The Last Pogo

The Last Pogo is a wonderful blog offering "A Biased & Incomplete History of Toronto Punk Rock Circa Sept. 24 1976 to Dec. 1 1978"

The impact this era and scene had on me is immeasurable. It lit a fire that still burns. I was too young to attend shows, but I did everything I could to stay on top of what was happening - reading, listening and making the journey to TO record stores whenever possible. T'was a beautiful time to be a music fan.

Publicolor

A simple, but very worthwhile idea - transform school environments visually. Publicolor is a non-profit organization that applies bright, vibrant color palettes to school interiors. I like this.

I'm sure there are people who object to the program, claiming it's distracting, a waste of money, or not conducive to learning (which should have some suffering connected). Those people are wrong.

Fotomat

I'd completely forgotten about Fotomat - the drive-thru film processing company. Obviously, the business is gone, but some of the buildings remain. Here's a slideshow.

Lonely Road

One stunning photograph: Early morning on Halloween day.

Niagara Rock

The 60's and 70's rock music scene in Niagara is the subject of a new DVD, "The Big Story of Small Potatoes, Niagara's Rock Music History 1964 - 1974".

The website includes a long list of area bands, many of them I recall. As a young kid back then, my life-long love for music was just beginning and these local bands always seemed incredibly mystical to me (Fat Rabbit!). I'm going to enjoy looking over the list.

Something that's always stuck in my head - early 70's, a flatbed truck rolling down our street with a rockin' band aboard, campaigning for local politician, Ellis Morningstar (they were throwing big yellow "Vote for Morningstar" buttons). I was likely 8 or 9 years old and thought that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. If anyone has any idea who that band might have been, please email me. I've been wondering for nearly 40 years.

Future Sounds

10 Magnificently Modern Musical Instruments

One of the showcased instruments is the Hapi Drum, which I saw a guy playing a few times on the Port Dalhousie pier this past summer. It's surprisingly melodic, similar in sound to the Kalimba.

Cool Sully

Fantastic animation detailing the entire US Airways Flight 1549 adventure, from take-off to splashdown.

It all unfolds so quickly - I have even more respect for Mr. Sullenberger after seeing this.

Flashy

Jim Carrey's new website is a completely over-the-top Flash extravaganza. I honestly don't know what to make of this thing.

What I did find weird was a surprisingly down to earth, low-fi photo gallery - sitting inside what might be the most grandiose, narcissistic website I've ever seen.

Kind of...

How can you call yourself a true Miles Davis fan if you're not listening with Miles Davis Tribute Headphones?

This is genius marketing. Silly, but genius.

Truth

Sir Ken Robinson writes about his now-famous TED talk, which just might be the single best thing I've ever seen online.

School systems crush more often than they inspire. Shame.