July 1-12, Toronto – When reading through a list of the 140-odd theatre productions at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, certain titles jump out at you: Killing Kevin Spacey, The Art of Being a Bastard, and Fucking Stephen Harper: How I Sexually Assaulted the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and Where It Got Me. However, none of these are as intriging as Dracula in a Time of Climate Change.
Author Archive
The DRIVEN Calendar, “Soon”:
The Festival de Lanaudière
July 4-August 2, Joliette — The Festival de Lanaudière is an annual, month-long classical and orchestral music festival held in Joliette, Quebec which is located approximately 70 km northeast of downtown Montreal. This Saturday, the festival will be celebrating it’s 32nd anniversary and growth into one of the biggest and most reputable music festivals in Quebec.
Idol Chatter: Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell)
Renowned political writer Eric Arthur Blair (better known by his pseudonym George Orwell) would be celebrating his 106th birthday Thursday, over half a century after his untimely death at 46. Blair is best known for his uncompromising social commentary on justice and totalitarianism through his dystopian novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and post-war satire Animal Farm. Inadvertantly, he also provided lesser social critics and lazy writers with their favourite anti-government epithet: “Orwellian.”
Beyond his influential work as a novelist, Blair was also a celebrated essayist. My favourite essay of his, “Shooting An Elephant”, can be read in full here.
Movie Review:
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
When Johnny Cash walked onstage at Folsom Prison in January 1968, nobody applauded. All of the inmates in the crowded dining hall were told to stay silent until Cash spoke the infamous opening words of what would become one of the most successful live albums of all time: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” Then the dining hall erupted.
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is a documentary that made its Canadian Premiere at the annual North by Northeast festival last weekend in Toronto. The film’s goal is to reveal the richer, untold stories surrounding Cash’s famed performance.
A few Father’s Day gift suggestions, for the man what sired you.
Traditions are all well and good — buying your Dad the same gift for Father’s Day every year is not. Break away from the yearly staples (ties, slacks, golf balls–The Miniature Book of Miniature Golf) and behold — after the jump — a selection of gifts from gadgets to Gurkhas, with which you can delight your Dad, or mention nonchalantly to your son or daughter.
Review: The Miniature Book of Miniature Golf
Father’s day is almost here. You’ve given him ties. You’ve given him golf balls. You’ve maybe even given him a set of barbeque accessories (not that he ever wears that “hail to the chef” apron). If you’re looking for an equally stereotypical and undeniably last-minute gift, you may be in luck — how happy he’ll be with it is another story.
If you can’t take your dad out to Pebble Beach this summer, why not give him sometime to do when he’s stuck in his office all day? The Miniature Book of Miniature Golf seems to offer Papa a small escape, and a chance to impress clients, challenge co-workers, and reminisce about the time he got a birdie at St. Andrews.
The DRIVEN Calendar, “Soon”:
The Red Bull Air Race
June 13-14, Windsor — Watching the highlights from last year’s Red Bull Air Race makes me want to fly airplanes, and I have never wanted to fly airplanes before (not even when I watch Top Gun, which is somewhat frequently). Red Bull has done to air shows what they have done to soft drinks and snowboarding in the past: taken something that is already high-energy and revamped it with an overdose of adrenaline.
Movie Review: Tokyo!
Three takes on one complex city
Michel Gondry’s work (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, several cool White Stripes music videos) often demands –albeit politely — that viewers suspend their disbelief. Tokyo!, a compilation of three independent short segments, is no exception. To be fair, Gondry directs only one of them. To be unfair, all three have their share of “what the hell is going on?” moments.
Polar Ice vodka releases 2009 Canadian AIDS Society bottle
Polar Ice vodka is releasing its second Special Edition Canadian Aids Society (CAS) ‘art’ bottle this week, just as the search begins for innovative artwork for the 2010 incarnation. Polar Ice’s aim is for Canadian artists living with HIV/AIDS to speak out by spreading messages of hope through their design. With every bottle sold, Polar Ice will contribute $1 to the CAS (price point is roughly $25). Over the past two years, this initiative has raised over $100,000 for HIV/AIDS awareness and education in Canada.
The DRIVEN Calendar, “Soon”:
The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest
July 8-19, Ottawa – The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is taking place once again this year at LeBreton Flats Park, located next to the Canadian War Museum on the Ottawa River. The event has grown from an audience of 5,000 people in 1994 to over 300,000 in 2006, making it the largest annual festival in Canada. This year’s line-up includes real-life guitar hero Jeff Beck, as well as Steve Earle, KISS, Ornette Coleman, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Blue Rodeo, and many more.
