Catching Fire (noun): Film with a lot of perks

This week it has been all about the Hunger Games.  I went to the Canadian premiere for Catching Fire (and my first premiere ever) on Tuesday and the marketing team spared no expense to make it a memorable night.  Outside of the Scotiabank Theatre a tent and hot chocolate station was set up on the street for fans who had been there since 5 am.

5 IN THE FRIGGIN' MORNING.

That's all I'm going to say about that.  Inside, the stairs leading up to the second floor was guarded by Capitol guards.  On a normal day I try to avoid taking those stairs (have you seen them - how has no one fallen yet?!) and had less of a desire to do it with ominous figures staring at me on my way up.  But it did make for a cool shot from the escalator.

At the top of the stairs, two drummers dressed like the ones in the movie during the chariot scene stood in front of a huge CF poster, while pounding on huge drums.  I knew one of them from the comedy world but decided against waving at him as to not throw him off his serious beat.

Before the movie started, the actors who play Joanna and Finnick came out to greet the audience.  I'm glad to report that Finnick is not short in person.  I won't get into the details of the movie, but needless to say that it was a great sequel with lots of action, emotion, and special effects.  And Effie's outfits - OMG - I wanted all of them, even the big fluffy lilac dress that hit people in the face as she walked by.

But the PERKS!  That's what it's all about.

Thanks to some awesome work connections, I was given some Hunger Games inspired product including...

A box of 12 Wild Ophelia chocolates, each inspired by one of the 12 Districts.  Infused flavours include Sea Salt & Coconut (District 4- Fishing), Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite (District 10- Livestock), and Mined Salt (District 12 - Mining).  Yummmm.

And Covergirl make-up inspired by the many interesting looks in the Capitol.  While I was tempted to grab a gold eyeliner a la Cinna, I decided for more toned down colours.

So basically, I'm going to get fat but have a really dolled up face by the end of the week.  Yay me!

May the odds be ever in your favor to catch the movie this weekend!  Good luck fighting for seats with hardcore teen fans.

Ford (Noun): Every cats nightmare

Lewd comment made by Mayor Rob Ford

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Quick online search for "Room full of cats"

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Hasty search for "Rob Ford standing"

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Photoshop

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A way to explain to your kids what he meant...

I claim no ownership over any of the pics I found online to create this.  But I do pat myself on the back for coming up with the idea.

Panono (noun): Throwable, Panoramic Ball Cam

AND I WANT IT!

Niagara Falls (noun): First big gig

I don't want to make it a big deal or anything... but I'm in a band.

A ukulele band.

Yeah, that's right, it's pretty hardcore.  And to make it even more bad ass, our ukuleles looks like fruit (pineapple, kiwi, and watermelon to be exact) and we call ourselves The Fruity Ukuladies.

It doesn't get more hardcore than that.

Over the last couple of years, we've been putting up videos on YouTube, and slowly growing a fan base which we never expected to happen, considering how "serious" we took ourselves.  We even managed to land a few local gigs through our YouTube channel for weddings and bridal showers which was even more unexpected.  So imagine our greater surprise when Long & McQuade, Canada's largest chain of musical instrument retailers (and not-so-coincidentally, the store we all bought our ukes) got in touch with us to perform at an event they were hosting in Niagara Falls.

Ummm, yeah!

So on Friday, the Ukuladies (minus Watermelon Ukulady, sadly- for us- because she's currently in England for work) and my hubbie aka our roadie for the evening, took a bus down to the Falls.  We were performing and staying (thanks L&M!) at the Marriott Fallsview Hotel.  The event took place in one of the presidential suites and we were set up on the second floor loft looking over the main room.  It was a really cool set-up and made us feel a bit less nervous about being the center of attention.  And the view was amazing!

We performed a lot of songs we've covered on our Channel, like 8 Days A Week, Fat Bottomed Girls, and Single Ladies.

Yes, it is possible to make a Beyonce song sound pretty decent on the ukulele :)

Between and after our sets, we had a chance to meet some of the music teachers and enjoy the free wine and cheese.  We even managed to hand out a few business cards which we made in a hurry earlier that day (and a big thank you to the woman at Staples who made them for free!!).

While talking to some of the organizers, we found out that the reason they heard of us was because one of the sons of Mr. Long (of Long & McQuade) was a fan and wanted us to perform.  That was pretty much the icing on the cake for us and our heads were a little bit bigger after that.  See - we even did a pretentious shot of us looking over the Falls.

And I learned two things that night:
1. The Marriott's new state-of-the-art elevator system SUCKS.  Ask me why and I'll tell you.
2. TGI Fridays doesn't have specials on Fridays.