• Aug 1, 2007

    Trapped in the Closet, Chapter 12.5

    Some more R. Kelly goodness in my inbox over the past little while.

    First, EW.com has a sneak peek at the next 10 chapters of Trapped in the Closet. Gritz ‘n’ Gravy is calling it Trapped In The Closet, Chapter 12.5. Here’s a direct link to the video.

    Also, Tom sent me a link to this pretty great send-up of “Same Guy,” the video I mentioned here last week. Thanks Tom!



  • Jul 28, 2007

    I Believe I Can Rhyme

    If you weren’t at the Smiling Buddha Bar this past Thursday, you missed something pretty special. A nice guy named Jay organized an evening called I Believe I Can Rhyme. David Topping over at Torontoist wrote about it, and I showed up at the event expecting a simple screening of Trapped in the Closet. I somehow missed the fact that it was an R. Kelly tribute show.

    So immediately after screening the first 12 chapters, 12 bands took the stage to each perform one of the chapters. Amazing.

    And, with the August 21 release date for the new chapters inching closer, R. Kelly is getting lots of press, mostly around his deal with IFC. A sampling:

    • Billboard: __The new round of “Trapped” videos finds Kelly portraying an old man named Randolph, complete with a pot belly and a fake white beard that nearly falls off mid-scene, as well as a preacher in a gray Jheri-curl wig and garish orange suit. In one of the final chapters, Kelly’s Sylvester character talks business with a “Sopranos”-esque mobster who is eating a giant plate of spaghetti.
    • Pitchfork: Man, is that water droplet noise ever gonna get annoying around #15.
    • Torontoist: It’s not entirely clear how or when R. Kelly’s hip-hop opera “Trapped in the Closet” became a Zeitgeist.
    • Prefix: I guess “Trapped in the Closet” could be seen as independent film. It’s certainly independent from any cognitive reality.


  • Jul 25, 2007

    People collide, buildings collapse

    So they’re knocking down the building across the street from my old house. A few weeks ago, fences and concrete barricades surrounded the sidewalk, and suddenly I couldn’t park my bike there anymore.

    Then, sometime over the past couple of days, they started knocking it down. Last night, on our way to the Imperial, I took some photos with Jenna’s camera:

    I don’t know much about this building, despite living across from it for the better part of a year. I vaguely recall it being labelled on maps as the St. Michael’s Hospital Annex, but I can’t seem to find anything to back that up. The city’s online map list 209 Victoria Street as a “Hospital, Private and Public.”

    There’s a recent thread over on the Infiltration board about

    a 3 or 4 story building on the Northeast corner of Shuter and Mutual Sts. in Toronto. I am of the understanding that it has now been converted to some kind of housing: either lofts (unlikely, given the neighbourhood) or low income units (much more likely).

    Prior to the renovation’s completion, two friends and I made our way into the building. It had a lovely front lobby, large holes in floors where a freight elevator may once have operated, a basement full of a cork-like material, which I believe may have been used in walk-in refrigeration (a suspicion validated by the discovery of a large wooden, insulated door with a freezer style latch attatched to it), and a fantastic view of Yonge St. to the West.

    Sounds cool. I wish there were photos.

    So what will take the mystery building’s place? According to this city staff report,

    Eastern Construction Company Ltd. is building a 9-storey research and healthcare education centre at 26-38 Shuter Street and 209 Victoria Street, on the north side of Shuter Street between Victoria Street and Bond Street.



  • Jul 17, 2007

    A new home, a new job, and… another new job

    This past weekend I moved most of my earthly possessions to Jenna’s. As of August 1, we will officially be cohabitating, and no longer spending enormous amounts of money on two separate apartments. The move was remarkably easy thanks to Rae and her car. There are still a few things at my old place, but all of the big stuff is gone.

    Also, I’m happy to report that I have a new-ish job. Starting August 13, I’ll be working on the new Nora Young show Spark. It’s a great concept, a great team, and I can’t wait to get started, but I’m really going to miss all the people I work with now.

    As well, I’ve been offered a job at my alma mater, Ryerson. I’ll be teaching audio production part-time in the School of Radio and Television Arts. I have one section of BDC101, and it’ll take up my Tuesday evenings starting in the fall.

    Wow.

    After writing that, I realized what an enormous amount of my life changed in the past two weeks.



  • Jul 16, 2007

    New Trapped in the Closet chapters to drop later than expected?

    I know that the true reason people read this blog is for accurate and timely R. Kelly news and information, and I’m not about to disappoint.

    A few weeks ago I wrote here about my excitement for Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 13-22. According to the booklet of Double Up, the new chapters were scheduled to be released July 24th, 2007.

    But as eagle-eyed Tristan noticed, the release date seem to have been pushed back. Amazon.com now lists it as August 21, 2007.

    So until then, your appetite for Kells will have to be satiated by this video Jenna sent me today for “Same Girl.”

    A Socialite’s Life says:

    I didn’t think there was anyway R. Kelly could top “Trapped In the Closet,” but I was wrong. If you can keep from howling with laughter at this R. Kelly/Usher collabo, you’re a much better person than I am.

    Personally, I don’t know if this tops TitC, but it’s certainly nice to see that Kelly hasn’t lost his obsession with infidelity.

    I’m still amazed that I got two separate R. Kelly related emails today.