Every year, we head down to Toronto's Fan Expo Canada in early August to browse comics, up-and-coming movies, and all the rest. One of my favourite parts of the convention is just walking around and seeing all the amaizng do-it-yourself costumes that people worked on just for this early-Halloween fun.
I was a theatre geek in high school. I directed school plays, I went to arts camp, the works. But beyond school-sanctioned extra-curriculars, there wasn't a lot of programming for kids like me who were interested in theatre. There were plenty of arts programs, but not so much theatre-specific.
Just this week, in light of all the wildness of Miley Cyrus' videos, behaviour and recent Rolling Stone cover story, Sinead O'Connor penned an "Open Letter to Miley Cyrus" where she tells the starlet that she is being prostituted, whether she likes it or not and that she will be chucked aside when her time is past. Ms.
A while back, we noticed that Ali Eisner, puppeteer, musician, writer, director, and creator of CBC's famous Mamma Yamma announced that she was leaving CBC. My first thought was that it was a real shame because we really adore Mamma Yamma around here. And since Matt grew up with, and is close friends with Ali's wife Christine, we felt a great connection to the character that was more than just a puppet.
Though my guy is still a little young, I know all about Monster High. And anyone with a tween probably does, too. We are a big Halloween-spooky-scary house (Matt and Henry both love horror movies, and I am sort of zombie obsessed), and Monster High hits all those things, but also is pretty wickedly filled with girl power!
Listen, Emmy Awards, it's not me. Not this time, at least. I know that pop culture can be exhausting, divisive, and downright rude, but last night's telecast of your ceremony was awful. The most entertaining things were a ping pong joke and a dance number that didn't really have anything to do with television.
Having just had a baby weeks before TIFF this year, I decided I wouldn't get too invested and aim for a media pass. I don't have time to shmooze and all the rest this year, so I decided to take it easy and see what came my way. And I'm glad I did. A press release came to me regarding a movie from Iceland called Metalhead and even without reading the synopsis, I figured I'd probably be interested. Snow, heavy metal and real life with a strong female lead? Basically a movie made for me.
One of the reasons I think celebrities look so great is that they devote time and energy into bliss. You hear them say it all the time. And a lot of the time, upon hearing about these "blissful" life moments, many of us roll our eyes. But is it really so crazy? Taking time to do these three easy (and I mean it, easy) things, you may find your bliss, too.
For those into this sort of thing, Fan Expo Canada happened a few weeks ago (more on this year's Expo in coming weeks), and one of the things that drew me in was the new Mattel produced show — Max Steel. The show is a multi-platform show for kids which uses cool CGI, online content, games and the like to immerse kids in the high-stakes world of the titular star.
I have to admit that I have zero background with Miley Cyrus before the last few years because I was too old to watch Hannah Montana and didn't yet have kids to have her fit into that sweet spot of cultural recognition. That being said, I have been following her fairly closely in the last few years as she seems to be breaking free of the "Disney Child Star" persona and into her own woman (for better or for worse).
In Style is reporting this week that Gwen Stefani is pregnant with her 3rd child. A few years ago, she alluded to a possible miscarriage and how she wanted a third child, but was happy to have what she did and if it wasn't going to happen, then so be it. But, news today is that she's about to give Kingston and Zuma a baby brother or sister early next year. Stefani and her husband, rocker Gavin Rossdale are both in their 40s (she's 43, he's 47).
So, this has been a big year of firsts for us. I took Henry to his first live theatre, his first movie, and we, as a family, went to Riot Fest a few weeks ago in Toronto. This was a two-day, outdoor festival.
Ok, I'll be totally honest. I was never really a HUGE fan of The Wiggles. At least not the way that Henry seems to be. Then, in the last year, three of the original (classic) Wiggles left the performance aspect and three new Wiggles joined. Emma, Symon, and Lachy join Anthony for a new CD, DVD and tour all called Taking Off with new songs, music and dance for all the wiggly kids who love them.
With all the news of young stars behaving badly these days, it's great when one surprises you with something so kind and caring that you can't help but share. Demi Lovato, former Disney star and X Factor judge celebrates her 21st birthday on August 20th. But instead of a lavish party complete with legal (in the states) drunkenness, the starlet decided to use her stardom to promote something other than herself in her celebrations.
I seem to talk about Kim Kardashian an awful lot. But to be fair, I find her whole shtick super interesting. Love her or hate her, this latest piece of gossip seems to be tables turning.
Lastst night, we got to try out Disney's new Infinity gaming platform here in Toronto, and when the good folks at Disney Interactive first announced it, it sounded intersting but I was confused as to what exactly it was and how it worked. Playing some games yesterday and speaking to Kevin, one of DI's developers, I have a much better idea, and I have to say, that this could be the perfect all-in holiday present for your kids. Especially if they are into video games AND Disney.
Werner Herzog is one of my favourite filmmakers. He has been making movies for decades and has a remarkable eye. But his newest movie is his absolute best, most haunting work to date. There isn't much else I can say about this, except that you could spend 30 minutes doing something less meaningful than watching and sharing this today, so take the time and share.
Although texting and driving (and talking while driving) are illegal in Ontario (and most of Canada) I still see people every day on their phones, not paying attention.
A few weeks ago, we were invited to go to the new Cars offshoot, Pixar's Planes which comes out August 9 and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce Henry to the joys of going to the movies, so I happily took the tickets. Then I realized that I would have to bring Lauchie, so I'd also need Matt's help. It was a Saturday morning, so it fit within Matt's work schedule. Henry had no real idea what "going to the movies" meant, and Lauchie, well, he's a baby.
Last week, a supposed celebrity took to Reddit to post an anonymous thread and announce his closet homosexuality but didn't want to (obviously) reveal who he was for fear of losing his "leading man status." With the popularity of Reddit's AMA (Ask Me Anything) series, it seems plausible, but may not be probable. Here is the post in full:
I’m a well known American film actor and I’m a closeted homosexual.
A few years ago, Wesley Snipes was sent to jail for tax evasion, and at that time, I had no idea how that could even happen. I truly don't understand how someone can be so insane as to not pay their taxes, or be so greedy as to screw over people/the government, but here we are again. Real Housewife Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe turned themselves in on 39 charges of fraud including defrauding lenders, falsifying documents to obtain mortgages and hiding money during their bankruptcy case.
