THE URBAN I-TIE

Randomness…

Toronto is as far south as the French Riviera. 

Sigh..if only we had a more beachy-hot summer..with yachts and such.

After a couple of years, one of the best shows to appear on tv in a long time, “The Boondocks” is returning with Season 3, sometime in 2010.  I can’t freaking wait!!!  I have been going through some Riley & Huey withdrawals for quite some time – as I’m sure others have as well.  Wonder what will ensue this time around…..countdown is on!!!

◙   According to Canada’s Chief of Defence, General Walt Natynczyk, Canadian troops will be removed from Afghanistan by July 2011.  I, for one, really do hope this happens.

◙   The United Nations has declared (finally) July 18, Nelson Mandela International Day. 

◙   German goalkeeper Robert Enke has ended his life after years of suffering from depression.  My condolences to his wife and family.

◙   Oh, Brits have a bad rep!  According to dating site beautifulpeople.com, Brits are among the ‘ugliest’ people in the world.

◙   Two former Bear-Stearns exec’s are acquited from their charges….Surprise, surprise.

First discovered in 2002 but not originally labelled as a Supernova, astronomers have now declared this new found wonder of another galaxy, SM 2002bj, a representation of “a new class of rapidly exploding star.” 

And because Oasis are/were amazing and they sang about a Supernova oh so long ago…..

Hey, just like the following writer mentions, it’s great to be a winner for a change!  I’m excited for the games, so what, it’s not the Olympics.  We’ll be hosting the Olympics in Canada at least in February…But for the city and the Greater Toronto Area, it’s going to be bring a lot of opportunity, jobs, tourism and the spotlight on Toronto for a change….besides hearing about sports teams who aren’t succeeding.  Ya, the debt is gonna be big but for those complaining, we should be blaming the auto industry and union pressure, and unnecessary fighting, for a lot of the debt that Ontario and the Feds have incurred over the past year.  No offense or anything to those negatively affected by the manufacturing/trades/auto industries, or the military/armed forces, but tax dollars went more to that than what the Pam Am Games will incurr.  I can’t wait for all the transit improvements and new sports facilities, amongst many other things.  Congrats TO!  Enjoyyy it!

Happy 40th anniversary Sesame Street!  My childhood wouldn’t have been the same without you!  Cookie Monster will forever eat cooooookies!!!

I still love rubber duckies!!!

Intel has been handed another hefty lawsuit for it’s ridiculous business practices
◙  New York’s Attorney General has handed Intel an antitrust lawsuit for its “illegal business practices” – paying computer distributors big dollars to strictly use Intel processors as opposed to their competitor, AMD.  Well, as the saying goes, money talks and bullshit walks.

Yayyy, the New York Yankees have won another World Series
◙   It’s the 27th time they’ve won the championship.  I guess it makes everything better for all of America.

More H1N1 vaccine drama….
◙   Wall Street employees get access to the shot before millions of others who actually need the shot.  Here  in Canada, more professional athletes (NHL players, for example) are receiving the shot before the rest of the general public, which in both cases has people extremely upset.  We know why these groups got the shots before the average-Joe, but really, how are they more at risk than other people?  They’re the percentage of people who can actually afford any type of medical care they would need.  Once again, money talks……

12 dead after rampage shooting at army base in Texas
◙   A horrifying incident for all who were there at the Fort Hood military base in Texas today.  31 people were wounded and 12 people are dead after a fellow soldier started shooting at his own comrades.  It was thought that he was dead but he’s in hospital recovering from gunshot wounds as well, after a female soldier shot back at him.  Reports are saying that US authorities knew about the soldier (Major Malik Nadal Hasan) 6 months ago as he had posted threats on the internet about suicide bombings and other attacks, but they’re still questioning whether it really was him or not.  I wonder what will come out of all this – besides him getting the death penalty.  What a crazyass mofo.

◙   Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will be co-hosting the Oscars.  I hope we can see some Jack Donaghey-ness on stage….I’m thinking it’ll be a good show.

◙   No Doubt is suing Activision (the makers of Guitar Hero) over the newest game “Band Hero” over a feature that allows players to control band members, to sing other artists’ songs. 

◙   Rihanna is finally sharing her side of the story.  Diane Sawyer interviews her on Good Morning America about the situation/abuse that took place between herself and Chris Brown, with the interview also showing on 20/20.  Timing couldn’t be any better with Rihanna’s new album coming out on November 23.  I’m sure she’s sincere about what she discusses but the timing of the interview is just a little wack, in my opinion at least.  Play on the heartstrings of young girls and women out there Rihanna and company, just to make a buck.

“They say every Jewish man is supposed to love one black motherfucker in his life.  I’m glad Lorne Michaels chose me.”

I always liked Tracy Morgan and his comedic ways.  His autobiography was just released a couple of days ago, “I Am the New Black”, and the exerpts of his book that I’ve read are not only funny but he definitely digs deep into the not-so-funny moments of his life.  Aside from the book, all of the press work he’s been doing, is freaking hilarious.  Personally, I wouldn’t reference Playboy for anything but their 20 questions with the man is well worth it cuz the man is crazy – good crazy of course!!  You gotta check that and his interview with GQ.

One of my fave Canadians, Rick Mercer, and his little rendition of the “uber-Canadian program” Battle of the Blades….bad bad boyyyy!!!!

◙   U2′s second last concert of their 360 Degrees tour will be live streamed on their website and afterwards on Youtube this Sunday.  I was lucky enough to get to see them last month and it was a wicked show!!   More details here…

◙   And it continues….Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe is suing someone for $500, 000 and no, it’s not someone in the Jackson family.  A supposed ‘friend’ of Debbie Rowe, Rebecca White, spoke to US media shortly after MJ’s death about Rowe not wanting custody of her kids, and now the ex-Mrs. Jackson is suing for defamation and invasion of privacy.  Hmmm, wonder what the decision will be.

◙   As much as I don’t want to post this (I’ve had a crush on Eddie since his early Y & R days and when he was in 3Deep), TMZ has a pic of Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes walking hand-in-hand, even after denying rumours that they weren’t having an affair.  Looks like it’s really on…**tear. 

◙   ‘Gourmet’ magazine will be calling it quits, with their last issue going out in November.  More…

◙   Baseball announcer on TNT, David Wells, farted on national TV and his co-anchors/colleagues called him out on it. 

◙   The Lady Gaga “Heartbeats” earphones by Dr.Dre/Monster.  Not sure if they’re worth $100+…. 

◙   David Beckham & LA designer James Bond collabo for Adidas’ Originals by Originals fall collection  (source)

◙   T-Pain has his own iPhone app, “I Am T-Pain” which is all about, you guessed it, Auto-tuning!  If you have an iPhone, you should hook yourself up because you never know, you could become rich making songs with Auto-tune too!  Even though I’m over the whole Auto-tune bit, looks amusing…

◙   Kobe Bryant in the October Issue of L’Uomo Vogue  (source)

◙   Megan Fox is the new face for Armani underwear for women.  I guess she’s taking over for Victoria Beckham…not sure what happened there (she better not be posing with David Becks either in the new ads due out in a few months).  Just like many women would agree, I wouldn’t buy bras or panties that either Posh or Megan Fox would be paid to endorse.  I don’t think either of them have that appeal to lure me into spending money on undergarments, no matter what the brand.  Story…

◙   Drizzy Drake won the “Rookie of the Year” award on the weekend at the BET Hip Hop Awards.  Here’s hoping this leads to more…On the other hand, Kanye West was a no show.  Was it all to prevent another ‘i’ma let you finish’ moment??  More..

◙   Steve Jobs and his Apple genius will be providing their skills to revamping Disney stores in the USA and Europe to give a more interactive approach to customers, and probably less merchandise in the stores.  Will there be Mickey Mouse iPod earphones??  I know I want a pair!! 

◙   Could U.S. health care reform be around the corner?  I’m still apprehensive about it….but the Senate committee has given its approval.  More on this…

◙   Model-of-all-trades, Heidi Klum and her husband Seal welcomed their new baby girl, Lou Sulola Samuel, on October 9th.  This is Seal and Heidi’s 3rd baby, but she has another daughter from a previous marriage.  For some reason, she makes being/looking pregnant the easiest thing to do.  Congratulations to the happy family!

◙   Michael Jackson has been nominated for 5 American Music Awards, including his ‘Number Ones’ album for Best Album.  Even though decisions may be based on the last few years of his life, I don’t think that should be taken into consideration, instead they should be recognizing his artistry.  No more drama necessary…I think there’s been enough.

◙   Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté speaks again to media in Russia about his momentous trip to space and his worldwide concert to bring awareness to making safe drinking water more accessible.  I can appreciate his efforts but couldn’t his $35 million spent to go on his trip be put to better use?  Article…

◙   Bloomberg Media buys BusinessWeek magazine….just another notch on Mayor Bloomberg’s financial belt.

◙   Facebook hacking has gone out of control.  I think many FB users can say they know at least one person whose account has been hacked and this time it’s hit a real low.  Shelby Breimer‘s deceased mother’s fb account had her status changed to promote a colon cleanser product.  Just hearing about this urkes me, and I can only imagine what Ms. Breimer has gone through being that her mom passed away less than a year ago.  Facebook, you better step up on this one and improve your security and account maintenance for ALL users.  Even though some may say this was a really bad coincidence, it’s still wrong.

◙   Not that I care, but Miley Cyrus has deleted her twitter account and even made a ridonculous video of her rapping about it – which starts off in a bathroom of sorts and alongside a bad porn music beat.  Wtf.  She has nothing better to do with her millions of Disney dollars???

◙   Au revoir Le Louvre; Egypt fights to get back what’s rightfully theirs….

◙   Italian Prime Minister aka wannabe pimp aka Silvio Berlusconi, may not be as well liked anymore in Italy, as much as he wants to.  Will anything ever get him to resign?

◙   David Beckham – you better go back to the Galaxy in two weeks…

◙   Italy’s captain Fabio Cannavaro failed a drug test – but looks like it’s only cordisone?  Hope he’s not going to be suspended for the remainder of Italy’s world cup qualifying games.

◙   A guilty plea from one of the members/co-founders of the “Toronto 18” terrorist group, who plotted to bomb several sites in Toronto such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, CN Tower and other government offices/buildings.

Mad Men - finally a permanent resident of Draperland….

Louis Vuitton Women’s Spring/Summer 2010 – when did ‘drag queen’ look good again??

D & G Men’s Spring/Summer 2009 – love the material that looks like one of my older relatives’ couches…circa 20 years ago.  Nice shades though.

Jean Paul Gaultier Women’s  Spring/Summer 2010 – cone-bra cups are the new shoulder pads!!
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◙   Same-sex marriages to be legit in Washington D.C. soon??    (article)

◙   Wow, insomnia meds can cause sleep-walking —-  talk about counterproductive.   (story)

◙   How to prepare yourself for the flu:

Well kids, if you want healthy sperm then you gotta have lotsa sex and boys, cut back on the soy.  Whomever volunteered in that study must have had a blast.  (article)