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February 2, 2012
Are you ready for your hot entertainment news? Great events, some
music downloads and lots of epic news this week!
A new musical that is for anyone appreciating the legacy of Black music
hits Bathurst Centre, entitled
Obeah Opera,
an evocative production combining blues, folk, jazz, gospel,
spirituals, R&B, and traditional genres. Do NOT miss this important play
created by Nicole Brooks.
It's also time for Harbourfront Centre's
KUUMBA
showcasing many concerts, panels, film by Black
Canadian filmmakers, comedy (Jay Martin and Trixx and others), fashion
and lots of family events. Find the complete details for these two
exciting events under
HOT EVENTS.
OK, so have you heard
the track 'Somebody
That I Used To Know' by
Gotye
featuring Kimbra that is sweeping the airwaves? Well you
need to check out the details under
SCOOP with a free video downloaded offered to you - but only
until Monday!
Now the devastating news of the suicide of
Don Cornelius,
another legendary pioneer gone
from this earth - RIP. From human rights activist to
putting his money where his mouth was and starting his own television
show in the midst of of a racially-fuelled nation, one that celebrated
the image of the African American in a positive light. Soul
Train's legacy influenced dance, music and fashion for many years and
launched the careers of many artists. We all have so many warm memories
of those
Soul Train
shows that catapulted us into believing that either we were a good enough
dancer or performance artist to be on the show!
Also in news,
the
Real Jerk
wins an injunction; the movie
RasTa,
featuring Bob Marley's granddaughter and the journey of
discovery of Rastafarians; D'Angelo's
return?; and the passing of
Andrew MacNaughtan,
who documented Rush's legacy with his photographs;
and
so much more! Check it all out under
TOP STORIES.
And check out my new photos from the Trump Towers Toronto opening this week in my PHOTO GALLERY.
This newsletter is designed to give you some updated
entertainment-related news and provide you with our upcoming event
listings. Welcome to those who are new members!
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  Feb.
3-5, 2012:: KUUMBA presented by TD at Harbourfront Centre
The 16th annual
Kuumba
festival presented by TD returns to
Harbourfront Centre
with an entertaining and educational weekend celebrating
Black History Month. “Kuumba” is the Swahili word for
creativity and has become synonymous with showcasing the best
local and international artists from the African and Caribbean diaspora.
One of the events is on Fri., Feb. 3rd is
Honey Jam – Then and Now, hosted by Michie Mee, with DJ Mel
Boogie.
Source: Harbourfront Centre |
Feb.
16 - March 4, 2012:: OBEAH OPERA a new Play
Exploring Black History
b current
Performing Arts and Theatre
Archipelago proudly present the full stage mounting of
Obeah Opera. A total musical journey with a twist, the
evocative production celebrates significant influence of black
music combining blues, folk, jazz, gospel, spirituals, R&B, and
traditional genres.
Source: b current and
Theatre
Archipelago
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 LIMITED
TIME FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD:: Gotye Making Mirrors: Making Real
Music
Ask
Gotye
about his new album
Making Mirrors
and he’ll speak not of songs, but of sounds. He’ll describe the
various valves through which strings and choirs cycle on his
Lowrey Cotillion, a vintage organ bought for 100 bucks in a
second-hand shop that features on the record.
Making
Mirrors is already making waves thanks to the stunning Peter
Gabriel-esque first single Somebody That I Used To Know, a
collaboration with New Zealand pop-superstar-in-waiting Kimbra.
Source: Universal Music Canada |
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 ‘Soul Train’ Host Don Cornelius Found Dead
(Feb 1, 2012) LOS ANGELES —
Don Cornelius,
who with the creation of Soul Train helped break down
racial barriers and broaden the reach of black culture with
funky music, groovy dance steps and cutting edge style, died
early Wednesday of an apparent suicide. He was 75.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - The Associated Press
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  Real
Jerk Wins Injunction To Delay Eviction
(Feb 1, 2012) The
Real Jerk
has bought itself some time by winning a court injunction to
temporarily prevent its eviction. “Real jerk wins the
injunction. Here to stay for at least 1 year,” the landmark
restaurant
announced on Twitter on
Wednesday evening.
Source:
www.thestar.com |
 Bob Marley’s Granddaughter Takes Epic Journey In New Doc
About Rasta
(Jan 30, 2012)
Just how much will be in evidence Wednesday evening, when the
documentary
RasTa: A Soul’s Journey
is screened at the Royal Ontario Museum, where it will be shown
regularly until the end of February.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Garry Steckles
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 'Things Have Changed' For D'Angelo
(Jan 30, 2012) It only took
D'Angelo
12 years to get his groove back.
On Sunday, the artist who defined a late-1990s music genre known
as neo-soul, commanded the stage at Le Zénith, a venue on the
northeast edge of Paris.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - By Amy Verner
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 Andrew MacNaughton, Photographer, Dies On Rush Assignment
(Jan 26, 2012) Toronto photographer
Andrew MacNaughtan,
longtime documenter of
Rush’s
exploits and the man behind dozens of iconic portraits of
Canadian celebrities, passed away suddenly in Los Angeles on
Wednesday.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Ben Rayner
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 Mitt
Romney Adopts K’naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’ On Campaign Trail; K’naan
Is Not Amused
(Feb 1, 2012) Celebrated Canadian artist
K’naan
has told Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney to stop waving his
flag. Flush from a
crushing victory over Newt Gingrich
in Tuesday night’s Florida primary, the Romney campaign unveiled
a “new victory song:
Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan,”
Huffington Post senior political writer Jon Ward
tweeted.
Source:
www.thestar.com |
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 TSO
Trumpeter Andrew McCandless Honours Beloved Childhood Music
Teacher
(Jan 31, 2012) Now the fair-haired toddler is just plain
Jarrett, a name lovingly selected by his parents for the music
teacher who changed
Andrew McCandless’s
life.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Trish Crawford |
 Video: Odd Future Come To Toronto's Sound Academy On March 15
(Jan 25, 2012)
Odd Future
Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or Odd Future for short, have been
among the hottest (and most infamous) names in rap for year, so
tickets will go fast for the March 15 show at Sound Academy that
Union Events announced Wednesday.
Source:
www.thestar.com - by: Garnet Fraser
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 Motown Could Take on a Diverse Group of Artists with Ne-Yo in
Charge
(Jan 29, 2012) *Ne-Yo
is a dreamer and has big plans a Motown Records’
new senior VP of A&R.
Being the diverse artist he is, he wants to bring all kinds of
music to the
label, that’s traditionally has promoted predominantly Black
artists.
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 The
Great Expectations Of Saxman Ravi Coltrane
(Feb 1, 2012) For
Ravi Coltrane,
who just finished work on his first album for Blue Note Records,
expectations probably run a little higher than most. It isn't
just that his father, legendary saxophonist
John Coltrane,
recorded the landmark Blue Train for the label in 1957.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - By J.D. Considine |
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 New Sultry, Sexy Solange Knowles Album Coming Soon
(Jan 28, 2012) *If you haven’t noticed by now,
Solange Knowles
is an
interesting artist with a free spirit and unexpected timing.
The singer is readying a new album now, the first after her 2008
“Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams.”
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 30
Years Later, The Bill Evans Magic Does Not Die
(Feb 1, 2012) Everybody digs
Bill Evans.
That’s how Riverside Records titled the jazz pianist’s second
album in 1958, and 54 years later, everybody just seems to be
digging Evans even more.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - By J.D. Considine |
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 Kenny Chesney Tops Country Music Awards Nominations
(Jan 26, 2012) NASHVILLE—Kenny Chesney’s steamy duet, “You
and
Tequila” with Grace Potter, continues to radiate heat.
The song helped Chesney to nine
Academy of Country Music Awards
nominations Thursday morning, including the top honour of
entertainer of the year.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Chris Talbott
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 MUSIC
TIDBITS
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Grammys 2012: Adele To Perform Live After Recovering From
Vocal Cord Surgery
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Bryan Adams Hits The Air Canada Centre, Feist Does Something
Mysterious
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Click HERE for all new
releases. |
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 Opportunity:
Amelie Director Seeks ‘Magical Kid’ In Toronto To Play T.S.
Spivet
(Feb 01, 2012) Award-winning French filmmaker
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
is looking in Toronto for the same kind of “magical” quality he
found with his Amélie star Audrey Tautou to lead the cast
of his new 3-D adventure movie.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Linda Barnard
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 Drake as Barack Obama: It’s the Rapper’s Dream Role
(Jan 28, 2012) *Rapper
Drake
is letting it be known that he’s got the
itch to play the Commander-in-Chief when the movie is made.
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 Monsieur Lazhar Review: When Truth Is Hard To Teach
(Jan 26, 2012) In
Monsieur Lazhar,
a distraught elementary school teacher hangs herself in her
Montreal classroom.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Peter Howell
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 Genie
Awards: Strombo, Andrea Martin To Host Show
(Jan 31, 2012) SCTV alum
Andrea Martin
and talk-show host
George Stroumboulopoulos
have been named hosts of the
32nd Genie Awards.
Source:
www.thestar.com |
 Nearly 10 Years After Debut Film Win, Sudz Sutherland Heads
"Home Again"
(Jan 27, 2012) The comedy Love, Sex and Eating the Bones
won
Toronto's
David "Sudz" Sutherland
the Best Canadian First Feature prize at TIFF in 2003.
He's been working mainly in TV since then, but he's returning to
film with an immigrant deportation drama called
Home Again.
Source:
www.thestar.com - by: Peter Howell
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 ‘The Help’ Cleans Up at SAG Awards: Davis, Spencer, Cast Win
Big
(Jan 30, 2012) *”The Help” got the upper hand in the Oscar race
on
Sunday when the movie won three awards from the
Screen Actors Guild,
including best cast in a surprise over silent movie romance “The
Artist.”
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 Sundance 2012: ‘It’ Star Gina Rodriguez Moved To Tears
(Jan 26, 2012) PARK CITY, UTAH—Last year,
Sundance was abuzz over
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha
Marcy May Marlene) and
Brit Marling (Another
Earth). Now it’s 27-year-old Puerto Rican-American
Gina Rodriguez’s
turn as star of the hip-hop drama, Filly Brown.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Linda Barnard
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 SAG Nominated Directors Discuss Crafting The Perfect Ensemble
Cast
(Jan 26, 2012) LOS ANGELES, CALIF.—Alexander Payne, director
of The
Descendants, likens it to “inviting people to my home for
dinner.” Bridesmaids helmer Paul Feig describes it as spending
hundreds of hours waiting for that “one aha moment.”
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Glenn Whip
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 ‘Modern Family,’ Betty White Come Up Big At SAG Awards
(Jan 29, 2012) LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s actors picked
veteran
performers, Alec Baldwin, Betty White and the comedy “Modern
Family” as three of their top TV winners at
the Screen Actors Guild Awards
on Sunday.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - Bon Tourtellotte The Associated Press
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 Tyrannosaur Review: Angry Brits
(Jan 26, 2012)
“I don’t know why you’re doing this,” one of the youths says to
him, and
Tyrannosaur
seems equally baffled by the male rage it unleashes. But
answering that question is secondary to the lucidity of the
performances.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Peter Howell
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Click
HERE for all new movie releases. |
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 Chantal Sutherland Co-Stars In HBO’s Luck
(Jan 27, 2012) When I talked on the phone Wednesday with
Toronto-bred thoroughbred racer
Chantal Sutherland,
she was having her toes done for that night’s L.A. premiere of
the all-star HBO drama Luck, in which she makes her
acting debut . . . as a jockey.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Rob Salem |
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 Comedian Martin Lawrence Returning to TV?
(Jan 28, 2012) *Fans of comedian
Martin Lawrence
will be happy to
know that the funnyman is returning to television.
CBS television is developing a pair of comedy plots for
Lawrence, with an eye toward shooting one of them as a pilot.
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 The Office’s Dwight To Get Spinoff TV Series, Reports Say
(Jan 26, 2012) NBC is reportedly planning a spinoff of
The Office
featuring
Rainn Wilson.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Rob Salem |
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 VH1 Planning TV Biopic on TLC
(Jan 28, 2012) *VH1 is planning a made for TV movie on the
careers
of pop culture icons
TLC.
The movie will launch a series of biopics planned by Vh1 that
will span the lives and careers of musicians and pop culture
icons.
Source:
www.eurweb.com
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 Vera Santamaria Brings The Funny
(Jan 29, 2012) "I live in Hollywood,"
Vera
Santamaria
tells me. "My
family are all, 'Oooh, Hollywood!' But, actually, it's like
living on Yonge Street." Working in TV, writing
scripts, telling stories has been her life - from shows including Outsourced
and, right now,
Community.
As a producer and writer on that acclaimed comedy, she's at the
top of the TV ladder.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - By John Doyle |
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 Debra
Messing Explores Her Dramatic Chops In New Series
(Jan 31, 2012)
Debra Messing
is determined to bring Broadway to the North American viewing
public, one show tune at a time. The Emmy-winning star of
Will & Grace returns to network television on the
much-anticipated midseason series
Smash.
Source:
www.globeandmail.com - By Andrew Ryan |
 X
Factor Shakeup: Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul And Steve Jones
Reportedly Axed
(Jan 31, 2012) Judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul
and host Steve Jones have all been axed from the U.S.
X Factor.
Source:
www.thestar.com - By Bang Showbiz
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 TV
TIDBITS
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Shirley MacLaine To Join Cast Of ‘Downton Abbey’
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 Air
Canada, Westjet And Porter Battle For Big Apple Business
(Jan 27, 2012) The fight for the
Big Apple
is on. The smackdown started Wednesday when Air Canada announced
it was launching three-times daily, non-stop flights between
Toronto Pearson and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New
York, starting May 3. It also said it was increasing to every
hour (14 in all, actually) its flights from YYZ to LaGuardia
Airport in New York.
Source:
www.thestar.com - Jim Byers
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 Seven
Must-Do Parties In The Caribbean
(Jan 27, 2012) TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS—The walls of
Tortola’s
Bomba Shack bar are rudimentary at best. A few warped sheets of
plywood comprise the roof; bras, panties, t-shirts and bikinis
decorate the walls.
Source:
www.thestar.com - Mark Stevens
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 Tee
It Up On Magical Island Of Maui
(Jan 26, 2012) MAUI, HAWAII—It is a no-brainer really. Each
January, the
PGA Tour kicks off its season with a tournament in
Maui.
And why wouldn’t it. Maui looks and feels like the land of
lottery winners. Golden Pacific Ocean beaches are edged by dark
green mountains.
Source:
www.thestar.com - Ian Cruickshank
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 How
to Lose Fat in 30 Days
It’s
time to be honest with yourself: The weight has got to go
bye-bye. You want to know how to lose fat, and I’m going
to make things simple for you. I’ve constructed simple “to do”
and “not to do” lists. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll
lose fat within 30 days and be on your way to an
empowering YOU.
By
Raphael Calzadilla, Fitness Pro |
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The
very purpose of spirituality is self-discipline. Rather than
criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves.
Ask yourself, what am I doing about my anger, my attachment, my
pride, my jealousy? These are the things we should check in our
day to day lives.
Source:
Dalai Lama |
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::ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WITH A CANADAN TWIST::
