S.o.t.D. - Out – Manu Shrine

Out – Manu Shrine

Sweetness.

S.o.t.D. - Our Time Our Chance (feat. Ian Whitelaw) – Phonique

Our Time Our Chance (feat. Ian Whitelaw) – Phonique

In case the song isn’t sexy enough, the video will remedy that.

Bibliophilia: Shaolin Cowboy; Shemp Buffet – Geof Darrow

Shaolin Cowboy; Shemp Buffet – Geof Darrow

I read this last night...okay I looked at the pictures in this last night. The dialogue is so sparse, you may as well concede it’s non-existent. Utterly demented and completely gonzo. If you’re into zombies and/or really exceptional illustration, this is the book for you. Certainly this is one of the most unique takes on the zombie genre. 4 dozen pages of 2 wide panels stretched across 2 pages of the titular hero twirling two chainsaws attached to the ends of a 5 meter pole through a horde of thousands of naked grey and olive coloured zombies, with the predictable carnage. Then, when his chainsaws run out of gas, we’re treated to a dozen and a half pages of him running across the heads of the zombies, each step unleashing a bloody, brainy slurry. After several pages of his catching his breath, we get 2 dozen pages of his kicking and punching the shuffling horde of rotting corpses to annihilation.

All of it done in Darrow’s exquisite and hyper detailed illustration style. I thought his work on Frank Miller’s Hard Boiled was completely insane. This is even more unhinged.

Totally absurd and nihilistic, and dare I say, kinda brilliant and hilarious.

S.o.t.D. - Inner City Life (The Nookie Remix) – Goldie

Inner City Life (The Nookie Remix) – Goldie

I think it’s really nervy to call an album “Timeless”, but this is an album that has stood up very well.

Just learned that the singer on this, Diane Charlemagne, died yesterday at the age of 51 from cancer. 

Amsterdam Tattoo Convention

We just got in the latest poster for the Amsterdam Tattoo Convention, and it’s already framed and hanging up with the previous years posters.

http://www.tattooexpo.eu/en/amsterdam/2016
And the posters from previous years featuring my girlfriend.

Done by an artist “Veni Vidi Vince”.

S.o.t.D. - Gotta Be With U – J Δ Y E E M

Gotta Be With U – J Δ Y E E M

Boy oh boy, do I ever love that whole “future garage” genre.

Signage: John’s Custom Tailors

S.o.t.D. - Adam – Ishome

Adam – Ishome

I’ve featured a track by Ishome called Eva. Now Adam. I see a theme here.

1" Bra G-Hooks rather than ITW G-Hooks (pt.1)

A while back I mentioned Woo-Jin Tension Hooks as an alternative to the expensive and scarce ITW G-Hooks. Only problem....the Tension Hooks I’ve found pretty well impossible to get my mitts on. So I’m right back to square one.

I was down on Ottawa Street yesterday and searching for nylon edge tape. Futile, but I decided to check in to the bra supply store there. Worth a try. I had never been in before, even though my pal Yolanda shops there all the time for corsetry supplies. While they didn’t have any nylon edge tape, I browsed through their hardware, and came across these. 

1" bra hooks. I had only ever seen them in ¼" and ½" sizes. And usually in plastic. I wasn’t even aware these existed. In metal no less. (I’m guessing these are for the lasses with the really big boosums.) For 50¢ no less. Decided to give them a try. Now they might not be as rugged as the ITW variant, but I’m not doing HALO jumps or crawling through urban battlefields. I did my best to wrench one of these apart and didn’t have much luck. For my purposes these should do fine.

I copied the example of Kifaru’s K-Connector.

A scrap of webbing, a needle and thread and a few minutes of work to put in a bartack. I call them Bra’mups.

Made a few more.

Ouch’mups on the YakBakDekPak, front and rear. 

Release the tension on the buckle and detach.

Closeup. These are not nearly as beefy as the G-Hooks, but likely just fine for my needs. I’m still curious whether reefing down on the webbing will cause these to deform. But that is part of the whole design process. Figure out what does and doesn’t work. For the cost, I’m willing to give these a try and see what happens over time.

Ouch’mups and Slurp’mups on the sides of the YakBakDekPak, with the Map’mups on the front.

If you’re interested in these, the store I got these from has them (although they don’t list these on the site, but do feature other metal 1" ones, or the plastic version), or try SewSassy or FabricDepot.

And, a follow-up report.

S.o.t.D. - Echoes – The Wilderness of Manitoba

Echoes – The Wilderness of Manitoba

Super catchy tune. Has a bit of a Fleetwood Mac feel to it.

S.o.t.D. - LotusFlowerBomb – Bahwee

LotusFlowerBomb – Bahwee

Damn that gal is sexy. Song is totally chilled.

Signage: No Parking In Driveway

Dritz Quilting Measuring Gauge

I’ve had a plastic variant of this for a few years now. Undeniably handy, but being plastic meant that the ¼" arm had broken off. Saw this in metal and had to grab it. For $3? Hell yeah.

http://www.dritz.com/quilting-sewing-supplies/quilting/marking-measuring-tools/quilters-measuring-tools/3100/#sthash.qwu5OoXS.dpbs

Tripl

Interesting design for inter-urban deliveries. As population density in cities increases, and traffic becomes more problematic, our 1950s approach to delivering and collecting goods needs to change. Large vans that are largely empty, clogging roadways, aren’t a sensible solution any more.

Denmark’s Tripl electric cargobike is an interesting attempt to address this challenge. Cargo capacity of 750 litres and a load capacity of 200 kg. An 8 hour charge of the 8 kWh battery yields a range of 70-100 km. The box can be alternately heated or refrigerated. Clearly their use is limited in winter time, but that’s still not a reason to not start thinking about ways to relieve traffic congestion. 

http://en.tripl.com/TRIPL

S.o.t.D. - Blah Blah – L.A.O.S.

Blah Blah – L.A.O.S.

Nothing blah about this tune.

High Level Bridge Wander

I’ve been heading down to check out the rail bridge construction going down by the Desjardins Canal a few times in the last few months. Received a gift of a hike enhancer and went for a wander.

 Dundas Peak in the distance.

Princess Point.

High Level Bridge.

The view from atop the bridge.

Some views of the ongoing construction as the prepare to put in the bridge.

360° view from atop the bridge before heading down the stairs.

The view across the road.

Cross over again and head down.

Cootes Paradise on the other side.

About halfway down the stairs.

 Looking up. The area in the middle is where the new bridge is going to go. The stone abutment on the right is still the original ones put in in the middle of the 19th century. They were there at the time of the 1857 train disaster.

 A view from one end of the canal, from the Burlington Bay side.

And the view if I turn 180°.

Merganser.

Looking down the canal from the other end, the Cootes Paradise side.

You have been warned.

Views of the Cootes Paradise side of the canal, with the fishway that keeps carp out.

Ground level views of Cootes Paradise.