New (to me) Music

1. Peter Green (and the Splinter Group) This is the guy who co-founded Fleetwood Mac when they were still cool and bluesy, and who wrote "Black Magic Woman" which Santana made into a huge hit. Green was as good as, or maybe even better than Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix! Sweet-sounding guitar, and great, gravelly, world-weary vocals. Where has this guy been all my life? Somehow I kinda missed him...
2. Keith Jarrett "Live at Montreux". Incredible jazz piano
3. Sharon Jones and the Dap kings - "100 Days & 100 nights" New, but old-sounding soul music.
4. Josh Groban - "Noel" (yes, that very popular Christmas cd...well, it's good! Not very cool, I guess, but good)
5. Jill Scott - "The Real Thing" She still sings great poems... R&B? Soul? Rap? Jazz? Blues?
6. Angie Stone - "The Art of Love & War" Sweet, sultry R&B
7. KT Tunstall - "Drastic Fantastic" Nice pop/folk/rock chick from Scotland, I think. (Sang her big hit "Suddenly I See" at the Live Earth Concert last summer...that was also a good cd/dvd combo that I got at Costco! Two dvd's and a cd - lots of good stuff on there)
8. "Radio 1 - Established 1967" - A compilation disc from BBC One Radio, featuring newer artists covering songs from 1967 to now...very cool stuff including a cover of "It Must be Love" by Paolo Nutini, and a great version of "Cupid" by Amy Winehouse (Amy, of course, is my personal choice for all of: artist; cd; and, sadly, "train-wreck" of the year)
9. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus - "Raising Sand" (pretty sure I've already mentioned this one here somewhere recently) Happy New Year!

Have an "Elfing-Good" Christmas!!

This is my Christmas Card to all of you: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1422709350

Christmas Favourites

These are a few of my favourite things...

Porky Pig: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPgq_fxaW7U&feature=related

Best Christmas song ever? The Drifters: http://badaboo.free.fr/merryxmas.swf This song was also in the movie "Home Alone" (briefly) .

I'll come back here and update this entry as we move along in the season.


Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Robert Plant & Alison Kraus - new CD is Great!

You just "gotta" check out this collaboration between Led Zep's lead singer Robert Plant, and American bluegrass multi-award-winner Alison Kraus with (very well-respected but not-so-well-known-in-the-mainstream) producer/writer/arranger/singer T-Bone Burnett (he worked on the "O Brother Where Art Thou" album of the year for 2002, as well as on the fantastic "Black and White Night" concert cd and dvd with Roy Orbison and friends - Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Jackson Browne, k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, Bonnie Raitt J.D. Souther- a real classic itself, so go get that while you're out at the shops)! Anyway... Plant and Kraus rocks, it rolls, it's bluegrass, it's country, it's Everly's, it's...almost indescribable. "Fortune Teller" cut is just a beauty as is the opening track. Different, yet utterly familiar and comfortable all the way through.

www.robertplantalisonkrauss.com Click on "Listen to CD" top left area of the page. My favourite song so far is track#9: "Fortune Teller"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5KF4dKq-6I&feature=related

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/radio/cl-ca-plant11nov11,0,6282113.story

New (to me) Red Wine

My friend Frank Bo. brought this wine to our last hockey tournament: "Trapiche" Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 bottled by Bodegas Trapiche Mendoza, Argentina.

...that's right - Argentina, not Australia where I almost always find my favourites. It's a very nice, full-bodied red wine and it's under $15. Quite a nice wine, one that you wouldn't be ashamed to take to someone's home for a dinner party.

Italian Restaurant - "Capocaccia"

Went to this nice Italian Restaurant http://www.capocaccia.ca/location.html last night with my daughters. We had a bottle of their quite decent house red wine, a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Citra), as well as the grilled calamari, which was very tasty and tender, served on some kind of greens. The girls each had a personal pizza, and pronounced them to be very good - these are the little wood oven-baked "gourmet-pizzas" like the ones you may think of from places like Il Fornello, but with a much more authentic home-style Italian look and taste. I opted for the Chicken Penne in a delicious, but not-too-decadent creamy parmesan sauce.
(Cost: around $90 plus tip)

Condo/Apartment For Rent! Warden & St. Clair

684 Warden Ave #310
$995 For Lease
Toronto, Ontario M1L0A1
Condo Apartment

Bedrooms: 1
Dir/Cross St:
St. Clair & Warden

Washrooms: 1 x 4-piece

MLS#:
E1249095
Landlords: Macneil
Occup: Tenanted (until April 1, 2008)

Heat: Gas,Forced Air
Central Air
Apx Age: 0-5
Apx Sqft: 500-699
Exposure: N
Rec. Room: Y
Water Incl: Y
Heat Incl: Y
Hydro Incl: N
Cable TV Incl: N
CAC Incl: Y
Bldg Insur Incl: Y
Parking Incl: Y
Balcony: Open
Pets Perm: Restrict
Exterior: Brick
Surface Parking Spot(s): #74

Bright And Clean Spacious One-Bedroom Condo Apartment. Walk To Warden Subway Station (And To Tim Horton's!!) Includes Appliances And Ensuite Washer/Dryer. Non-Smokers Preferred. *Note: Showings After 6:00 P.M. Weeknights With 24 Hrs Notice. W/Ends To Be Arranged Also 24 Hrs.
Refrigerator, Stove, Built-In Dishwasher, Washer & Dryer, Central Air Conditioning, Broadloom Throughout.
Show After 6:00 Week Nights, 24 Hr.Notice. Empl. Letter With App, Credit Check Will Be Done. First Month's Rent Required At Time Of App(Upon Approval) Then Cert. Last Month's Rent And 10 Post-Dates

Lease Term: 1 Year
Application Required: Y
Employment Letter: Y
Payment Frequency: Monthly
Deposit Required: Y
Lease Agreement: Y
Payment Method: Cheque
Credit Check: Y
References Required: Y


MIDDLEFIELD REALTY SERVICES LTD., BROKERAGE 416-365-3232 Fax: 416-340-1080
First Canadian Pl,Box 192, Toronto M5X1A6
FRANCINE MARIE ALLEY, Salesperson 416-340-8439
MICHAEL SCRIVEN, Broker of Record 416-409-1833
Appts:
416-409-1833
rent per month= $995

Thelonious Monk

Just picked up a new cd at Starbuck's called "the Measure of Monk", by Thelonious Monk. This guy is a jazz legend, one of the best piano-players of his time. I'm only a minor jazz fan, but am always tryng new things, and feel that this is a very good sort of beginner's sampling of this guy's work. Very easy to listen to at first, then just gets better on repeated listening...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2s6LZUdYaU

SouthSide Shuffle Blues Festival in Port Credit

We (brother-in-law Brian, hockey-buddy Brock and I) went to see Buddy Guy on Saturday night...great show at a pretty interesting outdoor venue, right beside the Credit River, and just above the Lakeshore. They had "waitresses" walking around the whole place selling cans of beer! So civilized!

Very energetic old Buddy can still sing in a strong, clear voice and can also still play the hell out of his electric guitar.

Friday night Brian and I went to the Crooked Cue and played a couple of games of pool (I lost. Big. As usual.) We went downstairs to catch the second set of "Rave On", a pretty decent Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band. The guy has the look, and the guitar-playing down, but can't quite match Stevie on vocals...but was very good to watch nonetheless.

On the street on Saturday, we came across a young guy from Quebec called Ricky Paquette who just floored me with his guitar playing abilities...he picks the strings with his fingers (not a guitar pick) much like Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits...he covers Buddy Guy, Stevie-Ray Vaughan and others really well, and has an exceptionally strong singing voice, particularly for someone so young. He should only get better with age, and my prediction is that he'll be a big star in the blues community (which, sadly, is pretty small relative to the "pop" music scene). You can check him out here on his myspace page, or look him up on youtube.com :

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=86864404

After the street re-opened at around 7:00 p.m. and the bands dispersed or went into the various bars for a few more sets, we had some time to kill before Buddy Guy's show at 10:00 p.m., and even before his opening act "The Detroit Women" who were also very good and very fun-to-watch singing soul, blues, gospel, etc. We walked over to a great little Thai restaurant http://www.thaisignature.ca/contact.htm for some very excellent food and Singha beer.

A really great weekend of music, food and enjoying some beers with friends and family! If you missed it (and I think most of you did!) you should really think about it for next year - it'll be the 10th anniversary of the SouthSide Shuffle, and will no doubt have some extra-special things on tap.

Great Dinner in Scarborough!

We went, over the weekend, to one of our very favourite spots for dinner. I guess you could say we're "regulars" there now, although we haven't visited as often as our hosts would like, I'm ashamed to admit!

It's tucked away in the eastern part of Scarborough in a quiet little residential area - West Hill, in fact. Just past the sketchy part of town, and just before the Rouge.

It's a smallish venue, but has a beautifully-laid table for the four of us with fresh flowers centre-piece, and perfectly-lit candles. That nice blue & white china, and antique-looking wine glasses, in a very private room.

We had started with a small appetizer platter of cheeses and crackers, and had a pre-dinner drink or two on the lovely private back garden patio. When it was time for the main course, we moved back inside to our previously mentioned dining area. Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James and Molly Johnson's wonderful jazz music was playing softly but insistently in the background, and set just the right tone for our meal.

We opted for a bottle of one of my favourite Australian Red wines: a Shiraz/Cabernet blend called Jacob's Creek. It went very nicely with our dinner selection.

We skipped any further appetizers or pre-dinner items and went directly to the entree: beautifully pink-in-the-centre prime rib of beef, accompanied by roast potatoes and cauliflower with cheese sauce. A couple of croissants on the side, then over to dessert, which was another home made classic: warm Apple Crisp (or Apple-Brown-Betty as some people refer to it) with vanilla ice cream! Some mugs of steaming hot coffee and a glass (or three!) of Frangelico liquor, and some very entertaining conversation with our charming dinner companions capped off the experience.

All of a sudden it was close to 11:00 p.m., and we decided to head back into the city - totally satisfied and very happy with our dining experience. We've made plans to return soon!


p.s. this "hidden gem" is my Mom & Dad's place...thanks again folks. We had a great time!

Best Music Event of the Season?

Beginning on Friday evening, September 7th, 2007, and continuing on Saturday the 8th, and into Sunday the 9th, is a great blues and jazz music festival in Port Credit (QEW west to Hurontario Street/Hwy. 10 south to the Lakeshore). http://www.southsideshuffle.com/
I've gone out to these for a few years now, and have always enjoyed the various kinds of bands and solo performers that are posted all along the Lakeshore (which is closed to vehicle traffic on the Saturday) from Hwy. 10 west to the Credit River. This year, it looks like I'll have to also buy a weekend ticket, as Buddy Guy is playing on Saturday night at one of the main stages, and both the Downchild Blues Band and the Powder Blues Band are also going to have mini-concerts over the weekend. "Lighthouse" is playing on Sunday there as well - a real "blast-from-the-past", as they put on a show at U. of T.'s Scarborough College in the Meeting Place area in my first year there...great little show! (Although they may have changed a bit, unlike me, since that was 1971!!). Port Credit is a wonderful place to wander around and visit nice shops, restaurants, and bars at any time during the summer. It's at its best, I think, during this event. (p.s. I may have been tricked into going in to a few bars last year by Brian M. and Mark J.) Good times!

URGENT!! Public Service Announcement:

OK, it's maybe not exactly urgent, but it is something that I think you all need to know!

1. I drink Corona in the summertime - very cold...with a little slice of lime.
It costs $39.95 for a case of 24 bottles (330ml. size)
I've recently tried "Brava", which is $26.40 for a case of 24 (341ml.size)

http://www.lakeportbrewing.ca/site1/sub/s_op_brava.php

To my uneducated taste-buds, the Brava, with the requisite slice of lime, served very cold, tastes as good...maybe even better than the Corona! Plus it's cheaper and it's made in Canada.


2. At the L.C.B.O. I can buy Heineken in those 330ml. cans for $13.05 per six-pack. That's 1980 ml of beer.
I can alternatively buy 6 single cans of Heineken in 500 ml. cans for $2.35 each can ( $14.10 for six) That's 3000 ml. of beer.

So that's 1020 ml. more beer (three x 330ml. cans worth) for an extra $1.05 !!!
Too much math? Sorry...just trust me...buy the bigger cans of either Heineken or Pilsner Urquell.

Govern yourselves accordingly...and don't drink and drive.
Happy Summer!

Motown in the Falls

We went to the "new" Casino in Niagara Falls with my brother and sister-in-law to see "the Magic of Motown" in the Avalon Ballroom. We stayed in the Embassy Suites hotel in a nice room with a very good view of the Falls.

A great venue for a band like this: not-too-big, with no bad seats that we could see. We were in the second row, stage left!

This band was very tight, with the three remaining members of the band still pulling their weight - specially Bob Babbitt, the bass player. The people they've added to fill in the roster are all excellent, too. The two lead singers - a guy and gal - were outstanding, easily covering all of our favourite songs by Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, the Four Tops, etc.

Half-way through the show they brought out one of the original Supremes, Mary Wilson, who looked and sounded terrific (she's 63!!!), and who led the band in a wonderful 7 to 10 (?) song set of classic Supremes songs !

We did some shopping the next morning around the outlets, etc., then took a very nice drive out along the "River Road" from the bottom of Clifton Hill towards Niagara-on-the-Lake, where we did some people-watching, and shopping in the Greaves Jams store, as well as the bakery, and the fudge shoppe. We had another excellent lunch at the Angel Inn (Guinness Beef & Onion Pie for Fran, and Bangers'n'Mash for me - both perfect).

All-in-all, a very satisfactory trip, and one we can recommend to everyone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Funk_Brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtvBdgyDH8U&mode=related&search=

http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/index.htm

http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/funksbio.htm

Samples (audio only, unfortunately...go get the DVD!) from the DVD:
http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/soundtrack.htm

Great pub-food at the Olde Angel Inn: http://www.angel-inn.com/

Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) http://www.paradiseartists.com/artists/mary_wilson/index.html

Amy Winehouse in Rolling Stone

The June issue of Rolling Stone has a good piece on my favourite singer: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/amy_winehouse_back_in_black_rehab_married_soul_beehive_diva/page/1

Savannah and Charleston

Just returned from our week down south at Hilton Head Island. Had a very nice time with our family (Fran's sisters, their husbands and kids). Fran and I also visited Savannah, Georgia which we really loved : http://www.savannah-visit.com/tour.asp We also went up to Charleston, South Carolina: http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitors/tripplanner/seedo_attractions.html?type=1&category=2&sub_category=12 We plan to return to spend more time in Savannah and Charleston, but would also consider returning to Hilton Head, which was very beautiful in its own way...and would be a real golfer's paradise, I think.

Hilton Head Island

We're heading off (by car) to Hilton Head Island with the family (Fran's side) on Friday for a week! Looking forward to it...this http://www.resortquest.com/portal/page?_pageid=795,1079217&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&pmsSource=Legacy&complexID=46394&placeID=108&submitPage=null is the link to the place we've rented. I'll let you know how it was once we get back.

Cowbell

One of my favourite SNL skits. "I gotta fever...and the only prescription... is more cowbell!"
Click here: http://www.ojaiwan.net/audio/cowbell.wmv

Luke Mulholland Band at Healey's

Show was just "OK", unfortunately!

We (brother-in-law Brian, and my buddy Doug) had a good time anyway, as we started by having beers at my place (Bay and Dundas), then walking over to the newly-renovated Spadina Garden Restaurant (best Crispy-Ginger-Beef and Cantonese Chow Mein in the world?) on Dundas just west of Bay, then walked down to John and Richmond and stopped in to Smokeless Joes little downstairs beer-bar where I selected an "Innis & Gunn" beer from Britain...this place has a staggering selection of beers from around the world. Then continued on down to Healey's which is now located directly across the street from Gretzky's.
The place is a very good size, the food looked good (we were too stuffed to try it) and we played a couple of games of pool while waiting for the band to come on. They put on an acceptable show, featuring covers of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, and others, as well as a few original songs which weren't too bad. The kid can sure play, but his stage presence is not very good yet, and his voice is still a bit weak, I'd say.

All that being said, we had quite an enjoyable evening...you know, it's always good to get "out-with-the-lads" and even just shoot the breeze over some good food and beers and live music, right?

Molly Johnson Concert

We went to the (Danforth) Music Hall last night to see one of my favourite jazz/pop singers, Molly Johnson. She is touring to support her most recent CD Messin' Around She is very ably supported by her band: piano player, stand-up bass player (and song-writing collaborator), drums, electric guitar and a multi-woodwind instrumentalist who plays three different saxes, two clarinets and a flute or two! Her music is very easy-to-listen-to, and her personality is one of a really neat artsy friend you may have known in high school or college. This is one of her best songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL699yVUSj0 and this one is from her new cd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rd91kB9A-0&mode=related&search= and this one is for Thomas the Train fans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r67Kejw74Mw&mode=related&search=

Sneaky Dee's! We may never have to cook again...

This place is (in the famous words of Tony-the-Tiger) GGGRRRRREEEEAAAAAATTTTT!!!!
We had the "Daily special" yesterday evening: The "King Crown" (a huge, delicious pile of nachos with refried beans, salsa, white cheese, and tons of guacamole and sour cream) with a 60 ounce jug of beer for only $19.50. We added a small order of perhaps-the-best-chicken-wings-we've-ever-had, and some fantastic home-cut fries and had a great meal! It's a very casual, low-key, eclectic kind of place, where interesting (and mostly much younger) people of all types seem to gather for good, pretty inexpensive food and drinks in this perfect location, right at the start of the Little Italy strip on the south-east corner of Bathurst & College. Total bill: $35.00 plus tip, for four people!! http://www.sneaky-dees.com/Daily.html

Hockey Parents & their "kids"

This picture was taken on Sunday, April 15th, 2007. Malvern Arena - the "Hoggs" Tournament. The team that I regularly play on (Toronto Islanders Hockey club) was entered. My brother was asked to play on our team for this one, so my parents came out to watch a couple of games. A good time was had by all!

Helpful (???) hints...

My all-time personal favourite tip: When you buy your Tim Horton's coffee to go, instead of just tearing the plastic lid tab up and locking it into place...you tear it up, the same, but then you push it back down into the opening you've just created to drink out of. Why? Well, once you've had a sip or two, that now-submerged inside tab helps prevent any coffee from splashing back up through the drinking hole!! My second favourite tip is to create a perfect book-mark by cutting a triangle in the lower corner of an envelope, then slipping this triangle over the page in your book that you wish to go back to.

"Kalendar" Restaurant on College Street

We went to this place on College Street just west of Bathurst last night. Just walking by, and looked in to find that this place is just the kind of place we like to go to....it's not huge, and has nicely-decorated exposed-brick walls with lots of different sizes and types of mirrors. Also a few old clocks and very artfully done touches throughout. Old original looking wood floors, interesting lighting and an intimate kind of feeling partially caused by the very comfy atmosphere/decor, and partly cause by the proximity to other diners...not usually a very good thing, but in this case it just added nicely to the "vibe". We weren't so close we were evesdropping, but we could have done so very comfortably if we had chosen to do so. Oh, and the food was great! Naan bread appetizers with hummus and another dip were perfect, my "scroll #3" was very nice, a kind of roti with chicken and some curry, including a very fresh organic-greens salad. Lamb chops were excellent I was told, as was the swordfish dinner and the pork medallions with apricot, etc.! Service was low-key but very attentive and friendly - just right! Desserts looked good, but we only managed to share one between four people - it was an excellent three-fudge pie. Yes, we'll be going back here soon : http://www.martiniboys.com/Toronto/Kalendar-review.html

Weather Forecasters Are #$@$%^&*(*'s

The following is a mini-rant I received today from my friend Jeremy. He's perfectly captured my long-held feelings on this topic: "What the 5-day forecasts count on is that you're not able to remember the five days. I've been watching the five-day forecast since Friday and each day there's a completely new one with completely different temps/precipitation/clouds... everything! With each passing day I'm thinking, hell its three degrees worse or now there's a little bit of precipitation that wasn't there before…each day crappier….The difference is unbelievable!!
I can't believe I fell for the Weather Forecasting Scam once again. I remember I would always say, if I want to know the goddamn weather I'll stick my f*****g head out the window, and sometimes I go with pink sky at night sailors delight (pretty reliable). But no, once again I got sucked in to actually anticipating these mother f****rs would get it right. KISS MY ASS I tell them. Don't publish that crap. I am now declaring my official ban of any weather forecasting!!!! (Except maybe for my own head out the window or a pink-sky-at-night-sailors-delight)". Right on , Jer! I couldn't have said it better.

Can't get enough of Amy Winehouse...

...but when I watch her I get a sort of melancholy and even quite sad feeling that we may be watching another of those "too-much-for-this-world" kinds of celebrities who is just so talented, but so messed up that they're just burning up incredibly brightly and beautifully, but then burning right out, and leaving us way too soon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGKGsfxyXy8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFVM5pVTwkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aygAu1x2uQo&mode=related&search

Love her talent. Let's enjoy her while we can.

Bonjour Brioche Restaurant, etc.

We went over to Bonjour Brioche today for a late-ish lunch (at the previous recommendations of both Lea and Mark).

It's a very cute little bakery/cafe/"French Restaurant"-type-of-place at 812 Queen Street East just east of Broadview.

Fantastic breads, soups, omelettes and pastries and desserts with great coffee!

Fran had the "rare roast beef sandwich on a baguette" with melted garlicy cheese on it, which was very tasty (though the baguette was just a bit too crunchy from toasting than we would have preferred).

I had a tortierre with organic greens, which was a "chalkboard" special. Delicious! We saw some other people's food, and particularly liked the looks of the omelette at the next table. We bought some of the restaurant's salad dressing to bring home - a very nice, subtle oil and vinegar and spice combo.

We'll try to go back again, but only if we can keep my car from stopping just west of there on Queen Street E. at Dangerous Dan's for his heart-attack hamburgers, fries and onion rings!

Then we drove over to the Danforth and bought some cheeses and some ground coffee at "Alex Farm" cheese shop, then had a coffee and a brownie at "mocha mocha" cafe/restaurant/coffee shop which also had some incredibly fresh-looking sandwich and wrap style lunches flying around to other tables. We'll have to remember this mocha-mocha place as well as the Il Fornello on the Danforth (which we walked past) which has a wonderful Monday-to-Friday buffet brunch from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m.

For more info, click on the names of the restaurants and shop I've underlined/linked above here.

Thes two places are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but we really like them both equally, but differently (much as a fella loves both of his kids equally but differently).

Bon appetit!

Aris Place Restaurant - on Roncesvalles

This place is a great find in a not-too-sketchy part of the city on 229 Roncesvalles, north of Queen. Great open kitchen serves up home-made burgers, great steak'n'eggs and all kinds of really good-looking "comfort foods". Clientele is very diverse and makes people-watching a great pass-time while waiting for your food to arrive. http://toronto.ibegin.com/restaurants/aris-place

James Hunter

We went to "the Phoenix" last night (June 20th, 2007) to see James Hunter. A great pre-show dinner at "Spadina Garden" (on Dundas, just west of Bay) with my brother and his wife, our friends Patricia & Doug, and my hockey-buddy Colin, his wife and their friend. We had tons of delectable food there, then all moved on over to the show. My impressions of James Hunter live: This guy is fantastic! He's from England, and has been on tour with Van Morrison. His voice is very rough, but pleasing nonetheless. He sounds like a softer version of John Hiatt, singing songs that could have come from the 60's by people like Sam Cooke. Close to a perfect concert with lots of energy and a very nice personality and humour coming through from the star of the show. If you like music, you really need to have his "People Gonna Talk"CD in your collection. The website gives a lot of samples of his music as well as an amusing little interview clip.
http://www.jameshuntermusic.com/base.html

(note: one of those pretty special nights when one reflects that you have lots more years behind you than ahead of you, and that this is exactly the kind of thing you should be doing more often...that is spending time with people you enjoy, having great meals at interesting places, and listening to live music in a very intimate setting like the Phoenix. you know, "plan for tomorrow, but live for today")

Prince Edward County

We went for a little getaway on Friday and Saturday down to "the County" as the locals refer to it. There are many very nice little towns down there, right on the Lake (Ontario, that is). The place we stayed is called the Devonshire Inn. www.devonshire-inn.com It's a charming place with several nice rooms and a terrific restaurant right on the lake in "downtown" Wellington. The room, dinner, and breakfast cost around $220 on some kind of Winter Special. Dinner was tomato basil soup, Cornish Hen, fingerling potatoes, vegetables, creme brule for dessert along with a quite decent local wine from the Waupoos winery. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and bacon with toast, muffins, juice, coffee or tea. Wellington is a cute little town with a few nice shops and a couple of restaurants/tea shops. We also drove on to Bloomfield, another quaint town as well as over to Picton, a larger town, very close to Sandbanks Provincial Park (which has some of Ontario's very best sand-dunes and beaches). We're going to go back to visit the County in the summer, and to go to the Merrill Inn for lunch or dinner, as well as to "Lake-on-the Mountain". This is just a great part of Ontario with several wineries, gifty shops, ice cream shoppes, chocolate shops, coffee houses, tea rooms, art galleries, and restaurants. Well worth a visit if you've not been down there before, or if you haven't gotten out of the city for a while. It's only a couple of hours away, but feels like another, quieter, nicer world where people in the street say "hello" to everyone, and actually smile at you. (Click on "Merrill Inn" and "the County" above for links to more info on them).

Amy Winehouse - new, great CD

Please listen to "Back to Black", "I'm no Good", and "Rehab", which you can get from this link: http://www.myspace.com/amywinehouse It's just below the main banner on the right side of the page. This CD is amazing! Strong, clear vocals reminiscent of 60's Motown, or some 50's - 60's jazz, or some Shirley-Bassey-Goldfinger-kind-of-vibe. This young woman is a bit odd, but very cool, I think and definitely has some "issues" from the sounds of things, but clearly a wonderful new talent.
Instant Classic Lyric:"They want me to go to Rehab, but I say No, No, No!"

American Idol - Only the Girls are Real Winners?

1. Confession: Yes, I really do watch American Idol 2. I couldn't think of how long this show has been going (turns out this is Season #6) 3. Then I couldn't think of all the previous five winners (turns out they're Kelly Clarkson, Ruben something, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, and my personal least-favourite-no-talent-annoying-"SoulPatrol,SoulPatrol"! goof: Taylor Hicks). 4. Then it just popped into my head that only the women winners have gone on to have any real success in selling their music, whereas the years that the men won, the second or third-place people have done better than the winner. e.g. Ruben > Clay Aiken; Taylor > Chris Daughtry and Katharine McPhee. (Well, maybe Taylor has sold some albums, but I'm way too biased against him to admit it...).

Vesuvio's Pizza & Spaghetti Restaurant

This place is really terrific...excellent, fresh food, a clean, nice-looking place to dine, and good friendly service! http://www.dine.to/restaurants/vesuvios/gallery.php?establishmentid=4552
I personally like and prefer Vesuvio's but many people also love Terroni, which has a few locations around town (one within walking distance of here) : http://www.terroni.ca/menu.html
My advice is to try them both - you won't be disappointed either way...

What's on My iPod, you ask?

Since I posted this last year, I've added some more folks: Shirley Bassey; Chaka Khan; Feist; Fujiya and Miyagi; Ingrid Michaelson; KT Tunstall; Mark Ronson; Paolo Nutini; Peter Green; Ruthie Foster; Serge Gainsbourg; Sharon Jones; Thelonious Monk; Viva voce; Wilco.
Plus my previous favourite 2,500 songs by : Paul Carrack; Alicia Keys; Allman Brothers Band; America; Andrea Bocelli; Angie Stone; Antony and the Johnsons; Aretha Franklin; Arlo Guthrie; Art Garfunkel; Astrud Gilberto; Audioslave; B.B. King; the Band; Barry White; Beach Boys; the Beatles; Beck; BeeGees; Ben. E. King; Beyonce; Bill Withers; Billie Holiday; Billy Ocean; Bjork; Blue Rodeo; Bob Dylan; Bob Marley; Bobby Darin; Bobby Vee; Bonnie Raitt; Boomers; Bread; Brian McKnight; Brian Wilson; Bruce Cockburn; Bruce Hornsby and the Range; Bruce Springsteen; the Buckinghams; Buddy Guy; Buena Vista Social Club; Burton Cummings; the Byrds; Caetano Veloso; Calexico; Carole King; the Carpenters; Cars; Cassandra Wilson; the Castaways; Chet Baker; Chicago; Christopher Cross; Classics IV; Cliff Richard; Coldplay; Colin James; Colin Linden; the Committments; Corinne Bailey-Rae; Cream; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; Dan Fogleberg; Dave Brubeck; Dave Matthews Band; David Gilmour; David Gray; David Sanborn; Dean Martin; Deep Purple; Delbert McClinton; the Dell Vikings; Derek and the Dominoes; Diana Krall; Dido; Dinah Washington; Dione Taylor; Dire Straits; Dixie Chicks; Don Henley; Donald Fagen; Donna Summer; Doobie Brothers; the Doors; the Drifters; Duke Ellington; Dusty Springfield; the Eagles; Earth Wind & Fire; Ed Harcourt; the Eels; Electric Light Orchestra; Ella Fitzgerald; Elton John; Elvis Costello; Elvis Presley; Eric Clapton; Erykah Badu; Eurythmics; Eva Cassidy; Everly Brothers; Fantasia; Fenton Robinson; Fiona Apple; Flaming Lips; Fleetwood Mac; Four Seasons; Four Tops; Frank Sinatra; Frank Zappa; Free; Gary Lewis & the Playboys; Gary Puckett & the Union Gap; Genesis; George Benson; George Harrison; Gerry & the Pacemakers; Gerry Rafferty; Gipsy Kings; Gladys Knight & the Pips; Gnarls Barkley; Gordon Lightfoot; Gorillaz; Grateful Dead; Green Day; Grover Washington; Hall & Oates; Harry Chapin; Holly cole; hootie & the Blowfish; Howard Jones; Ian Dury & the Blockheads; Il Divo; Jack Johnson; Jackson 5; Jackson Browne; James Blunt; James Carter; James Hunter; James Taylor; Janis Joplin; Jann Arden; Jay & the Americans; Jeff Beck; Jennifer Warnes; Jesse Cook; Jill Scott; Jim Croce; Jimi Hendrix; Jimmy Buffet; John Osborne; Joe Cocker; John Coltrane; John Hiatt; John Lee Hooker; John Legend; John Lennon; John Mayall; John Mayer; John Mellencamp; Johnny Cash; Johnny Rivers; Joni Mitchell; Jonny Lang; Josh Groban; k.d. lang; Keane; Keith Jarrett; Keith Richards; Kenny G.; Kenny Loggins; Kim Mitchell; the Kingsmen; the Kinks; Kyu Sakamoto; Lauryn Hill; Led Zeppelin; Lee Dorsey; Lee Michaels; Lena Horn; Leon Redbone; Leonard Cohen; Letoya; Linda Ronstadt; Lionel Ritchie; Little Anthony & the Imperials; Little Feat; Little Village; Loggins and Messina; Loreena McKennit; Los Lonely Boys; Lou Reed; Louis Armstrong; the Lovin' Spoonful; Lucinda Williams; Lulu; Macy Gray; Mamas and the Papas; Manfred Mann; Marc Anthony; Maria Muldaur; Marianne Faithful; Martha Reeves & the Vandellas; Martha Wainwright; Marvin Gaye; Mary J. Blige; Mary Wells; Michael Buble; Michael Jackson; Michael McDonald; Mike & the Mechanics; Moby; Molly Johnson; the Moody Blues; Nat King Cole; Neil Young; Nicollette Larson; Nilsson; Nina Simone; Nirvana; Norah Jones; Oscar Peterson; Otis Redding; Pat Metheny; Patsy Cline; Paul McCartney; Paul Simon; Peggy Lee; Percy Sledge; Peter & Gordon; Peter Frampton; Peter Gabriel; Peter Tosh; Phil Collins; Pink Floyd; the Platters; Poco; the Pretenders; Prince; R.E.M.; Radiohead; the Rankins; the Rascals; Ray Charles; Ray LaMontagne; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Richard Ashcroft; Richie Valens; Rickie Lee Jones; the Righteous Brothers; Rob Thomas; Robbie Robertson; Robert Cray; Robert Palmer; Rod Stewart; Rolling Stones; Ron Sexsmith; Roy Orbison; Rufus Wainwright; Rush; sam Cooke; Santana; Sarah McLachlan; Sarah Vaughan; Seals & Crofts; Sergio Mendes; Shaggy; Sheryl Crow; Skeeter Davis; Sly & the Family Stone; Smash mouth; Smokey Robinson & the Miracles; Soft Cell; Solomon Burke; the Spinners; Squeeze; Stan Getz; Steelers Wheel; Steely Dan; Stevie Nicks; Stevie Ray Vaughan; Stevie Wonder; Sting; Supremes; T-bone Burnett; Temptations; Todd Rundgren; Tom Waits; Tony Bennett; Tracy Chapman; Tracy Nelson; Traffic; Tragically Hip;U2; Van Halen; Van Morrisson; Warren Zevon; Wax Poetic; White Stripes; the Who; Wilson Pickett; Youssou N'Dour; the Zombies. *Note: some of the above artists, when you hover the cursor over the name, are hyper-linked to further info, so just click on their names to proceed...

Recently Sampled and Recommended

These are a few of our favourite places...some a bit eclectic, but all with really good, interesting food, and not-too-expensive. Go hungry, and go with an open mind:

Aunties and Uncles (in "Little Italy" College Street area): http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/506036
Easy (near Queensway and Roncesvalles): http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/restaurants/article/369527
Boom (in "Little Italy" College Street area): : http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-374-902
Over Easy (I like the one on Yonge and Wellington): http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-371-903
Mars (in "Little Italy" College Street area):
http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-369-526
Edward Levesque (in "Leslieville", Queen Street East): http://toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-377-387
Le Petit Dejeuner (King Street East):
http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-379-760
Maggie's (in "Little Italy" College Street area): : http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/article/000-379-761
Golden Star (in Thornhill, Yonge and Steeles): http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/listing/118981

The Funk Brothers - Best music documentary Ever?

This is a wonderful story, with the greatest back-up band in popular music history that almost nobody ever heard of...http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/film.htm

I was lucky enough to see them live here in Toronto on their last tour through the city at "the Guvernment". These guys played "all" the back-up music for Motown: for the Supremes, the Tempations, Four Tops, Martha Reeves and the Vandelas, etc. Check out the DVD.
p.s. the original piano player, Joe Hunter passed away yesterday.

"Horizon-on-Bay" condo for sale

This is one of our condo's that we have listed for sale in the building where we live at 633 Bay Street just north of Dundas: http://tours.advirtours.com/tours/10/05/100539/images/gallery.html It is a fairly large ( just under 1,000 sq. ft.) one-bedroom plus den that has been totally renovated and re-designed, listed at $359,900

Mensroom Etiquette

This is a ten minute clip that's really essential viewing in order to truly "grasp" this oft-misunderstood, previously taboo topic:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw

perfect...

Penfold's Bin 389 Red Wine

This wine was offered to me yesterday at my brother-in-law's place..it was a gift to him from his sister. If I could afford to drink this every day, I would - it's just tremendous. Sadly, it costs $36 putting it out of my range except for a very special occasion.

Cheap Faves...

I've mentioned Hardy's "Stamp of Australia" Shiraz/Cabernet before, as well as Long Flat Shiraz/Cabernet and Jacob's Creek Siraz/Cab...

My latest, and maybe my new "cheap-fave" is :

Lindeman's "Cawarra" - yet another Shiraz/Cabernet.

All of the above are very nice for a "Tuesday-evening-dinner-at-home-in-front-of-the-tube-or-the-BBQ-with-yer-wife-kinda-meal". All are around $10.

For a little nicer occasion (even to take to someone's home), I'm still really happy with Lakefield's "Promised Land" and the Bin 555 from Lindemans, both around $15.

Also, the newest discovery I've previously told you about is Stump Jump for $13.95 - excellent value in the Vintages section.

Cheers!

Grape-Stomping Incident

Wait for this quote: "Ooooh....ya.... I think she's actually hurt...."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=90m2Xw_Haj0

Ya think?!?

hahahahahahahaha..........sorry, but, hahahahahahahahahaha

Cucina Restaurant on College

We went to this newer place recently (four of us). Very nice-looking comfortable space. Attentive but not intrusive waitress. Great basket of bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Wonderful, huge spicy shrimp appetizer with an interesting mayo/aioli dip. Another assorted seafood appetizer including smoked salmon, calamari, sardines (?) and two more of those great shrimp diavolo! A drink each, then on to the mains: Two people had the individual pizzas, pronounced very good by one, and "not what I had in mind" by the other (while recognising that many people would enjoy it anyway - it being the "Rustica" pizza). Another had ribbon-sort-of pasta with mushrooms and italian sausage and parmesan cheese, which was rated very well, while I had the angel-hair pasta with grilled shrimp in a pesto cream sauce which was fantastic. We had a great bottle of red zinfandel wine called Ravenscroft or something like that...very nice...

All in it was just under $200 for the party of four. A very relaxing, tasty night out in one of our favourite neighbourhoods.

Cucina is on the North-East corner of College and Grace.


Cheers and Bon Appetit!

Another opinion:

http://www.torontolife.com/guide/restaurants/italian/cucina/

Maggie's Restaurant on College near Bathurst

We were there yesterday for a really nice breakfast in a cool little place. Saugages and three eggs with a bit of fruit, garlic fries, and coffee plus poached eggs and bacon with fruit, fries and coffee = $17.20

Would definitely go back there...

Casino Royale - new Bond rocks

Went to see (finally!) the latest installment in the excellent action series, called Casino Royale.

This may be the best Bond movie since...well, I don't know since what... you should insert your own favourite Bond flick in this sentence.

Great action from the very beginning, particularly the stunning, stomach-churning, pulse-racing chase scene through a village and then a construction site! (I know - sounds weird, but it's great!).

The "NewGuy" (Daniel Craig as Bond) is perfect - good-looking (I'm told), well-put-together (legs like a running back in the NFL), tough-as-nails, clever, and a bit sensitive.

Travelogue-beautiful scenery in places always makes me want to see more of the world after I come out of any Bond movie, and this one too has it's share of great looking places that I'd like to see for myself someday.

Over two hours long, this movie is very good all the way through, but could have benefitted from a little judicious editing to bring it down to one-and-a-half hours of really tight movie-goodness.

Go see it now...go buy it when it comes out on DVD (I'm going to).

(this review was originally sent to many on my e-mail list in December)

Basell's in Niagara Falls

I'm giving this place a 9 out of 10 only because I don't believe that anything's perfect (except, perhaps, for me!). This is a terrific throw-back diner (not done up in a faux "retro-style", but I just think it actually hasn't changed since the 60's). Anyway, we always go here when we visit the Falls, and always I get from nine to thirteen strips of bacon in my bacon'n'eggs order!! The home fries (ordered as an extra) are terrific, and are kinda-cheesy-tasting. Great value, great no-nonsense service. Good prices, too! Not "cheap", but excellent value.

http://www.restaurantica.com/restaurants/5715/

Wine web-site

An interesting site for wine information: www.nataliemaclean.com

Dreamgirls 8/10

Went to see Dreamgirls movie the other night, and loved it!

Great musical, based on the successful play of the same name, and of course, based on the story of the Supremes (with Diana Ross, and featuring Motown head honcho - Berry Gordy).

Jennifer Hudson sang a couple of spine-tingling, standing-ovation-worthy, show-stopping songs. Eddie Murphy was absolutely excellent playing a combination James Brown/Marvin Gaye character, and Jamie Foxx was really quite good as the slightly oily, very ambitious and successful Berry Gordy character.

Beyonce was just fine as the Diana Ross character (and she's exceptionally beautiful), but was overshadowed in the singing (and acting) department by Jennifer Hudson.

First star= Jennifer Hudson
Second star= Eddie Murphy
Third star= the music/atmosphere
Fourth star= Jamie Foxx
Most beautiful person= Beyonce

Very enjoyable movie, specially for fans of Motown music in general and for those of us who remember when Diana Ross was still good (and still kinda-hot).

"Stump Jump" from Australia

My newest favourite wine under $15 is Stump Jump

http://www.sawineco.com/images/products/darenberg-the-stump-jumper-2003.jpg

It is (as usual for me) a red wine from Australia, and is a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre.

I don't really know what that means, except that I know I like Shiraz (like Eaglehawk, etc.), and also Shiraz/Cabernet blends (like Jacob's Creek and Promised Land and Cawarrah), and I like some other more expensive wines from d'Arenberg (like Laughing Magpie), so I decided to try this one.

It was in the Vintages section of the L.C.B.O. - somewhere I usually don't shop - but it was just $13.95 so I went for it.

Big, bold taste at a fairly reasonable price. Would be good with some pretty strong-tasting meals, and is just great all-by-itself!

New Beatles CD

I'm a huge Beatles fan, and am always a bit concerned when people start f***ing around with their music.

However, this cd has just knocked me for a loop!

It's a very cool "mashing" of classic Beatles songs by Sir George Martin (the Beatles original genius producer) and his son Giles.

The effect of their judicious tinkering with these great works is exhilarating, and I'm again astounded with the sound of John Lennon's strong, raw voice...particularly in this amazing version of Strawberry Fields Forever. And the simplicity of songs like "Yesterday" still is riveting.

Soaring guitar work from George throughout the album plus great rumbling, boiling, bubbling-over-the-rapids drumming in Come Together and others, cool psychedelic sound effects in many of these tracks makes one get all emotional listening to these old favourite songs through "new ears" almost, and increasing our love and respect for the best pop/rock band in my lifetime.

Get this music for yourself, and/or as a gift for someone who's open-minded about their music,and a fan of very good old music with an interesting spin...

ms