Happy Holidays

To all those celebrating the holidays, merry Christmas and happy Chanukah!

I don't believe in gift giving, but if someone would like to buy me the mini Strida in bright blue, please do so!

I could fold it up and take it with me to Arizona where I will be spending the next few weeks. Although the Strida is not suitable for mountain biking, it's definitely a stylish way to get around. Like the ipod, the Strida is clean, compact, comes in varying sizes, vibrant colours and makes travelling more fun!

If you live in Toronto, you can purchase a Strida for me at Curbside Cycles or Ministry of the Interior. Thanks & happy New Year!

Ketel One Vodka

Two years ago, while living in Boston, a friend brought me a bottle of Ketel One Vodka, which he excitingly described as tasting better than Grey Goose but not being as expensive. I had heard about Ketel One and seen it at certain bars in the States, but was not too familiar with the product.

Last night I attended a vodka taste test at Kultura in Toronto, where I was informed that Ketel One is quite popular in America, extremely popular in London, England, but has only entered the Canadian market recently.

Since I"m the type to only drink vodka with Red Bull, I have never been able to distinguish between different vodkas and usually just buy Absolut, Smirnoff or Iceberg because they're all reasonably priced. So, I was very excited to attend a vodka taste test, especially since it was at the beautiful Kultura where the food looks and tastes even more outstanding than the gorgeous 2nd floor room in which we were seated.

We were told to smell each of the three vodkas presented in front of us before tasting them. The first one was Ketel One and it smelled like alcohol and had a slight burn.

The second vodka was Grey Goose which had an even stronger smell and stronger burn. Strange, I thought, since Grey Goose has always been marketed as an expensive, uber-premium vodka for the high rolling set.

Finally we tried Absolut, which didn't really smell like alcohol at all, but had a wretched taste accompanied by an intense burn that I needed to wash down with my complimentary Cosmo.

Once I could think clearly again, four important thoughts surfaced:

1) Thank God I had a chaser nearby

2) Never drinking Absolut again - it tastes like poison

3) Grey Goose has a genius marketing department

4) I'd like another Ketel One Cosmo, please

It's funny to think of all the extra money big spenders throw away on premium names like Grey Goose when they really aren't getting the best bang for their buck. That's not to say that Ketel One is cheap. It's still pricey but less expensive than Grey Goose and much better tasting.

Settling for nothing less than perfection, a member of the Nolet family (the family that started brand over 300 years ago) always tastes each batch of vodka to approve its release and its right to bear the Ketel One name.

As someone who cares about health and well being, its nice to know that what I'm putting into my body has been tried before and is regulated to meet high quality standards. Hopefully this equates to less of a hangover the following morning.

It would've been interesting to have been able to compare Ketel One with other high class vodkas like Belvedere, Pravda and organic labels. Until I do, I highly recommend drinking Ketel One, especially if you enjoy the finer things in life.

Matchstick Marketing, the company responsible for the vodka tasting event, is looking for feedback from anyone who may have seen my posting about Ketel One Vodka. If you click on the link below and complete the survey, you will be helping them by donating $2.00 to the Redwood Women's Shelter. Please click here to take their short feedback survey.

Thanks!

Naked & Famous

Naked & Famous is a new line of premium raw Japanese denim coming straight out of Montreal. With no embellishments, rips or unnecessary designs to distract from the gorgeous beauty of high quality denim, these jeans are surprisingly cheap, at least in Canada. Ranging in price from $100 - $125 depending on cut and colour, these jeans look hot on both guys and girls.

I own a pair of the black skinny girls, as pictured above, and love the fit which is slightly higher in the waist than shown on the model. I haven't had my jeans shortened yet, since you aren't supposed to wash raw denim for 6 months and they might shrink when washed. In the meantime, I either tuck them into my cowboy boots or roll the cuff up. With normal jeans this wouldn't look so good, but with raw selvedge denim, it looks fantastic and keeps the leg looking sharp. (Definition of selvedge denim is courtesy of the Haute Concept blog)

A.P.C. and Nudie Jeans are other brands that use selvedge denim but their prices are more expensive and they aren't made in Canada. I'm excited to see what characteristics my jeans will take on over the next few months as they accompany me through their first snowy winter.

It's nice to see a more personal connection being offered to the owner and his jeans. It brings denim back to its historical and durable roots of being a reliable second skin, making the wearer feel naked and famous.

Naked & Famous Denim can be purchased at Over The Rainbow in Toronto and at Holt Renfrew locations across Canada.

A Little Bit in Love

Have you ever been a little bit in love? It's definitely an exciting feeling. Kind of like when you get a song stuck in your head that you always want to hear cause it just sounds so good and puts you in the best mood. But deep down you know that this love is ephemeral and 2 months down the road you'll have a new obsession.

Well I have a confession to make. I'm a little bit in love with this upbeat remix of Lykke Li's catchy tune. Local Toronto DJ's AutoErotique (formerly known as VND/LSM & now signed to the Dim Mak label - woah!) have created a masterpiece that I'm a little bit addicted to.

Have a little listen here

The Royalty & Riches Report

Check out the following pictures from a charity event which I was recently involved in organizing.

The regal affair was aptly titled "Royalty & Riches" as it was held in Toronto's historic Casa Loma and was in conjunction with Christie's, the world renowned auction house.



Christie's Jewels


In order to make the party less pretentious and more attractive to young patrons, we decided to play up the bling factor and invite Kanye West.



our bling


Due to a heavy touring schedule, Kanye was unable to attend. Instead he sent us some of his backup dancers dressed up as jesters to fit in with the party's theme. With the help of local Toronto DJ Dougie Boom, emerald ring pops and chocolate covered coins, we managed to make the first snowy night of the year, one worth celebrating.

All the money raised from the event, goes to fund free admission for children of all backgrounds and ethnicities to learn about art together at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. If you're interested in becoming involved, or just enjoy attending art themed parties that support a good cause, please send me a message and I'll add you to our email list.


Special thanks to our fantastic photographer, Zach Slootsky.

Bright City Lights

Do you live in Toronto and want to be a part of something really cool, creative & colourful that will have a big impact - greater than the top of the CN Tower?

Tonight's the night. Join fellow art installation enthusiasts and help string together 1,500 LED lights to balloon supported fishing wire in order to light up the sky.

Aside from decorating the city and making Torontonian's smile, other benefits include the possibility of new friends, glowsticks and free hot chocolate. Sounds like a bright idea to me!

For more info check out the Newmindspace website and to make a donation click here. The fun gets underway at 7pm at the U of T front campus, 15 King's College Circle.

Girl Talk in Toronto!

Ever since I bought my Girl Talk ticket, 5 months ago, I have anxiously been anticipating the 12th of November. Luckily I had quite a few other momentous occasions to keep me occupied (Canada Day, TIFF, Halloween, Guy Faukes Day, the American election... to name a few) and now the day has finally arrived, quicker than expected!

Girl Talk, a.k.a., Gregg Gillis, is a young DJ who knows how to get the dance floor moving! He is well loved and loathed for his signature style of mashing up popular songs from different genres and decades to create a unique tune that makes you smile at the clever incorporation of songs you never thought would work together, but do.

Some critics hate his concept of stealing other artists' music. I think that he incorporates their work in a brilliant way and would be honoured if Girl Talk borrowed one of my songs. (Too bad I don't have any)

His latest album, Feed the Animals, is a splendid cacophonous masterpiece and can be downloaded for any price you like, right here.

United States of Change

Two years ago, while living in Boston, there was lots of buzz surrounding Obama and I knew that he would be president. No, I'm not psychic, I just realized that the States needed a new image and Obama was the man for the job. His platform of change was supported by his skin colour and passionately articulated with his Kennedy like oratorical radiance.

Thus, while watching the numbers on tv at a friend's intimate election party, I was not surprised by the final results but was quite excited by all the records that were broken on November 4th, 2008. These statistics are great proof of the change that Obama represents:

* No democrat has won North Carolina since 1976. Obama won it last night.

* No democrat has won Indiana & Virginia since LBJ was in power (think 1964).

Obama won them both.

* Nevada, Ohio, & Iowa, historically all Republican states, voted for Obama.

* The voter turn out,which typically averages around 50%, was at a whopping 64%

Sweet! Good job America. Should be an interesting next four years.

R.I.P. Halloween

Halloween, my favourite holiday of the year (tied closely with St. Patrick's Day) has officially come to an end. After prolonging the Hallow's Eve into a full out weekend, I have come to the realization, with the aided visual of decaying pumpkins, that we must wait another 362 days for creative costumes to adorn our leafy streets.

Fortunately, a good friend of mine has suggested having a halfway Halloween party on May 1st. This can either serve as practice for the real deal, or as another excuse to dress up and have a good time because we tend to lose our inhibitions when we are dressed as someone else.


I met so many fantastic people this weekend and I have no clue what they really look like but they had the right attitude and Halloween spirit which made me like them right off the bat.


Speaking of spirits and bats, here are a few of my favourite costumes from the weekend.

Surprisingly, I only saw 2 Sarah Palin's all weekend and no Obama's, although I"m sure there were plenty in the States. According to a recent poll, the most popular costume this Halloween for couples was Lindsay Lohan & Samantha Ronson who unfortunately I did not run into this year. Instead I saw the same old recycled Amy Winehouse wig and Borat jumpsuit.

I also saw quite a few business people dressed up during the day on Friday which is always a good idea. When else can you wear a stuffed bunny's head with your suit and tie? I swear I saw a man doing that on King Street Friday afternoon. He reminded me of the guy in the Daft Punk video "Da Funk" who walks around the streets of NY wearing a dog's head and no one seems to notice. It's a fantastic video that raises a lot of questions and I've posted it on the side to help you get over your Halloween malaise.

West Elm Toronto

West Elm, the younger sister to the gorgeous and rustic home decor store, Pottery Barn, has arrived in Canada, opening up in Toronto's trendy but still rather quiet, Liberty Village.

The open concept loft space and hardwood floors of West Elm Toronto offer the perfect environment to house the modern cottage like furniture that West Elm reasonably sells.

My design savvy friend, Jess, who invited me to the opening party, wrote a fabulous review of the store which can be read here.

Aside from running into milk. audio DJ, Gani and eating delicious mini quiches, a highlight of the night for me was noticing the clever use of a rock as a name card.

In addition to being environmentally friendly and having the option of keeping a personalized paperweight, the cleverly stylized rock was a good indicator of the type of modern & practical pieces that can be found at West Elm.

For those Canadians who still miss shopping at Caban, West Elm offers a wonderful alternative.

A Cool Thought

With the increased emergence of flavoured water flooding the competitive bottled beverage industry, why not create flavoured ice cubes? Or corporate ice cubes to help compete for advertising space? This would be especially popular for sponsors of important events and would also be a great idea for companies trying to target the hard to connect with 20 something generation who are so saturated by online marketing initiatives and are looking for something more memorable.

The above photo is my attempt at recreating the Volkswagon logo.

Impromptu Haiku

sunshowers are rare

droplets full with rays of light

leaving a warm glow

Toronto Fashion Week

Saturday night marked the end of Toronto's Fashion Week, with Maroon 5 providing the closing festivities at Nathan Phillips Square. That's right - Maroon 5, an American band, was chosen to perform instead of a Canadian artist, since we already saw enough local talent over the week.

I guess Maroon 5 appeals to both of the demographics in attendance at Fashion week: celebrity/pop culture obsessed ladies + gay guys. Anyway, to a worldwide company like LG, whom was sponsoring the event, it doesn't matter where the band's from as long as entertainment + lifestyle can all be connected to their stylish new phone.

Aside from the few designers who showcased samples from their collections last night, the only full show I attended was the Joe Fresh Spring '09 one. I hate the simple, boring and cheap clothes that Joe Fresh offers but was nonetheless excited for the event as my friend DJ FLOH BACK was providing the soundtrack which definitely drew more rave reviews than the clothes.

To emphasize the lack lustre clothes, anorexic models with boring super flat hair were chosen to frown as they walked down the runway in extremely high stilletos that totally clashed with the K-Mart-esque styles of Joe Fresh.

I know it must be hard to market a cheap clothing line to the fashionistas in attendance, as they would never be caught buying clothes at a supermarket or in the suburbs (where most Joe Fresh stores are located) so why try to appeal to trendsetters by not being true to your brand image?

The show could've been a lot more realistic had healthier looking models been chosen. The models should have smiled too - because at Joe Fresh you can buy a knock off Ralph Lauren cardigan for $20.

No matter who your audience is, you have to stay true to your brand image, because having a confused brand makes things difficult for the consumer. Although I guess Joe Fresh doesn't really have its own brand identity since it just copies other designers' fashions.

Royalty & Riches

Attention Toronto residents: Next Tuesday, October 28th, is your chance to....

Party in a castle

with a queen & king

an open bar

& lots of bling!

The Canadian Friends of the Israel Museum is an organization that throws really cool art themed parties around the world. This month, the Toronto chapter has teamed up with Christie's to bring you an exclusive viewing and briefing of gems, jewels & watches from Christie's New York.

The excitement is taking place at Toronto's own historic Casa Loma. DJ Dougie Boom will be supplying the beats so make sure your dancing shoes match that party dress.

All the money raised from the event goes towards funding free admission for children of all faiths and ethnicities to learn about art together at Israel's national museum. Pretty cool stuff.

For more information and to buy your tickets click here

Dancing Mascots & Other Nuit Blanche Highlights

Nuit Blanche 2008 was a night to remember and one that took several days to recover from. As mentioned in my previous post, there were a lot of exciting DJ sets to check out. My fellow art committee members and I started out at The Drake, Toronto's art & cultural boutique hotel, to hear Mike Relm DJ on the rooftop patio. I was a bit disappointed by his performance since it was 90% identical to his last show in Toronto in 2007.

We then headed back to my place for a few pick me up drinks and some delicious cheese. The Ski Queen Gjetost cheese that I inhaled, looked like peanut butter but tasted like caramel. Incredible.


After refueling, we ventured back to Toronto's Art & Design District where we were amused by the red lights in Trinity Bellwoods Park and the random art displays in the numerous galleries and alleyways lining the strip. It was also fun to experience the unplanned run-in's from co-workers and friends who were amongst the thousands of people frolicking in the street.


Next stop was my friend's birthday party on Ossington where we practiced our dance moves at Levack Block, only to show them off when the bar closed at Rolly's Garage, which was one heck of a dance party!


The pics below are of the 84.85 at Rolly's Garage. Colin, the rapper, is in the green hat, while Jay, the DJ, is spinning his magic.






I didn't think the night could get any better until we hit up OPOPO's 2nd annual impromptu Nuit Blanche Take Over the Street Dance Party!!!! The energy in the air was so intense that we decided to head over to Liberty Village around 5am to cool off. Sometimes too much fun can be overwhelming.









We stumbled upon more random art installations in corners, alleys and even coming out of windows, like a giant waterfall! At first I thought I was dreaming cause I was so tired but there was actually a waterfall coming out of a window from one of the old historic buildings in Liberty Village. Click on this youtube video if you don't believe me


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To end off a fantastic night, we danced to early 90's happy music at Lamport Stadium with an assortment of mascots as our guides. Seriously. Check it out on the youtube video bar to the right of the page. Enjoy!

Nuit Blanche

Nuit Blanche, or White Night, for those of you who don't speak French, is an all night art event that started in Paris and has spread to many other world class cities. Torontonians seem to love Nuit Blanche and have doubled their attendance rates from the 2006 inaugural year to last year's recorded number of 800,000! With some major sponsorship money coming in from Scotiabank and a general positive vibe from locals and media outlets, it looks like this year will be bigger & brighter, filled with more exciting nighttime treats.

Last year I ended up at an adhoc car wash party on Queen West near Gladstone Avenue where I danced till the sun came up to the awesome electronic/house beats of OPOPO & Operon. This special event was not part of Nuit Blanche but anything goes on a night where art is in charge! The boys who DJ'ed knew that no one would care if they were taking over private property to play really loud music when people down the street were watching random objects being thrown from the roof of a building, all in the name of art! If this type of stunt is of interest to you, be sure to check out SMASH! Droppin' Stuff! in Liberty Village.





Unfortunately the car wash has ceased to exist in order to make room for more condo's (surprise) Fortunately, rumour has it there could very well be another sporadic dance party taking place nearby, but the location for now remains a secret. My recommendation is to hang out in the Queen West area and you'll be sure to stumble upon some kick-ass beats at 4am, not to mention tons of cool art installations along the way.


I"m going to try and check out Mike Relm who will be performing at The Drake earlier on in the night. Mike Relm is one of the coolest and most original DJ's I"ve ever seen as he incorporates videos (often controversial) into his music in order to keep the listener thinking while dancing.



After his performance I'm going to head over to an abandoned garage on Ossington to catch The 84.85 in action with Syntonics. It's not every night you get to party in an abandoned garage and Nuit Blanche helps local residents remember that art can be found anywhere at any time of day, in numerous forms.


So next time you see that random looking object on a sidewalk corner, you might want to have another look. Maybe it has a deeper, hidden meaning that only a young child can understand, or 1 million Torontonians on a magical night.


Nuit Blanche runs from 6:52pm to 6:52am on Saturday, October 4th - 5th.