Rock & Hammer Productions

We incorporated Rock & Hammer Productions yesterday, first big leap forward! The first project that we’re working on is StarvingandFabulous.com, which will launch its beta phase in June.

 Then, of course, there’s the magazine. After several failed attempts, I feel that we finally have a product that is marketable and fairly easy to sell. We’ve come up with a new name — Dada Magazine. I think this better represents what the magazine is about than the last two names we came up with (Esque and Tether), so we hope to launch in January 2009. I’m going to be taking a bit of a break from the company until early April, when we will finish off the development of S&F and then start production on the magazine in May/June. And hopefully in June we’ll be working on a series of events in Montreal as well.

 And hopefully in the fall I can start working on producing our first film (the third facet of the company). Add to this, occassional freelancing and that forever in-progress novel, and 2008 looks like it’s going to be a pretty busy year!

Britney Strapped to a Gurney, Hauled Off to the Nut House

Breaking news on TMZ… Britney Spears has been rushed to the hospital for a psychiactric evaluation after a four-hour police confrontation at her home in LA. When police arrived, they apparently found her intoxicated, refusing to hand over her children to Kevin Federline.

I think this can only be a good thing for Britney. I still think she is suffering from bipolar disorder (and has been for some time), and has been refusing treatment. Depending on what happens over the next 72-hours, the courts can now mandate psychological treatment and finally get her the help that she needs.

Of course, she’ll also lose her kids…. for a long time.

It’s the Last Day of 2007

Goodbye ‘07, it’s been a fucking awesome year. And hello to ‘08… I’m sure you’ll be cool too.

And now to drink myself stupid into the new year…

Makin’ Progress…

I am so glad I’m finally getting started on writing that novel I’m always talking about. I don’t do a lot of fiction writing, so it’s an interesting change from the usual hard news and feature writing that I usually do. Even if it just turns out to be a hobby, I still find it fulfilling. So far I’ve got the character descriptions and a detailed outline of the book down. I know exactly what I want to do and how I want to do it, now I just need to start researching and start writing. The novel takes place in the 60’s and 70’s, so I’ve got a fair amount of research to do, but hopefully I can actually start writing sometime next month.

 I had an article published in Vancouver Magazine this month, just a small one but it’s still something. Right now I’m doing an article on conservation in the Queen Charlottes for thetyee.ca, and I’ll have a travel feature published in the Globe & Mail next month, so things are buzzing along. I’m glad that the stuff I’ve been doing lately has been meatier than usual, so I’m pretty happy with the way things are coming along.

Still planning to move to Montreal at the end of February. I’ve been talking to a friend of mine who owns a nightclub on the Plateau to see if I can do a monthly series of events for him, so that will hopefully be my first project once I get over there. I want to take French lessons as well beofre I get there, so that I can at least be somewhat fluent. So we’ll see how that goes.

Anyways, just a quick update…

It’s Bond Week!

The movie channel is having a marathon of sorts, playing all of the James Bond movies. So my love of 007 has been reignited. They’ve played all of the films from Dr. No to Live and Let Die, so continuing on the year-end lists theme, here are my top picks for the best of James Bond. I don’t like Roger Moore at all, so you won’t find any of his movies on this list, but here goes…

Coming in at #5 is Thunderball. As the most financially successful Bond film of the series (grossing over $886 million at the box office), this is a pretty fucking good movie. I just felt that it relied too much on the action scenes and special effects, and it didn’t really have too much of the style, wit and glamour of the first two films. Rad villan (Largo) and another super hot Bond Girl (Claudine Auger).

At #4… On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. A lot of people don’t like this movie, and feel that George Lazenby was the worst Bond of them all. I don’t. The film has one of the best plots of the series and some of the best action sequences and a great villian (played by Telly Savalas). I honestly do think it’s a brilliant film. And I really think that Lazenby was fantastic as James Bond (far better than Roger Moore), he really should have stayed on for a few more films. His performance reminded me a lot of the first two films.

At #3 and #2, respectively, From Russia with Love and  Dr. No. It’s in these two films that the essence of the James Bond charater is revealed. These films are much lighter and more interesting to watch, and I believe that Sean Connery gives his best performances as James Bond. In Dr. No, you have the best of all the Bond girls, Honey Ryder (played by Ursula Andress), who is just about as important to the movie as James Bond is.

And finally at #1… Goldfinger. This is pretty much the perfect Bond movie, and is one of my favourite movies of all time. Awesome villian, hot girls, great plot. I love Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, she definitely comes in as the 2nd best Bond girl, after Ursula. And it’s got the best theme song — Goldfinger sung by Shirley Bassey. Fits the movie perfectly.

Honourable mentions:

Diamonds Are Forever — I like Jill St. John, although I found her to be sleazier than the other Bond girls. She seemed a bit too white trash for me. Plus, another great theme from Shirley Bassey. The plot was too mixed up for this to be in the top 5, but definitely better than You Only Live Twice.

The Spy Who Loved Me — The best of the Roger Moore films, and has a great theme song (Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon).

I haven’t seen the new Casino Royale movie with Daniel Craig, but I’ve heard it’s really good. So I’m guessing it would come in either after Thunderball or after Diamonds are forever.

Snow: How Ironic

Just a quick note…

It’s funny how just a couple of days ago I was complaining cause I thought it wasn’t going to snow on Christmas. And now I look out my window and it’s a fucking blizzard. In Vancouver. On Christmas. I don’t think that’s happened in like a decade.

Whoo hoo! Snow day!

Rock Box Vol. 3: Top 25 Best Songs of ‘07!

Ok, so it’s the end of the year, and at the end of the year I like to make lists. So here’s what I think are the top 25 best songs of ‘07.

25. Wu Tang Clan - The Heart Gently Weeps
24. The Go! Team - Grip Like a Vice
23. Of Montreal - The Past Is a Grotesque Animal
22. Tori Amos - Teenage Hustling
21. Ne-Yo - Because of You
20. Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah - Satan Said Dance
19. Lily Allen - LDN
18. Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
17. MIA - Bamboo Banga
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Down Boy
15. Datarock - Computer Camp Love
14. Rihanna - Umbrella
13. Alicia Keys - No One
12. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
11. Gogol Bordello - Alcohol
10. Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Isis
8. MIA - Boyz
7. CSS - Music Is My Hot Hot Sex
6. Bjork - Earth Intruders
5. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
4. Justice - DANCE
3. Feist - 1234
2. Kanye West - Stronger
1. Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Movin’ on Up….to the East Side

So I’m seriously considering moving to Montreal in the spring. Haven’t told anyone yet. I’m just feeling like my life is getting to be a bit stagnant and overly hectic, so I should switch it up a bit (by moving halfway across the continent? Sure, why not). Plus, I mean come on, Montreal is like the fashion capital of Canada. I would fucking love it there. And the rent over there is like 1/2 the price of what I’m paying here. You can get a fucking room for like $150 bucks over there.

I’m excited about the possibility. I’m not excited about having to pack up my life here and start all over again. Oh well. I guess I can always come home again if it doesn’t work out.

White Christmas? Not so much…

It’s fucking pouring here in Vancouver. And it just snowed a couple of days ago, but by the time that Christmas actually rolls around all the snow probably will have melted cause of the rain. Oh well.

And I still haven’t done any of my Christmas shopping. I should probably do that today. In the rain. And the cold. Fuck.

I’m back. Uh, fuck yeah!

So, I haven’t written in a while. But, oddly enough, my page views keep going up! So I promise to write a little more often. Well… I don’t “promise”. But, you know, I’ll try. Some of us do have a fucking life you know.

I bought Alicia Keys’ new CD the other day. I’m usually a huge fan of hers, but this one just isn’t that great. Really, the only outstanding song on the disc is ‘No One’… which of course you guys have all probably heard by now. She seems to be experimenting with a few different sounds, but the CD isn’t nearly as innovative as I expected it to be.

I’ve been listening to a lot of older music lately, you know typical 80’s shit. This isn’t really an official Rock Box entry, but I’ll tell ya what I’ve been listening to anyways….

There’s this local band called Sex Attack — they’re a bunch of fake DJ’s that do some really cool mash-ups. So they kind of turned me on to some of the stuff that they’ve been playing. No.1: Sussudio by Phil Collins. An awesome track that I’d completely forgotten about, and I think one of Phil’s best songs. Totally different from all the other shit he put out. No. 2: Two of Hearts by Stacey Q. I’d never heard of this song before, but it’s pretty cool. And apparently it was a big hit back in the day.

 So yeah, that’s it for now. Maybe I’ll post again sometime.

Dance Attack! (Rock Box Vol. 2)

I went out last night to this warehouse party hosted by a friend of mine, and seriously danced all fucking night. I can’t remember the last time I had such a blast. So I figured it was time for me to do another Rock Box entry…..

Klaxons ‘The Bouncer’ and ‘Atlantis to Interzone’

 Two tracks that are fucking brilliant. ‘The Bouncer’ basically just repeats the lines of a fucking London club bouncer (”Your name’s not down you’re not coming in”….”not tonight, you’re not on the list!”), over a fucking crazy electro riff. ‘Atlantis to Interzone’ is just wacky electro-rave shit, complete with screaming.

CSS ‘Music Is My Hot Hot Sex’

A fashion designer friend of mine used to sing this song, like, months ago and I had no idea what she was talking about. But I heard it last night and it was fucking awesome! Finally everything is making sense. The lyrics are hilarious and the electro beat is wicked. The band’s Brazilian and they are awesome live. Look them up on Youtube.

The Killers ‘Tranquilize’

An odd, dark, rock song. Not my favourite of theirs, but it’s definitely interesting (and it sounded cool at 3 am!). It’s off their new compilation album.

Prince ‘Le Grind’ and ‘Mountians’

Ok, these songs are like 20 years old, but still fucking awesome dance songs. Le Grind is off of The Black Album from ‘88 and is probably one of Prince’s best tracks, along the same lines as House Quake.

LCD Soundsystem ‘Daft Punk Is Playing at My House’

This was like the anthem for the night. It’s a fucking crazy electro-dance song — I could seriously dance to it all night long.

Gravy Train!!!! ‘Hella Nervous’

Usually songs like this would border on being too dancey for me, but I guess anything will sound awesome after a few lines and a ton of jager! I listened to it again this morning and they sound a lot like Peaches….same kinda shit. Funny lyrics.

VHS or Beta ‘Dynamize’

Definitely another anthem for the night. I’m usually not big on instrumental tracks, but this one is just so tightly crafted it’s probably the best song on VHS or Beta’s Night on Fire album. Ingenious.

I downloaded it this morning and have been playing it non-stop ever since!

Kelis Dropped from Jive

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while now – Kelis has been dropped from Jive, her American record label. It’s a prime example of labels ditching talented artists once they no longer become profitable for them. Of course Kelis has always had issues with labels over the years, resorting to releasing her 2001 album Wanderland in Japan only.

I’m assuming that she was dropped by Jive due to the fact that her last album Kelis Was Here has only sold about 150,000 units. But, honestly, I think that album is probably the best that she has released. ‘Blindfold Me’ was definitely one of the hottest, freshest tracks to come out last year, and there are a handful of other songs on the album that are among her best.

Apparently, she’s now shopping around two albums that will hopefully be released next year. One, a dance album, is a collaboration with Cee-Lo. The other is supposedly titled Nebula and will once again feature The Neptunes.

Me, the Writer…

Time to get back into the swing of things and start focusing on freelancing again!

 I’m going on a storm watching press trip through Vancouver Island next month, so I’ve been busy pitching a number of outlets and have already landed two assignments. The first is a 900-word article for The Globe & Mail, the other one is a series of reviews and a feature for inTravel Magazine.

I’m also plugging away on my novel (will it ever even be published??). I haven’t worked on it in a few months, so I figure I should get going on it…

London Calling

I’m thinking about moving to London in the spring….

It just seems like the logical thing for me to do right now. There are way more fucking job opportunities in publishing over there, a few of my friends have moved over the last year or so, and it has a way better fashion scene (obviously!).

And plus, in terms of the magazine, it just makes more sense for us to be located in a major fashion metropolis. Everything would be sooo much easier to produce and execute out of London. And it would give us easier access to Europe as well.

The only thing I’m worried about at this point is the cost of living. Things are twice as expensive over there than they are in Vancouver. What to do, what to do….

Police Investigation Continues…

Police are still combing the ground of my building, looking for evidence that will help them solve a case involving the murder of six men in a penthouse apartment down the street.

Here’s a link to an article about the investigation in the Vancouver Sun today. Why hasn’t anyone interviewed me about it?!

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=64be2530-7e12-4a8b-8758-75287d347550&k=61395

Caught in the Middle of a Gang War

The highrise apartment building that I live in was last night surrounded by a team of investigative homicide detectives, searching for clues to the gang-related murder of six men. The murders occured Friday in the penthouse of another highrise just down the street.

Police have cordened off the building; everyone who enters the driveway has their vehicle searched, their liscence plate numbers recorded and must provide identification. Only residents are allowed inside the building. Police are not providing any information on the investigation, but have issued a notice to the public asking anyone with any information on the killings to contact police.

This is the largest mass murder Vancouver has seen, and is generating a considerable amount of media coverage from across the country. Reporter vans from CBC, CTV, and Global are stationed outside of my building, and I believe that the CTV helicopter also paid us a visit earlier this morning.

It’s all very interesting to witness the investigation and see how the team puts together the pieces of the puzzle. Maybe I’ll write a book about it?

Hot Chip ‘Made in the Dark’

Excited to hear that Hot Chip’s new album is coming out pretty soon. Not excited to hear that they’re going for a rock/metal sound. I loved the last album, so I still hope that they’ll keep at least a little of their electro sound for the new cd.

Here’s the article on NME….

http://www.nme.com/news/hot-chip/31821

A Few Links for Media Types

Thought I’d pass on a couple of links to awesome websites that media types might find helpful…

Media Kitty — mediakitty.com

Media Kitty is a fantastic resource for travel writers — especially Canadian travel writers. They’ve got everything: press releases, story ideas, a list of upcoming press trips, they’ve even got a directory of members and publications (great when you’re looking for contacts to pitch your ideas to!).

Mediabistro — mediabistro.com

 The forums are fucking awesome. If you’ve got any burning questions about journalism, publishing, or PR, ask away and somebody will have the answer you’re looking for. The rest of the site is pretty cool too, and worth exploring.

Newsbureau — newsbureau.ca

Directed at Canadian journalists, this site is an offspring of the Media Kitty site and run by the same company. Similar features, but it includes broader subjects.

I Am Becoming a Politics Junkie

It’s just what the title says. I fear I am developing a severe addiction to politics, which I never really had before. I mean, I’ve always been interested in politics and current events, but never like this. I find myself counting down the minutes until the Throne Speech is slated to start.

Will Stephen Harper and his Conservatives fall?

Move Along Folks, Nothing to See Here…

There is absolutely NOTHING going on today. Mostly because I don’t feel like doing anything today. It’s Tuesday, it’s raining, I’m home alone. I’m at least a week late on all of my deadlines, and don’t seem to be getting any closer to getting anything done. Oh well.

 I am, however, suppoesed to cover this huge party tonight though. I really don’t feel like going. You have to dress up in costume. I don’t wear fucking costumes. I think I’ll just stay home…