At Home in Hespeler

Even their boondoggles have boondoggles…

h/t I Hate the War on Mayor Rob Ford

Toronto: Not in a Death Spiral Rob Ford, Streetcars

All the fluffy news about those nutty celebrities

Justin Beiber’s disastrous week in London ended in the style in which it was lived. Apparently his erratic behavior was caused by overwork: “I was working out every morning and had a huge show every night.”

He’s 21, and a morning in the gym, and 2-hours of dancing in the evening is too grueling? What the hell happened to the youth.

Meanwhile, the Beiber’s are complaining Justin had to have his 21st birthday without his family being present. This from his mother’s twitter account:

First bday I’m not with you! Miss u like crazy.

Beiber himself said of his week in London, “I’m far away from home. I miss my family.

How rock star of him.

On top of that which we covered last week, Beiber’s Big Week ended with a shouting match with a paparazzi last Friday, challenging the photographer to a fight. Beiber, leaving his hotel, pushed the photographer out of the way. When the photographer complained, Beiber charged at him, yelling,

What the fuck did you say? What did you say? I’m gonna fucking beat the fuck out of you.

A couple of days earlier his pal, the rapper Lil Twist ( seriously?) crashed the Beib’s Fisker Karma car into a lamp post in LA. This after getting a ticket a week earlier for illegally tinted windows.

After leaving London, Beiber cancelled a concert in Portugal on Tuesday, citing his rough week.

Crashing cars and fighting is very rock star: threatening to fight without doing so, having somebody else crash your car and canceling concerts? I repeat, what’s wrong with kids, and “rock” stars, these days?

Best part of the Week of Beiber was Olivia Wilde tweeting, “Beiber, put your fucking shirt on…” The tweet got a reaction, but not the one she was expecting – Beiber’s fans flooded her twitter feed with angry abuse.

Sadly, Wilde has now backtracked a little, saying she tweeted out of concern for Beiber. Truth be told, I would respect her far more if she responded by saying, “sorry, what I meant to say was, pull up your pants, you look like a moron.”

Gweneth Paltrow has it all, looks, wealth, fame, perfect family and pretentiously high self-esteem that borders on narcissistic. In her new cookbook, the actress recounts a story of serving a meal to friends in the garden of her London home when she suddenly fell ill. She thought she was having a stroke and “that I was going to die.” Doctors later diagnosed her with a migraine and a panic attack. Because panic attacks are just like strokes.

Oh and, can’t wait to try that recipe.

Fluffernutter Fisker Karma, Gweneth Paltrow, Justin Beiber, Lil Twist, Olivia Wilde

Back in 2008 I had the chance to go to an event in Guelph where Prime Minister Harper was speaking. The event was to introduce and support the Conservative candidate in an upcoming Guelph by-election, Gloria Kovach. Gloria worked with Lady Hespeler at a couple of stops, and this we ventured out to show our support.

Yesterday morning, Guelph Police Constable Jennifer Kovach died in a crash while responding to a call for back-up from another officer. Constable Kovach is Gloria Kovach’s 26-year old daughter. Our deepest condolences go out to the family of this wonderful young lady.

The Prime Minister has, as well, offered his condolences: Tragic news out of Guelph. Condolences to the friends and family of Constable Jennifer Kovach.

Uncategorized Gloria Kovach, Prime MInister Harper

With new Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne doing what Liberals do, i.e. hiding from scandal and perverting our children, while Ontario descends further into have-not status and our children’s future earnings are already gone, it’s time for bold Conservative action.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Tim Hudak:

A successful agriculture sector is vital to ensuring a stronger economy all across Ontario. This is why PC Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Critic Ernie Hardeman and I are launching the latest Ontario PC white paper – Paths to Prosperity: Respect for Rural Ontario…

Some of these ideas include:

…

– Creating a two per cent Ontario biodiesel mandate to reduce greenhouse gasses…

The green energy program has been a Liberal disaster, Tim Hudak, Conservative leader, therefore, wants to implement the green food program.

Tim Hudak Respect fro Rural Ontario, Tim Hudak

… Day 4

He said:

I don’t know if she’s playing with a full deck

She said:

Sarah Thomson: I thought Mayor Rob Ford was on cocaine

Hey big guy: sober up, you’re the mayor – this picture should embarrass you. And funny hair girl, grow up and stop looking for the Toronto Star to fight your battles for you.

And finally, to the media of Toronto: Ass-Gate is lame.

Toronto: Not in a Death Spiral Ass-Gate, Rob Ford, sarah thomson

One likes to believe in the freedom of music.

Rush – Spirit of Radio.

Bob Segarini is a California born musician, who made a nem for himself mostly in aCanada, He known for his songwriting as much as performance. With a number of albums and a couple of charting singes, Segarini had a nice career in the 70’s Canadian music scene. And when April Wine, a band with a number of original songs under it’s belt by 1977, opened for the Rolling Stones at the El Mocambo in that year, the subsequent live album had 2 Segarini penned tunes: Teenage Love and Juvenile Delinquent.

In the early 80’s, Segarini took a gig as a night time radio host Toronto’s newest rock radio station, Q107. He worked under the nom de plume The Iceman, and with his distinctive deep – very deep – voice he was unique in the Toronto radio landscape. His rant against Iron Maiden and their song Number of the Beast, at a time when rock music was under pressure for supposed links to Satinism, is one of the most memorable half minutes on radio.

By the mid-1980’s he was in the coveted afternoon drive slot on Q107, after a few years hiatus from the radio business. At the same time, I was working at my local IGA, spending afternoons in the basement trimming lettuce, bagging oranges and doing all the various and sundry duties that your local green grocer spends his afternoons doing. Naturally, I listened to the radio: The Iceman on Q107.

In 1984 he began playing a cool song at the same time every day. For what seemed longer, but can only have been a couple of weeks, this song would come on and there would be a few of us around the radio. Then, after a few weeks, he stopped playing it, just as suddenly as he started. The song just went away. Life’s busy and some song by a one hit wonder gets lost in the mix. I never went out and bought the single or the album, so the song faded from memory.

Over the years I thought of the song, wondered why I never heard it again? Occasional internet searches produced nothing, and seeing as I couldn’t remember what it was called or who sang it, that’s hardly surprising. It was possible the singer was a Kershaw, and as it bore a similarity to Nik Kershaw’s Wouldn’t it be Good, that seemed possible, but searches of his discography, as well as Sammy and Doug Kershaw’s respective discography’s produced nothing. That seems hardly surprising considering all I remembered was it was the early 80’s, and he sang something about Uncle Sonny coming home from prison. Not much to go on.

A few weeks ago on an message board, a thread about songs that you can’t find popped up. I posted more or less the above description of the song: played in the early 80’s on Iceman’s radio show on Q107; About an uncle coming home from prison. It seemed unlikely that anyone would be able to pin down my song from that, and alas, it was… for 4-minutes anyway. On minute five, someone responded:

I’m thinking that this song could be Tony Carey’s, “A Fine Fine Day”, which was a huge hit from Canada.

With included YouTube video (no wonder it took so long to reply, having to find the video first and all), I could confirm in a matter of one verse and chorus that this was, in fact, the song I wondered what the hell it was called for twenty-plus years.

Say what you want about how the internet has ruined the music business, but I have wondered what this song is called for years, and within ten minutes of asking on a website I was on iTunes, spending 69c for a song that would have cost me 99c in 1984, if I had bought the single. After all these years, Tony Carey is finally getting the few pennies I feel I owe him, for the mystery he has added to my life if nothing else.

It’s in truth just a pretty good 80’s song. The writing is good, and comes with an actual storyline, and the chorus has a solid pop hook. The verse, however, is dragged down by cheesy 80’s synth sound where an overdriven guitar would improve it immensely. None the less, I’ve listened to it more in the last couple of weeks than I probably ever heard it in 1984, and doubt I will ever forget the chorus again.

What a treat it has been, a long lost gem, returned to me to enjoy again and again. It is, indeed, a fine, fine day.

The Count, The Freedom of Music, This Week on my I-Pod, Tibet A Fine Fine Day, Bob Segarini, iTunes, Q107, The Iceman, Tony Carey

All the fluffy news about those nutty celebrities

Bad week for the Beib. After a number of mini scandals, such as showing up at his hotel shirtless (and pants around his thighs, savant like), getting kicked out of a London Hotel for trying to sneak underage friends in to his 19th birthday party and showing late for a concert, Justin Beiber took to twitter to spout off. He comes off sounding like a spoiled brat, upset by all the good fortune that has befallen him.

“… judge me on the facts, judge me on the music…” tweeted the twit. OK, I’ll bite: the fact is, your music sucks.

Now, tweet off, and take your bad haircut and low hanging pants with you.

Kevin “Elmo” Clash, puppeteer and accused child diddler, has asked that three complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct be thrown out of court. His lawyers filed a motion last Friday in Manhattan asking the complaints be dismissed due to statute of limitations having expired.

Because nothing says not guilty like a technicality. Let’s hope the judge says no, and either the three now adult men or Clash can have their day in court.

From the quality = repetition file:

Fresh off her Oscar for singing the James Bond theme Skyfall, Adele has been contracted to do the theme song for…. the next Bond film.

Canadian Rap-tor Drake caused a stir this week when he dropped, literally, $50,000 at a Charlotte strip club.

The entertainer apparently showed at the Cameo nightclub with his posse and “Basketball Wives LA star” (that’s a joke, surely) Draya Michelle. According to TMZ, Drake pulled out a box of cash and made it rain money inside the club. Pictures from the club show patrons standing in an inch of dollar bills.

Canadians, who claim Drake as their own, are left wondering, where did we go wrong? And why doesn’t he blow that $50,000 somewhere locally, like say, the Airport Strip?

Justin Beiber update. Beiber passed out after his London show Thursday, and was taken to hospital for observation.

We know this because he tweeted a picture of him lying in a hospital bed… shirtless and with the sheets low enough to show an inch of underwear. Sigh.

Oh, oh, trouble at Boy Scout camp. Canadian “singer” Carly Rae Jepsen has pulled out from performing at the National Summer Jamboree in West Virginia this July. Jepsen is upset about the Boy Scouts position on gay rights, which is they are not 100% all in for them, and has cancelled the previously agreed to performance. While Jepsen is big on gay rights, her concept of contractual obligation seems to leave something to be desired.

The real question is, however, what is the Boy Scouts doing booking a 27-year old who dresses like a slutty school girl?

Very bad news this week from TV’s Rhoda, Valerie Harper. Harper has announced she has terminal brain cancer, with months left to live.

Harper played Mary Tyler Moore’s neighbour, Rhoda for four years, before moving on to her own show for another five years. In 2009 Harper was diagnosed with lung cancer. The new diagnosis is for “leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain.”

Stompin’ Tom Connors (1936-2013).

Canadian music icon Stompin’ Tom Connors passed this week at his home in Peterborough. Connors was a true folk singer, writing and performing songs about average people and small Canadian towns. He accompanied himself by stomping his booted foot on a piece of plywood, hence the sobriquet “Stompin'”

Connors, who was born in Newfoundland, raised in PEI and spent the majority of his adult life living in Ontario, was a strongly Canadian patriot. Connors was 77-years old and died of natural causes. He left a message for his fans, written in his last days which was posted on his website after his passing.

Fluffernutter Adele, Carly Rae Jepsen, Drake, elmo, James Bond, Justin Beiber, Kevin Clash, Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Skyfall, Stompin' Tom, Valerie Harper