Looking for something different to do last Friday, my pal Jenn suggested we check out the new broadcasting exhibit at Museum London. At the time, we didn’t realize it was the second anniversary of the death of our then-patriarch at Free-FM, Richard Costley-White. Fitting that we had stood in front of his photo at the Museum and remembered what a good guy he was. …
Volunteers do lots of good things for others and never brag about it. And some researchers decided to try to put a dollar value on what they do, to figure out what would happen if they suddenly stopped. It’s called the Halo Project. …
I Can See Your Halo Read More »
When someone who woke up at the crack of stupid as long as Erin Davis did gives you a recommendation that she says will make wake-up time easier, you listen. You don’t have to wake up at 3:15 am to relate, but it helps. …
I’ve Seen the Light Read More »
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but I’m not a big jewellery nut. Oh, I can appreciate but I don’t often covet. When Derek and decided to get married I explicitly told him I didn’t want an engagement ring. There isn’t much in the way of bling that I wish I had for my own. Except for a Pandora bracelet. They’re beautiful and customizable and I’ve always wanted one. …
It’s been less than two years since I left Free-FM but sometimes it feels like decades. Derek and I both made some great friends there and there’s a photo of one in particular that makes me LOL every time. …
Throwback Thursday – Free to Be Read More »
Not all scientific studies are created equal. Having been a radio broadcaster for a long time, I also know how they can get distilled down to a couple of sentences of highlights, potentially making a worldwide study of thousands of people sound as credible as a small study of twenty. It rests on the public to look deeper into the data, but only three out of ten will bother in a stat I just made up.
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Studying the Studies Read More »
I used to own sleeplessness as a part of my personal profile. Because I get up so early, retire so early and nap in between, I felt my complicated relationship with sleep was special. We’re on-again, off-again. Sometimes sleep turns into a total bitch and won’t even text me back. Sleep crank-calls me in the middle of the night and just breathes and stands me up on a regular basis. …
The Ken and Lisa Morning Show pitched a contest idea some time ago: a wedding vow renewal. We’d choose a couple and give them a CJBK Wedding Do-Over. Mary and Fred’s entry was selected some time ago, and their mini-wedding was held last Wednesday evening. It was wonderful! We selected a couple whose first wedding had a lot of mishaps including a lost ring and no money for a honeymoon. It also happens to be their fiftieth anniversary year. …
Tall women have long been told that they shouldn’t wear heels, or look taller than men. This is, of course, ridiculous. A female friend who’s 6′ tells everyone she’s 5′ 12″. (She does it as a joke, though.) Â The crew dug a trench for Nicole Kidman to walk in as she was filmed alongside then-husband Tom Cruise for the 1992 romantic adventure movie Far and Away. And although there wasn’t much the royal spin doctors could do about live appearances of Prince Charles and his wife Diana – except perhaps require her to walk twelve paces behind him – their official portraits were doctored to hide the fact that they were the same height.Â
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Throwback Thursday – Rising to New Heights Read More »
A couple of weeks ago I put out a request on social media for coffee mug recommendations. Not ordinary mugs though, travel mugs, or something that would keep my coffee hot. I have a cheap, ordinary mug at work and my coffee turns ice cold within minutes, or so it seems. I take coffee pretty seriously and hosting a live talk show means I don’t have time to run around and heat it up again. I googled for solutions but I wanted real-life experiences with specific mugs. …
Part of my deal with the agency that represents me for voice work is that I’ll no longer travel for an in-studio session. If someone wants to hire me, they can do what’s called a Directed Session over Skype while I stay in my home studio. It’s how I remain sane while doing VO on the side while starting my day around 3 am to cohost the CJBK morning show. It’s a hard and fast rule. So, why did I break it last week? …
Many times I’ve wrestled with whether to write about a personal story or situation. If I decide that a revelation can benefit someone else, then it’s worth the price of revealing something about my life. What columnist Leah McLaren wrote for the Globe and Mail last week didn’t meet those parameters but I can’t for the life of me understand why she, and not her editor, was suspended by the paper. …
You may already be aware that the misuse of the apostrophe is my Achilles heel. Finally, I’ve come to a point where I can refrain from commenting on social media when my friends commit crimes against punctuation but it’s still a free-for-all if it’s out in the public domain for all to see. Banks, retailers, major food chains and publishers – you’ve been warned! I can’t help myself. I’m always on the alert for RAM.
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Analyzing RAM: Rampant Apostrophe Misuse Read More »
My head is full of details about news stories past and present. We all suffer from information overload but I think it’s different when that info is about your passion, say, competitive quilting. When it concerns the heinous and horrible things people do, it’s not as easy to store. …
Less (Information) is More Read More »
Our country turns 150 this year but parts of it are much older than that. In fact, if you talk to Canada’s indigenous people, they’ll remind you that this sesquicentennial marks 150 years of colonialism, not confederation. But I digress. …
Throwback Thursday – I’ve Done 150 Before Read More »
When did we get so sensitive? Did we lose our collective sense of humour while I was napping? I nap almost every day, so that’s entirely possible. What’s with the popular hobby of being offended and outraged where those things don’t exist? …
The Latest in the Outrage Industry Read More »
I’ve always admired Sharon Taylor. She was Canada’s first female radio Program Director. She’s smart, sensible and insightful and that’s never been more evident than in a recent post she wrote in her position as consultant with Byrnes Media. …
Straight Talk for Media Divas Read More »
St. Patrick’s Day churns up memories of five years ago, when a gaggle of opportunistic young people attached like leeches to student-led parties, took over a neighbourhood, rioted, and made the kind of international news for London that no city wants to attract. Cue The Who and Won’t Get Fooled Again! …
Apologies to Kermit: It IS Easy Being Green Read More »