My friend who is on tour as a guitar tech with Court Yard Hounds ... just wrote me about the main stage collapse at the Ottawa Blues Fest yesterday. They were the band before Cheap Trick last night in Ottawa before the stage collapsed. One hour earlier it would have been my friend.
According to the Associated Press, the main stage at Canada's Ottawa Bluesfest, one of the largest North American festivals, collapsed last night while Cheap Trick were performing. The result of an unexpected severe thunderstorm, winds began to pick up around 8 p.m. EDT, blowing through the show and immediately leveling the stage. The members of Cheap Trick were unharmed, but reports as to exactly how many others were injured are varied. Full Story
This video from ABC World News Now is incredible, graphically displaying the stage's horrific collapse.
From the first moment when a live action superhero movie was brought up in conversation or in a published article, the dream has been for it to be something big. After a few false starts, there have been some genuinely sterling entries the continuing story of the comic book movie (Batman, Spider-Man, Superman) as well as some disasters (Steel, Catwoman, Daredevil). Characters have been adapted for their own movies, but a team up just didn't seem possible. Ask any comic book fan what they want to see in the next superhero flick and they'll say all manner of things, but they will almost all get to the beloved team movie. Whether that team is Marvel Comics' Avengers or DC Comics' Justice League of America, fans want to see their heroes standing shoulder to shoulder against a threat far too big for any one of them to handle.
When Marvel Comics finally got to steer their film projects, they changed dramatically. No longer were these films loosely based on the source material and no longer did they deviate strangely from what fans would expect. The Iron Man, Hulk and Thor films have been mainly dedicated to the intent on printed page and they have all been leading to a movie that no one likely ever thought was possible, the Avengers. Next Summer, all of that hard work either pays off or fails miserably when the Avengers hits the big screen.
After the credits of Captain America, there is a short trailer for the Avengers, so don't move from your seat. If you want to see it early (and in shaky quality), then in the words of Janis Joplin, get it while you can... watch?v=WIXgPPDinDk&feature=player_embedded
Written by Zak Penn, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Helmsworth as Thor and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, the Avengers will be the centerpiece of the SDCC this week and will premiere next Summer.
Based on the writings of Edgar Rice Burrough (of Tarzan fame), John Carter, Warlord of Mars is the first live action effort from Pixar director Andrew Stanton, more commonly recognized for their animated films such as Finding Nemo and Wall-E. The feature film is hoped to be the first in a series of adaptations based on Burrough's novels.
A big screen adaptation of John Carter has been in the works as far back as the 1930's when Bob Clampett (of Looney Tunes and Beany and Cecil) approached the author regarding the project. The film would have involved the ground-breaking technique of roto-scoping over live actors that Ralph Bakshi later employed in his Lord of the Rings film. Unfortunately the project was abandoned only to be brought back several times since. It's clear that John Carter is a beloved creation with the potential to grab the imagination of movie-goers in a new way. A thrilling adventure series featuring expansive visuals and exciting situations, this could be the beginning of something big.
The trailer sticks quite closely to the source material concerning a soldier of the Civil War transported to Mars after being shot on the battlefield. A strange and bizarre world populated by massive multi-armed creatures, Carter discovers that he is the only hope that Princess Dejah Thoris has of saving her people.
The John Carter movie stars Taylor Kitsch, Bryan Cranston and Lynn Collins and the vocal talents of Mark Strong (Sinestro in Green Lantern), Thomas Haden Church and Willem Dafoe. The trailer uses what sounds like Peter Gabriel covering the Arcade Fire's 'My Body is a Cage' which is very weird to me as I adore the song but was taken aback by hearing it in this new way. watch?v=b8xblwyKtfo&feature=pyv
Just browsing the current Ikea range and noticed this design, which reminded us of something. After a bit of thinking, we realised what it was - the Ikea Stockholm floor lamp almost certainly takes inspiration from the classic Arne Jacobsen AJ floor lamp, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The similarities are obvious - the circular base, skinny angled stem and the conical head. Of course, the original has a little more panache about it, as well as more detail, but the Ikea version gets the look for a whole lot less.
Available in three finishes (black, white and nickel-plated), the Ikea lamp is made of aluminium and steel, standing 140cm high and using LEDs, which means 80 per cent less energy and lasting 25 times longer than an incandescent bulb. Price? £86.81.
Another art deco gem for sale, although this six-bedroomed Nantmelyn art deco house in Llangawsai, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales doesn't quite match up inside to that wonderful exterior.
According to the agent, the house was built in 1932, the work of local Architect G.T. Bassett, but part of the place isn't original, due to an extension that was added 'in recent years'. Although, to be fair, you wouldn't have guessed from looking at the photos.
Downside? A lack of period features inside. Even the windows have been replaced. Some oak block flooring and the odd fireplace does compensate, but this is more modern family home than vintage throwback once you get through the front door, which might well have you walking straight back out again.
But if you like that mix of old and new, there's plenty of space here and the option to put the character back in. For our money, you get a ground floor offering a study/family room, dining room, lounge, breakfast room, kitchen/breakfast room and utility room. Upstairs, you'll find those six bedrooms (the master with an en-suite), along with a bathroom and shower room. Outside, there's a double garage and some landscaped gardens.
Interesting lamp, which, to our knowledge, went out of production sometime in the 1970s. Making this Artemide Triedro clamp light by Joe Colombo something of a rarity.
It was actually designed in 1970 and we believe, made by Stilnovo in Italy, although the seller is saying Artemide. That might be a mistake though, you might want to check. Anyway, it's a versatile light, using a clamp to fit pretty much anywhere - even on a stand if you want a more traditional light fitting. The 'shade' is made of sheet metal, the clamp tubular steel and the bulb, as you expect, sitting in the middle directing the light.
We've seen these listed for big money in the past, so at £75 (right now), this might be something of a bargain. Although that's for you to decide.
Way back in 2006 (yes, we have been going that long), we featured the classic Enzo Mari Timor desk calendar, which dates back to 1967. But the designer actually made another calendar a few years earlier, the Danese Formosa perpetual wall calendar.
This one dates back to 1963 and is available in a few different colour options and crucially, different languages - English, Italian, German and French. The back plate is made of eloxated aluminium, with the lithographs on PVC sheets.
Want one? £120 gets you one - and it should last you a lifetime of you look after it.
If you love classic ITC shows, then 10th September 2011 is a date worth noting, as that's the date for The Persuaders 40th anniversary.
Sadly, Tony Curtis is no longer around, but Sir Roger Moore will host the event at Kent House, Knightsbridge. Get there at 6pm for a food and drink reception, followed by an HD screening of two episodes (the event is also promoting the HD reissue of the series), then a Q&A and signing session with Sir Rog. That costs £40. Play the top-end £80 and you get an advance copy of the Blu-ray set, plus the opportunity to schmooze with Sir Rog and get your Blu-ray signed. The original Aston Martin from the series will also be on hand, should that float your boat.
A less obvious reissue from Adidas, the Adidas 1609ER trainers, which are back in two colour options.
The running shoe first appeared back in 1979, when it was known as the 'Miler'. A change of name now, but the style is much the same for this lightweight shoe, a mix of suede and nylon for the upper, with a wraparound outsole and contrast detail and lacing. Take our pick between white with blue detailing or a dark blue with white detailing.
Check out the other colour option over the page, both selling for £60 at the Adidas store.
Something for the Beatles fan in all of us, this All You Need Is Love Distilled letterpress print by Wasted & Wounded.
The print takes takes the lyrics of The Beatles song 'All You Need Is Love' and a vintage-style font, mixing them together for an interesting piece of retro-inspired artwork.
Each print is printed in Rye, East Sussex using one of the last remaining vintage Heidelberg Letterpresses, on 100 per cent recycled 270gsm board. Just 500 of these, each selling for £36. Find out more at the Art Republic website
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