sadie the sled-puller

This past winter Marc did an amazing job teaching Sadie how to pull a sled!! Here's some shots of her in action pulling my niece Emily and pulling Kaili's son Milo. She's so cute when she's pulling - like she's got a little job to do and it's time to be very serious....

sxsw 2010

So SXSW 2010 has come and gone and so here's a bit of a photographic review of the whole thing. It was a really fun year but I did find that my heart just wasn't in it as epicly as it was when we went in 2008. But early spring in Austin is still quite a nice break from early spring in Northern Ontario, I'll tell you that much!!

Drove 25 miles outside of Austin to the Salt Lick BBQ - voted to be one of the top 10 best BBQ's in North America. It was so worth the drive.

I took this picture to show you how big my brisket sammich was in comparison to my can of Dr. Pepper. It was almost the same height. I ate about 1/8 of this beast.

Austin also has a cupcake truck. Pretty genius idea on a chilly Austin day even though the cupcakes are $3!

I was REALLY excited to see Big Star perform at SXSW but unfortunately singer Alex Chilton died on the first day of the conference. They did a memorial panel for him with a couple founding members of the legendary band. It was very moving.

Cheap Trick played. How can you not go and see Cheap Trick????

The SXSW guitar show. I took this picture just for all my boys back home.

Neko Case and Kelly Hogan singing backup for Jakob Dylan. As per usual they were perfection. Jakob Dylan? Meh....

One day we got to take a boatcruise sponsored by SOCAN. Yay for boatcruises on warm sunny days!!

My travel-mates Dennis and Mike along with one of our industry partners.

There were about 20 dogs playing at this dog park - my heart melted.

6th street in downtown Austin.

The Cheap Trick panel. I went and listened to lots of road stories...

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings at Stubbs - a highlight show for me.

Amelia Curran at the Six Shooter Records party. I love her so....

This is all the stuff I poured out of my delegate bag. Holy paper wastage...

That's about it for now -- it feels like it was 20 years ago so apologies if I've missed something important and super cool!!!

neko and jesse

Did anyone see the episode of Spectacle with Elvis Costello a couple weeks ago? He had Neko Case and Jesse Winchester (along with the forgettable Sheryl Crow and Ron Sexsmith). Anyway, at one point Jesse sings the sweetest song ever and at the end of the song Neko is crying. Crying!! It's enough to make me cry! It's so good. I think at my funeral, I would like Marc to sing this song for me. And everyone would weep. Is that awful?

snow hotel

In case you needed another reason to visit Finland, check out the Hotel Kakslauttanen. Who doesn't want to fall asleep under the Northern Lights under a warm and cozy glass igloo??? That looks like hotel perfection if ever I've seen it....

cutest photo-bomb ever!

This made me laugh right out loud when a co-worker sent this to me today.

austin bound!!

So I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for Austin and SXSW 2010! I'll try to post photos and maybe some videos of what I'm seeing and doing so bear with me -- I'll be sure to do a full report upon my return though I promise. I plan to eat some BBQ, see some bands, watch some panel discussions, nap when I can and get to bed at respectable times. Wish me luck!!!

hot Bunny Radio Playlist for March 11th

CKLU 96.7 FM

6-8pm (18:00 - 20:00)

* denotes Canadian talent

italics denotes a new release

CLICK HERE FOR PODCASTY GOODNESS OF TONIGHT'S SHOW!!!!!!!

• John Doe & the Sadies -- Stop the World and Let Me Off -- Country Club (VINYL)
• Islands -- Humans -- Return to the Sea *
• Cub -- So Far Apart -- Come Out, Come Out *
• The Minus 5 -- Dear Employer -- Down With Wilco
• Paper Cranes -- Rabbit in a Snare -- Vice compilation *
• Jason Collett -- Rave on Sad Songs -- Rat a Tat Tat *
• Frank Black & the Catholics -- Do You Feel Bad About It? -- Frank Black & the Catholics
• Feist -- Gatekeeper -- Let It Die *
• Cat Power -- Metal Heart -- Jukebox
• Basia Bulat -- I'm Forgetting Everyone -- Heart of my Own *
• Bright Eyes -- Another Travelin' Song -- I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
• Yeasayer -- Love Me Girl -- Odd Blood
• The Travelling Band -- Sweet City -- (weewerk) is 6! *
• Sarah Harmer & Jason Euringer -- Summertime -- Songs for Clem *
• The Pretenders -- 2000 Miles -- Learning to Crawl (VINYL)
• Neko Case -- Thanks a Lot -- The Virginian
• Hollerado -- Juliette -- Record in a Box *
• The Jam -- Non Stop Dancing -- In the City
• The Damned -- Hit or Miss -- Black Album
• The Weakerthans -- Reasons -- Reconstruction Site (VINYL) *
• The Avett Brothers -- Ill With Want -- I and Love and You
• Built to Spill -- Hindsight -- There Is No Enemy
• Guided By Voices -- She Goes Off at Night -- Earthquake Glue
• Sleater-Kinney -- Steep Air -- The Woods
• Kate Maki -- Crossfire -- Two Song Wedding (VINYL) *
• Blake Babies -- When I See His Face -- God Bless the Blake Babies
• Yukon Blonde -- Babies Don't Like Blue Anymore -- Yukon Blonde *
• Hayden -- Let's Break Up -- The Place Where We Lived (VINYL) *
• Great Aunt Ida -- We Say No -- How We Fly *
• Wilco -- It's Just That Simple -- A.M

NOTES THIS WEEK:

• A show starting with John Doe and The Sadies can't go too far wrong right?
• New Jason Collett you say? I was wondering why it was starting to feel like summer...
• I'm not feeling super chatty tonight - mainly cuz there are people in the studio with me and I'm not sure what they're doing other than making me feel uncomfortable...
• Yup, I still want to put Basia Bulat in my pocket...
• that Yukon Blonde song? I must acquire for myself!!!! My toes are tapping!!

in the sun

1000 thumbs up for the video for She and Him's single from their next album Volume Two. I LOVE that Zooey really is kind of a terrible dancer. As if you need a reason to love her more.

Also - I want her hula-hooping dress please.

spring rains please

I saw this adorable Millard Fillmore slicker and impulse purchased!! It's yellow and girly and has puffy sleeves and now I just want it to rain so I can prance about in it...

hot Bunny Radio Playlist for March 4th

CKLU 96.7 FM

6-8pm (18:00 - 20:00)

* denotes Canadian talent

italics denotes a new release

CLICK HERE FOR PODCASTY GOODNESS OF TONIGHT'S SHOW!!!!

• Supergrass -- Alright -- Clueless OSR
• Camera Obscura -- Other Towns & Cities -- My Maudlin Career
• Whiskeytown -- Barlights -- Pneumonia
• Calexico -- Gypsy's Curse -- The Black Light (VINYL)
• Sarah Harmer -- Coffee Stain -- You Were Here *
• Jenny Whiteley -- Heart of Gold -- Dear *
• Jason Collett - Papercut Hearts -- Here's to Being Here *
• Big Star -- Black Car -- Third/Sister Lovers
• Elliott -- Pretty Mary K -- Figure 8
• Jale -- Nebulous -- Dreamcake *
• Tegan and Sara -- Hell On -- Sainthood *
• Rock Plaza Central -- My Children, Be Joyful -- Are We Not Horses? *
• My Morning Jacket -- Librarian -- Evil Urges (VINYL)
• The Kinks -- This Time Tomorrow -- Lola versus Powerman and The Moneygoround Pt.1
• Dinosaur Jr -- Keep the Glove -- Fossils
• Uncle Tupelo -- Watch Me Fall -- Still Feel Gone
• The Magnetic Fields -- Seduced and Abandoned -- Realism
• Nathan Lawr -- Put Your Money -- Secret Carpentry *
• Jenn Grant -- Don't Worry Baby -- Orchestra for the Moon *
• Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band -- Ten Women -- Outer South (VINYL)
• David Bowie -- Five Years -- Ziggy Stardust
• Jenny Lewis -- Acid Tongue -- Acid Tongue
• Thurston Moore -- Pretty Bad -- Psychic Hearts
• Zeus -- Kindergarten -- Say Us *
• New York Dolls -- Bad Girl -- New York Dolls
• Blur -- Death of a Party -- Blur
• Dead Letter Chorus -- Down in Your Valley -- The August Magnificent
• Regina Spektor -- Us -- (500) Days of Summer OSR
• The Pinecones -- I Think You're Blind (Starlit One) -- Sage *

NOTES THIS WEEK:

• Started with the Supergrass cuz that's a song that ALWAYS makes me feel clappy and I needed something to shake the dust off;
• That's it, I'm listening to "Pneumonia" in its entirety at work tomorrow. It's been far, far too long to go without;
• Listening to Calexico makes me feel dusty...
• Man, i haven't listened to any Sarah Harmer in a really long time...must be spring;
• Let's take a 6 minute long Rock Plaza Central appreciation moment.....
• Brand new Zeus!!!!! So good!!!! So far anyway. God bless advance copies...

annual oscar rant

So maybe I need to rant about the Oscar race to help make me feel all jazzy again? Who knows but we'll give it a try. This year especially given my hate-on for Avatar? Oh yeah, I got LOTS to say...

Best Picture

Ok so there's 10 nominees this year which I think is just silly but what do I know? What movie do I WANT it to be? An Education. Which movie do think it will be if people vote with their brains? The Hurt Locker. Which movie will it be if the "drunk on special effects" public gets its way? Avatar of course. The way I see it, a movie absolutely should not be listed in Best Picture if it also doesn't have any acting nominations or writing nominations. After all, the best picture should be just that -- the best of all categories. Avatar can win every single technical category and that will be entirely justified. Even I will admit that. But the movie is written like a soap opera, the acting was cringe-worthy, the storyline borderline insulting. The Hurt Locker on the other hand? I think that if I liked it as much as I did - and keep in mind that I don't watch war movies as a rule and only made an exception for this cuz it was on TV - well that says a lot for me. The movie is crafted brilliantly from start to finish, it's heart-pumping, it's character driven and one of the best directed films I've seen all year. So it can win and I'll be happy even though An Education has a special place in my heart.

Best Actor

This category has got to go to Jeff Bridges hands down. Crazy Heart is a really, really good movie -- not an amazing movie -- but Jeff Bridges is totally what made that movie for me. And outside of The Big Lebowski, I've never really liked anything he's done. George Clooney? Well we all know I loved Up in the Air but he was nowhere near as good as Jeff. Not this time George..

Best Actress

Since I think Carey Mulligan is just the most adorable thing to grace a screen in a very long time and since I loved An Education so much, I'd LOVE it to be her. But unfortunately, we all know it's gonna be Sandra Bullock no matter how many times she says there's no way she'll win. The thought of Sandra Bullock beating out Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren though? That's just not right. Even though Julie & Julia was just an awful movie. And guaranteed she'll wear a bad dress. Ugh. I just think Sandra winning is the most boring and predictable choice ever.

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz, for me, was the absolute only good thing about Inglorious Basterds. But man, what a good thing he was. Just perfection.

Best Supporting Actress

Normally I can't fathom picking anyone over Maggie Gyllenhaal but she was just kinda "meh" in Crazy Heart. In my heart I want it to be Anna Kendrick but I just think she's way too new and still way too close to Twilight for people to vote for her. It's gonna be Mo'Nique for sure I think.

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow -- it just has to be, if only to save us all from the inevitable horror that will be James Cameron's acceptance speech. Did you hear him at the Golden Globes when in the midst of the Haiti disaster he said "let's have a hand for all of us -- let's hear it for us!!!" What an asshole. James can direct his movies but he should never be allowed to write them. I just wish someone would tell him that. Speeches aside, Bigelow made a brilliant film and deserves to be recognized for it.

Best Cinematography, Best Editor, Best Art Direction, Best Sound Mixing and Editing, Best Visual Effects

This has to go to Avatar hands down. The other nominees shouldn't even show up. Or if they do show up they should just go ahead and get really drunk cuz they certainly don't have to worry about making a speech on international television. Even though I hated most things about this movie, even I must admit that it was GORGEOUS to watch and that fact frankly kept me from leaving the theatre. They crafted every single blade of grass, every flower petal, the night scenes are amazing and the technical team behind this film is truly, truly a gifted bunch and should get every single award they make. But that is all. The craftsmanship behind this film is what tricked people into thinking they were watching an amazing film. As my friend posted about this film "Artists: Working Hard So Writers Don't Have To."

Best Original Song

First of all, I think it's a total rip-off that the Best Song nominees aren't performing during the show this year. Seriously what's up with that?? It's the best part! Remember last year when "It's Hard Out There For a Pimp" busted out?? That song saved the whole telecast!! BUT, it's not going to happen so we must move on. My choice? Hands down, "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. What a great song that is perfect for the film.

Best Animated Feature

It's going to be Up. Of course it is. Especially because it's nominated as Best Picture too and it's obviously not going to win that. And I guess I'm alright with Up winning cuz I've only heard amazing things about it. But I just loved Fantastic Mr. Fox SO much that my heart gets all happy when I think that maybe other people liked it that much too.

And that is all for me this year. I didn't see all the films this year. As I've said a million times, the Coen brothers are right up there in my top 3 favourite filmmakers so I imagine I'd be picking that film for Best Picture had I seen it but what can you do?

bad blogger

Yup I'm a bad blogger and I think the above picture pretty much sums up why. I've been feeling like death on two feet for weeks now. I'm exhausted every minute of the day and when I sleep I either sleep horribly or I sleep like the dead and am unable to wake up in the morning. Work is busy so the last thing I want to do when I get home is turn on another computer. I can barely hold a conversation past 8pm so socialization has felt impossible.

But I'm trying to get back in the groove and I promise to try and be a better blogger.

*photo taken by Jordon*