COME TO THE CABARETS, OLD CHUMS: The Canwest Cabaret Festival, returning to the Young Centre this coming weekend, promises 60 intimate

JOHNSON: cabaret queen

concerts in five intimate clubs. And as usual the musical menu is dazzlingly eclectic. Obvious highlights include The Leonard Cohen Songbook with Brent Carver, Andy Maize, Patricia O’Callaghan, Mike Ross and Elizabeth Shepherd; a tribute to Danny Kaye by Don Francks and Albert Schultz; and solo turns by Ms. O’Callaghan, Jackie Richardson, Molly Johnson, DK Ibomeka and more. Don’t miss a beat — go to the source right here.

LITERATI: Because Douglas Coupland made such a big splash with his 1991 bestseller Generation X, I assumed his new novel Generation A was a sequel.

COUPLAND: alphabet soup?

Wrong. Coupland took the title for his new book from a commencement address delivered to Syracuse University graduates by fellow novelist Kurt Vonnegut. Said Vonnegut: “Now you young twerps want a new name for your generation? Probably not, you just want jobs, right? Well, the media do us all such tremendous favors when they call you Generation X, right? Two clicks from the very end of the alphabet. I hereby declare you Generation A, as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were so long ago.”

Incidentally, Generation A is set in the near future, where bees are extinct, until one autumn when five people are stung in different places around the world — a shared experience that unites them in a way that only Coupland could imagine.

FUNNY STUFF: Big winners at the 10th annual Canadian Comedy Awards in St. John, New Brunswick were stand-up guys (and gals) Jeremy Hotz, Debra

HOTZ: award winner

DiGiovanni and Nathan MacIntosh, TV laugh-getters Jon Dore and Wendell Meldrum, and big-screen stealers Peter Oldring (Young People Fucking) and Samantha Bee (Coopers Camera.) Longtime comedy manager Lorne Pulmutar picked up this year’s Chairman’s Award and This Hour Has 22 Minutes creator Mary Walsh added a Dave Broadfoot Award to her ongoing collection. Biggest bonus for CCA founder Tim Progosh was a request from Deputy City Manager Andrew Beckett to bring the comedy fest back to St. John next year. (Well, okay, the Gemini nomination for his 2008 CCA Best of the Fest Variety Special hosted by Shaun Majumder didn’t exactly hurt his feelings either.)

OUR TOWN: Four Seasons Centre architect Jack Diamond talks with Toronto Star business columnist David Olive about architecture that works,

MAJUMDER: Gemini nominee

tonight at 7 pm in The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library … Toronto casting director Jason Knight (Chloe, Cairo Time, Away From Her) guests at ReelWorld’s monthly mixer tonight at Harlem Restaurant … and the third CP+S (Creative Places & Spaces) opens today with Sir Ken Robinson and Richard Florida headlining more than 60 high-profile speakers including Peter Munk, Sara Diamond, Gerry Flahive, Joe Rotman, Allyson Hewitt and outgoing Toronto mayor David Miller. This year’s theme is The Collaborative City and moderators for the 72-hour think tank include Ralph Benmergui, Matt Galloway and Ana Serrano. Should be a very lively three days.

TOMORROW:

Get out your calendars. We’ve got

sneak previews of some becoming attractions.

OUR TOWN: One of tonight’s Toronto filmfest Galas comes with an emotional punch no one could have anticipated when the film was chosen a few months ago. Lisa Ray, who co-stars with TIFF favourite Don McKellar in Dilip Mehta’s

RAY: blogging beauty

new romantic comedy Cooking With Stella, will walk the red carpet tonight after going public last week with the news that she’s battling an incurable bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma. The Toronto-based film star, even more famous in India than she is here, used her blog to reveal her illness to her fans last week. Mehta’s sister and collaborator Deepa Mehta, who directed Ray in Bollywood/Hollywood and Water, says the beautiful actress is “the epitome of grace under pressure. She will do the red carpet proud.” She certainly acquitted herself with grace and style Monday morning with Seamus O’Regan on Canada A.M. – if you missed it, just click here — and I have no doubt her fans will turn out in droves tonight Cooking With Stella premieres at Roy Thomson Hall.

MERCER: Twitter hints

TUBE TALK: Danny DeVito and the cast of the FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are touring with a live theater adaptation of the sitcom’s musical finale last season, The Nightman Cometh. Performances started last night in Boston and continue throughout the month in New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and, of course, Philadelphia, where a second show has already been added  … fans of Rick Mercer, currently getting back in harness for the seventh season of his Rick Mercer Report on CBC, are following him on Twitter to get hints of what stunts he’s plotting for his new

WILLIAMS: Rama-bound

season. Last week he tweeted about riding on a Death Train (!!) and this week he confided that he was off to Whistler to meet with legendary Man In Motion Rick Hansen. Hmmmmm … and the 10^th annual Canadian Comedy Awards & Festival is set for Saint John, New Brunswick next month. Highlights include The Last Laugh Gala, hosted by Jessica Holmes on Saturday Oct 3, with veteran mirth-makers Jeremy Hotz, Tim Steeves, Debra DiGiovanni and Roger Abbott & Don Ferguson.

NOVEMBER IS THE COOLEST MONTH: November music-makers set to rock Casino Rama include Roger Daltrey (Nov 5,) Supertramp alumnus Roger Hodgson (Nov 6 & 7) and still-ticking Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton (Nov 13 & 14) … some 55 million albums and at least one Guinness Book of Records

NORAH JONES by Autumn de Wilde

entry later (having sold 1.6 million tickets on one day for his 2006 tour,) Robbie Williams’ new album, Reality Killed The Video Star, is set to go on sale here Nov. 10 … and Norah Jones’ upcoming album, The Fall, will be released on November 17 with eye-grabbing cover artwork by photographer Autumn de Wilde. Meanwhile, music-makers set to rock Casino Rama next month include Kelly Clarkson (Oct 15,) Vanessa Williams (Oct 29,) and Julio Iglesias (Oct 30 & 31.)

TOMORROW:

Who has the most movies at TIFF?

plus,  Chita’s new album & Julianne’s new role.

Nes and I like to go to comedy shows on a fairly regular basis.  Sometimes we see unknown comedians and other times we go because it’s someone we absolutely have to see.  The “miserable” Jeremy Hotz falls into the latter category.

If you aren’t familiar with Hotz, check out this video:

After the show we met Jeremy outside (yes, the comedy club is in a mall.)  He was super-sweaty.  The show was very funny…highly recommended!

On Friday I decided to take a solo fishing trip rather than do anything productive.  It was a beautiful day to just appreciate nature and get away from the computer.  This is a small sampling of the photos I took that day.

Boat loaded into my truck and ready to go:

Inside of boat – 2 rods, tackle box, oars, life jacket, and rope

Driving to Lower Bolton Lake in Bolton, CT

Typical tackle box, I suppose.  Hooks, bobbers, lures, sinkers, scissors, pliers, swivels, gloves, fishing license, etc.

I rarely use lures, but I continue to buy them anyway.  They’ll get used if I ever run out of worms.

Fish #1 -  rock bass

I needed to pee, so I rowed to this nice little beach that had good tree coverage:

The wind picked up a bit.  It felt great but it made my rowing very ineffective.  I lodged the boat into some cattails and fished from there.

Connecticut has some beautiful foliage.

My second “bathroom break”

Moon rising:

Sun setting:

Fish #2 – another rock bass.  I’m not sure why this photo came out so blurry, but I think it looks like a watercolor painting.

Fish #3 – stupid rock bass.

Fish #4 – OK, I get it – enough rock bass already!

Aha!  Fish #5 is a decent-sized brown bullhead.  I needed to photograph/unhook it in my truck because there was no available light elsewhere.  By this time I was fishing from land, using lighted bobbers.  My legs/arms were sore from all of the sitting and rowing.

Fish #6 – a very pretty sunfish (and a bunch of junk hanging from my rear-view mirror.)

So…6 fish in 9 hours isn’t that great, but they didn’t really start biting until it got dark.  It was a good time regardless.

]]> http://redchairlounge.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/lee-thomas-jeremy-hotz-and-tomorrow-a-tiger/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:13:27 +0000 Lisa Rowe http://redchairlounge.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/lee-thomas-jeremy-hotz-and-tomorrow-a-tiger/

January 28, 2008

First of all – Cant WAIT for tomorrows Tiger, and I wish I could play with the Kitty!!!!

Lee Thomas: Trying to put yourself into his position is a hard task. Anything you have gone through in your life, may compare on some level, but chances are, they do not include an apparent change of race.

Lee was fresh. Open, honest and true. It was lovely to hear him speak It was refreshing to watch his smile, and know … he REALLY does mean it. He’s a happy man, doing what he wants to do. Striving for more from everyone, and for everyone. Telling the story he has to tell, and hoping that along the lines of his story – he is helping as many people as possible.

This makes him happy, and its incredibly lovely to see.

Jeremy Hotz:

I know it was supposed to be sarcasm. I know, its supposed to be comedy. I know, that parts were really funny. He could be, and was, really funny at times…….. but was I the only person that felt uncomfortable?

Try as the smile might to cover it up…… I felt nothing but arrogance off this guy. It was hard to see past at points, and I just wanted to go do the dishes to get away from it.

Prefering the dishes, says a lot.

I honestly can’t remember much of what was even said, I wanted the interview to be over, I wanted him off my screen. I didnt want to write this. Remembering 30 minutes ago, STILL makes me that uncomfortable.

I just couldn’t see past it, and honestly, didn’t really want to.

Now……………….. the really great part.

A tiger.

A TIGER!

I know it has absolutely NOTHING to do with tonights show, however…… this excites me.

I am absolutely ENVIOUS that I cannot be in the place of The Hour staff.

Enjoy this opportunity. Not many people get it, and I highly doubt its coming back around, any time soon.

Till then…..

Ciao Bells

~Lisa Rowe

Jeremy Hotz

· Don’t stare at my nose. It’s not even a nose – it’s an elbow, stuck to my face. Christ, I’m an ugly man… I’ve noticed it, in the morning I wake up, look and the mirror, and think “Fuck…” What a miserable life this turned out to be… I’m getting old, I’m losing the hair on my head, and I’m getting hair right above my ass. What kind of trade is that? When am I gonna use that hair? I should become an TV repairman. You’ve seen those guys – what the hell is their problem?

· Before I came here, I lived in LA. What a miserable place that was! I lived in a place, called Tarzana. Tarzana… They stick an “a” in the end and think nobody’s gonna figure it out. It’s Tarzan, I live in a treehouse! There are the biggest snails I’ve ever seen. Oh, I hate snails – I don’t trust them. Always walking around with their house on their backs, going “Nothing can harm me, I’ve got my house. Oh, where’d that foot come from? The bastard broke my house! I have no insurance…”

· I bought a car, when I moved to L.A., haven’t seen the bus. Oh, they have the stops in LA, but the bus never comes by. I thought that LA is filled with homeless people, but its just people, waiting for the bus.

· Oh, my eye hurts… I have the contact lenses. What a miserable product that is! Put a glass in your eye – it won’t hurt. My ophthalmologist said it’s good for my eyes… he wares glasses, that prick. He said I have astigmatism – that’s when your eye goes screwy. He said I got it from looking in the lights during stand-up acts. Said he can fix it with laser surgery. I asked him what that was, and he said “I’m gonna shine this light in your eye!”

· I’ve got the color lenses – I’ve got the brown ones. Not a big seller, the brown lenses. My eyes are brown, but they’re not the brown I was looking for. Have you got a more shitty brown for me? It brings out my true personality.

· What about Canada? Any Canadians here? You? You like Canada, man? No? You’re right – what a miserable country! Not a very tough country, a? Has an army, they just didn’t give them… weapons or anything. Look at their flag – that’s not a symbol of power… it’s a leaf! Oh, don’t screw with Canada, ‘cause they’ll dry up and blow away. They should just attack another country. Man, nobody’s gonna see that coming. Canada – the country that’s been laying low for… 275 years. They should attack Turkey. “Hey, guess what – we’re taking it! And we’re calling it Chicken, you assholes!”

· I hate the dentist. What a weird twisted freak he is… You have to visit him twise a year, and you know why? ‘Cause he tells you to! That’s not in the book, the bastard is making that up. At the end of your visit, he’s like “See you in six months!” and you go “… Allrigh.” He puts you into that chair and shines a light in your eye… which is bad for my astigmatism. Such a sick bastard – he takes pictures of your teeth and shows them to you. Like you’re interested at all. “Do you see this?” “Yeah, nice shot, dentist… How did you get my teeth to pose like that?” Have you ever tried to take them from him? He won’t give ‘em to you. He’s all weird about it, too. “No, they’re mine!” Ok, keep them, you freak. Keep ‘em to look at them at nights, when you touch yourself…

· How about the nurse that cleans your teeth? What the hell is her problem? She jumps on your ass and says “Your teeth are filty!” Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your whole day like that. You can clean them and floss like ten times a day – its never good enough for her! Then she’s all “You see how your gums are bleeding?” Oh, yeah, I can see it. Maybe if you stop sticking those sharp metal things in them… At home, I don’t pick my teeth with stake knives!

· I hate the doctor. In Canada, the doctor is free. Here, you have to pay him. Just comes out with his white dress and his penciles of knowledge in the pocket. Gives me useless advises every time. “Hey doc, my leg hurts.” “Really? Keep off it.” Thanks for the hot tip, Quinci. If you wouldn’t have told me, I would’ve jumped on it for and hour. How much do I owe you, found-in-a-bowl knowledge?

· What a stupid thing the mail is. One day, I got promotional tampons. Yeah, imagine my surprise. I also got some women’s pads, called “Always”. Like they were gonna call ‘em “Some-of-the-times”. I tried them on – they’re not that comfortable! Now I’m using them as coffee filters. Yeah, you’re laughing, but the garbage man must be thinking I got a terrible disease…