The Kids Call it Swatting
It’s the latest prank to hit the rich and famous and it’s called swatting. Â …
Celebrities
Review: Out of the Blue by Jan Wong
If you remember Wong’s “Lunch With…” series in the Globe and Mail you’ll probably recall that she was a true journalist. Â She didn’t suck up to her subjects who ranged from the famous to the notorious. Â She sometimes ripped them a new one for everything from table manners to the way they answered questions. Wong was a marquee writer for the Globe for two decades until she wrote an article that inspired death threats and instead of backing her up, her employer hung her out to dry. Â …
The Naked Truth Takes the Nation
Okay that’s just a slight over-statement! But so far I’ve been on radio from Halifax to Chatham, from Wingham to St. Catharines.  And today, it’s CFRB 1010 Toronto. …
To The Moon, Alice
When Ralph Kramden threatened his wife Alice with, “to the moon”, it was 14 years before a human being would actually set foot on that planet. Â The silly TV catch-phrase was thought so over the top and ridiculous because that’s how people thought of the possibility that anyone would visit the moon. Â Then in 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first to do it. Â How freaking incredible was that? Â …
Bigger Than a Boo-Boo
What will it take to stop the child abuse “reality” shows that have taken hold, especially on TLC? Â The L used to be for Learning. Â Now it’s about Loot. Â …
Sexist Ways
Bear with me while I randt a bit about a current Hollywood scandal. Â I don’t really care that 22 year old Kristen Stewart slept with her 41 year old director behind the backs of both her live-in boyfriend, actor Robert Pattinson, and the director’s wife and kids. Â I only care because of the fallout. Â …
The Ultimate Cosmo Girl
Helen Gurley Brown died yesterday after a brief illness.  She was 90.  As editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine for 32 years, Brown helped guide and shape young women’s views on sex and relationships.  I know. I was one of them. …
Muppet with a Cause
As we toured the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor in Las Vegas we couldn’t help but notice an interracial couple among the photographs of passengers who were on board the famous ship. What must life have been like for them back in 1912?  Surely there’s no way they could have escaped prejudicial comments and other foolish and unfair reactions to their different races. I looked at them with awe. They must have been resilient and in love. …
Laughin’ at Gaffigan
Imagine how difficult it is to get two people who get up for work at 3:30 am to go out on a Sunday night. It’s nearly impossible. Â But Jim Gaffigan decided to make a tour stop in London’s Centennial Hall on a Sunday, so, what could we do? Â We bought front-row seats. We literally had the best seats in the house. …
To Quote Ricky Gervais
“Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.” Â …
Concerts Past
Some people can remember shows they’ve been to in incredible detail.  “Yeah it was a Tuesday and we were in the 11th row. The tickets were $17. They opened with Free Bird and did 2 encores.  I wore my striped shirt and a pair of Wranglers.” …
Alec Baldwin Coming to London
Baldwin, complete with his bad attitude and evolving girth, is one of my favourite performers.  It has just been announced that he will be here in London in November to speak at a medical gathering on behalf of the Dana and Christopher Reeve Foundation which he has long supported. …
RIP Nora Ephron
Just last week Nora Ephron’s memoir I Feel Bad About My Neck caught my eye as I passed by one of our bookshelves. Â I thought, I really need to read that again because I loved that book. Â …
If Only They Knew Me
I wasn’t feeling well when we left for Michigan on Saturday morning. I had a headache and a mildly queasy tummy. Â After we stopped at the Port Huron Cracker Barrel, where I had a bland breakfast of plain oatmeal with raisins, the queasiness turned into full-blown nausea. Â I spent an hour of the trip with my seat reclined, under a blanket. Â If only I had taken that as a sign of what was to come! …
This is About…What was I Saying?
My memory is terrible. Oh you might also say, yeah, mine too, but mine is a cut above.  Or below. …
Faith Hill Isn’t Pretty Enough
It makes me very happy that the one conspiracy theory I completely subscribe to is being brought to light little by little. Â Someone in the magazine world is exposing the ridiculous measures they go to, to “perfect” already beautiful women. Â You don’t think Faith Hill needs touching up? Â Well neither do I! Â …
Liver Long and Prosper
There is documented proof on this website that I’m not a fan of comic Mike MacDonald. Years ago, I sat stone-faced through his gala set at the Just For Laughs Festival gala in Montreal. Â He was never funny to me. Â But he has been dubbed Canada’s funniest comic by the adoring press and has thousands of fans. Â And my feelings about his act aside, the man needs help and fast. Â …
A Bad Week for Disco Lovers
We just lost Donna Summer and now, Robin Gibb. If you grew up in the 70’s you know that The Bee Gees were cool to a lot of people and then they became uncool. Â They never lost their cool for me. Â I was a fan in the 1970’s, loved them through the 80’s and ever since. In 1991 I was the only music-related industry type in Canada to tell the magazine The Record that the Bee Gees’ High Civilization was on my top 10 albums of the year. …