In the realm of music videos, we thought we’d seen it all, from Bjork’s gorilla dentist in “Army of Me” to anime eyes on Lady Gaga in "Bad Romance."

That was until Arcade Fire’s “The Wilderness Downtown.”

Set to the tune of their nostalgia-fueled single “We Used to Wait,” the new interactive online film takes you back to your childhood home through tech geekery and Google maps.

Multiple browser windows choreographed to the music appear like magic too, but like all videos its better watched than read about.

Tip: For optimal viewing, download Google Chrome and close other desktop applications.

www.thewildernessdowntown.com

The strapping September issues have just hit newsstands and while we’re fond of trend-packed tomes, we also crave clean, timeless fare.

For the latter our favourite is Corduroy, named for the sartorial staple of History and English professors. Inside are crisp photographs, no-nonsense profiles of interesting people and selections of art from the likes of Guy Bourdin and Robert Longo. Helmed by two Torontonians and printed in Winnipeg, the international mag is Canadian to boot.

Thanks to a recent design refresh, the pages look good enough to frame. Now that’s an idea.

Available at Chapters or online at www.corduroymag.com

Need a long weekend beach read? Herewith, our editors' favourite summer page turners.

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
If Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was your pre-teen bible, pick up Blume's more mature novel, Summer Sisters. It follows two best friends from grade school to their 30s and blends adolescent whimsy and angst with some very grown up topics. (PS: Check out Judy Blume on Twitter). $10 at Amazon.ca
Maria Tallarico, Managing editor

Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton
Members of Team Jennifer will enjoy sinking their teeth into. But we’d never diss Angie—why mess with a gal with a knife collection? $16 at Amazon.ca
Marianne Wisenthal, Montreal editor

The Recessionista by Alexandra Lebenthal
"Too Big to Fail Goes to the Beach," is how New York Magazine's Jessica Pressler described Alexandra Lebenthal's hot summer debut novel, The Recessionistas. A fabulously juicy read. $19 at Amazon.ca
Athena Tsavliris, Toronto editor

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
From the author of High Fidelity and About a Boy, Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked is the author’s latest look at what happens when love, parenting and relationships get in the way of life. The story of a washed-up musician also deals with one of Hornby’s favourite subjects: music. $21 at Amazon.ca
Malwina Gudowska, Calgary editor

One Day by David Nicholls
Expressed in snapshots of the same day spanning twenty years, this tale of two opposites, Dex and Em, who connect just before graduation, go their separate ways, yet stay in touch, sucked us in right from the start (perhaps because it begins with the pair bantering and snogging). $13 at Amazon.ca
Joy Pecknold, Vancouver editor

As a kid you couldn’t hit your bratty sister, but you could whack a piñata. In adulthood the same rules apply, but you can commission a piñata in the spitting image of your sibling with Your Piñata.

Call on Meaghan Kennedy, a Vancouver fashion girl turned couture craft girl with flame red hair and Flo-Jo nails to fix you a custom, handmade paper-mâché piñata of any person. She’s made Steve Martin, Kim Jong Il and a spot-on Perez Hilton for will.i.am. If the subject you want spoofed has tattoos, wears designer dresses or has dreadlocks, she delivers on those details. They can be stuffed with anything saccharine or sassy and take 3-7 days to create.

Smashing has never looked so smashing.

From $200, Your Piñata, 604-250-6307, www.yourpinata.com

If your favourite summer reads include steamy romance novels with a barely-clad Fabio on the cover, put down the paperbacks and pick up Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century.

The story of “Liz and Dick” by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger reveals the often shocking marriage of the twice married (and twice divorced) couple. Their stormy union—filled with plenty of sex, scandal, fame and fortune—began on the set of Cleopatra in 1962 and spanned over 20 years, making them the most glamorous on-again-off-again duo Hollywood has ever seen.

$18.89 at Amazon.ca

What is Will without Grace?

A ruthless real estate agent named Ricky Roma.

Eric McCormack, the Canuck thespian behind TV’s Will Truman, will grace the stage in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s rendering of Glengarry Glen Ross opening tomorrow. With its foul, fast-talking Mamet speak, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play is sure to take your mind off the slow housing market.

That and McCormack’s cuteness. Sold!

Glengarry Glen Ross runs July 22-August 22 at the Stanley Theatre, 2750 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-687-1644, tickets from $25, www.artsclub.com

Shoe racks, closet caddies and drawer dividers keep your wardrobe in order, but your bulging bookmark bar of fashion blogs is a hot mess.

Don’t distress: give your blog reading some love with Bloglovin’. The simple online reader stores all your favourite sites in one spot. You can create your own groups like “Parisian Street Style” or “Everyday Glam Girls” to segment your feed and request email notifications so the minute Garance Doré publishes a pic of Carine Roitfeld outside the couture shows you’ll know.

Styled and sorted.

www.bloglovin.com

Facebook or face time? Smartphone or land line? Always connected or catch me if you can?

Take our quick-and-easy one-minute technology survey and be eligible to win an HTC Legend smartphone courtesy of Virgin Mobile.

Just please don't call screen us….

Start our Lifestyle and Technology survey here.

Cancelling cable for the summer saves us from reruns, but denies us those late-night guilty pleasures known as Legends of the Fall and Cruel Intentions.

Good thing GlobalTV.com is streaming those and other titles online all summer long. Free and with minimal commercials, there’s always seven films to choose from and they change over every two weeks.

Best part is, unlike cable, if you can’t wait till late to watch Can’t Hardly Wait (on this week’s roster), you don’t have to.

To watch, visit www.globaltv.com/movies

Unsure about what to do this weekend, leave it up to rhyming couplets.

Saturday night approaches
And someone broaches
“What’s the plan?”
Party at Stan’s? Or maybe Joanne’s?
Yet a backyard rave
You can always save,
But The Cheaper Show,
Or Martha Wainwright & Co.
Singing Piaf’s “Adieu Mon Cœur”
“Mon Dieu!” we do declare
It just wouldn’t be fair
To miss two events so rare.

www.thecheapershow.com