Anything you wanna watch in the palm of your hands.
Video Game That Recreates the Jamiroquai Music Video for ‘Virtual Insanity’
Jamiroquai Game is a surreal video game by Buncho Games that recreates the 1996 Jamiroquai music video for the song “Virtual Insanity”, complete with the trippy floor and moving sofa chairs. “Virtual Insanity” earned 10 nominations at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, winning four awards, including “Breakthrough Video” and the “Best Video of the Year.” In 2006, it was voted 9th by viewers in a poll on music videos that ‘broke the rules.’
https://youtu.be/Et9b7LWfnxQ
Here’s a sneak preview of the game. Giant hat is not included.
Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square Announces New Partnership with Massey Hall and Summer Programming
The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Toronto’s favourite patio, YONGE-DUNDAS SQUARE (YDS), is embracing all things summer! Partnering with neighbour Massey Hall for all YDS summer programming, the curated season boasts an eclectic and international line-up of musical acts and films to run from May 18 – October 12, 2015.
Returning this summer are the popular programmes Massey Hall presents LUNCHTIME LIVE!, MINI Canada presents CITY CINEMA, and Virgin Mobile presents INDIE FRIDAYS.
Massey Hall presents Lunchtime Live! will feature a cornucopia of artists performing from 12:30-1:30pm every Monday, May 18-June 15 including Toronto’s world-renowned Taiko drumming ensemble Nagata Shachu; to be followed by the rocking grooves of West African griot and praise singer Cheka Katenen Dioubate (presented in association with Batuki Music Society), modern Filipino tribal music crew DATU, the electronic mix of tabla and violin in kLoX, and Aboriginal cellist Cris Derkson.
Massey Hall presents Lunchtime Live! returns in the fall with a line-up of artists presented in association with Dine Alone Records, which is celebrating its ten year anniversary, including travelling troubadour Spencer Burton, electro-punk soul-singer/songwriter Brendan Philip, electronic producers, writers and performers Free n Losh, and Burlington’s own power-punk trio Say Yes.
MINI Canada presents City Cinema: BUT CAN THEY ACT? Music Icons in Film for this year’s cult film series in the heart of the city, every Tuesday, June 16 – September 1 at sunset (approximately 9pm). Each City Cinema screening in the Square, will be preceded by a short concert film from the Live at Massey Hall film series—a series devoted to Canadian artists, which marries the thrill of live performance and the intimacy of behind-the-scenes access. The feature films include 8 Mile with Eminem, The Hunger with David Bowie, A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand, Be Kind Rewind with Mos Def, Dreamgirls with Beyonce, Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley, Dick Tracey with Madonna, The Wiz with Michael Jackson, Inside Llewyn Davis with Justin Timberlake, and Dancer in the Dark with Bjork.
Virgin Mobile presents Indie Fridays kick-starts the weekend with free concerts every Friday night from June 26 – September 4 at approximately 8:30pm. As the sun goes down, the stage will light up such artists as singer, painter, and performance artist Mx Justin Vivian Bond (presented in association with Pride Toronto), multiple Juno Award-winner Buck 65, self-described beat junkies Grand Analog, 22-year old MC/producer Tre Mission with Keita Juma, South African-Canadian conceptual singer Zaki Ibrahim, and returning to YDS after almost being lightning-bolted Fast Romantics with Kandle & the Krooks. Presented in association with Massey Hall.
And for those on the search for some respite from the hectic pace of life, YDS also transforms into a quiet oasis on scheduled fountain days. And there is always free WIFI for Canadian Virgin Mobile members. Simply select WIFI@YDS and enter your phone number to hop online.
Admission is FREE to all these events at YONGE-DUNDAS SQUARE presented by Virgin Mobile.
For more information and a full schedule of events, please visit YDSquare.ca
First Gay Couple Kisses On The Kiss Cam. Guess How The Crowd Reacted.
According to the person who taped it, this is the first time a homosexual couple has been featured on the Kiss Cam. YouTube commenter Tee Jay summed it up best: “See how that works homophobes? Nobody turned gay. Nobody died. Nobody had their ‘rights’ taken away. But the big question is…how the F did you get those sweet seats! :)”
The Man Who Plays Big Bird Tells A Story That Will Devastate You
The man inside Big Bird for over 45 years on Sesame Street, Carroll Spinney recently did an AMA to promote his new film, I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story. User man_mayo asked: “What has been your most meaningful interaction with a child during filming? Or maybe from someone who grew up watching you and relayed a poignant story?”
And Spinney delivered what might be one of the most devastating stories ever:
Okay, here’s one.
This is a very sad story, but it’s real.
I got a letter from a fan who said his little boy, who was 5 years old, his name was Joey, he was dying of cancer.
And he was so ill, the little boy knew he was dying.
So the man, in his letter, asked if I would call the little boy. He said the only thing that cheered him at all in his fading state was to see Big Bird on television.
So once in a while, he wouldn’t see Big Bird on some days, because he wasn’t necessarily in every show. So he asked could I telephone him, and talk to the boy, tell him what a good boy he’s been.
So I took a while to look up a phone, because this was before cell phones. And they got a long cord to bring a phone to the boy.
And I had Big Bird say “Hello! Hello Joey! It’s me, Big Bird!”
So he said “Is it really you, Big Bird?”
“Yes, it is.”
I chatted a while with him, about ten minutes, and he said “I’m glad you’re my friend Big Bird.”
And I said “I’d better let you go now.”
He said “Thank you for calling me Big Bird. You’re my friend. You make me happy.”
And it turns out that his father and mother were sitting with him when the phone call came. And he was very, very ill that day. And they called the parents in, because they weren’t sure how long he’d last.
And so his father wrote to me right away, and said “Thank you, thank you” – he hadn’t seen him smile since October, and this was in March – and when the phone was hung up, he said “Big Bird called me! He’s my friend.”
And he closed his eyes. And he passed away.
And I could see that what I say to children can be very important.
And he said “We haven’t seen our little boy smile in MONTHS. He smiled, as he passed away. It was a gift to us. Thank you.”
Who left all this dust covered in onions in here, anyway?
Polaris Music Prize Announces Increase To $50,000
This past Saturday at the Slaight Music CMW Social, Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the Polaris Music Prize, and Gary Slaight, President of Slaight Music, announced that Slaight will contribute an additional $20,000 to the Prize, bringing the total to $50,000. In addition, Slaight will also increase their contribution to the Short List prizes from $2,000 to $3,000.
Along with these additional contributions, Polaris announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, a new award that will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006. Further details about the dates and selection process of this new prize will be revealed in the coming months.
“We’re ecstatic that Gary and Derrick from Slaight music have stepped up to help us celebrate our tenth year in a huge way. Although it’s impossible to put a dollar figure on great art, this increase bring us more in line with other major arts awards like the Scotiabank Giller Prize,” said Jordan. “And while this money is hugely generous, we are as excited to extend the Polaris conversation to the rich legacy of classic records from Canadian history. We get to officially pose a long time informal argument; what would be nominated for Polaris before it existed?”
“We’ve been proud supporters of the Polaris Music Prize for many years and wanted to celebrate their ten years by awarding more funds to the winners and nominees,” said Gary Slaight. “In addition, we wanted to make a more lasting contribution. Launching The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize is the perfect way for our Family to show its appreciation for the greats of Canadian music through the respected Polaris filter.”
The Polaris Music Prize Long List announcement will head to Halifax, NS on June 16th. The forty titles will be announced at the world famous Carleton music venue and will run in conjunction with the team at Halifax Pop Explosion.
The Short List will be unveiled on July 16th at The Carlu in Toronto, and the Polaris Music Prize Gala will return to The Carlu for its third year, taking place on Monday, September 21st. Aux.tv will once again stream the gala live.
The eligibility period for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. An independent jury of 196 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury. They will convene the night of the gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.
The Polaris Music Prize will award $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. Courtesy of Slaight Music, each of the nine other short listed artists will receive $3,000. Judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales, the prize’s past winners have included Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).
Polaris Music Prize 2015 Key Dates:
June 16th – Long List announcement – The Carleton, Halifax, NS
July 16th – Short List announcement – The Carlu, Toronto, ON
September 21st – Polaris Music Prize Gala – The Carlu, Toronto, ON
Toto’s Dave Paich On Writing And The Success Of ‘Africa’
“I would see UNICEF commercials on TV, way back in the day, and I was a big reader of National Geographic. I’ve just always kind of been fascinated with Africa. I just kind of romanticized this story about a social worker that was over there, that falls in love and can’t — is having kind of a paradox, trying to tear himself away from Africa to actually have a life.
“I went to an all-boys Catholic school, and there were a lot of brothers that were teaching us there, and they were going to Africa and coming back. A lot of them were deciding whether to go into the priesthood, or whether to get married or not, and there were a lot of issues — like, celibacy was obviously a big issue. I had all these things rattling about in my brain when I was writing the song. All these thoughts about priests and young social workers that have gone over there, devoting their lives to helping people, and having to choose what kind of life they’re going to have — whether to keep doing this, what I’m doing here, or can I have a life, get married, have kids, and do that kind of thing. So it was a life choice mixed in with a geographical fascination there.
“We had finished our record, so when I started writing that, they were like, ‘Dave, why don’t you save this for your solo album?’ It’s kind of the joke — when someone writes a song that doesn’t really fit into the Toto mold, the joke is, everybody says, ‘Save that for your solo album.’ So the band kind of indulged me and let me start working on this track for it. This one barely made it; it just got on the end of the Toto IV album. It’s the one that didn’t get away, you know?
“It’s a very special song, you know? I was asked to perform it at the United Nations, to bring on Bishop Desmond Tutu, when he got a humanitarian award there. Then, in the late ’90s, we were able to go back to South Africa, after apartheid was ended, and we were able to play Capetown and Johannesburg and play ‘Africa,’ with some of the local musicians there and singers. It was quite a treat for us. It was just like a pinch-me moment. And at the same time, it’s become a kind of icon, a humorous icon. When it was on Family Guy, the world found out Toto doesn’t take itself all that seriously. We thought it was funny. Then we saw Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon do a little skit on ‘Africa,’ and we really enjoyed that.
Via Grantland
Miley Cyrus Launches Homeless Youth Foundation
20% to 40% of America’s homeless are LGBTQ.
And Miley Cyrus is doing something about it. She’s using her celebrity to bring awareness to the largely LGBT homeless youth community.
Every grunt, scream, and yelp Michael Jackson ever recorded
Ugh! HeeHee! Owwww! Here’s every grunt, scream and emotive yelp Michael Jackson every committed to vinyl. This is why the internet was created.
Shania Twain and Panthera Launch the #IFAKEIT Social Media Campaign to Save Leopards
International superstar Shania Twain and Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, have launched #IFAKEIT – a social media campaign to raise awareness for one of fashion’s most revered but underrepresented icons – the leopard.
Referred to as the ‘new neutral,’ this cat’s spotted print has inspired fashion for centuries, influencing style from catwalks to sidewalks, celebrities and even first ladies. The purpose of this campaign is to connect the dots, and inform the general public that while the spots they are wearing are so widespread, the real leopard is under serious threat.
Every year, more leopards are killed in the wild than any other big cat. The species has vanished from nearly 40% of its range in Africa and over 50% in Asia. And it is their beauty that is partly responsible. While leopards are also in jeopardy from loss of habitat and conflict with people, the demand for their skins is one of the main causes of their decline.
Even though the international trade in leopard skin is now illegal, it is still common for local communities in Africa and Asia to use real leopard skins for religious and cultural ceremonies, whether worn as capes or used for other traditional regalia.
Panthera’s Furs for Life Leopard Project is providing a simple and sustainable solution that protects leopards but also supports local culture. Collaborating with digital designers, Panthera has created a high-quality and realistic faux leopard skin to replace the authentic skins worn at ceremonies.More than 5,000 faux leopard capes have already been donated in southern Africa, and Panthera’s new partnership with the Peace Parks Foundation and Cartier has enabled the distribution of at least another 13,000 more capes before the end of 2017 (Read the press release about this partnership here.)
“I was shocked to learn that these gorgeous animals are being killed for their beautiful skins and other parts for the illegal trade, and yet are so loved by the fashion world. We wanted to capitalize on the fact that people everywhere are wearing more leopard print than ever, but so few know what’s actually happening to them in the wild,” said Shania Twain, Panthera’s Leopard Ambassador. “With Panthera, we aim to begin this conversation and generate awareness for leopards on a grand scale, while giving people something tangible to grasp, and engage in a fun and impactful way.”
To do this, Shania Twain and Panthera have launched the #IFAKEIT campaign and are asking people around the globe to join the movement and show how they ‘fake it’ for leopards by posting photos of themselves wearing fake leopard print to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with the #IFAKEIT tag. People can also donate to the campaign at ifakeit.org, where just $30 can support the creation of one fake leopard skin and save a leopard’s life.
The campaign first aims to generate 18,000 unique mentions tagged with #IFAKEIT on social media, to accompany each donated cape, as a thank you to the communities willing to fake it and to stop leopards from being killed for their skins. The campaign also aims to raise $300,000 for the creation of at least 5,000 new fake leopard skins to distribute to communities outside of southern Africa, and to support other conservation activities to protect leopards across their range.
Lizwi Ncwane, an elder and legal adviser of the Nazareth Baptist ‘Shembe’ Church, stated, “As a leader of the Shembe community, I have seen firsthand how receptive my community is to using these fake skins. Not only do they look and feel like real leopard skins, they also last longer. We’re grateful that Panthera has worked with us in finding a solution that interweaves the conservation of leopards with the customs of the Shembe.”
Panthera’s Leopard Program Director, Dr. Guy Balme, explained, “Panthera’s Furs for Life Leopard Project is providing an innovative and real solution to a threat that is decimating leopard populations. Very rarely in the world of conservation do you see a resolution this simple and respectful of cultural and religious traditions that is so swiftly accepted by local communities.”
Dr. Balme continued, “In just a few years, we have seen a positive and deeply-rooted cultural shift in the adoption of Panthera’s fake leopard skins in southern Africa. We hope the #IFAKEIT campaign will help bring much-needed attention to the plight of leopards and help spark a movement that ensures the species, and not just the images of their beauty, remain long into the future.”
Visit ifakeit.org to learn how to ‘Show Your Spots, So You Can Save Theirs.’
