Fans go nuts for Paolo Nutini at Indigo Books

PopGoesTheNews.com >> He's playing tonight at the Opera House in Toronto and at the end of August at Virgin Festival Ontario – but this afternoon Paolo Nutini entertained more than 100 fans inside the Indigo Books store at the Manulife Centre.

The 22-year Scottish singer, sporting a Mickey Mouse shirt, and his band performed acoustic versions of half a dozen songs from his new album Sunny Side Up. Nutini then sat down to sign autographs for fans who were lined-up through the store.

Nutini has a few more gigs in the U.S. in early August before jetting overseas for the Summer Sonic Festivals in Tokyo and Osaka as well as the V Festivals in England.

To watch the video for his single "Coming Up Easy" click here.

Photo by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on the image to see full size.

Coldplay rocks 45,000 fans in Toronto

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Jeremy Piven has a sexy entourage at Rogers Centre

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Actor Jeremy Piven, in Toronto to promote his new movie, stopped by the Rogers Centre this afternoon to pick up a personalized Toronto Argonauts jersey.

The 44-year-old Entourage star was made an honourary member of the Argos by team executive Michael "Pinball" Clemons. Piven, surrounded by Argos cheerleaders, said he was thrilled with the honour and impressed that in the Canadian Football League "guys my size" can play.

Piven had a busy day of media appearances in support of The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, a comedy that opens on Aug. 14.

Photo by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on image to see full size.

Another daily newspaper set to enter the Toronto market

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Toronto is getting yet another daily newspaper – but this one will be distributed at the end of every weekday instead of during the morning commute.

The free daily, called t.o.night, will debut on Sept. 8 with a circulation of about 100,000. It will be distributed downtown in time for the afternoon rush.

t.o.night will be the first afternoon daily paper in the city since the Toronto Telegram folded in 1971 and the first to enter the free daily market since Canwest's youth-oriented Dose tried and failed in 2006. Relying on wire services and web content, it promises to deliver news, general interest stories and sports scores as well as information to help readers plan their evenings out.

Independently owned, t.o.night will be based out of an office on Queen Street East and will have an online presence at tonightnewspaper.com.

It will be an uphill battle for the newspaper, as advertising dollars decrease and more people turn to the Internet for news and information. Free dailies like Torstar's Metro and Sun Media's 24 Hours have cut staff and other costs in recent months. But a similar afternoon newspaper, mX, is reportedly flourishing in Australia, where it is distributed in three major cities.

t.o.night will be the 7th daily English-language newspaper in Toronto, joining the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, National Post, Metro and 24 Hours. The city also has two urban weeklies (Now and eye), two gay biweeklies (Xtra and fab) and several other community and special-interest papers.

Lakeport to hand out $3000 cash on Wednesday

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Want to make a quick 10 bucks? Then be at Yonge-Dundas Square on Wednesday morning, where Lakeport is handing out 300 $10 bills.

The brewery is staging a spoof of the million-dollar halftime shot contests commonly done at basketball and football games. The first 300 people to sink a basketball in the oversize net – which will be only four feet off the ground – will receive $10 cash.

The Sure Shot Give-Away is open to anyone age 19 and up and takes place from 11 am to 2 pm. Participants can get as close to the eight-foot-wide net as they want. Lakeport will also be serving free barbecue food and samples of the company's most popular beers.

Rafael Nadal buys home in exclusive community in Dominican Republic

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Top-ranked tennis pro Rafael Nadal has snapped up a new home in an upscale community in the Dominican Republic.

Nadal, 23, signed a deal to purchase a residence in Playa Nueva Romana, a new development that will feature 1,200 luxury homes, a five-star hotel, golf course and marina. Located just 45 minutes from Santo Domingo's airport, the community covers 620 acres.

The Spanish tennis star formalized the acquisition at a photo opp with the development company CEO Don Pablo Piñero (pictured).

Pop on the spot! Crews rescue woman from car that flipped in crash

PopGoesTheNews.com >> The female driver of a Toyota RAV4 was rushed to hospital after her vehicle flipped on its side after being struck by a PODS company flatbed truck and then hit by a Mercedes 320.

Fire fighters spent nearly 20 minutes removing the woman from the vehicle. She was conscious but suffered visible injuries. Two black suitcases were ejected from the vehicle in the crash.

The drivers of the other two vehicles were not injured in the collision, which happened just after 9:30 am at the intersection of Jarvis and Isabella Streets. Their vehicles suffered serious front-end damage.

The intersection remained closed for more than an hour for clean-up and a police investigation.

Photos by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on images to see full size.

Pitbull added to Virgin Festival Ontario line-up

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Pitbull is the latest act to be added to the line-up at the Virgin Festival Ontario, taking place Aug. 29 and 30 at Burl's Creek Park in Orillia.

Pitbull, the Miami rapper whose hit "I Know You Want Me" is topping the charts, joins headliners Nine Inch Nails, Ben Harper, The Pixies and Pet Shop Boys and acts like Sean Kingston, Franz Ferdinand, Our Lady Peace, Relentless7, Paolo Nutini, Sloan, Lights, N.E.R.D. and Mutemath.

Earlier this month, 28-year-old Pitbull was acquitted of DUI charges following a 2007 arrest.

Katy Perry rocks the Molson Amp

Photos by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on images to see full size.

Six Canadians and several made-in-Canada shows nab Emmy nods

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Canada will be well represented at this year’s Emmy Awards. Among the nominees announced today are at least six Canadians.

Kiefer Sutherland (24: Redemption), William Shatner (Boston Legal), Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) and Michael J. Fox (Rescue Me) earned acting nods and Fox is also nominated for a special about his fight with Parkinson’s.

Toronto makeup artist Linda Dowds got two nominations for her work on the HBO movie Grey Gardens, which was filmed entirely in Canada and scored an impressive 17 nominations.

Kingston’s Patricia Rozema earned a nomination for co-writing Grey Gardens, which is also up for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. Both Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore received lead actress nominations and Ken Howard and Jeanne Tripplehorn earned nods for their supporting roles.

The true-life story of two eccentric relatives of Jackie Kennedy who ended up living in a dilapidated mansion on Long Island was filmed in and around Toronto last summer. An estate in the city’s Rouge Park stood in for the Bouvier Beale home, interior scenes were shot at Toronto Film Studios and other scenes were filmed outside Union Station and both inside and outside the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Also up for Emmys are The Tudors, a Canadian co-production, and the made-in-Vancouver series Battlestar Galactica, Sanctuary and Smallville. The pilot episode of Fringe, which was shot in Toronto, got a nod for its visual effects.

NIN, Ben Harper and Pet Shop Boys to headline Virgin Festival Ontario

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Nine Inch Nails (pictured), Ben Harper, The Pixies and Pet Shop Boys will headline this year’s Virgin Festival Ontario, which is moving from Toronto Island to Burl’s Creek Park in Orillia.

The two-day festival, taking place Aug. 29 and 30, will also feature Sean Kingston, Franz Ferdinand, Our Lady Peace, Relentless7, Paolo Nutini, Sloan, Lights, N.E.R.D. and Mutemath.

Details of this year’s event were unveiled this morning by Andrew Bridge, director of Virgin Festivals. “It’s going to be an unforgettable weekend,” he said. “We’ve got a line-up that will rock Ontario this year with an experience that’s second to none.”

Camping on-site, a popular experience at Virgin Festivals in the UK, will be available this year for the first time. “The new site at Burl’s Creek Park is the perfect outdoor venue to take the party from day right into the night,” said Nathan Rosenberg, chief marketing officer for Virgin Mobile Canada, “and then do it all over again the second day!”

In all, 32 acts were announced today and organizers said there are more to come. Taking to the three stages will also be Grizzly Bear, Mates of State, Plants and Animals, Down with Webster, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Iglu and Hartly, Anjulie, Candy Coated Killahz, Cold War Kids, Mew, Thunderheist, Couer de Pirate, The Von Brothers, Datarock, Hyper Crush, Trouble Andrew, Silver Starling, D’Ubervilles, Melanie Fiona and The New Cities.

Burl’s Creek Park is located just off Highway 11 in Orillia. There will be some on-site parking and shuttle buses will run from the Barrie Bus Terminal.

Two-day tickets go on sale July 18 at 12 noon through Ticketmaster and at select Future Shop stores. They are $104, which includes taxes and a $2 donation to Virgin Unite. There are also VIP Weekend tickets on sale for $281. Camping passes, available from Ticketmaster, cost $101, $136 and $181.

For more information, click here.

Feds neglect the resting place of one of the Fathers of Confederation

PopGoesTheNews.com >> The mausoleum, built of heavy stone and set into an embankment on the north side of St. James Cemetary in Toronto, is overgrown with weeds and covered with fallen branches. The cracked door to the tomb has old, mouldy cobwebs on the hinged side and crudely-applied caulking just above the twisted, rusted padlock that keeps the morbidly curious out. A semi-circle opening with rusted metal bars and more cobwebs sits above the door, which is partially blocked by an overgrown conifer. On the roof of the tomb, placed in the earth, is a filthy plain stone block in which the name “Howland” is carved.

After more than a century sitting in the city’s oldest public cemetery, where it overlooks the Rosedale Valley, the poor condition of the mausoleum (see photos below) is not surprising – until you realize who is entombed inside and that the federal government is supposed to be taking care of it.

The mausoleum is the final resting place of Sir William Pearce Howland, one of the Fathers of Confederation; the nation’s former receiver general and minister of finance; Ontario’s second lieutenant governor; a member of the Privy Council; and a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. He died in 1907 at the age of 95, leaving behind several children, including two sons who had served as mayor of Toronto – William Holmes Howland and Oliver Aiken Howland.

Howland’s resting place is marked with a plaque installed by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, which reads, in part: “This grave is marked and maintained in perpetuity by the Government of Canada.” But its condition is much worse than other monuments to the former politician in the city. Several miles west, on Old Dundas Road, sits the beautifully restored Lambton House and another federal plaque honouring Howland.

It reads: “A prominent businessman and philanthropist, Howland was a leading Reform politician and a Father of Confederation. Founder of Lambton Mills, he was elected to the provincial legislature in 1858. He served in the Great Coalition government of 1864, which achieved the federal union, and attended the 1866 London Conference, where the text of the British North America Act was finalized. Elected to the first federal parliament, he resigned in 1868 to become the second lieutenant governor of Ontario. The remainder of his life was devoted to business and charitable works.”

Lambton House, which operated as a hotel and tavern for 140 years after it was built in 1847, is the only remaining public landmark of Lambton Mills on the Humber River. Howland, who settled in the area in 1830 after arriving from the United States (he became a naturalized British subject in 1841), operated the Lambton Mills before getting into politics.

Howland is also memorialized with a plaque at the southeast corner of Dundas Street West and Confederation Parkway installed by the Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario .

In 1867, Howland took part in the London Conference, where 16 men – including Sir John A. Macdonald, drafted a text of the British North America Act inside the Westminster Palace Hotel. It was there that the name “Canada” was chosen for the new dominion.

“His resting place should get a little more respect than this,” said someone who passed by it on Sunday afternoon. “At least cut the weeds, plant some flowers or something. And put a better lock on it. Can you imagine what vandals could do?”

Photos by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on images to see full size.

Roz Weston named as Kiss morning show co-host

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Roz Weston, one of the reporters on ET Canada, has been named the first co-host of KiSS 92.5's morning show.

"He's smart, he's funny, he's got an incredible work ethic, and he's an all around great guy," said program director Julie Adam in a release.

Weston, 34, was executive producer and news announcer on the former Kiss 92.5 morning show before the station switched to 92.5 Jack FM. That show was briefly co-hosted by Amanda Dunn, as Billie Holiday, with whom Weston will now be competing head-to-head (she co-hosts the Virgin Radio morning show). He and Holiday went on to co-host Last Call on the now defunct Toronto 1 station. Weston joined ET Canada when Global launched the show in 2005.

Weston's co-host has not yet been named and no launch date for the morning show has been announced. He will reportedly remain on ET Canada.

Japanese royals pay a visit to Queen's Park

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Japan's royal couple delighted onlookers outside Queen's Park today as they arrived for a luncheon with Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and Lieutenant Governor David Onley. His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito, 75, and Empress Michiko, 74, smiled and waved before walking up the steps of the legislature building.

About an hour earlier, the royals visited Sick Kids hospital just a block south of Queen's Park. Their schedule today also includes a stop at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

The Emperor and Empress, who arrived in Toronto from Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon, have been in Canada since July 3. They will head to Vancouver and Victoria tomorrow after a quick visit to the Momiji Seniors Centre and then fly on to Hawaii on July 14.

Emperor Akihito's last state visit to Canada was in 1953, when he was the Crown Prince.

Photo by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on image to see full size.

Inside Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation speech

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Sarah Palin’s resignation speech last week in Alaska raised eyebrows for being rambling, vague and occasionally incoherent. Her announcement that she is quitting 17 months before the end of her term came 12 minutes in to her monologue and failed to provide a definitive reason for her decision.

But what Palin’s double-talk couldn’t hide is the fact that she is a quitter. Conservative columnist George Will pointed out: "She made a contract with them [the people and state of Alaska] to serve out her term. And she said, in her own words, she now is a quitter.”

Palin has a history of quitting. After graduating from Wasilla High School in 1982, she attended four different colleges – including one she attended twice during nonconsecutive semesters – before graduating from the University of Idaho in 1987. Palin resigned from Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2004 after less than a year of service, claiming there was a “lack of ethics” among the commission’s Republican members.

Palin’s disjointed resignation speech was also hypocritical. PopGoesTheNews.com has compiled excerpts from her speech and added – in our own words – what Palin was really saying.

“People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska. Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine.” But I’m ditching y’all now.

“If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!” Except the choice to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest.

“It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: ‘Sit down and shut up,’ but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out.” Still, I’m quitting.

“I'll work hard for … those who will protect freedom and equality…” And when I say “equality,” I mean for everyone except the gays.

“A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory.” Of course, in a real basketball game the point guard usually keeps playing until the end of the season.

“We can ALL learn from our selfless Troops... they're bold, they don't give up, they take a stand and know that LIFE is short so they choose to NOT waste time. They choose to be productive and to serve something greater than SELF…” In other words, they are nothing at all like me because I'm quitting.

“I don't want any Alaskan dissuaded from entering politics… we NEED hardworking, average Americans fighting for what's right!” Basically, people who are the complete opposite of me.

"Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations – such as holding a fish in a photograph, or wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters' questions." Oh, and the pending case accusing my administration of using Yahoo e-mail for state business to get around access to public records requests.

"Every one of these – all 15 of the ethics complaints – have been dismissed." Hopefully you've forgotten that in one of these cases I had to pay $8,000 back to the state for my kids' airfares.

Veteran Toronto radio host in suicide shocker

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Only weeks after losing his longtime job at Toronto radio station 102.1 The Edge, announcer Martin Streek has taken his life.

Streek's body was found on Monday inside his apartment, where a note reading "Call 911" had reportedly been placed on the door. Earlier, Streek posted the following message on his Facebook page: "So...I guess that's it...thanks everyone...I'm sorry to those I should be sorry to, I love you to those that I love, and I will see you all again soon (not too soon though)... Let the stories begin."

In May, Streek was fired from the radio station where he had worked since high school. According to his website, he was also a popular party host, occasional stand-up comic and a successful commercial voice actor.

A memorial page has been set upon Facebook. A fan named Graeme posted: "Toronto radio will NEVER be the same ... to me, the voice of Martin Streek was the voice of alternative radio. No one has ever come close. You'll be missed, and the world is a poorer and a little less rocking place without you."

Toronto Star shuffles its classifieds off to Buffalo

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Calling it “a sad, sad day” in Toronto Star history, a union representative is attacking the newspaper’s decision to shut down its classified advertising department. The move means 27 of 32 employees in the department are losing their jobs.

Maureen Dawson, chair of the Star unit of the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild, said today the company is farming out its classifieds business to a Buffalo company.

“The newspaper that calls itself the voice of the little people is sending jobs to another country in the middle of a recession,” said Dawson. “This is the height of hypocrisy. Shame.”

Torstar spokesman Bob Hepburn blamed the popularity of online classified ads for the closure of the in-house call centre. The Star is expected to save about $1.5 million a year by laying off the six full-time and 21 part-time workers.

Celeb mags continue to be tops on Canadian newsstands

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Canadians can’t get enough of celebrities, according to newsstand sales data for 2008. Eight of the top 10 magazines in this country are celebrity-driven – and, not surprisingly, none are wholly Canadian.

German-owned In Touch and Life & Style; UK-based OK Magazine; American titles People, Star, National Enquirer and US Weekly; and the Canada-Spain partnership Hello! Canada are in the top 10.

The rankings, from Coast to Coast Newsstand Services Partnership, are based on revenues – but the chart also shows the number of copies sold during the year.

The best-selling magazine on Canadian newsstands is Woman’s World, which sold 7.4 million copies last year, followed by In Touch (6.5 million) and People (6.2 million). In terms of revenues, though, People lead the pack with $31.2 million in sales last year in Canada. Special issues, such as People Style Watch (No. 25) and People Yearbook (No. 127) added millions more to the parent company’s coffers.

Hello! Canada sold 3.1 million copies in 2008, earning it $10.3 million and the No. 9 spot last year, up from No. 12 in 2007. Its special royal edition sold nearly 84,000 copies, earning an additional $581,506.

Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine fell from 10th place in 2007 to No. 12 last year and Martha Stewart Living dropped eight spots to No. 46. The top-selling men’s title on Canadian newsstands was Maxim (No. 14) with close to 900,000 copies sold.

The first 100 per cent homegrown magazine to make the list is Canadian Living (No. 15), which sold 1.4 million copies last year. Macleans rose from No. 32 to No. 24 as sales jumped from 420,713 in 2007 to 482,974.

American Media Inc. earned more than $45 million in Canada from its Star (No. 2), National Enquirer (No. 7), Globe (No. 11), Sun (No. 110) and National Examiner (No. 35). The company also owns Country Weekly (No. 138), Shape (No. 32), Men’s Fitness (No. 226), Flex (No. 368), Fit Pregnancy (No. 341), Muscle & Fitness (No. 129) and Muscle & Fitness Hers (No. 284).

Despite the availability of pornography online, so-called “girly” mags remain in the top 40 in this country. Hustler Canada ranked 19th overall (up from No. 24 in 2007), followed by Club (No. 33) and Playboy (No. 37).

How well did some unabashedly homegrown magazines do? Canadian Geographic ranked 133th in 2008 with just over 108,000 copies sold and Walrus fell from the No. 144 spot to No. 223 as sales sank from 102,245 copies in 2007 to only 67,201 last year.

Sitting in the No. 2000 spot on the chart is the boating mag Western Mariner thanks to sales of only $10,168.25 – though its circulation jumped from 122 copies in 2007 to 1,498.