today, artists pack up their unique crafts, ready to move on to the next event.
Earrings designer Shirley Searle, one of the eight hundred artists featured at the yearly Toronto craft show at Exhibition Place has been following her creations all over the country for the past 10 years.
Out of all the shows Searle does in a year across Canada, the Toronto Christmas show always brings the biggest crowds every year, she says.
Speak no music, hear no music, see the music
When it comes to performing, it’s not just what you do, it’s how you look while doing it.
Mike Ferfolia, a 28-year-old Toronto musician, made the switch from no-name to designer glasses, a change that increased his applause volume.
Suggestions for a spooktacular weekend
On a dark autumn night, when the barrier between this world and Otherworld – between life and death – is thinnest, people would adorn costumes and masks to ward off harmful spirits. Today, Halloween has become synonymous with miniature chocolate bars, haunted ghost walks and French maid costumes.
Whether you’re celebrating the summer’s end of Samhain or commemorating saints, Toronto is filled with events and parties for Halloween.
Toronto band won’t be ignored
Since their recent move to Toronto, the Unknown Culprits have been determined to prove themselves in a new city.
Originally from British Columbia, the threesome have added a new drummer, toured their home province, released a live acoustic DVD, and a five-song EP — all in the past year.
Photo Gallery: 7th annual Toronto Zombie Walk
When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the streets of Toronto.
The 2009 Toronto Zombie Walk kicked off at Trinity Bellwoods Park this afternoon. Despite the threat of rain, the weather held up until the undead reached their destination: The Bloor Cinema for a zombie double feature.
DC music hammers audiences with Toronto metalcore
Last night the DC Music Theatre rocked out with its third annual Last Band Standing contest featuring hard rock and heavy metal acts from across the city.
The DC Music Theatre in Etobicoke, which runs mainly as an artist development centre for new talent around the area, has opened its doors to bands looking for exposure.
The three-hour show included cowbell, mic-to-megaphone singing, blistering guitar riffs and something everyone wanted to hear, metal!
A mother’s love knows no limits in horror film
The horror movie genre has tackled taboos and pushed boundaries for nearly a century, but nothing is quite so terrifying, in any genre, as the mortality of a pregnant woman or her unborn child.
The latest release in the recent frenzy of zombie movies arrives on DVD today. In Grace, the first feature film from writer-director Paul Solet, a woman faces the frightening prospect of losing her fetus in the final trimester, only to discover that something far worse has occurred.
TADFF 2009: Ghouls and goblins (dis)embody the holiday spirit
An up-and-coming Hollywood filmmaker criticized the lack of originality and innovation in mainstream theatrical releases, and implored the audience to spread the word about lesser-known films during a rare screening of his directorial debut on Thursday night.
Michael Dougherty, writer and director of the highly-anticipated horror film Trick ‘r Treat, discussed his beliefs with the capacity audience at the Bloor Cinema during the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Hollywood is hesitant to produce films that aren’t remakes, sequels or adaptations, he responded when asked why the film’s release was delayed for nearly two years.
TADFF 2009: Undead soldier takes a bite out of crime
If there is anything as predictable as the rising of the sun, it’s the loyalty of horror fans to zombie films.
Throngs of the walking dead invaded the Bloor Cinema for Zombie Appreciation Night, featuring the international premiere of the latest critically acclaimed undead comedy. The hordes lurched, shuffled and strolled in costume to the third day of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, where festival director Adam Lopez joined forces with Toronto Zombie Walk organizer Thea Munster to honour the living dead with half-price admission. (More …)
TADFF 2009: Sadism, survival and insanity dominate film festival’s second day of programming
Horror fans ventured out to the Toronto After Dark Film Festival for the final installment of a Brazilian exploitation trilogy that marks the end of the filmmaker’s self-imposed 20-year hiatus.
Director Jose Mojica Marins reprises his role as satanic undertaker Coffin Joe in Embodiment of Evil – the follow up to the wildly popular sixties films At Midnight I Will Take Your Soul and This Night I Will Enter Your Corpse. The trilogy follows Coffin Joe as he rapes and brutalizes women while searching for one who is worthy of carrying a son – maintaining “continuity of the blood” and bringing him immortality.
TADFF 2009: Fans explode with laughter on film festival’s opening night
Laughter erupted from hundreds of film fans who packed the Bloor Cinema for the start of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival on Friday night.
Festival founder Adam Lopez introduced Black Dynamite to the enthusiastic crowd. Best described as a parody of popular blaxploitation films from the 1970s, the film was co-written by the star, accomplished actor Michael Jai White, and directed by Scott Sanders. Sanders answered questions from the audience following the film, and discussed the movie’s reception at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Beaches festival gets the jazz party started
There will be dancing in the streets. Or at least a lot of toe-tapping and hand clapping.
The Beaches International Jazz Festival launches a week of outdoor music on July 17 at the corner of Lakeshore and Coxwell. Several outdoor stages feature a range of artists, from up-and-comers to the true and tested.
A hat, blanket or chair and the desire to enjoy are all that’s required. And maybe a good pair of dancing shoes.
Martin Streek is Dead
From Torontoist
Legendary radio announcer Martin Streek, most famous for his work on CFNY/Edge 102 over several decades, before being unceremoniously fired from the station in May, is dead. He committed suicide on Monday.
Glitterati plead for Garth Drabinsky
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
They wrote to praise Drabinsky, not to bury him.
Actors, directors, writers and even a former politician sent letters to a Toronto judge, filed yesterday, supporting theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky at his sentencing hearing for fraud.
Crown urges 10 years for Livent founders
From Toronto Star – Toronto & GTA
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
The Crown is seeking prison terms of eight to 10 years for Livent co-founders Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb.
Nine Inch Nails fans of all ages “Wave Goodbye”
Twenty years after the release of their first album, Pretty Hate Machine, Nine Inch Nails waves goodbye to thousands of devout fans at the Molson Amphitheatre.
Coming on the heels of three tours – all technologically spectacular – Nine Inch Nails (NIN) front man Trent Reznor promised a scaled-down, back-to-basics showcase of the band’s raw talent. Gone are the light shows of Nights in the Sky and the performance art of the With Teeth tour. Instead, nearly 15,000 fans packed the Molson Amphitheatre to hear Trent sing a finale worthy of the tears shed by many long-time fans. (More …)