It should come to no surprise to people who know Fallis that he’s written a story (The High Road is a sequel to his first book, The Best Laid Plans) about politics. For almost 5 years Fallis with the Liberal Party as the federal and provincial levels. After that, Fallis was a government affairs and communication consultant with a global PR firm.
While reading these latest exploits of protagonists Daniel Addison and Angus McLintock I couldn’t help but wonder if Fallis was giving us all an inside look into the Canadian political machinery. This is something we’ll definitely talk about when Fallis comes on my podcast in March!
Nonetheless, Fallis is at his best in this novel about two unlikely friends who take on the political establishment in another comedy jewel.
Award-winning journalist Morgan P. Campbell and I discuss:
– the meaning of Black History Month
– the Negro League Baseball HOF and the state of African American players in Major League Baseball
– Bigotry vs Racism
– Super Bowl LII
– the legacy of Martin Luther King
– XFL
– and so much more!
One of my friends, Dave Fleet, used to work for the agency Thornley Fallis. That’s when I probably first heard about Terry Fallis. Then came the popular MeetUps I used to attend in Toronto around media, PR and social media.
I think I heard about his podcast, Inside PR. But I definitely became aware of him when his novel, The Best Laid Plans, was made into a TV series of the same name.
And it’s taken me this long to finally read one of his book, One Brother Shy.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book so funny. The first book(s) I remember reading that made me laugh was Robert Ludlum’s Road to Omaha and Road To Gandolfo.
Thanks Terry for writing a wickedly funny book set (for the most part) in Canada.
I see a little bit of Alex MacAskill in me. Naturally, I’m an introvert. However, unlike Alex, I’m born this way. Also like Alex, I can be gregarious as well.
If you’re looking for a book about family, overcoming setbacks, and international adventure with a touch of funny this is the book for you. Pick it up at your favourite local bookstore, Amazon, or public library.
Georgia Sapounas is the Digital Team Lead for Team Canada. Georgia joined me in studio before she left for PyeongChang, South Korea to give me the scoop on this year’s Winter Olympic digital program.
While reading Jason Zinoman’s book, Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night . I was reminded of many moments that I got to watch over the years. You see, I was, and remain, a huge fan of David Letterman.
While I stopped actively watching TV in 2000 (I got married and we decided to not get cable) I still followed the Letterman and his show online. I remember sneaking down the stairs every night just before 12:30am to watch his 3 joke opening monologue, Stupid Pet Tricks, calling familiar strangers on the phone, drop stuff off the building and interview Richard Simmons for the hundredth time. I had both of his Top Ten List books and a framed Time magazine cover on my bedroom wall. I even once had tickets to go see his Late Night show in New York City. I wished I actually asked my parents to help me get there. Sigh. And even after I got married I still had his photo in my wallet. Yes. I was a huge.
However, some parts of the book upset me a bit. For example, I always thought the character of David Letterman that I saw on TV was just that. A character. Yet, Zinoman writes that that was actually the real Letterman. I struggle with the notion that Letterman was never satisfied with his show/success or was really angry underneath it all.
Letterman now has his popular Netflix show, My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. Thank goodness I don’t need TV to watch!
Thanks Jason for writing this book. And thanks Dave for continuing to make us laugh.
2017 was a fun year for me for attending concerts. As you know I’m not much for words so here’s a quick re-cap:
The first concert of the year was The Sadies opening for Blue Rodeo at Oshawa’s Tribute Communities Centre. It’s a nice little venue that we’d visit again later in the year.
Also on that ticket was Said The Whale and Mondo Cozmo. Kahzmir and I saw Said The Whale again in Scarborough. Along with less than a couple dozen others braving a summer shower.
The smallest venue we visited was a couple of local community centres in Scarborough as part of SoFar Toronto (Scarborough). We saw a bunch of acts over 3 different concerts including the Saxaphone Brothers and Renee The Voice.
I went to NYC in September 2017. Besides seeing almost every taping of the New York late night talk shows I also visited the legendary Apollo theatre in Harlem. And this was during the famous Amateur Night where we witnessed more almost a dozen musical acts including the famous house band.
Throughout the year we also saw Neil Haden perform at least three times. Twice with his band, Two Left Feet and once at his Uncle Neil and Friends Christmas Toy Concert.
The Bach Children’s Chorus and Youth Choir also played multiple times during 2017. We saw them three times last year. It’s especially fun when our son, Kahzmir, is part of two of these performances every year!
2017 also introduced us to Kc Roberts and the Live Revolution (a fusion of jazz/funk/rock), A-Track and Chromeo (both DJs in the EDM space – I think!)
One of the last shows of 2017 (although not the last!) was Canadian Music Hall of Fame band Barenaked Ladies with support from one of Canada’s finest songwriter’s, Ron Sexsmith!
Finally. We’re at my favourite shows of 2017. It’s a virtual tie. But there always has to be a winner.
So, in second place was:
Opening Act: Broken Social Scene (I was so happy to finally see this band live after many near misses!)
Headlining: Arcade Fire. No matter what the critics think of their latest album(s) the power group from Montreal (via Haiti and USA) knows how to put on a show with their collection of rock anthems.
Headlining: Arkells. We saw Arkells for the second time in Oshawa. The venue was smaller than when we saw them in summer. Arkells is rock and roll. They have anthems, pop songs and love songs. They are tight but play with the enthusiasm and joy of teens. This was the most fun I’ve had at a concert all year. These guys are the real deal. And while they’ve arrived they will only get bigger and better. If you can, see Arkells.
In 2016 I was invited to participate on Newstalk 1010’s (CFRB in Toronto) morning roundtable segments with John Moore. Although I was only a fill in, I managed to make a half dozen or so appearances. These segments are 15 minutes long and are rapid-fire conversations.
I came away with one conclusion: Radio is hard. Much harder than doing my podcast. At least these types of segments are. Let me take you a little bit behind the curtain of talk radio:
We are asked to arrive 10/15 minutes before the segment is to begin. At that time the producer of the program will usually hand us a one-pager with the topics the host wants to discuss. Usually, there are a half dozen topics or so. After reading the topics at hand any maybe going online to catch up on them we are ushered into the studio to begin the segment.
I never know if the host is going to ask me a question or keeps things open ended. My first experience was frightening for me. The 15 minutes went by in a flash. And I left with my heart racing a million miles an hour!
I realized that the reason I was feeling this way is because I am forced to be quick on my feet, know what I’m talking about and be able to articulate myself in as few words as possible while also sounding smart. And for me, that’s next to impossible.
In my own studio, on my terms, I like to take things slow. That’s why I love podcasting. I may have themes, ideas or questions in my head or written down. However, I’m in no hurry to go to commercial or get to the next guest or segment. I can take my time actually having a discussion with the person in front of me. And I get to listen more than talk.
However, I am all about learning. I’m excited to get back in the Newstalk studio to develop and grow.
Sportsnet anchor, host and broadcaster Faizal Khamisa joined me in studio to kick off the 2018 season of Welcome! And what a story Faisal has. At age 16 he was diagnosed with cancer. At 29 he’s had his hip and shoulder operated on and has generally gone through more challenges than many people his age. But first, we discuss the hottest team in Toronto: The Toronto Raptors.
