chumptastic dot org

just under the deadline, here are my lists of general awesomeness for 2011. if you were to ask me again in a month or two, the order would likely change, but the albums and songs probably wouldn’t change much.

favouritest albums
1. sports – sports
2. hooded fang – tosta mista
3. stephen malkmus & the jicks – mirror traffic
4. sloan – the double cross
5. bry webb – provider
6. timber timbre – creep on creepin’ on
7. papermaps – papermaps
8. radiohead – the king of limbs
9. laura peek – key
10. miracle fortress – was i the wave?
11. cuff the duke – morning comes
12. chad vangaalen – diaper island
13. wildlife – strike hard, young diamond
14. ruby coast – whatever this is
15. fruit bats – tripper
16. rural alberta advantage – departing
17. suuns – zeroes qc
18. memphis – here comes a city
19. st. vincent – strange mercy
20. destroyer – kaputt
21. cake – showroom of compassion
22. peter elkas – repeat offender
23. tigre benvie – mistiness
24. ohbijou – metal meets
25. hey rosetta! – seeds
26. the decemberists – the king is dead
27. braids – native speaker
28. the darcys – the darcys
29. dinosaur bones – my divider
30. josh rouse and the long vacations – josh rouse and the long vacations

favouritest songs
1. sports – tra la la
2. hooded fang – tosta mista
3. bry webb – asa / rivers of gold
4. sloan – follow the leader
5. chad vangaalen – replace me
6. miracle fortress – miscalculations
7. timber timbre – woman
8. laura peek – stay sharp
9. papermaps – reunion
10. radiohead – morning mr. magpie
11. cadence weapon – baby i’m yours (ft. shad)
12. stephen malkmus & the jicks – stick figures in love
13. wildlife – drunken heart
14. fruit bats – dolly
15. rural alberta advantage – stamp
16. memphis – what is this thing called?
17. ruby coast – whatever this is
18. st. vincent – surgeon
19. tiger benvie – black bolt
20. the dears – blood
21. cake – sick of you
22. suuns – gaze
23. olenka and the autumn lovers – odessa
24. destroyer – chinatown
25. graham wright – the lakes of alberta, pt. ii
26. mister heavenly – pineapple girl
27. dinosaur bones – ice hotels
28. peter elkas – tiny valentine
29. ohbijou – niagara
30. handsome furs – when i get back
31. the decemberists – calamity song
32. girls – honey bunny
33. hey rosetta! – young glass
34. sondre lerche – private caller
35. smith westerns – weekend

sigh, i’m always too late for everything.

i just got this email, and i feel obligated to post it:

Dear Robert,

My name is Candice and I promote content across the web. While searching for some resources, posts and pictures around cats and cat lovers, I came across your site and thought your readers would enjoy this cat infographic.

Many would consider cat paws to be nature’s masseuses, given the natural tendency of paw kneading. This infographic humorously illustrates some techniques you could teach your kitty cat to relieve some of those stress created knots.

The Guide to a Cat Massage [Infographic]

The link also provides the embed of the graphic, which ensures creative commons.

I hope your readers enjoy this graphic! If you have any questions regarding this infographic or any others, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,
Candice P.

candice p. knows me well. how can i NOT post this infographic? it even features animated cat paw kneading action!

Created by: Massage Therapy Schools

i’ve been fascinated by this “shop” in village on the grange for the last couple years – this photo doesn’t adequately capture the fact that it’s at most 2 feet deep:

how could they possibly be renovating it? how much do you suppose their rent is for this “space”?

quick, spot the design flaw:

one rainy day after work, a makeshift pen was set up in the park in front of my building. i started hearing people saying “baa” loudly, so i looked out my window and saw this:

i still don’t quite understand why people were pretending to be sheep. this, of course, culminated with these “sheep” getting shorn:

disturbing and weird. and hilarious.

politics aside, i’m unclear how putting this “pamphlet” under my door would make me vote green:

i obviously enjoy ted talks like many people, but i’m not sure of the message this is trying to send…except maybe that wasting paper to distribute a photocopied list of your bookmarks may not be the greenest thing you could do.

how did i neglect to buy this?

i’ve listened to a ton of new music this month. here’s a quick list of some of the best (in no particular order):
black keys – brothers
cake – showroom of compassion
suuns – zeroes qc
destroyer – kaputt
the salteens – grey eyes
smith westerns – dye it blonde
braids – native speaker
the pinecones – sage
ruby coast – whatever this is
decemberists – the king is dead
tennis – cape dory

what am i missing?

this has been a strange year for me, musically – my 3 favourite albums of the year are all courtesy of americans, and my most listened to album of the year (the beach boys’ wild honey) was released in 1967. i also spent a huge amount of time this year listening to thrush hermit’s complete recordings box set, but i don’t really consider that any more eligible for a 2010 list than wild honey.

having said that, there was some really great music released this year, and here’s my best attempt at recounting it:

favouritest albums
1. the national – high violet
2. menomena – mines
3. spoon – transference
4. forest city lovers – carriage*
5. owen pallett – heartland*
6. women – public strain*
7. arcade fire – the suburbs*
8. broken bells – broken bells
9. the meligrove band – shimmering lights*
10. the new pornographers – together*
11. broken social scene – forgiveness rock record*
12. zeus – say us*
13. caribou – swim*
14. the tallest man on earth – the wild hunt
15. wavves – king of the beach
16. ps i love you – meet me at the muster station*
17. vampire weekend – contra
18. wolf parade – expo 86*
19. sufjan stevens – all delighted people ep
20. plants and animals – la la land*

honourable mentions: various artists – the acorn – no ghost*, scott pilgrim vs the world ost, hooded fang – album*, the black keys – brothers, karkwa – les chemins de verre*

favouritest songs
1. owen pallett – keep the dog quiet*
2. the national – bloodbuzz ohio
3. menomena – taos
4. the new pornographers – your hands (together)*
5. broken bells – the high road
6. forest city lovers – tell me, cancer*
7. arcade fire – ready to start*
8. miles kurosky – i can’t swim
9. broken social scene – meet me in the basement*
10. born ruffians – what to say*
11. spoon – the mystery zone
12. stars – dead hearts*
13. caribou – odessa*
14. the meligrove band – make believe it*
15. zeus – marching through your head*
16. the tallest man on earth – love is all
17. vampire weekend – white sky
18. wavves – take on the world
19. women – china steps*
20. wolf parade – cloud shadow on the mountain*
21. plants and animals – american idol*
22. tokyo police club – wait up (boots of danger)*
23. ghostkeeper – well, well, well*
24. cee-lo green – fuck you
25. ps i love you – 2012*

honourable mentions: tiger benvie – bodies tagged in bodybags*, novels – this wouldn’t be the last time*, the acorn – no ghost*, shad – rose garden*, the black keys – ten cent pistol, yukon blonde – wind blows*

favouritest movies
1. black swan
2. inception
3. the social network
4. the king’s speech
5. never let me go
6. shutter island
7. true grit
8. scott pilgrim vs the world
9. micmacs
10. inside job

honourable mentions: greenberg, life with murder, tabloid, the town

* denotes canadian artists

apparently one of my neighbours was either in a big hurry, or has no depth perception:

perhaps it was my neighbour who apparently parks a golf cart in their parking space?

also, i like that the wheelchair spot (wait, a wheelchair spot in a parking garage?) is filled with a golf cart and a motorcycle.

okay, this is the lamest and most canadian thing i can imagine:

what this photo doesn’t capture is the insane number of people lined up for the opportunity to attempt to grab 5 cent bills out of the air. amazing.