Summer Special (Wherein Sofi Plugs A Lot Of Shit)

After spending the weekend in The Great Outdoors (okay, fine, just Toronto Island and my own backyard), I was rewarded with a retroactive sunburn and itchy, itchy ant bites.

I have since been shunning the outside world, sheltered as I am in the ant-free, air-conditioned comforts of my home and also office.

So in the spirit of being a hermit and staying indoors, here are some Bee's Knees Approved recommendations for top-notch staying-inside summer entertainment:

READ...



The Dougler is my faaaave. While this book lacks the requisite Smiths references that I so enjoy about Coupland (there's a Morrissey reference, however - close enough), it's got his trademark quirky humour, bizarro characters and geekspeak in spades. While it's not his best, it's a lot of fun and is a super quick summertime read, despite its enviable girth.

LISTEN TO...



The Saffron Sect is a "modieval" Toronto-based folk group, the brainchild of Gaven Dianda (formerly of The Flashing Lights and More Plastic). Their new debut EP is oddly beautiful and sufficiently weird. I've had most of the songs for a couple of years now (Gaven burned me a disc with some early demos before the Sect was even a twinkle in his eye) and am happy that my favourite tune at the time, "Phosphorous Flash", made it to the EP. The real stand-out is "All Leads Back To You", which is the kind of dizzy love song that I have always wanted someone/anyone to write about/for me.

Ahhh well. Maybe someday.

PROCRASTINATE AT WORK WITH...



Thanks to Matt for pointing out that Cracked's Jay Pinkerton has brought The Trailer Trash back from the dead. This was a website he ran years ago where humour writers reviewed trailers instead of the actual movies. There's some vomit-inducingly hilarious stuff on there (including a couple of amateurish reviews by yours truly) and since the site bowed out around 2004, it's so like totally retro!

WATCH...

This is cute:



This is way funnier than it has any right to be:



This is my favourite thing in the world right now (start at approx. 2:00 for best and most awe-inspiring results):



(Now playing: "Aquamarine Ink", The Saffron Sect)