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U2's 1984 clarion call "Pride (In the Name of Love)" has been recorded by Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers for Bentley’s album Up on The Ridge . Their gorgeous bluegrass cover was recently nominated for the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals Grammy. 

Erasure have announced the release of a brand new version of their top 5 single, "A Little Respect" – HMI Redux. A colourful new video for the track, shot in New York City and featuring Erasure lead singer Andy Bell, HMI youth and many other passers-by, will be released as well. Proceeds from the track will be donated to The Hetrick-Martin Institute , the home of the Harvey Milk High School, in New York, and the True Colors Fund. The Hetrick-Martin Institute, the nation’s oldest and largest LGBTQ youth service organization, provides a safe and supportive environment to all young people – regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity so that they can achieve their full potential. In the wake of all the gay bullying and related suicides that have been reported in the US over the past several months, Erasure wanted to do something special to spread a message of tolerance and to raise money for an organisation that engages in the fight on a daily b...

Canada has exported an incredible roster of comedic actors to Hollywood. One of the earliest was Leslie Nielson (Feb 11, 1926-Nov 28, 2010), who began his film career in 1956. Leslie actually began his career as a dramatic actor on television. In 1950 alone he appeared in over 50 live dramatic shows. Viewers of his generation will remember Nielson for his roles in  Forbidden Planet (1956) --a forerunner to Star Trek -- and The Swamp Fox (1959-1961). Nielson's career renaissance came after he was cast in Airplane! (1980), in a supporting role as Dr. Rumack. Flawlessly delivering his comedic lines, Nielson emerged as the go-to guy for deadpan one-liners. He was central to the success of The Naked Gun franchise as the hapless Detective Frank Drebin. He also appeared in the third and fourth instalments of the spoof franchise Scary Movie .   Airplane! is my all-time favourite comedy and it never fails to make me giggle like a little kid. Some of Nielson's best moments are ...

Recently, I was at a cocktail party hosted by some friends and I was introduced to a lovely man named Ian "Koko" Kojima. An unassuming fellow, he was quiet-spoken, warm, and very friendly. He spoke little of himself, except to say that he had retired to Kingston. It was his wife who proudly dropped the bombshell: Kojima had played in Chris de Burgh's band. As in "Lady in Red". Cool! Modest as ever we had to pretty much had to drag stuff out of Kojima. Turns out he was Chris de Burgh's bandleader from 1979 - 1994, and he played the saxophone and keyboards.  He is what is known in the music business as a session player, and he has an impressive track record. In the early 1970s he was in the band Great White Cane, which featured singer Rick James (who went on to stardom with 1981's "Super Freak"). In the 1990s Kojima went on tour with none other than David Hasselhoff. You can catch him in The Hoff's 1990 live DVD "Live and Forever...

I came across a blog written by a middle school (ages 11 - 14) English teacher, who shares things he is asked and overhears at his school. It's hilarious and saddening at the same time. Kids sure do say the darndest things... 

Sony announced recently that the last batch of its iconic Walkman was produced in April of this year, and that no more new cassette Walkman products will be made. The Sony Walkman debuted in 1979, and reached its peak as the must-have accessory for pop music fans for those of us who were in high school from, ahem, 1984 to 1988. While younger folks may scoff as such antique, even quaint, technology it's worth pausing to reflect on how much the Walkman changed the relationship of music to the listener. As the first truly portable music device, the Walkman blazed the trail for personal listening and created a market for a more individualistic music experience. There is no doubt that the Walkman was a revolutionary consumer product, paving the way for the portable CD and DAT devices and, eventually, the digital evolution to MP3 and the now ubiquitous iPod and its various spawn. The Walkman was every much the status symbol that the iPod is today. There were clones on the market ...

Canada's international reputation took a beating this week, with the loss of a seat on the U.N. Security Council (the first such loss for Canada since 1945), and being asked to leave its base in the U.A.E.  Influential magazine The Economist weighed in on the Security Council snub, summarizing Canada's current foreign policy as "better at doughnuts than diplomacy". Ouch. Canada hasn't received such a harsh barb from the venerable U.K. magazine since it labelled then-PM Paul Martin as a "ditherer". Harper's team immediately blamed the loss of the Security Council seat on opposition leader Michael Ignatieff, saying that his criticism of Harper's foreign policy did not present a united front to the world. After pundits and editorialists rightfully called the blame game both specious and idiotic, Harper stated that Canada lost the vote because "of his government’s refusal to trade policy positions to be popular among UN voters". Other...

Civic elections are looming across the province and in the effort to promote democracy and informed decision-making, herewith I present the lowdown on Kingston's mayoral candidates. The Front Runners Mark Gerretsen Son of former Kingston mayor and current MPP for Kingston and the Islands and Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen, Mark has most recently served as the councillor for the Portsmouth District. His last name provides him with strong brand recognition by association, but this is both a positive and negative attribute, depending on one's view of the McGuinty government. Gerretsen will likely enjoy the support of the local establishment and prominent members of the city's business class. Rob Matheson   The vocal councillor for the Loyalist-Cataraqui District, Matheson was born in Africa and lived around the world before his family settled in my former home town of Aylmer, Quebec. Matheson moved to Kingston in 1997, and he has taken a keen interest in ...

You can now own an essential and rare Stacy Kelly collectable, available to order from Chessler Books in Colorado. Get your own signed copy of Everest: Epic Trivia co-authored by Don Travers and Stacy Kelly.  Published in 1999 this 76-page book features photos and hundreds of trivia questions and answers about the legendary mountain. Order your copy now at Chessler Books .  Makes a great gift!

As the dust finally settles on downtown Kingston's " Big Dig ", the rather clever marketing campaign created around the revitalization of the main corner of historic downtown, some interesting developments are about to occur in our restaurant scene First off, we may have a burger war on our hands. Last week Harper's Burger Bar opened just near the busy corner of Wellington and Princess streets. We tried to go in on Thursday night but the place was absolutely packed. They are getting the jump on Five Guys Burgers and Fries , opening up a block north. Whereas Harper's is the brainchild of the folks behind local favs Chien Noir and Atomica , Five Guys is the famous burger joint that started in the D.C. area. To add some more competition, a local joint opened up not too long ago called "Vinny's Italian Sandwiches". After a very brief run it closed (confusing all concerned) and then reopened as "Vinny's Burgers and Fries".  It will be a ...

As our own little contribution to the spirit and emotion behind the wonderful It Gets Better Project , I thought I would repost the interview Mark and I did about our life and love together. We celebrated 9 years together in August and our interview was a humourous and touching portrait of how two gay boys can overcome the great challenges out there and fall in love.

RIP Asher Brown, a 13 year-old boy from Texas who killed himself after excessive bullying about his size, his beliefs, and about being gay. RIP Seth Walsh, a 13 year-old boy from California who died in hospital due to injuries sustained after attempting to hang himself. Seth had reported being bullied for years for being gay. RIP Billy Lucas, a 15 year-old boy from Indiana, who hung himself in his parents' barn after enduring bullying because he was gay. RIP Justin Aaberg, a gay 15 year-old boy from Minnesota, who hung himself after suffering the torment of bullying at his high school. RIP Tyler Clementi, a 18 year-old freshman at Rutgers University, who lept to his death after his roommate posted video online of Clementi having a sexual encounter with another man.   These tragic and heartbreaking deaths all took place within the last month. Despite some important gains in legal protection and rights , and an increased ...

Today marks the release of Neil Young's highly anticipated solo album Le Noise.  Produced by fellow Canadian Daniel Lanois , this album features 8 acoustic songs that sound like something completely different. Lanois' studio wizardry takes the acoustic guitar to a whole new level, and he came up with a new sound, as he says in an interview, "50 years at the back end of rock and roll". Young is known as the "Godfather of Grunge" and his signature sound, deftly enhanced by Lanois, comes through loud and clear on these songs. I am very fond of the opening song, " Walk With Me ". Without an accompanying band, Neil is left unprotected and he wails, fights, and implores the listener to care just as much as he does. The lyrics are accessible yet poetic enough to warrant repeat listens. This is a beautifully crafted yet raw album.  I can think of very few other singer-songwriters who could pull off some serious rock magic with just a mic, a guitar,...

Thought I would share some songs that are the kind of gems that take me out of myself and put me elsewhere...You know, the songs that take me on a journey when I listen to them. There are fewer of such songs amidst the cacophony of graffiti that passes for music these days. I encourage you to get comfortable, lower the lights and put on your head phones. No, not those ridiculous ear things that come with iPods. I mean real head phones...the kind that make you look like Episode IV Princess Lea. You know what I am talking about. So lay yourself down with those clunky suckers and enjoy some songs to take you out of yourself.... " Vervaceous " by James I have every James album in my collection. James formed in 1982 in Manchester and you probably know them from "Laid", their 1993 college radio hit. "Vervaceous" is a different beast altogether. This awesome live version really launches around the 3:10 mark.  " Take it Back " by Pink Floyd. You ...

Legendary Canadian actress Jackie Burroughs has passed away peacefully. While her film and stage career stretched back over 40 years, Ms. Burroughs is most well known and beloved for her role as "Hetty King" in the TV adaption of Road to Avonlea , which aired from 1990-1996. I adored this show and I particularly adored Ms. Burrough's one-of-a-kind portrayal of the kind but firm spinster school teacher. Burroughs is survived by Zoe Yanovsky, her daughter with the late Zal Yanovsky . May she rest in peace.

U2 are currently on tour in Europe, Bono having recovered from emergency back surgery, and they have been delighting fans by throwing in new songs here and there. These songs are believed to be the core of a new album rumoured to be titled Songs of Ascent that should arrive in stores before the end of the year (How's that for noncommittal?).  Anyway, thought you might like to hear the eagerly-awaiting new material. Keep in mind that most of these are unfinished and still being tinkered with. U2 are essentially test-driving these songs in front of tens of thousand of people. Thanks to fans who put these up on YouTube!! " Return of the Stingray Guitar " The tour's new opening song, a great little instrumental gem of riff and drums. " Soon " This was the opening song for the tour in 2009. Used to be called "Kingdom of Your Love". Many expect this will be the opening track on the new album but who knows? " North Star " This is a l...

For the third year in a row the World Economic Forum has named Canada's banks the soundest in the world. Hear some commentary on this ranking from Queen's School of Business professor Louis Gagnon on BNN .

Canada, for unknown reasons, has produced an astonishing roster of female singers and songwriters. For the past 40 years there has always been a Canadian songstress serving notice on the music charts, and by the 1990s Canadian women were in fact dominating the charts across genres. I thought it would be nice to highlight some of the amazing women from Canada that have ventured out from the Great White North to delight, inspire, and influence popular music. This list is not exhaustive but features some of the impressive female talents that have surely put Canada on the music map. Anne Murray (b. June 1945) The first Canadian female solo artist to have a #1 hit in the USA and the first Canadian to earn a Gold record from RIAA, Anne Murray hails from Springhill, Nova Scotia. I fondly remember watching her on various variety shows in the 70s and 80s on CBC. Ms. Murray has many beloved songs, none more than her 1970 cover of " Snowbird ".  Joni Mitchell (b. November 1943)...

The common device in filmed productions to provide an immediate context for viewers is to open a scene with an establishing shot. The establishing shot would show us the Eiffel Tower, for example, to let us know the action is to happen in Paris; or we'll see a fly-by of the Palace of Westminster to indicate that the events are set in London. For three decades pretty much any movie or tv show set in New York opened with a shot of the World Trade Center, either from the harbour or from midtown. Once in a while there would be a tracking shot from a helicopter just above the twin towers. These establishing shots were ubiquitous to the point of being cliche. These establishing shot images became part of the post-modern cinemegraphic iconography. Indeed, it would be an interesting challenge for a filmmaker to shoot in New York and not once feature the usual cliche images of the WTC, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, etc.  Someone once made the comment, upon visiting New York ...

Nashville singer-songwriter Derek Webb has crafted a lovely acoustic cover of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" for a unique project called "Democracy Vol. 1". Webb was part of contemporary Christian band Caedmon's Call and left to pursue a solo career. His most recent album, Stockholm Syndrome (2009) caused controversy among the Christian music industry for its explicit lyrics and content. 

What’s the most tenacious parasite? An idea. Only one idea from human’s brain can build cities. One idea, can transform the world and re-write the rules. That’s why, I have to take this.  This line, spoken by Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), drives the concept of "Inception", an intriguing, suspenseful, and delightful sci-fi romp and certainly one of the most unique films of the decade. The movie is an excellent companion to "Shutter Island", DiCaprio's other 2010 outing, wherein he plays yet another tormented widower. Much is being written about the game-changing special effects and that "Inception" will be another high water mark in the tradition of "The Matrix". All true...However, it the relationship between Cobb and his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) that is the heart of "Inception"; what drives the protagonist to behave the way he does and it explains his motivations and purpose. Most films you see are instantly forgettable. ...

The late Zalman "Zal" Yanovsky (pictured at left) is best known and celebrated worldwide as the guitarist for The Lovin' Spoonful, that great 1960s band known for such hits as "Summer in the City", "Do You Believe in Magic", and "Daydream". But for Kingstonians, Mr. Yanovsky is the beloved co-founder of Chez Piggy , the city's most celebrated restaurant. Chez Piggy opened in February 1979 and was packed from the start. Tucked away in a courtyard "The Pig", as it is locally known, is such a part of Kingston that life without it would be a lesser life indeed. A meal on the Pig's patio in the summer is a rite of passage, and decades of Kingstonians, RMC cadets, and Queen's students have celebrated life's most important moments amidst the thick stone walls of the 1812 livery stable. By the early 1990s Yanovsky and his wife, Rose Richardson, realized that there was demand for a bakery to satisfy the restaurant's a...

We just finished watching the cancelled 2005 ABC series " Invasion " and it was quite intriguing. I was sad to see it end so abruptly. Set in the Florida Everglades the story follows a blended family as they recover from a hurricane and, later, the apparent invasion of a foreign entity into their lives. Conceived by Shaun Cassidy (half-brother of 70s icon David Cassidy), the show was unjustly canned after being poorly managed by ABC. A similar fate had befallen other sci-fi jewels such as " Firefly " (2002) and " Surface " (2005). Like Whedon had with "Firefly", Cassidy's ace in his hand was to centre the story on a family. In Whedon's story the family was a crew on a space freighter, while Cassidy took a very contemporary occurrence--a blended family--and stuck them in the midst of chaos here on Earth. As Cassidy says in an interview on the DVD the reality is that the family are going through the chaos of the conflict inherent withi...

With the temperatures soaring it has been mighty nice to have a little outdoor escape hatch, in the form of our cute, albeit rickety, rear deck. The deck faces east and we can see the curved white roof of the K-ROCK Centre hovering above our grocery store (green roof). The afternoons are blissfully shaded and we have a great breeze because of the nearby waterfront and our height on the second storey.  In the distance to the left (north) you can see the red roof of Fort Frontenac (c. 1783) that is the home to the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College .  On the other site of the fort is the Cataraqui River, which drains into the St. Lawrence River.

July 13 marks the 25th anniversary of Live Aid, which is hard to believe. It was a great gesture of consciousness- raising and fund-raising about the plight of the starving in Ethiopia. It was an event that completely caught my imagination and stirred my sense of justice. I was all of 13. I remember hanging out to watch the broadcast, which was a massive technical feat at the time. The concert was live in London (UK) and Philadelphia (USA) and telecast around the world. There were many memorable acts, some of whom I had heard of thanks to my mom's impressive record collection; notably Queen, David Bowie, The Police, and many others. But for me, Live Aid will always be about U2's 12-minute version of "Bad", a song that just seemed to say it all and Bono's famous leap off the stage to save a girl in the audience from getting crushed.  Ignore the godawful mullet and enjoy a superstar band emerging before your eyes in one of live rock's greatest performances (...

Kingston likes to boast that it was the first capital city of Canada when the Act of Union (1840) brought Upper Canada and Lower Canada together into a new colony called the Province of Canada. The governor, Lord Sydenham, helped Kingston's fortunes greatly by deciding in 1841 that the Legislative Assembly ought to be based in Kingston, then not only Upper Canada's most populous town but also its most prominent military and economic centre. In that same year a group of local Scottish Presbyterians would successfully petition London for a royal charter to establish Queen's College. But that's another story... As it turns out when the Legislative Assembly met for the very first time, in June 1841, they actually met in the original section of Kingston General Hospital (pictured above) that had been erected in 1835 but left vacant due to insufficient funds. Kingston would be the capital city for a short time--its "reign" lasted from 1841 to 1844--and KGH was in ...

Last September I blogged about my discovery of "The Preppy Handbook" back in my first year of university in 1989.  The tongue-in-cheek guidebook to the good preppy life was a smash hit and 30 years on the book's editor, Lisa Birnbach, has written a sequel called "True Prep". The book is described in promotional material as "a contemporary look at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog-worshiping, G&T–soaked preppies adapts to the new order of the Internet, cell phones, rehab, political correctness, Reality TV and . . . polar fleece. Accompanied by more than one hundred original illustrations and photographs, and at least one recipe, True Prep promises to be a whole new, old, sensation". You can download a 12-page blad [a marketing and sales tool, used where printed sample material is needed in advance by the sales force to sell the title. A blad will often feature sections from the finished book, including the cover artwork, ...

Ok, so I am showing my hand here but I adore the divas that have given us the great songs. I get a lot of flack for the fact that I embrace the stereotype of loving Judy Garland and others, but I really don't care. I am moved greatly by these amazing women who have graced us with such powerful and emotional interpretations of timeless and new songs. Here is a list of some of my favourites: "Halo" - Beyonce My goodness, can this woman sing! She is clearly Whitney's heir and she always breaks my heart with this stunning song. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston This earth-shattering version is from the 1999 Divas concert and it is testament to the great power and range  that made Ms. Houston a global sensation. With much respect... "The Power of Love" - Celine Dion I tend to ignore all the Celine haters (most of whom our my friends) as I adore her vocal abilities and care for her fans.  "Happy Days Are Here Again" - Bar...

Rue McClanahan (b. Feb 21, 1934) passed away in New York City early this morning following a massive stroke she had suffered on Monday. While a respected Broadway and Off-Broadway actress in her own right, Ms. McClanahan came to the broader public's attention as first as the late Bea Arthur's best friend in "Maude" (1972-1978) and then most famously as Arthur's man-crazy, Southern belle housemate Blanche Devereaux in "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992). I absolutely adore "The Golden Girls" and I watch the reruns pretty much on a daily basis, but this is a tough loss and the show is getting more bittersweet to watch. These four consummate professionals had the best timing and sense of comedy and were a joy to behold together.  Despite knowing most of the punch lines I still find myself belly-laughing, bent over in hysterics at the antics of this golden foursome. Thank you, Ms. McClanahan, for all of the laughs and for your unique charm and gra...

There's a great program on CBC Radio 1 called The Age of Persuasion that details the ongoing history of the art, science, and impact of advertising. If you haven't caught it yet it's probably the most informative 30 minutes you can ever spend. You will listen incredulously as you come to see how you are being shamelessly manipulated on a daily basis. One of the most recent hard-to-swallow ads was part of GM's "Reinvention" campaign, which spawned a cynical but hilarious parody . The latter was probably far more accurate and the spoof captured the public's attitude around the staggering bailout. Canadians have recently been subject to Maple Leaf Foods attempt to re-brand itself as "Your Local Butcher" after the devastating listeria outbreak that severely damaged the company's public image and confidence. In fairness, the original apology ads were appropriately solemn and heartfelt but the new ads trying to convince viewers that your pac...

Gary Coleman (Feb 8, 1968 - May 28, 2010)         Dennis Hopper (May 17, 1936 - May 29, 2010)

U2 has been forced to postpone their North American tour due to Bono having had emergency back surgery on Friday. The U2360 Tour was supposed to start on June 3 in Salt Lake City but now it looks like Bono will need at least 8 weeks to properly recover. According to U2.com, "Dr Muller Wohlfahrt confirmed, 'Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve. On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice. I recommended Bono have emergency spine surgery with Professor Tonn at Munich's LMU University Hospital on Friday." Professor Tonn, who carried out the operation, added, "Bono was referred to me by Dr Muller Wohlfahrt late last week with a sudden onset disease. He was already in severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg. The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8mm tear and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had travel...

We have returned from our long weekend in New York City. We rented the same apartment in the Upper East Side that we had stayed in back in May 2008, which was nice since we knew the neighbourhood well and felt like we were at home. We were supposed to be a foursome but one of our party had to drop out at the very last minute to have emergency knee surgery so we ended up travelling with our dear friend Mara. FRIDAY We enjoyed awesome bagels each morning from Tal Bagels before starting our daily adventures. This was Mara's first trip to NYC so we took her on a grand tour of the must-sees. The first night we took the subway down to 42nd Street in Midtown and walked over to Times Square to take in the craziness. I got us off at 42nd street on purpose because when we existed we were right across from Mara's (and mine as it turns out) favourite building in the world, the Chrysler Building . It was a hoot to surprise her by asking her to look up. She was in a nice state of quiet a...

For a variety of reasons, including privacy concerns, I deleted my Facebook account well over a year ago. When I want to connect with friends afar I phone or email them. If they are in town, where most of my real friends are, I get together with them to, perish the thought, talk in person. Facebook allows folks to pretend they are much more popular than they really are and pretend to connect with their legions of pretend friends. In reality, I am much closer to the cashier at my local Food Basics than any of the so-called friends I used to carry along on my Facebook account. With accusations flying of a (possibly criminal) ambivalence towards its users' privacy, the Facebook organization is facing some very harsh media coverage and users are starting to wake up and trying to navigate the maze of 170 options in order to manage their privacy. Now, as the bloom is definitely off of Facebook, its actual creator ponders whether we are at the end of the Facebook era , while anoth...

See full info-graph here .

There are a number of things that I would like to submit for consideration for banishment in the hopes of making our lives better. 1. The expression "going forward". (Annoying and redundant) 2. The constant flow of TV dramas about cops, lawyers, or doctors. (Are these the only three careers on the planet?) 3.  The expression "from Wall St. to Main St." or any derivative. (A patronizing rhetorical device) 4. Illegible small print on TV automobile ads. (Impossible to read in time alloted. How is this legal?) 5. Wall-to-wall pharmaceutical ads during the news. (How medicated do we meed to be? We have made almost every part of the human condition a pathology) 6. Twitter. (Massive waste of time and bandwidth) 7. The pseudo-philosophical crap on the side of Starbucks coffee cups. (Because I always look to paper cups for wisdom and guidance) 8. Those horrific cow bell milk commercials. (Simply terrible) 9. Being asked to make a donation by the cashier at l...