dear canada.

i guess i just wanted to apologise for taking off a couple of years ago and thinking that i didn't need or like you anymore (not the people, mostly the cities). i don't know, i can blame it on a lot of factors, but canada just wasn't the place for me back then. anyway, after visiting and sort of getting to reacquaint myself with people, places and things... i have to admit i may have been a bit unfair in my criticisms.

toronto - you actually have some great shops and galleries and a couple of bars with rad bartenders and wicked djs that i wouldn't mind seeing on a regular basis. you have some very lovely restaurants, and even though it was 30 below and covered in snow and ice, college street still makes me long for a nice cappuccino on the patio at the Cafe Diplomatico on a sunday morning in august. there are quite a number of amazingly sweet girls in toronto as well that i miss a whole bunch and cannot even begin to thank for being so hospitable and wonderful (ti, meg, nicole, carly, linds...).

oakville - wow, totally never gave you enough credit. i imagine that that is kind of normal, to need to 'escape' a hometown for some people. i was definitely a cliche in that respect. but in this case, there is such an amazing bunch of people there that i am pretty sure the town could be a garbage pit and it wouldn't even matter. i loved partying with so many old friends... i'm really glad i got to spend time with some pretty special dudes and ladies.

montreal - i think i have made it pretty clear how wicked i think you are. enough said.

so, to sum it up, i felt the need to expressly acknowledge that canada is pretty friggin' sweet. also, just to say that i had a very lovely time being home and wanted to send kisses and hugs to everyone that made it a memorable trip.

luuuuuuuv brennie.

they don't love you like i love you.

heard this song today and it stopped me in my tracks. some sounds just get ya - i believe you should hear this one at least once a week if not more. tried to embed it but all the vids on youtube have been 'disabled by request'. lame.

:: yeah yeah yeahs - maps ::

Happy Australia Day lovelies!

Top 10 on the Triple J top 100 of 2008:

1. Kings of Leon : Sex On Fire
2. MGMT : Electric Feel
3. Kings Of Leon : Use Somebody
4. Empire Of The Sun : Walking On A Dream
5. MGMT : Kids
6. The Presets : Talk Like That
7. Pez : The Festival Song
8. The Presets : This Boy’s In Love
9. The Ting Tings : That’s Not My Name
10. Darpht : Jimmy Recard

And this is what it looks like on January 26th in Melbourne. Just chillin'.


* photo cred to Melania

brand new key.

i wanna be writing and singing songs like this lady.



:: melanie safka ::

Heath.

super sad. can't actually get my head around the fact that it happened a year ago already. love to his fam, michelle and matilda. xx

new band crush: the dodos.

dig that sweaty moustache at the beginning of the clip. i love new love. yay!

hope and virtue.

today appeared to unfold like a wedding day of sorts, full of celebration and pomp and circumstance. now we are all anxiously awaiting to see how this marriage between a charismatic leader and a nation in turmoil plays out... pretty amazing time to bare witness, no?

yo, costa. love ya.

clementine and sky.

*all photos kidnapped from various 'house tours' on :: apartment therapy ::

nice.

'Matthew Williamson's Color-Crazy London Home', Elle Decoration UK, January 2009

oh man.

actually don't know if i should be allowed to have one. total head-smooshing.

trevor.

everyone's so focused clearly with sunshine.

witnessed these cuties in a tiny club in melbourne. nostalgia city, september 2007... loved it so much.



p.s. shout-out to clay for the ticket, i may still owe you 40$.

one year.

you are my favourite. xx lb

skins.

i've been collecting tv series suggestions and so far this one is the most intriguing, being described to me as 'dawson's creek (uh, SOLD.) with way more sex, drugs and british accents'. she had me at dawson's creek, so i am disregarding my dislike of the brit accent to check this show out. also, the 'hot, popular guy' is the awkward kid from About a Boy. good for him!

to get started... here is the first episode kiddies: :: Season 1, Episode 1 'TONY' ::

hail/climate change

her work is powerful, confronting and just blew my mind. not only are the photos stunning, but the way they are mounted and coated in resin is very effective. if you are in Toronto, go check out Talia Shipman's 'Exodus: The Ten Plagues' at Angell Gallery, 890 Queen Street West until February 14th. in this series, she interprets the biblical plagues of Egypt using modern examples currently plaguing humanity, i.e. 'hail/climate change' (shown above), 'lice/surveillance' and 'frogs/over population'. click here to see the full series :: Talia Shipman :: p.s. ryerson grad, represent!

Polytechnique.

"Upcoming Canadian-Quebec film "Polytechnique", released by Alliance Vivafilm and Remstar, and directed by Denis Villeneuve. The film depicts the Montreal Massacre of 1989, where a young man murdered 14 women at Montreal's Polytechnique school. It was the deadliest school shooting of the 20th century, and remains to this day the deadliest massacre in Canadian history.

Easily one of the most controversial films in Canadian cinema history. In theatres February 6, 2009."

poor sophie.

i am pretty behind on amazing youtubeness, but i found this quite worthy of being shared in case some of you (like me) had not had the privilege of viewing this touching documentary of a parent's struggle to help his daughter to walk.



cred to these dudes: :: street boners and tv carnage ::

joe the plumber: war correspondent.

looks like being mccain's poster boy for 'average joes' has gone to this guy's head... pretty impressed at how aggressive this newscaster gets in his rebuke though. it's so painful to watch these people who experience any sort of fleeting tv glory attempt to remain in the spotlight in any way they possibly can, no matter how inappropriate their chosen method may be... i.e. reality tv stars from survivor becoming talk show hosts or dr. phil's wife making some lame and awkward guest appearance on a soap opera today to promote HER book, shameless!

black & gold.

you know, makin' stuff.


vive le quebec!

happy bday baby.

t&s everytime.

these girls have a way with words that pretty much sums it all up.

dr. dog

thanks jesse, i'm digging these dudes.

stunning.

came across this fine LA lady's work, :: alex prager ::. how beautiful is her big valley series? wow.

love.

good talk. xx lb

not to blame for bittersweet distractors...

makes your heart ache a little.

second chance

liam finn, kiwi.

tattoo?

if i ever get one, it will totally look something like this. beauty.
:: patterns and pistols by linn olofsdotter ::

frankie.

i miss my frankie fix...

if you loved :: jane ::, you will probably want to marry and have babies with
:: frankie :: , the art, music, craft, fashion and life mag for aussie ladies. great balance of witty stories, cute fashion finds, local and international artist/designer bios and you get an adorable 2 month calendar designed by talented artists in every issue. worth a subscription if you are still searching for something to replace good ol' janer.

cute city.

i'll take one of each please.

pb&j. mmmm.
click.

extra mustard.

i'll write you a postcard, i'll send you the news, from a house down the road...from real love...
sew cute.

red bull!

:: girlz lyfe :: (not into the 'krazy kool' spelling of the site name, but fun stuff there nonetheless)

dear montreal (it's me again)...

my brother, who is great and does not look anything like anyone i know (at ALL), is pretty much certain he is moving to montreal in like a month. please post all amazing apartment links/job posts/cool things he should know about here.

luuuuuv brennie.

NOTE: the above photo is not of my brother.

donnie darko soundtrack.

so good.




thanks greg for the reminder.

tough guy.

hey australia!

to all my lovelies gearing up for a bbq in 30 degree weather at my house in melb... this is what we do for kicks in -20 ('feels like -30') degree weather at my cottage in muskoka.


...that's a scarf wrapped around my head. and YES, i know my feet are ginormous.

KI (KIS) the vital force in Chinese thought.

Scrabble is the worst. ki, qi, re, ree (as in 'REE' the female Eurasian sandpiper(?!)), dido... all words. leo? as in the star sign? not a word. repentant? not a word. this game is bogus, and i just spent two hours getting beat by my bro who apparently knows a shitload of tiny Chinese words that get you triple word scores.

dear casio.

thanks for my watch. it makes cool beeping noises and is very shiny. awesome! (note: it looks much larger in this photo than it is in real life, it is actually quite dainty and feminine, ha!)

luuuuv brennie.

i know juss juss whatchou are ah are...

:: Womanizer ::
:: Lost ::

wicked tunes. mtl 2008/9.

dear montreal...

i have had a really randomly lovely time over the past few days. saw my cousin, she is crazy and wonderful and so hospitable. chilled with my bro, it has been indescribable to have real time with him to catch up and reconnect, i am super grateful that there will always be at least one person on the planet that pretty much knows me and gets me and i have very little explaining to do to maintain that kind of friendship with him.

partied with incredibly sweet, fun and just all around good people... thanks to Z and G for being the ultimate mtl hosts, Burger, Cactus and Apple for making long car rides super fun, C and Z for hosting some great gatherings and DC for being one of the best dudes of life. i also appreciate all the heart to hearts... thanks.


also, shout out to the late night delivery crew that kept bringing me poutines. so amazing.

some places feel like home (or like they could be home) and montreal is certainly somewhere i can see myself down the road. until then... j'<3 montreal!

luuuuv brennie.