Comfort Viewing
If we’re flipping channels or clicking through the offerings of a streaming service and this movie comes up, we’re watching it. Again!
…Celebrities
Gossip Mongers
I was looking for some info about my first book, Celebrity Tantrums, and hit up Google. The book was published in 2003 so some of the details are fuzzy in my memory. Google never forgets. One link seemed a little strange so I investigated further and that’s how I found out about a mistake I’d made in the manuscript.
…
Review: Colin in Black and White
Even people who don’t follow football heard about Colin Kaepernick the first time he took a knee during the American anthem at an NFL game in 2016. I believe he will go down in history alongside Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the courageous few who changed the conversation around racism. I think he’s a frigging hero off the field. Unfortunately, that’s where he’s been: off the football field. Taking a stand for what’s right came at a high price. But now he’s on Netflix and his show is fascinating, difficult, beautifully crafted, and important.
…Review: Colin in Black and White Read More »
Where You’re Going
My first husband and I moved back to Ontario from BC so he could take a radio job in London. I would be unemployed and look for work while he carried the load. Due to a miscommunication, he thought the salary number he was given referred to his monthly pay. We soon found out that the number meant annually, in the thousands. Not many thousands. It was a lot less than we counted on before packing to move across the country.
…Where You’re Going Read More »
Brushes Before Fame
Someone on Twitter recently asked whether anyone had seen a band or knew an actor before they became famous. Most of us radio types have had the good fortune to experience loads of those moments. But the questions took me further back, to my days of beer and bars. There were several times when I saw bands before they hit it big.
…Brushes Before Fame Read More »
What About Bob?
After Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad star Bob Odenkirk collapsed on set and was rushed to a hospital, the silence was deafening. As a small-j journalist, my spidey senses tingled and I anticipated bad news. Family gathered around his bedside. Maybe an aneurysm or so-called Widow Maker – a massive heart attack. It pleased me to be wrong.
…
This Could Change Everything
When a journalist discovered that the FX network had the worst record for hiring women directors, the network’s President was horrified. Within a year, instead of being 89% male and 11% female, it was 50/50.
…This Could Change Everything Read More »
Following Advice
A while back, I shared a tweet by Senator Patrick Brazeau. He said one of the best things a Canadian could do to advance Indigenous issues, is to write to their member of parliament.
…
Media Panel on Zoom – Tonight!
It’s tonight – Make the Media Want You – a live-streamed panel discussion leading up to the Forest City London Music Awards. This session is part of a series, hosted by yours truly via Zoom. It’s free, it’s Wednesday from 7-8 pm and it’s going to be fun and informative, or your money cheerfully refunded!
…Media Panel on Zoom – Tonight! Read More »
Making Music in the Forest City
I’m going to be part of something cool on Zoom in June and I’m getting excited about it!
…Making Music in the Forest City Read More »
A Country’s Conscience
Was it serendipity that introduced me to a certain country music artist the same week that justice was served for murder victim George Floyd? I can’t know why, after being so late to the party on this music, I discovered it when I did. (Thank you CBC’s Tom Power on Q for the introduction.)
…A Country’s Conscience Read More »
Don’t Do Like Debbie Downer Did
An exchange of dialogue on last week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy gave me a little lightbulb moment. (Spoiler warning!)
…Don’t Do Like Debbie Downer Did Read More »
My Triangle Theory of Outrage Journalism
Social media has affected journalism in countless ways. And when I say journalism, I’m including all types of stories – frivolous entertainment, serious politics, privacy, tech, you name it. Whatever gets mixed into the stew of news and information counts as small-j, journalism.
…My Triangle Theory of Outrage Journalism Read More »
(Not) Guilty Pleasure
To the outside world, I’m a woman of a certain age who recently stopped coloring her hair. Most people would probably assume that I enjoy pop or country music, and I do, but they’re not my faves by a long shot.
…(Not) Guilty Pleasure Read More »
Bang Up Job
A few days before Christmas, I’d had it with my bangs. They were getting in my eyes and they had to go, but I knew that getting them cut by a pro was going to be impossible with shops shut down. So I decided to do it myself.
…
Soul: Miss Sugar’s Movie Review
Well, my friends, we continue to hide out from this pandemic wave, and you know what that means? Naps! But, it also means screen time, and I want to tell you about a terrific movie I recently watched with my people.
…Soul: Miss Sugar’s Movie Review Read More »