Category: entertainment

Posted on in arts, entertainment, humour, pop culture

50 Years of Saturday Night Live

SNL cast members on screen for golf sketch

“Live from New York…it’s Saturday Night!”

This fall marks the 50th season of Saturday Night Live. “SNL” premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975 and is the most Emmy-nominated show in history with 101 Emmy wins.

Now, thanks to Showcase, you watch the replay of each week’s episode at 10 pm on Sunday nights.

SNL has always been a trailblazer, with irreverent humour mixed with searing, insightful political sketches. It has also been an incredible pipeline for new musical talent, including big names like Nirvana, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga.

Canadians have always had a soft spot for SNL, claiming Executive Producer Lorne Michaels, 79 as our own and showcasing Canadian comedic talent like Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Meyers, Phil Hartman, and Norm Macdonald.

I got excited last this week, thinking their annual Thanksgiving special would be airing soon, only to remember I’d have to wait another month for it to air.

I watched the October 5th episode with host Nate Bargatze with musical guest Coldplay. The new cast is witty, diverse and very, very funny.

There was a hilarious skit of Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris and Andy Samberg as Joe Biden watching and critiquing the recent Vice-Presidential debate. Rudolph is always bang on, but it was Samberg’s imitation of doddery Joe Biden that had me in stitches.

There was another spoof of golf commentators giving a play-by-play of a pro golfer who keeps killing wildlife, hitting a long drive and nailing a goose, and spearing a chipmunk with the flagpole on the green. I almost fell off the couch laughing.

My favourite segment featured Bargatze as George Washington and his soldiers in a boat crossing the Delaware in 1776 pontificating on what they were fighting for. It was silly, focusing on the absurdities of the English language but with biting commentary on important issues like racial inequality.

SNL will mark its 50th anniversary with a three-hour live primetime special on Sunday, February 16, 2025 starting at 8 pm on NBC.

This week’s #HappyAct is to catch some episodes of SNL this fall and set your PVRs for the primetime special in February. Here is a fun quick SNL quiz for you to test your knowledge:

1)Who was the first host of SNL in 1975?

a) Andy Kaufman
b) Paul Simon
c) George Carlin

2) Who has hosted SNL the most?

a) Buck Henry
b) Alec Baldwin
c) Tom Hanks

3) Which SNL cast member performed “The Chanukah song” in December 1974?

a) Al Franken
b) Jon Lovitz
c) Adam Sandler

4) Which cast member did a black inner city parody of Mister Roger’s Neighbourhood?

a) Eddie Murphy
b) Chris Rock
c) Garrett Morris

5) Which guest host proclaimed “I gotta have more cowbell” in the famous More Cowbell sketch?

a) Seth Meyers
b) Tom Cruise
c) Christopher Walken

Answer: 1c, 2b, 3c, 4a, 5c

Posted on in entertainment, family, Food and drink, health and wellness, lifestyle, travel

A day at Nordik Spa

Four ladies in spa robes having lunch at Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC

Last week, Dave’s sister and I took the girls to Nordik Spa in Chelsea Quebec.

It was a combination graduation gift and final girls’ trip before Grace and Clare leave for university this fall.

A day at Nordik is the ultimate in indulgence and relaxation.

As you walk up the several flights of steps to the impressive main lodge with massive wooden beams, you are welcomed by the sound of trickling waterfalls and the smell of burning wood in the fire pit cradled by bright red Adirondack chairs.

I’ve been to Nordik once before with my girlfriends and I remembered it takes an hour or so to fully embrace the spa experience.

The spa is divided into three main sections, Borea, where you can talk in whispers and low tones, Panorama, where you can chat freely and Kaskad, where there is complete silence. Thermal hot pools, some with waterfalls are interspersed with cold pools and saunas. Lounge chairs, hammocks, hammock chairs, and reading pavilions with wood fires are available for those who just want to sit and read and relax or listen to music.

Nordik spa is designed around the ancient Nordic ritual of thermotherapy, a treatment that alternates between hot and cold temperatures, followed by a rest period.

Thermotherapy deeply cleanses the body, eliminates toxins and can help with injury, chronic pain, rheumatism, arthritis, depression and sleeping. To truly embrace the full spa experience, you’re supposed to complete the entire cycle three times.

We started the morning in the social area with its infinity pool and magnificent views of Gatineau Park and the city of Ottawa. It was a cool, cloudy day, so the warm bubbles of the thermal pool felt wonderful as we chatted and caught up with Dave’s sister.

Clare embraced the full spa experience, opting to do a cold plunge next, but I figured I get enough cold water immersion experience swimming in my lake, so I went for a sauna and some hammock time instead.

Grace’s favourite was the heated rock bed sauna. It was so relaxing, a person fell asleep and was snoring!

After a few hours of thermal pools and saunas, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in their Finalandia restaurant. One of the things I love most about Quebec is you never get a bad meal and their restaurant is excellent. We enjoyed a cheese board, roasted red pepper hummous, broccoli soup, brisket sandwich on focaccia bread topped off with a tiramisu cheesecake and warm chocolate brownie with ice cream.

As the afternoon sun finally peeped out, we finished the day where we started, chatting in the thermal pool and looking over the gorgeous views of Gatineau Park.

Grace kept asking me what we should do next, and I would reply, “Whatever you want, that’s the beauty of this place.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to pamper yourself at a spa day. Enjoy!

Four ladies in front of the entrance to Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC
Posted on in arts, entertainment, family, pop culture

Watch a busker

North Fire Circus performs at Kingston Buskers Rendezvous

It was a beautiful night for a buskers rendezvous.

Last night, we went to Kingston to see the fire and night shows at the 34th annual Kingston Buskers Rendezvous.

Kingston is one of the best places to watch buskers, with its spectacular backdrop of city hall and the marina at Confederation Basin, the shops and patios of Princess Street and the historic buildings in Market Square lit up at night.

The girls were hungry (of course!) so we stopped first for a drink and a bite to eat at the Toucan on Princess Street and were pleasantly surprised to get a table on the patio right away without having to wait.

After fuelling up, we strolled down to Ontario Street and caught Steve GoodTime’s fire juggling show. He was very funny and had the crowd eating out of his hands.

One of the talents you need as a busker is being able to pick good-natured people out of the crowd to participate in the show. We spotted our friend Jenn and her daughter across the street from us in the crowd. Sure enough Steve GoodTime picked Jenn out of the 500 or so people watching the show. She danced for the crowd before holding his guitar and lighting his firesticks.

We wandered up to Market Square next. This year they billed the main Buskers After Dark show as “an immersive journey into the beating heart of urban creativity”. There was a DJ, graffiti artist, the North Fire Circus and a group called Dr. Draw and the Strange Parade who were incredible.

Dr. Draw played electric violin and had a terrific band complete with horns (even a tuba!) They played a fusion of musical genres from Irish, classical, pop and rock while North Fire Circus performed light and fire acts to the music. My favourite number was a slower version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Market Square was magical in that moment.

This week’s #HappyAct is to watch a busker. If you’re in the Kingston region, there’s still time to catch the Grand Finale of the Kingston Buskers Rendezvous tonight at 6 pm at Confederation Basin.  

Busker Steve GoodTime performs for the crowd
Busker Steve GoodTime performs for the crowd

Photos: North Fire Circus and Dr. Draw and the Strange Parade perform in the beautiful historic Market Square at night. Above: Steve GoodTime juggles for the crowds on Ontario Street. Here’s our friend Jenn dancing for the crowd!

Posted on in entertainment, family, sports

Racing on dirt as it should be

Schoolbuses racing at Brighton Speedway

For Father’s Day, we took Dave to Brighton Speedway to watch the school bus races.

The Brighton Speedway opened in 1967 and is still one of a handful of dirt track speedways in Canada, along with Brockville Speedway. Different classes of vehicles race on different nights. Last night it was four classes of modified Canadians race cars and of course, the big ticket, schoolbus races. It was a sold out crowd.

I’ve never been to a car race before so didn’t know what to expect. What we experienced was a night of mayhem, smash ‘em up excitement and “pay for your seat, only use the edge” thrills.

The first few races were six to eight small classes of modified Canadians. The cars lined up two by two, the starter waved the green flag and they were off. We estimated they were doing speeds of 80 miles an hour on the straights.

It was wild when they approached the corners. Unlike Nascar or Formula One races on pavement, on dirt tracks, drivers drift on the curves, so the car goes sideways, sometimes only on three wheels. It was crazy to watch.

During the qualifying rounds, one driver took the second turn too fast and did a double rollover right off the track.

For the modified Canadians feature race, 25 race cars lined up for a take-no prisoners finale. It was mayhem with the only breaks in the action happening when they the yellow caution flag was waved due to a disabled car on the track. One car caught fire, others spewed blue smoke from overtaxed engines and two cars became stuck after they rammed into each other. When they cut them loose, the crowd cheered.

Boys and girls waved checkered flags that lit up with lights, and Sasquatch the Jack Links jerky mascot, wandered through the crowd taking selfies with the fans.

Sasquatch, the Jack Links mascot

After each final, they’d interview the driver. I liked that they always thanked the sponsors, since it’s an expensive sport and without the support of local businesses, most of these drivers wouldn’t be able to field a car. One guy in his remarks said, “Special thanks to my Mom for coming good for the new motor.”

The schoolbus races were insane. The buses were barely running old heaps of metal, some stripped bare of their seats, others with parts hanging off. Four or five conked out, narrowing the field to 16 for the ultimate finale.

There were times they took the corners three across with barely a foot between them. Our favourite was Bernie 66 who was fearless trying to pass, but who lost the race to a guy from Winnipeg who booked a week’s vacation just to fly to Brighton for the race.

Racing fans and drivers are diehard. Now I know why.

This week’s #HappyAct is to find a speedway near you and enjoy a night of mayhem. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

If you want to see the school bus races, mark your calendars for Saturday October 5 for their special Eve of Destruction event.

Schoolbuses lining up to race
Tow trucks separating two race cars stuck together
Dave at the racetrack
Schoolbuses racing at Brighton Speedway
Posted on in entertainment, sports, travel

Catch Canada’s National Game

Forget the Toronto Blue Jays and Maple Leafs. If you want action and excitement, take in a game of Canada’s national sport, lacrosse.

Ontario lacrosse season started May 17. You can see the full schedule here.

I went and saw my first lacrosse game last season between the Owen Sound North Stars and the Clearview Crushers in the Senior B Lacross League in the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre arena in Owen Sound.

Even though it was a sparse crowd that night, the excitement in the building was palatable. Lacrosse fans are diehard and passionate about the sport. They never miss a match and they follow the scores and standings religiously.

We took our seats, the lights dimmed, and the players came running out, as the announcer introduced the night’s starting line up. After the singing of O Canada, it was game on.

The basic rules of lacrosse are similar to hockey, but the face off looks more like a rugby scrum. The players crouch down on their hands and knees with their sticks parallel. As soon as the referee blows their whistle, they joust for possession of the ball.

I was struck immediately by how fast and exciting the game was. Balls whizzed through the air, and when a player took a shot on net, it was like a lightening bolt. I didn’t know how the goalie even saw it.

Of course, it wasn’t a Saturday night lacrosse game until a fight broke out. You haven’t seen a fight until you’ve seen a fight in lacrosse. There’s no bulky pads to protect players from the blows.

The one attackman dropped his stick and just started whaling on the other guy to Pat Benatar’s “Hit me with your best shot”. The guy who started it got 2 minutes for being the aggressor, 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct.

The other thing I thought was really cool, was between periods, they allowed all the kids in the stands to come down onto the playing surface and try their hand at the game. Many of the players joined them, lobbing passes and teaching them how to stickhandle. It was a special moment, seeing these kids side by side, playing a game they loved with their heroes.

Even though Owen Sound lost that night, we scored a great night of sport and excitement.

This week’s #HappyAct is to catch a local lacrosse game in a city near you and develop a passion for Canada’s national sport.

Faceoff in a lacrosse game
Action by the net in a lacrosse game
Blog post writer in the Owen Sound helmet
Posted on in entertainment, environment, mental health

Wisdom and teachings from the two Janes this Earth Day

CNN photo of Jane Fonda getting arrested

Last week, I participated in a climate change focus group at work. It was an insightful discussion into our fears and hopes about the state of the climate, and actions we could take in our little corner of the world to address climate change.

As the climate change window narrows (some experts say we need to reach the stated global targets within the next six years), the natural response and mentality may be to give up hope. But we can’t.

We need to look to lifelong activists like Jane Fonda and Jane Goodall for guidance, inspiration and hope.

Fonda, who has been known for her activism since her early days as a successful actress in Hollywood said five or six years ago she was feeling very despondent about climate change and it was hard to get out of bed she was so depressed.

She started Fire Drill Fridays, a pledge to use her platform and celebrity status to get arrested every Friday at a climate change protest and even moved to Washington at the age of 81 to achieve her goal. Soon celebrities like Sally Field, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Ted Danson joined her. Fonda said an unexpected benefit of her activisim was her depression lifted, and was replaced by hope.

With half the world going to the polls in 2024 she is urging young people to “please vote and vote with climate in your heart”. 

English anthropologist Jane Goodall who spent years in the jungle studying gorillas has also shifted her focus at the age of 90 to activism, founding Roots and Shoots, a movement urging young people to create change in their communities and based on the philosophy that every individual has a role to play.

Roots and Shoots is now active in 70 countries with hundreds of thousands of young people spearheading climate-related projects to create a better world.

Jacques Cousteau once said, “We only protect what we love.” This Earth Day, commit to taking one or two actions, no matter how small to address climate change and love our earth. Happy Earth Day!

Posted on in arts, entertainment, Hobbies, travel

A Shaggin good time

During our recent trip to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Clare and I took shag dancing lessons at Fat Harold’s Beach Club.

Shaggin was born on the beaches of South Carolina and rose in popularity after the second world war as young people returned from the war and found a new outlet and zest for life, stepping and swirling to the boppy beats of beach music. North Myrtle Beach and Fat Harold’s Beach Club became the epicentre for shag.

The dance itself has been called the “swing dance of the south” or a slowed down jitterbug. It’s now the official state dance for North and South Carolina and Myrtle Beach and hosts the national competition every spring.

Lessons are free on Tuesday nights at Fat Harold’s. We pulled into a packed parking lot and sashayed across the dance floor to plant ourselves at a cocktail table at the back of the club on risers. Behind us was a beautiful mural of a sunny day at the beach to get us into the beach music vibe.

Fat Harold’s is “home of the shag” and it felt like we had stepped back fifty years. There was a pool table and burger counter as soon as you walked in (they are known for their cheeseburgers). Inside the main club, a long wooden bar and cocktail tables flanked the wooden dance floor. The walls were covered with funky old beach signs and pictures of celebrities who had visited Fat Harold’s and plaques listing all the shag dance champions over the years.

Dave and Grace sat on the sidelines and ordered a drink, while Clare and I took our places on the dance floor.

They lined us up, women on one side of the floor and men on the other and taught us the basic step of shag which is a six-step choreography, where the partners take three steps towards each other, three steps in the middle, then back two steps so they are constantly moving towards and apart in perfect flow. The goal is to dance as smoothly and synchronized as possible. The instructors took a bit too much time focusing on the basic steps for my liking. I would have liked to learn some of the fancy footwork and spins that shag is known for, but it was still fun.

I assumed most of the people taking the lesson that night came as couples, but it was surprising and fun to see how many singles there were in the crowd when they paired us up. People were laughing and smiling as they counted out the steps with their new dance partner.

We went to sleep that night with the basic steps refrain of “one-and-two, three-and-four, five-six” in our heads. It was a shaggin’ good time.

This week’s #HappyAct is to learn a new dance step. Here’s a throwback. One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was “Busta move” and I shared a link to the shag dancing championships! My friend Dianna who was pictured in that old blog post dancing with me dances four days a week. She was telling me recently that most of the dance classes she goes to are mainly older women, so any guys out there, if you’re interested in meeting women or just finding a good dance partner, go dancing!

Fat Harold's Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach
My family at Fat Harold's with a beautiful beach mural in the background
Fat Harold's dance floor

Posted on in entertainment, pop culture, Technology and social media, writing

My new love-hate relationship

AI generated image of the author where the prompt was to make me look 30 years younger

I have a new love-hate relationship in my life and it’s not with a person. It’s with a machine with the initials AI.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have rapidly inserted itself into our lives. Almost every cloud program I use at work now has AI built into it making my life easier. If I’m designing a flyer, Canva knows exactly how I want to line up elements on the page.

Bing Copilot is my new best friend. If I need some ideas for an interactive exercise to do at a trade booth on recycling or emergency preparedness, I just ask my trusty copilot to come up with some creative ideas.

It wasn’t always this way. I remember my first few run-ins with snarky chatbots (check out my 2019 post, How to make friends with the bots).

But now it seems like we have crossed over to the dark side of AI. Last week, I listened to a webinar featuring Alex Sevigny, Associate Professor of Communications Management and Communication Studies at McMaster University. He said AI adds automation and scale to the digital world we already live in but now “we are moving into a world of machine-learning persuasion and it’s terrifying.”

This world of persuasion includes thieves, virtual influencers created to sell us products, and deepfakes.

Kingston Police recently issued an advisory about a deepfake deception scam, where scammers faked an entire video call. The scammers were able to steal over 200 million Hong Kong dollars by emailing an employee and pretending to be their Chief Financial Officer.

An Air Canada chatbot recently gave a passenger wrong information about a bereavement fare. This in and of itself is not newsworthy (humans give wrong answers all the time). What was newsworthy and concerning was Air Canada said it wasn’t responsible for the information the chatbot gave out. Air Canada argued that its AI-fueled chatbot was “responsible for its own actions” and that the airline can’t be held responsible for what it tells passengers.

Let’s pause for a moment to let that one sink in. A company that programmed a machine is claiming it’s not responsible for the machine anymore because it has a mind of its own.

Even more disturbing to me was seeing the whole new crop of virtual online influencers who are trying to persuade us where to shop, what to wear and how to live your lives.

Here’s Bermuda, one of the older virtual influencers. She made her debut online in December 2016 and identifies as a robot woman who wants to motivate young entrepreneurs to go after their business goals and is pursuing a music career, recently releasing a cover of Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers on Spotify. 

Virtual social influencer Bermuda

Thalasya here travels across Indonesia where she was created exploring its sites and shops. Since travelling is expensive, she funds her hobby advertising for hotels, restaurants and even health pills and has her own clothing store, Yipiiiii.  

Virtual influencer Thalaysa

What the absolutely f**k?

We are officially now living in a world where we can no longer trust what or who we see in the online world.

The ethics of AI will be our next big albatross to slay, but at least we have some giants taking up the fight.

This month, Taylor Swift took legal action against the AI beast after sexually explicit AI graphic-generated images of her were published on Twitter/X and later taken down. Even the White House commented on the story as governments grapple with how to protect basic human rights like privacy and copyright.

We are at the infancy of understanding how AI will impact our society. I’m glad I’m nearing the end of my professional career in communications, but there is one thing I know for certain.

When it comes to my personal life, my default will be to live in the real world where I know people are real and genuine.  

Ed note: The above image of myself was generated using an AI image program called Facet AI. I did a quick frame around my face and asked it to make me look 30 years younger. This was the result. I should add just as I was about to publish this week’s post, my handy AI Assistant in WordPress asked me if I wanted to check my spelling and tone before publishing.

Next week: Check back for Part 2: The one skill you’ll need to succeed living in a world of AI

Posted on in community, entertainment, health and wellness, mental health, Technology and social media

Me and Elmo sending hugs

Elmo from Sesame Street

A few days after Bell Let’s Talk Day, everyone’s favourite furry monster from Sesame Street, Elmo asked a simple 9-word question on Twitter (X): “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

It unleashed a tidal wave of responses, over 55,000 to be exact including celebrities like Chance the Rapper and Rainn Wilson and the usual brands trying to capitalize on what’s trending. They were raw, sad, and hurting. Here were some of the replies.

man's tweet about his wife left him
Oreo cookie tweet "ran out of milk"
Man's tweet about being depressed and broke
man's tweet asking Elmo if he has a mortgage
man's tweet saying he feels like oscar the grouch
Rainn Wilson's response to elmo of being at a crossroads
man's response to Elmo
Depressed winnie the pooh
Dominos pizza oven on fire

As I was reading the comments of people pouring their hearts and souls onto the page, I felt tears well up in my eyes. How can there be so many people feeling so sad and hopeless in the world? Even the brands didn’t try to sugar coat it with Oreo leading the pack saying we ran out of milk.

The one that resonated with me the most was the GIF of a stick character in fast motion getting out of bed, going to their computer, working all day, then going back to bed and doing it over and over again. That’s the way I felt when I was working from home during COVID.

Elmo sent this beautiful note to everyone who took the time to respond:

Elmo saying he's glad he asked and checked in on people

So to all of you reading this who may be feeling sad or disheartened right now, me and Elmo send hugs. I’m giving out free hugs all this week to anyone I see who needs one (the best Valentine’s Day present someone can give).  

Here’s to sunnier days, sweeping the clouds away where the air is sweet, friendly neighbours meet and every door opens wide to happy people like you and me.

Love Laurie and Elmo

Posted on in arts, entertainment

Take in the best in Canadian film

Yesterday, they announced the line-up for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

If you’ve never been to this local homegrown festival that features movies and special events that “spark curiousity, ignite discussion and provide a fresh experience of Canadian film”, you’re missing out. It just keeps getting better and better, with screenings in three downtown theatres and other venues with unique live performances.

There are so many things I love about this festival. First, there’s the films themselves. If you’re like me and want to scream every time you see another Marvel or Avengers sequel or prequel or postquel or whatever they’re calling them, the films you’ll see at the KCFF are a refreshing change. They’ll make you laugh, cry and most of all, think.

Over the years, I’ve seen some incredible films, from the insightful and stirring Scarborough about three families in a low income neighbourhood in Toronto, to the drama Norbourg, the true life story of Vincent Lacroix who defrauded investors of millions of dollars in Quebec, to lovely romantic comedies like The Swearing Jar.  

Then there’s the venues and the city itself. The opening night feature film is shown at the Isabel Bader Centre for the performing arts, an amazing venue and The Screening Room in Kingston has done a super job elevating the movie-going experience in an intimate way. The festival is a wonderful excuse to explore downtown Kingston and grab a bite to eat in many of our excellent restaurants.

My favourite part of the festival hands down is the Q&As and guest appearances by the directors, producers, writers and actors. These segments are always fascinating—to see the inner thoughts and workings of the people who bring Canadian film to life and sadly, the barriers and challenges to making films in Canada.  

I’ll be spending the next few days checking out all the screenings, but here are a few you won’t want to miss:

  • The Queen of My Dreams: this year’s festival opener at the Isabel, a moving story about the complicated bonds between a Pakistani mother and her daughter
  • The Movie Man, the story of the Highlands Cinema in Kinmount, Ontario with a bonus short about our local (and now sadly closed) Classic Video store in Kingston
  • Float: a romantic comedy filmed in Tofino, BC
  • The Sadies Stop and Start concert film, followed by a live performance of the Band at the Broom Factory

This week’s #HappyAct is to come to Kingston and support Canadian film by taking in some screenings at the festival.