Shantaram

International Bestseller, written by Gregory David Roberts.

Pg.25

...The ancient Sanskrit legends speak of a destined love, a karmic connection between souls that are fated to meet and collide and enrapture one another. The legends say that the loved one is instantly recognized because she's loved in every gesture, every expression of thought, every moment, every sound, and every mood that prays in her eyes. The legends say that we know her by her wings - the wings that only we can see - and because wanting her kills every other desire of love.

....

Book Recommendation-WINNER 2009 - Scotiabank Giller Prize

Linden MacIntyre's The Bishop's Man is The Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner this year. A wonderful novel written by a Canadian broadcast journalist. Synopsis: A story about the Catholic Church. Lonely priests. Secrets. Burying potential scandals. Guilt.



Father Duncan MacAskill is the Bishop's "clean up man". The novel is about this man's duties to clean up scandal surrounding various Catholic priests (set in mid 1990s). If Father MacAskill shows up at your door it isn't for tea and biscuits.



It's a fictional novel...however, it has a ring of truth.



Enjoy.



BL...Great read.

Lady Gaga

The song "Just Dance" was in my opinion the most painful pop song I had ever heard. I actually hated Lady Gaga and believed she was just another bizarre "artist" acting and behaving unordinary/unconventional. The unorthodox every day Lady Gaga style seemed anything but organic. In fact, too much effort, too much thought, even cheesy. As more songs were released I began actually liking them and before I knew it came the hours on Youtube watching Gaga interviews and music videos (Love Game was what ignited it all). Needless to say, I became intrigued by the 23 year old star.

On Saturday November 28, 2009 I watched Lady Gaga perform live at the Air Canada Center. A sold out show. A relevant opening act. A late show start. Gaga was confident, beautiful, and sexy. Toronto was her second stop and she exuded confidence and star quality. During the entire show I felt like I was watching a young Madonna (think Blonde Ambition Tour). The show was sexually charged(Gaga is carried by her crotch by one of her male dancers and lowered onto another male dancer during "Alejandro") but also modest (6 dancers, a modest stage).

I believe that Lady Gaga is going to be what Madonna was for so many people. My friend put it best, "the gays have a new Madonna". After seeing Lady Gaga perform I am now convinced that she will have a very long and colorful career. She has a voice. She has the body. She's fascinating. She's dramatic. During her ballad "Speechless" written for her father Gaga had tears streaming down her face. Will she say the same bit about her sick father every night and cry? Sure. The point is Lady Gaga knows exactly what she is doing and it's very impressive and she will fake-cry every night and continue wearing elaborate outfits that prevent her from breathing normally.

The concert was a 5/5.

I wish I knew how to successfully upload video's....because I have 2 really great ones....

BUCA

Last night I dined at Buca. A new restaurant obscurely located in an alley off King St. W at Portland. (The alley next to Cheval). The space is gorgeous. An old heritage building (a former boiler room space). Very rustic. Raw materials. Dimension. A lot of texture (exposed brick etc.) A beautiful private dining area at the rear of restaurant accompanied by a wine cellar and wine tasting. Oh, and cured meat on display... The main dining area is very visually stimulating.

The menu consisted of dishes from both Northern and Southern Italy. The dishes are also meant to be shared. For example, between two people, we dined on the following: Tuna Carpaccio and Grilled Artichoke to start. Following that, a rectangular thin crust Eggplant pizza (which is served on a cutting board accompanied by a pair of scissors!! So, all my friends reading this who have spent the last decade making fun of the La Marca's scissors/pizza combo…scissors are making their way into artisanal Italian) and quail. Every dish was delish. This restaurant gets it right because veryyyyy traditional Italian dishes have been slightly re vamped.

The scene: Wednesday night. The restaurant was packed. In fact, reservations were required. Cool crowd. Great food.

The website isn't up yet.

Greta Constantine

On Thursday October 15, 2009 I was fortunate enough to attend the Fall 2010 Greta Constantine fashion show. The venue: an Audi car dealership on Bayview Ave. The designers: Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong. The collection: wearable, structured, embellished, fluid, unrealistic, beautiful, sexy... everything that a collection requires. The designers drew a large crowd and my impression was that most in attendance were very interested in what they were seeing.

http://www.thestar.com/living/fashionweek/article/710100--toronto-designers-jump-the-gun-on-fashion-week

A couple things... Ben Mulroney...time for a "new look". Jeanne Becker...Will you ever retire or consider Restylane? Greta Constantine is sold exclusively at Holt Renfrew. The white dress posted above was the most impressive piece in my opinion.

Must Read

The Marrow of Zen

It is said that there are four kinds of horses: excellent ones, good ones, poor ones, and bad ones. The best horse will run slow and fast, right and left, at the driver's will, before it sees the shadow of the whip; the second best will run as well as the first one does, just before the whip reaches its skin; the third one will run when it feels pain on its body; the fourth will run after the pain penetrates to the marrow of its bones. You can imagine how difficult it is for the fourth one to learn how to run.

When we hear this story, almost all of us want to be the best horse. If it is impossible to the best one, we want to be the second best.

I heard this story today and it stayed with me, igniting me to share it with others. If you've missed the message, it's very simple... Perhaps the worst horse is the most valuable one. I started to think about how most of us have the desire to be "the best" and if that is your only aim, then you have problems!

BL...be mindful, be patient, if it takes you years to be successful at something, enjoy the way there.

A TIFF Evening...

On Friday September 18 2009 I saw the film "Shameless" (Nestyda). Out of Czech Republic and 88 minutes long this film proved that regardless of language, culture, or country all things in life are universal (For example, unhappy marriages are not only a North American thing).

Synopsis: Husband falls out of love with his wife after noticing just how big her nose is. Marriage breaks down and he begins a journey of self exploration (new women). His romances are hilarious.

I didn't anticipate liking the film as much as I did. Nor did I anticipate recommending it, but I do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHyeuJg5BQ4

As it was TIFF, naturally, our next stop after the screening was One. (Side note: I must stress that I am not a fan of One, I merely went to see if I could find a Jonas Brother). One, for lack of a better word, sucked. Very old crowd (mid 30's to....well, 60's....). Very pretentious, dull, quiet group of people (who all looked identical to one another). Since it was so dull it was very easy to notice anyone slightly alternative (and I was being very mindful of my surroundings). I noticed a cool looking group of guys a couple inches from us and in front of them two giant men. The giant men were a sure sign that someone mildly important was inches away from me. It turned out to be The Kings of Leon. They were extremely quiet, sat low in their seats, and made no eye contact with anyone outside of their group.

For anyone wondering...Did I take a picture?
NO, it would not have been appropriate to be snapping photo's on a cam or cell phone because the venue is so small, when I say "giant men" I am being literal, and lastly, no one else was.

Was Caleb there with his model-girlfriend that we've all seen on justjared.com or perezhilton?
NO, however, 2 other females sat with the group.

Did I follow Caleb to the washroom when he went two times?
NO, the giant men escorted him....or else, yes, I would have. Obviously...

When K of L left One, so did we and went somewhere far cooler... The Social.

BL...it was cool to see KoL but The Social was wayyyy cooler.