The Oscar-winners for Best Picture and Best Director often leave me baffled. Except for Titanic more than twenty years ago, the winner is rarely the most popular film. The Shape of Water certainly fits that mould. It’s a surreal cold-war tale about a monster from the sea and people on land who can’t seem to connect with others. …
The Fish Sex Movie and Others Read More »
Picture it: 1984. Or was it ’85. No matter. I was working as a “swing” host at all-hit-radio CKSL. Think CFTR but in London, Ontario. Swing means my shifts swung around the clock. There were a couple of overnights, an evening, an afternoon and fill-in shifts when necessary. The promotions department asked me to accompany a couple of contest winners to Detroit via limo, to see the Four Tops and The Temptations perform. …
Throwback Thursday – Giving Into Temptations Read More »
When the holidays roll around, what’s your go-to show or movie? Ken and I had this discussion on the air last week. He doesn’t stray from the time-tested classics: It’s A Wonderful Life, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I say, he’s missing out. …
Christmas Classics Read More »
I’ve been a fan of Mark A. Rayner’s writing since his bizarre and delightful novel, The Fridgularity, in 2012. What would happen if the Internet disappeared, but one web-enabled fridge had delusions of grandeur? That’s a glimpse into Rayner’s mind. …
Review – The Fatness by Mark A. Rayner Read More »
Meaning “under vacuum”, sous vide is a cooking method used by many top chefs. You vacuum-seal your food in a bag and cook it in a water bath at a precise temperature for a longer period of time. It can’t overcook so it comes out exactly the way you want it. …
Parlez-vous Sous Vide? Read More »
You can learn something every day if you’re doing life right. My brother introduced me to the YouTube channel, Smarter Every Day. Host Destin Sandlin delves into all sorts of fascinating scientific experiments that are understandable by non-science types like me. The videos are high quality and most are nice and short. Â …
Smarter Every Day Read More »
I arrived late to this party and in case you did too, let me tell you about The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. You don’t have to buy the 1995 book to learn the lessons. …
Language Barriers Broken Read More »
This might be the only review of the movie The Big Sick that talks more about the “sick” than the point of the film, which is clashing cultures learning to get along. …
Review: The Big Sick Read More »
If, as I do, you prefer hard truth over comfortable fiction, buy this book or borrow it and digest it thoroughly. This is coming from someone who’s not big on the self-help book market but this page-turner is a best-seller for a reason. It’s not a typical self-help book. …
Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Read More »
Looking for something compelling to read over the Thanksgiving weekend? I’m a couple of years late getting to Where I Belong by Alan Doyle, lead singer of east coast band, Great Big Sea, but better late than never. It’s so good, so warmly and well-written with self-deprecation and laugh-out-loud moments, that I can’t wait to get into his new one out later this month, A Newfoundlander in Canada: Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home. …
Review – Where I Belong by Alan Doyle Read More »
My first two full-time on-air radio jobs found me in country music radio, first in Red Deer, Alberta and then in Prince George, BC. I had some earlier experience with what was then called country & western, through my Mom and Dad and my cousin Wayne’s country band. But my exposure was limited and carefully curated. I grew to love Waylon Jennings and appreciate Conway Twitty. But some of the nasally, twangy stuff made me climb the walls. John Anderson’s Swingin’, anyone? …
Throwback Thursday – The Beautiful Simplicity of the Gentle GiantRead More »
Throwback Thursday – The Beautiful Simplicity of the Gentle Giant Read More »
The new (not so new anymore) online marketplace is supposed to be a boon for anyone who’s doing freelance work as a full-time endeavor or a sideline. The voice-work realm is probably like any other aspect of creative work in this regard. There’s a bit of wheat and a whole lot of chaff. I’ve been making the rounds for several months and find them mostly wanting. …