By Thor's Hammer

Marvel Comics' movie 'Thor' comes out tomorrow and thanks to Dr Pepper Cherry (thanks Erin) I had a chance to watch an advance screening at the Scotiabank Theatre on Richmond Street. Great movie and it looked fantastic in 3D, which came in handy when my wife enjoyed Thor (Chris Hemsworth) with his shirt off - here is a screen grab from their site.

Lots of great action and scenery with such stars as Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings, who I loved in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has a great comic relief part. Very enjoyable, good for the whole family, I would definitely recommend going to the theatres to see this movie - enjoy the sounds and sights of 3D, it really is made for the big screen.

Of course you may have trouble identifying the bad guy in this movie, so keep your 3D glasses ready and your eyes open. I wish the screening had sold big plastic hammers, now that would have been fun.

Don't forget to stay after the credits have rolled for a 3D trailer featuring Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.

PS the theatre is really cool and is in the building with the Rubik Cube type thing outside. You have to go up a long way to reach the theatres and it has an actual bar in the lobby. There are also a few movie memorabilia items such as the bad guy from the Scream series of movies and a large model of a Star Trek spaceship - something like a bird of prey.

Prince William and Kate Middleton in TO

Just one day before Britain's Prince William marries Kate Middleton when I stumble upon the couple in front of the Toronto Eaton Centre. They must have been on a walking tour with a friend, trying to get over their nervous state of mind waiting for the big day. They seemed a little stiff, but I figured that was just the stiff British upper lip. Cheerio and time for tea.

Just across the road and down the street I saw a small tree full of fluttering cards. They were promoting the movie 'Something Borrowed' starring Kate Hudson. The title calls to mind the marriage saying "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue" that some people follow at weddings. You could add a hope to the tree and get a gift mirror or little neon martini glass. I took the glass and had a little nosh after work.

Earth Month Giveaway at the Square

Earth needs more than an hour, my bitches, so Brita is giving her a month. People gathered in a long line that stretched around Yonge-Dundas Square, did a few loops around some barriers and waited for their turn to enter Brita Village to pick up a free Brita water pitcher and filter. Here is what they have to say about the event on the Square's website.

"A fun and interactive event at Yonge-Dundas Square that features a host of interactive games and activities along with a giveaway of 3,000 free Brita pitchers and filters as part of a cross-Canada effort to encourage Canadians to make the switch from bottled to filtered tap water.

And this year, the first 3,000 Torontonians who visit the Brita Village and collect three stamps on a special passport will receive a pitcher and can enter a draw for a chance to win $10,000.  For complete rules and regulations, visit www.filterforgood.ca

Green Works and MAJESTA will also be on site at the Brita Earth Month Village, offering activities and spot prizes in addition to products at reduced cost with all proceeds donated to Tree Canada.  Tree Canada (www.treecanada.ca) will offset the carbon generated by the Brita Village by planting trees in Brita's name and caring for them until maturity."

Check out my photos of nature stuff after the jump.

Nature pathway at the Humber Arboretum in fall.

Schick Quattro for Women at the Eaton Centre

Three beautiful ladies were promoting Schick Quattro razors for women at the Eaton Centre. The four bladed razor is manufactured by Schick Canada who sponsors the Honda Indy Toronto. Posted by Joe Hamilton.

Jungle at the bus stop

I knew spring was here but I was not prepared for the urban jungle that had grown around the TTC bus stop at the Dundas and Yonge intersection at the Eaton Centre. There must be a little more radiation in the air lately or maybe they were magical seeds.

Someone must have thought that this was the real deal because he was walking around in shorts - he looked to pasty white to have been a zombie so I am not really sure what the heck was going on with the show off - now that's a Canadian.

Across the street in the Yonge-Dundas Square there was the finals of the Great Canadian Appathon 2011. The goal was to develop a great mobile game in a limited amount of time and the winners took home a share of $45,000 in winnings.  Here is Super Punch team holding an oversize $25,000 prize cheque.

I saw a couple of free range Red Bull vehicles in the square, they are like CityTV, they are everywhere. Red Bull, still not as good as Dr Pepper Cherry!

Radiohead: King of Limbs & The Universal Sigh

The new Radiohead album ‘The King of Limbs’ was released in the U.S. and Canada today (March 29, 2011) and a special event was held worldwide to give out free copies of a souvenir newspaper called ‘The Universal Sigh’. In Toronto the location for the distribution of the paper was at the Yonge-Dundas Square, just across from the Eaton Centre. There was a nice lineup of people waiting to get their hands on a copy (or return for more copies) while many people walked by wondering what the lineup was all about – there was no advertising posters or handouts to describe what was happening. They also took your picture with the newspaper if you allowed them to – look for me on the website.

This paper is not the one that will accompany the album and they say it will not be repeated. They also mention that “this is not a live performance of Radiohead”.

The 12 page newspaper features art, stories and weird sayings all in black and white, except for the front and back covers. I think the cover art depict ghouls – pretty scary. Forests and pointy tree limbs devoid of leaves are a visual theme running through the edition. The centre page has a one page art work with a title at the top ‘Gather up the pitiful’ with a blood red snowflake, some unusual bat/stingray creatures that are both flying and smiling over some possible white, heavily eyelashed eyes and the empty limbs of a tree stretching up to the sky.

Radiohead is an alternative rock band from across the pond (England) featuring 5 members: Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Coling Greenwood and Phil Selway. They released their first album in 1992 and by 2007 had sold over 25 million copies of their albums.

I will finish with a short paragraph found on the centerfold:

JUST

SAY

WHERE YOU WANNA BE

I’ll take you anywhere

You want to go.

I can turn you on and

I can make you happy.

Coupon Deals - What's up with the spa stuff?

The world of coupons exploded with the introduction of the internet. Before we used to find the occasional coupon at the grocery store. The rest were found in massive piles of inserts found in local newspapers but no one reads newspapers anymore. You get the best coupons from the internets and email now - group deals that give discounts which are usually 50-90% off, some that kick in when a minimum amount of people want to use the coupon and some require no minimums.

I note that one of the largest users of the online group coupon sale method are spas (simulated spa action pictured above). They love these sale coupons. I think that they use a supercomputer to combine words to make up services that they will provide. How else can they come up this stuff? No longer is it good enough to offer facials, manicures and pedicures, massages, rub & tugs and body treatments. Now they go into the computer and out comes the following.

Triple layer herbal facial peel for pigmentation. Intraceutical oxygen infusing facial. Anti-aging photorejuvenation treatments. Vajacial. That last one sounds interesting but I don't even know what intraceutical means. Thank god for the web - to the google machine. Intraceutical: therapeutic oxygen under
hyperbaric pressure to infuse a special serum of modified hyaluronic acid, essential vitamins, botanicals, antioxidants and amino peptides to the skin. Okay, I still don't know what it means. But look for your online group coupon and get one, or, err, several, I think.

Sucker Punch and Babydoll

Sucker Punch the Warner Bros movie opens tomorrow (Friday, March 25, 2011) and it looks freaky fantastic. "Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared." Baby Doll (Emily Browning) uses her imagination to try to escape from a mental institution and a planned lobotomy.

See more pictures after the jump.

Sucker Punch was being promoted at both the Hobbystar AnimeCON and Toronto Comic CON and this is where I found these beautiful ladies.

Dr Pepper Cherry

I was told that Wade Morrison named the original beverage Dr Pepper after the father of a girl he liked. Now I am not sure who they named his new drink after but I do like Dr Pepper Cherry! The good people of Dr Pepper have released Dr Pepper Cherry in Canada and I was sent some samples - welcome to Canada Dr Pepper Cherry, welcome to Canada.

I also had to check out the 3D movie THOR, with Thor pictured on the bottle, which is coming to theatres in May 2011. Thor falls to earth in modern times and meets some humans. The movie includes stars Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo and Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Watching the trailer I am pretty sure that they also release a frozen Kraken.

Barbie and Ken still together

Barbie and Ken have been back together since Valentines Day, their plastic love seems to burn bright - can a prenup be far behind? Speaking of plastic, I think Barbie is rich so Ken might be going for some of that other plastic - called American Express.

The original split and Ken's impassioned plea to get back together again broke my heart. Then joy in toysville as their lips sought each others. I also heard Barbie might be kinky - look out for the latex outfit.

Reality Show: PRINCE$$

Frantic Films is looking for demanding divas and dudes for a new reality show they are now casting called PRINCE$$. Host Gail Vaz-Oxlade will show some tough love - but you can't handle the love, you sniveling diva.

Barbie & Ken; TOGETHER Again!

It was a mighty stroke of fortune – Barbie, plastic though she is, thought long and hard about her old love Ken and in a surprising coincidence – it is Valentines Day after all, Barbie took back Ken. The advertisements are going up around Toronto “TOGETHER Again!” with a picture of Ken and Barbie smooching behind a bunch of red roses. In the bus stop at Yonge and Dundas the windows have been covered in red film to magnify the romantic joining of the two iconic play toys, as they played, so to speak. Sheesh, get a room you two!

You can find my original post here, where Ken is seeking to win back Barbie.

I thought people were looking at the ads and bursting into happy tears but I was wrong, I think someone just tripped. People were happy to see the radio station KISS 92.5 HIT Music giving out chocolate Hershey Kisses and Hearts right outside the Eaton Centre. Now that’s romantic (and tasty) tradition that I can get behind. I had also hoped someone would be giving out free red satin thongs and then my valentine gift basket would be complete, but no such luck – La Senza and Victoria’s Secret will have to step up their games next year.

Barbie, I want you back! Ken

Don't you just love romance. Ken wants Barbie back, I guess that whole alternative lifestyle rumour was just a rumour. Should Barbie even take that Ken back? You can vote on it at Ken and Barbie's Love-O-Meter website.

Can they possibly get back together in time for Valentines Day on February 14? Get your Ken or Barbie something that represents your love or you could be fighting hard to win them back, just like poor Ken here.

Update: Ken gives Barbie some tongue action as they come together on Valentines Day 2011. See my post and pictures here.

Red Bull Graveyard

The Red Bull wanders throughout the City, promoting Red Bull type things, and when it reaches the end of it's life it goes to the Red Bull graveyard - where it lays down and waits for the can to empty. Do not be sad for the hyper Red Bull Energy Drink, it had long and fast paced life, full of extremely late nights and too many parties. May they burp in peace.

TRON Legacy 3D - graffiti

On the side of a comic book store on Queen Street West I find the wall now covered with an advertisement for TRON Legacy 3D by Artchild from TorontoGraffiti.com.

I found a YouTube Video from the Key of Awesome guys, which was awesome.

Then I also found some more graffiti and posters in a few Queen Street West alleyways.

Name him Milkman

"We can't exactly name the kid "Milkman"". I found another sign up on the streets of Toronto, similar to the Dick's Parents sign, and I finally read the small print. FabFindbaby was set up to name a baby from Facebook submissions. The winning name is Melania followed by Aria and finally in third place; Willow. Sounds like Disney  was sending in a few names.

The people behind FabFindbaby run FabFind - it some kind of deal a day thing, but on the website you have to sign up to find more information, so I bailed.

And I found a few other signs.

Cavus Manus

It's hard to live in a cave when it is a glass room full of light, there are no bears and they get food delivered by beautiful women at the Real Sports Store. Still there was a little beer fridge, a big screen television and a comfy couch so it definitely has the basics of a man cave. Watch Nick with the Cave Cam here.

The best part of the sign was "Please do not tap on the window".

The Big Kiss

Virgin Mobile brought the Big Kiss to Toronto today as couples were invited to kiss under a giant mistletoe hanging in Yonge-Dundas Square. Virgin is going to donate money for each kiss to WWF-Canada. "Join us on December 2nd at 6:00 PM by participating in a massive, simultaneous kiss under Dundas Square's new adornment. The countdown will be led by Degrassi's Charlotte Arnold (Holly) and Raymond Ablack (Sav)!

Kiss a friend, a lover, a teddy bear, your cell phone, whatever ;) And remember the ancient Chinese proverb: "Kissing is like drinking salt water - having some only increases your thirst for more."

Virgin Mobile will give out Blackberry smartphones to 5 lucky kissing couples under the giant mistletoe. While big nutcrackers and reindeer helped fill the square with holiday cheer.

I saw that Cynthia Mulligan from CityTV was on hand reporting in the square and she looks thin but still beautiful. I had taken her photo almost one year ago and noted her fight against breast cancer which still continues.

See more photos after the jump.

Some wise men, a snowman and a penguin greet the crowd and offer free hot chocolate.

Reindeer down, reindeer down!

The reindeer before the hunt.