Kevin Meaney died last weekend. You may not know his name, but in stand-up comedy circles and among stand-up comedy nuts like me, he was a mainstay. Only 60, he was a favourite of Johnny Carson’s on The Tonight Show back when that was where comics got their big break. If Johnny invited you over to the couch, you became a star. Kevin always got to go to the couch. …
Nice Guy, Kevin Meaney Read More »
The Kardashians are selling a brand. I get that. They are prettier than us and richer than us and having more fun than us. Well, they were until Kim was bound and gagged and held hostage in her Paris hotel room while bandits relieved her of millions of dollars worth of jewellery. The incident is said to have changed her life. Let’s hope so. …
A Tale of Two Celebrities Read More »
If the heir to the writer of a children’s campfire song can claim ownership to a famous pop-flute riff, then anything truly is possible when it comes to owning the rights to music. A former Boomtown Rat hopes so, anyway. Â …
New Fights for Old Money Read More »
Not quite two-thirds of the way through Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run, I feel confident that I can give it five out of five stars, no matter what else is to come. I can already guess how it ends. Springsteen is still one of the top money-making stars in the business of rock and roll and at 67, he’s in better shape than most men 20 years younger. The book is simply excellent. It entered North American sales charts at number one. …
The Elder Statesman of American Rock Read More »
Hillbilly No More! Read More »
Love her or loathe her Amy Schumer – I love her – is a powerful force in pop culture. Her TV show, Inside Amy Schumer, is a boundary-pusher. She spoofs, and therefore brings to light, even serious issues like rape culture on university campuses. She did a skit about college football players gathered in a locker room after winning a big game, and asking their coach about every possible scenario they could find themselves in, and whether it would make a rape okay. Doesn’t sound funny? Well it was, and every time the coach said an emphatic “No” to the increasingly ridiculous hypothetical situations, it drove the point home that it’s never okay.
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Yesterday was, of course, the 15th anniversary of 9/11. It was a day unlike any other, and for those of us in media, it was a workday unlike any other. Sometimes people fail to realize how difficult it is to sort out the truth when something of that magnitude is ongoing, minute by minute. …
As Tragedy Unfolds Read More »
There are two types of people on this continent: those who have read and loved the 30+-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces and those who have never heard of it. Oh, and a third type – me. I’ve read the book and I still don’t know what the heck to make of it. …
Review – A Confederacy of Dunces Read More »
While we’re on vacation, I’m rerunning some of my favourite blog posts.Â
I guess I never did receive a photo from the time I met Jane Fonda because I have looked everywhere and asked everyone I can think of with no luck. But I did meet her and had a delightful chat, backstage after she gave a talk at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, for which I had a front row seat. …
Throwback Thursday – Me Lisa, She Jane Read More »
While we’re on vacation, I’m reposting some of my favourite blog posts of the past.Â
The most grizzled founding member of The Rolling Stones has told his fascinating life story in a thick volume that quickly jumped onto the best-seller lists. …
Review – Life by Keith Richards Read More »
I  am really late to the story here, but I was reluctant to write about Muhammad Ali because, besides the obvious loss of a legend, his was another death attributable to sepsis, the disease that nearly KOd me several years ago. In his case, it was septic shock, meaning severe sepsis that doesn’t respond to treatment. Sepsis gets “severe” when it starts to affect internal organs, as it did with my liver. …
Throwback Thursday – Sepsis Days Read More »
Well, that didn’t last long. Early this year, The Guardian newspaper in the UK announced that Alanis Morissette was going to write an advice column for its weekend magazine. She took over from Molly Ringwald and said her mix of “intuition and empathy” would serve her in the role. Well, she just quit. Alanis and her rapper husband just welcomed their second child and she says she wants to focus on being a Mom. …
You, You, You Oughta Know Read More »