Car XxX Blog

The Toronto Maple Leafs maybe out of playoff contention, but for many of the hockey team's fans this is nothing new. There is still time to take pleasure in going to the game, downing a few ice cold beers and cheering on the lovable losers. A pair of guys in stretchy blue outfits, from the toes to the head, walked towards the Air Canada Centre - sponsored by Highway 407 ETR.

The Maple Leafs played a game against the Montreal Canadians at the Air Canada Centre Saturday, April 9, 2011 and lost 4-1. The small blue man group must be more blue watching the loss, which I didn't think possible; poor blue, blue men.

Hobbystar Marketing gives back to the Fans during a special FREE Toronto ComicCON event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  This Fan Appreciation event runs April 9 and 10, 2011 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Comics, Illustrated books and cosplay are a big part of the show and their were some really interesting costumes. Don't forget the Fan Expo Canada which is coming to Town August 25-28, 2011.
The program schedule has two full days of entertainment and I am looking forward to seeing Richard Hatch  (above) from Battlestar Galactica and the sad guy (Alan Ruck, pictured below) from Ferris Bueler's Day Off among many other entertainment guests.

• Q&A with Industry Legends Geof Darrow and Bob McLeod
• Sketch Duel: Chris Sprouse and Patrick Gleason
• Q&A with Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch
• Workshop: Drawing the Human Figure from Memory with Ty Templeton
• Q&A with Actor Alan Ruck

• Q&A with Actor Dominic Keating
• Sketch Duel: Khoi Pham and Marcus To
• Q&A with Anime Voice Actors Jaimi Marchi and Trina Nishimura
• Workshop: Comic Book Penciling and Inking with Leonard Kirk

Facebook's Fun Toronto posted some upcoming events and the Bunnarchy thing sounded way out there. I have never heard of it before so I had to check it out. Well, not too much to check out really, put on bunny costumes - the least being a set of bunny ears, and hop around the street in a large group, stopping in bars to get some drinks. This funny gathering starts Saturday, April 16 at 6pm. Get hopping people.

There are Bunnarchy events in Vancouver and Seattle so Toronto is good company.

The annual Toronto Pillow Fight has moved from the Yonge and Eglinton to Yonge-Dundas Square. It also started later in the day from the previous rounds - now the pillows started flying at 8:00pm in the evening. Luckily the nearby advertising billboards provided some extra light on the fun. The pillow fighters wore less costumes due to the cold (even though some brave souls fought without shirts) than last year (see my pictures of the 2010 fight here).
I met Lori Kufner (above), one of the organizers of the Toronto event from www.NewMindSpace.com hugging a large stuffed bunny rabbit (I asked her if it pooped jelly beans and she said yes!), who was enjoying the amount of people who turned out to participate and also the people who were on hand to watch the excitement. The date change was made to coincide with International Pillow Fight Day held around the world on April 2nd.
There was also a band called Samba Elegua that had a groovin' beat pumping the crowd up in a fury of pillow flinging state and a small group friendly people giving out Free Hugs.

Canadians head to the federal polls for the 41st General Election ("Vote. Shape your world") on Monday May 2, 2011. Canadian citizens 18 and over can vote in 308 federal electoral districts on election day or at advance polls on April 22nd, 23rd or the 25th. You can see the Toronto electoral districts here.

The upcoming election was announced by Prime Minister Steven Harper on Saturday March 26, 2011 after meeting with the Governor General David Johnston. The Parliament of Canada website said "On the advice of the Prime Minister, the Governor General, by proclamation on Saturday, March 26, 2011, dissolved the Fortieth Parliament and gave instructions to issue writs of election. Monday, May 2^nd, 2011 has been set as the polling day."


Opposition parties had passed a non-confidence motion on Friday March 25 against the ruling Conservative minority government and the main reason given was they felt the government was in contempt of Parliament.

Some excited young Marlies AHL hockey fans going to the Saturday, March 19 game against the Phantoms at the Exhibition's Ricoh Coliseum. The ghostly Phantoms kicked ass and took names and the Marlies lost in a 1-3 score even though the Marlies had the higher shots on goal against the Adirondack team.

Tickets go from $14 to $43 (less if you buy ahead of time) and you should keep this league in mind if you can't get tickets to the Maple Leafs!

Spring brings out the fun, long buried under a collection of snow, salt and miscellaneous debris. Besides the Hobbystar animeCON and Wizard World Comic Con we have a bunch of other shows going on at the same time: The Sportsmen's Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, The Canada Blooms Festival at the Direct Energy Centre and the Toronto Wine and Cheese Show at the International Centre - Now I will drink to that.

I picked up my free Home Depot bag from Canada Blooms and got a litle Garden Inspiration with the Flower and Garden Festival while the Sportsmen's Show lineups were quite intimidating.

Japanese animation, called anime, is coming to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, 2011 during Hobbystar Marketing's Toronto animeCON. The anime style of drawing feature a lot of big eyes, wild hair and some big ass weapons so get your costumes ready.

I always look forward to the Hall Cosplay where fans dress up as anime, manga and comic characters. There will also be games, autograph sessions, shopping areas. There is to be a celebrity guest and also voice actors from many popular series, like Sean Schemmel from Dragon Ball Z, who will be there for pictures and question and answer sessions.
Don't forget about the Toronto comicCON Fan Appreciation Event scheduled for April 9 and 10, 2011 (also at the MTCC).
See more pictures of the 2011 Toronto AnimeCON Show after the jump.