What do you Love?
Whether you love playing darts, quilting, raking leaves or collecting computer parts, you can find like-minded hobbiests on the Internet. Even men who love doing laundry have found each other! Â …
September 2016
Throwback Thursday: Vintage Tulip
Pink was all the rage for home decor in the 80s. They called it dusty rose. So were deep grey, Caribbean blue and not wearing socks, if you were Don Johnson on Miami Vice. …
Lobster Will Flounder
How anyone can dispute the science of climate change baffles me. It’s fodder for stand-up comics (Can we trust temperatures taken 150 years ago?? Back then they were using leeches to cure disease!) and hard right-wingers who believe that if it wasn’t in the Bible, it doesn’t exist. Oh, unless it’s something convenient like a microwave or Tinder app. …
A Work Buddy I’ve Always Wanted
No, not Ken. Ken’s awesome and a terrific cohost and collaborator. But I’m talking about a woman who works in a completely different division and has made the most incredible offer to me. …
Ontari-uh-oh!
Did you hear the new, updated Ontario anthem? Did you even know we had an unofficial, provincial anthem? It was a song from a movie and I remember learning it in school. …
Shaming Schumer
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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Throwback Thursday – A Painter’s Lament
Eight years ago we refreshed our kitchen. This house was a disaster when we bought it. That’s how we got a great deal on it! And the kitchen was useless, old, and gross. We replaced just about everything including the countertop. Derek knocked out a wall and his brother, Howie, created extra storage. In other words, we made it work. …
Worthy Clickbait
If you’re on the Internet, you know clickbait. It’s often headlined with something that ends with, “You Won’t Believe What Happened!” or “He Never Imagined THIS!” And then you click through a series of slides and bring revenue to a company – possibly Diply here in London – whose owners get paid by the click. The more you click, the happier the ad placers are. …
The Land of Oz
A little late to the party, again, I’ve just started listening to the audiobook of You: The Owner’s Manual, by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen.This updated edition came out in 2008. Somehow these esteemed medical professionals had forgotten all about the liver in the original release. …
Did You Adult Today?
Adulting is now a word. And adulting is hard. How does one adult? You did it today. You got up and faced Monday despite not really wanting to. That’s adulting. …
Everything Old is New
It appears that I won’t be writing House Proud for Sun Media anymore. My column has been running across the country for about 9 years now, but the marketplace has changed and the newspapers sections are getting smaller. But my terrific friend Erin had a great idea.  …
Throwback Thursday: My Boss, My Brother
My first radio job when I moved back to London 8 years ago was midday host on 1039-FM, a station with an identity crisis. Now it’s a country music station. Then, it was struggling to find a niche in a radio cluster that included the city’s top FM station, and another one that places in the top 5. …
People Walking
A Los Angeles man is doing something that most people seem to think is a little bit nuts. He’s taking people for a walk. …
Lisa’s Pieces Now Include Light Fixtures
Inspiration hit on our recent trip to New England. We stopped at flea markets, antique and so-called junk shops and any place else that beckoned one or both of us. We marvelled at items we hadn’t seen back home and resisted the urge to load the truck with flotsam. We also picked up some terrific ideas. …
As Tragedy Unfolds
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. …
Flying the Friendly Skies
A couple of birthdays ago, I gave Derek a gift certificate for a helicopter flying lesson at St.Thomas Airport. He loves helicopters and has often said that if he had it to do all over again, he’d like to fly one. This was as close as I could get him. It included a 15 minute flight.
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Throwback Thursday – Morning Show Past
It’s been a year since I started at CJBK. And we’re already launching the second morning show of my career stop there.Â
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A Slow Roll
The slowest house-flip in the province is now complete. This flip was so slow (how slow was it?) that it was more like a slow-speed roll. But now it’s done and we’re out with our shirts still on our backs. …