14 Giants

Showoff from Fatty McBloat on Vimeo.

Heeyaaahhh! A street performer from T.O.’s Buskerfest thinks he’s, well, hot stuff. (A David Caruso worthy pun?)

But seriously, though, that’s pretty impressive.  He put on a good show.

Yesterday I mentioned that - in addition to a few digital pics - I used four rolls of film during my photoshoot with The Darcys. Two of them were put through the Holga, one through the Lomo Cam, and another through the Fed 5. Well, I got the rolls back this afternoon, along with some prints from the Holga shots. I am very happy. I was so nervous. I worried that nothing would be usable, but now it’s actually going to be difficult to pick favorites. Shit. It’s going to be just like Sophie’s Choice, I know it.

So what am I doing with these shots, you ask? It’s simple: The Darcys have dibs on any they might like for press shots, and a handful of them will also appear in my forthcoming book, Monuments of Distinction Since 1900. (What? You think I’m going to post them here?! Oh okay, I may post one next week sometime after I get back to Vancouver and can scan the negatives. You’ll have to be patient with me.)

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I took this night photo from the roof of the building I’m staying at while here in Toronto. (The colored lights on the CN Tower are a new thing, I hear.)

See video of this same skyline, after the jump.

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Guess what, haters?

Look who I frolicked in the sun with today for a little photoshoot. That’s right! The Darcys!! All five of them!

Click click click!

Awwwww.

The whole thing went down just after noon today in Queen’s Park. I am pleased to say that The Darcys are all super-nice guys and exactly as I had imagined them. You know how sometimes you meet your idols and you’re disappointed? Well, not this time. If possible, I love them even more now.

I shot some digital today, but I also shot four rolls of film. Hopefully something in those rolls will turn out.

I should meet up with The Darcys more often!

Judging from the explosive site traffic yesterday, y’all were captivated by the dizzying heights of my mental illness happiness. Thank you for your concern emotional investment.

Anyway, tomorrow (Wed.) could be equally as interesting. That’s all I want to say right now.

Other non-Darcy-related activities to come: On Saturday, the idea is to head over to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Also, my friends and I want to go see The Dark Knight in IMAX, which is playing just up the block but is perennially sold-out. Throw in some dinners, shopping, photo-taking, and a plethora of nightcaps, and I’ll be lucky if I survive until the flight home next Tuesday.

I only lasted 48 hours between the time I arrived in Toronto and the time I ended up in Eaton Centre. I think the pinnacle of my shame appeared when I got a few “Ewww. Check out the old dude” looks while loitering in Abercrombie & Fitch. No wait, correct that. The pinnacle of my shame was when I had to stand around with my Dairy Queen ice cream because there were no seats left in the food court.

[ring ring goes my cell phone around 6:00pm EST]

“Hey Ryan, it’s Jason [of The Darcys]. Wes and I are just on our way for a drink. Care to join us?”*

[thud]

OMG! OMG! OMG!

*Not an actual quote. The words were along those same lines, but I lost consciousness after “Hey Ryan, it’s Jason.”

Thus began a chain of events that culminated 30 minutes later with me sitting in front of 2/5ths of The Darcys.

Holy. Shit.

Yes. I took this photo. Me. Sitting across the table from Them. Mere feet away.

It all came together so fast. My head is still spinning.

So where did it all go down, you ask? At the courtyard patio of The Green Room, a secluded pub in the back alley (yes, really) of Brunswick Ave. here in Toronto, just off Bloor.

And how did our first meeting go, you ask?

Find out, after the jump!

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My first day back in Toronto since 2006 got off to a slow start. I slept in, clearly relishing the opportunity to not have to be anywhere. Later, I wandered College St., met up with my friend G., and generally was void of ambition or energy. It is damn muggy here in the city. The humidity is suffocating.

That last photo is of Supermarket, where I’m fated slated to watch The Darcys in concert this Friday! (That’s right - I strolled by this afternoon to check it out! Tell me: does that seem “weird”? Or “tourist-y”?)

(photo: Mike Nova, as seen on Supermarket)

This Friday night. August 22nd. Supermarket. The Darcys with Gabe Kastner. $5. Doors at 9:30pm. I will be hanging out at the venue that evening with some friends. Oh, and I’m probably gonna cry. A lot.