Simon's Cat

I've been an avid follower of Simon's Cat for a while now. He's fab. Here's his latest adventure, chasing a fly. It's a hard life being a cat. I think Simon's next animation should be about cats who dig up plants, because if I catch mine doing it again she's gonna get a kick up the bum all the way to B&Q. Enough of the waffle, watch 'Fly Guy' and other such classics here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qHVVbYG8Y&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fpda%2F2009%2Fjul%2F31%2Fviral-video-chart-wedding-dance&feature=player_embedded

Thanks to Aimee for bringing Simon's Cat back to me.
eJane

Gimme some o that styrofoam

1 boy, 185 cups.

...


it never gets old.

View more here. Nice work, Boey!

Long live The Piv

Jeremy Piven is in Toronto.

Other pop culture references that might help you decipher exactly how I'm feeling:

- when Jake shows up to Samantha's door in Sixteen Candles
- when Edward Lewis climbs up the fire escape in Pretty Woman
- when Troy Dyer tells Lelaina Pierce that, "This is all we need. Coffee, cigarettes and good conversation" in Reality Bites

Namely, I'm crushing.

As Taylor Kaye said on Virgin Radio Toronto this morning, "I loved the Piven before there was Entourage... when he had more hair..."

The hair I care not, but I agree with the pre-Entourage ode. J'heart the Piven of the Cusack years, the Piv that made out with Paige on Ellen, the Piv that had the short lived [and yet beautifully witty] series "Cupid".

So if you have time this week, I encourage you to discover this Piven. Take a trip to your local B-l-o-c-k-busters and try to rent these babies:












Disappoint you, they will not.
Make you love the Piven more than I, they will not.
Make you have warm affection feelings towards the Piven that may rival mine, they will.
Enjoy!

My favorite dance in the entire world

Can be found by clicking here.

But I like It

I don't know why or what for but I think it's good. zhishi
eJane

Imelda May

Slonked our way to a soggy Roundhouse in north ladan on Sunday evening to see a free gig from Imelda May thanks to winning some freebies from itunes. And I thought I never won nufink!Brilliant and well worth the trek, shame the same couldnt be said for Madeleine Peyroux, not worth the healine act if you ask me. Imelda sure knows how to belt it out, her recorded tracks don't do her voice justice, check her out of Spotify.
eJane

Awkward Family Photos

View more here.

Write Something, Anything

Just recently found & am becoming a huge fan of WriteSomething.net, a site that can only be described as what would occur if PostSecret and Twitter joined forces. Described by themselves as an "endless senseless collaborative book", you can type anything that's on your mind, of any length [within reason] without having to sign up or have a profile or a snazzy dazzy photo of yourself. Purely anonymous brain diarrhea.

See if you can spot the shameless self promotion for blog du jane jane.
Clue: it's in the image above.

Once upon a penpal

When I was twelve and obsessed with horses, I began subscribing to a horse lovers magazine. The readership was concentrated on young girls in their tweens and, before the scary harydom of paedos in internet chat rooms, there was a printed section with penpal ads.

I can't fully remember if I placed an ad or if I found this ad by accident but suddenly, magically, my twelve year old self had a penpal with the EXACTLY same name as myself and for months on end this novelty refused to wear off.

Heather the Second and I shared nothing in common except for our similar names. She was two years older than I and already into drugs and boyfriends, and I'm pretty damn sure that if we were ever at the same school together she would've punched me in the face instead of befriended me, but still! We had the same name and liked horses. Wowee!! Go us!

A recent article from the BBC speaks of how appealing the same name game is, especially with the advent of facebook and people tempted to google themselves looking for their name twin. Why is there any appeal to this whatsoever? [I refuse to take any hypocritical criticism on writing for a blog sprouted from having the same middle name ;)].

I pass you on to an article written by Laura Schocker to find out why...
Read it here.


And if you ever find me again, Heather the Second... please don't punch me in the face... I like horses???

My cat's left handed

This is Lauren Conrad, the newest addition to my pomo familia:



New Scientist has just released an article that domestic cats are actually right or left pawed.

LC seems to be neither at the moment... lifting a paw is just a trife too hard for such a Hollywood starlet. We're working on her opening her own cans of tuna, but hey... at least her tail seems to be ambidextrous.

To find out if your feline is a lefty or a righty, click here.

Furniture Ambitions

Here's some furniture from Kurt Dexel. I want it, ney, I NEED this, my flat NEEDS this. Mr flat got so angry with me once that he threw me down the stairs and bruised my bottom. All because I didn't supply him with enough nice things. Don't let this happen again, donate here.

http://www.contemporist.com/2009/07/19/the-angular-collection-by-kurt-dexel/#more-5017

Review: 500 Days of Summer

Last night I finally got to see the much anticipated 500 Days of Summer. I have been obsessively stalking this film since the day I first saw the trailer up on the silver screen. Which brings me to a mental note: DO NOT watch a film's trailer 25 times before you go see the movie! Especially this film... it will ruin the first five minutes for you!
(I was reminded of the time when I went to go see When Harry Met Sally: The Musical [stop judging], and realized with a slow, painful horror that there had been absolutely no re-writes in the script from screen to stage. Knowing something off by heart definitely takes away from the suspending your disbelief factor!)

Anyways, despite smuggly guffawing into my popcorn at already being able to recite the lines from many a scene [the trailer is 2 mins and 27 seconds afterall], 500 Days definitely delivered everything it promised, and should be archived as a culture time capsule of what was cool with kids in the late 2000's. Namely, girls with bangs, The Smiths, dressing like we're in the '50s, and overlaying it all with graphic interludes that look like your next birthday card from Paperchase:


They even threw in a shout-out to Alain de Botton. Hey-o!


Admittedly, 500 Days held much more depth than I had originally given it credit to. I thought I'd leave the theatre with a tummy full of warm fuzzies, gummy bears and that lovin' feeling. Instead, 500 Days has a screenplay that resonates the honesty of relationships that few films are successful in capturing... Closer and Revolutionary Road to name a few.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines as Tom, a love struck, wannabe architect who meets the love of his life, Summer [Zooey Deschanel] at the greeting card company they work for. What follows is a non-linear narrative [yeah I went to film school] of their entire relationship, from break up to break down. Definitely worth a gander. And I want the soundtrack.

Rating: 5 J's and a pancake. Maybe some syrup for those babies too.

Who's afraid of Britney Spears?

I am, I am, me, me, me!





Brit is back and scarier than ever. These photos are from the new Candie’s Ad Campaign for Fall/Winter 2009/10.

Britney, I love you, but I liked you better fat and bald. At least then you didn't look like a photoshopped version of yourself. Don't you remember writing Overprotected / Lucky / Piece of Me??!
Oh wait.
You didn't.

My advice? "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."
Damn the man and eat some chips!

More photos here.

Pitch Day

I predict it will involve some great work along with eating way too much (I tend to turn into some kind of food monster), no sleeping, star jumps dressed as a penguin and getting annoyed with the voice mails on Spotify.

For those of you who aren't lucky enough to know about (or have access to, Canada) Spotify, it's a great way to listen to music without paying and downloading. The ads are a draw back (the way they pay themselves)but all is forgiven when I feel the need to listen to Wuthering Heights at 2 am on a pitch night........
eJane

http://www.spotify.com/en/

Where The Wild Things Went

Occasionally I dapple in a little sumpin' sumpin called Adbeats. Here is my take on Where The Wild Things Are, featuring a future version of Max with Adbeats producer, Tommy Zee.

HJane ♥

Inky

A great experiment by Matt Robinson, how much ink do you use per font? A question I am sure you have all asked yourself at one time or another. So Impact uses the most, I guess that makes logical sense. Can't say i'll be swapping to Brush Script any time soon mind, its just plain icky. And yes, that is a technical term!
see more here: http://worldfamousdesignjunkies.com/typography/at-what-price-cooper-black/
eJane

I can't decide if this is bloody useful or cheating?
eJane

http://www.pictaculous.com/

Pretty Woman – I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money

Now, HJane, don't hate me!It's how it translates, honest.

http://movies.sky.com/movie-titles-translated

Shelsley Walsh

A great weekend spent visiting la parent, managed to sneak in a quick visit to Selsley Walsh. Great to watch cars and bikes do their best up this hill climb and wonder around the pitts. You can find out more about their events here: http://www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk/
Advice: Enter for free if you can tag along with a local who can prove their address (thanks Pa!) or turn up for the last half an hour and no one seems to notice you. Perfecto!
eJane

Sometimes I think we're just plain odd

This is part of an eBay listing my other half posted for a camera today, I think he is a little stranger than I originally thought. Interesting read even if you don't buy it.
eJane

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120447527780

Schwimmers

Swimmers in the water off Brighton sea front, in April, in the UK. Painted from a photo, this was given to my brother for his birthday. Who knows if he has it on his wall, but I like to think so. And yes, these swimmers must have been insane. The water around the UK is cold at the best of times, but in April? madness.
eJane

Breakfast with Bill Cosby

This morning in the midst of a croissant run I looked up and saw that I was having breakfast with Bill Cosby. If you too would like to eat croissants with Bill, follow this link [by foot and mouse].

Imaginary Friend

My mum had an imaginary friend as a child. His name was Burt. My nan said he had to get off because he was too heavy. The End
eJane

The Tragic Tale of a Sidewalk

Years ago in T City I came across this message scrawled onto the pavement with some yellow chalk. Luckily I had my disposable camera in tow [I did say years ago... Loblaws + disposables + processing included = great Saturdates].

I always wondered just what had happened to "her" and what had happened to the chalk bearer... was it a break up? Was it a death? A friend going away? A right of passage? I would expect this confession to appear along Kensington, or perhaps the early days of Queen West, but the intersection of McCaul & Richmond seemed most unlikely for a tragic love tale.

Whoever went through it, wherever it took place, I'm glad they documented it, if only until the next rain fall.

HJane ♥

The Beauty of the Postcard

So PostSecret managed to make these babies cool again, but why not bring the postcard back into your everyday life, sans the deep dark secret confessions? Great for love letters + lunch notes + cheap framed art for your starving apartment walls.

Recession Progression Tip:
A pack of 30 postcards will set you back around $10 USD, the equivalent of the cost of two birthday cards. Use these for birthday cards instead and you'll get an extra 28 celebrations, hey-o!
Plus you'll also get "you're the supercoolest" points FREE from your friends. Barg-wain!

Chronicle Books do great postcards, all around $10 USD / pack. Featured here are ones from the collections Catalog Woman and Romance Pulp:





Want to be even thriftier? Many charity shops have a postcard basket where you can purchase old, unused postcards for 10¢ each. So go on and fake that trip to California in the 70's! Who cares if you were born in '81??!

Long live the postcard! We heart.

HJane ♥

Keith Loutit

p.s talking of tilt shift, great stop frame animation here:
http://vimeo.com/3156959
by Keith Loutit.
eJane

Little People

I don't normally bother to even look at the 20 emails I get a day from photography agents. They need to try harder than an email (i.e pastries!). But today I decided to open and click, and what do ya know, a great little find in the form of Rob Casey. Little people and tilt shift photography seem to be all the rage right now but Rob also has a great selection of 'serious' images too.
You can see more of Robs work here: http://www.robcasey.net/main.php

Swerve

The nice people from Swerve Photography popped in this morning and enticed us with mini pastries Mmmmmmmm. Apart from the pastries, these 2 guys caught my attention. Some great vivid images from David Sykes and Rooney. A nice sunny start to the day and seeing work like this always makes be very jealous but also encourages me to pick up the camera and take a few snappy snaps. I'll let you know how I get on.

You can see more of their work here http://swervephotography.com/

eJane

Who is your favorite member of Suggs?

http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/#

This intrigues me. Google maps allows you to see the favorite places of 'celebs' around your town. So far the guy from Suggs (T Town- Whom I hear you ask, see above) doesn't really get me going. I'll keep an eye on this one just in case Brad Pitt decides his favorite Indian take away is just down the road. eJane

Ursula

Here's a painting I did a few weekends of my Nan Ursula who sadly passed away 3 years ago. Regardless of its quality it hangs on the wall in my flat and brings back great memories every time I see it. An old friend told me last weekend that she was very jealous when we were kids because my Nan kept me in good supply of Um Bongo. If you've never had it it is worth a sippage!
ejane

Confessions of a Rhyme Lime

For all you writers out there, let me introduce you to RhymeZone.
As much as it breaks my thesaurus.com lovin heart, RhymeZone helps us wannabe rappers come up with some mad beats to shock the peeps!
Or something like that...

Disowning myself after this post,
HJane ♥

Watch: 500 Days of Summer

Friday marks the T City release of 500 Days of Summer, and this Jane is peeing her pants with excitement. It gives all of us artsy gals a new film world to dream in that hasn't been around since Zach Braff rolled up to Garden State, and all the artsy boys something new to complain about while we ooo and aah.



The best bit [despite the super cute love story & the return of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in my life] is that you can make your own 500 Days of Summer poster here with your photos from facebook, or by uploading ones from your desk top. Someone at Fox Searchlight isn't afraid to market! And I'm lapping up every bit...

To see when Summer comes to your town, click here. You might have to wait a bit for it to get to L Town, eJane, but I'll send you the DVD!

Art Fair in T City

Last weekend in T City, SJane and I stumbled across the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. Amongst my faves were works by Carmen Schroeder [art pictured above] who created line drawings of the bee-autiful T Dot and layered them to create 3 dimensional paintings. These are just her business cards and I already want to frame them! Perhaps some cheap free art for l'appartemente du fun fun?

Also a massive fan of the work of Chi Nakajima, who comes equipped with a killer portfolio and only an email address... if anyone hears of her having a site, please pass on the URL!



Carmen Schroeder can be reached at carmen.schroeder@gmail.com
Chi Nakajima can be reached at chi.nakajima@gmail.com