Davy Jones

February 29/11.

I was so very sad to hear today of the death of Davy Jones at the age of 66.

Hey Hey! I loved Monkee Davy! In fact, I loved them ALL!

This was the first album I ever owned! I still remember when my friend, Pam Gorman, gave it to me at my
11th birthday party. I opened it up, having no clue what LP she would have chosen, and burst into tears with excitement when I saw it was The Monkees first record! I had a tiny little GE record player and this album got played on it hundreds of times till it was worn right down!

Davy was known as "the cute one", and almost everybody's favourite. (as for me, I loved Mickey Dolenz, because I ALWAYS adored the funny guys!) But I DID idolize Davy for his singing voice, gentle nature and signature dance moves, (which I tried to do over & over again, and never could get just right).

 
 The flowing bell bottoms he always wore made the moves look so easy! (My fave parts are at
1:10 and 1:59).

Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, Mike "Woolhat" Nesmith, Davy Jones. I couldn't wait to watch them every week.

Even now, I have copies of the 58 episodes and still watch them from time to time on VHS.

I'll never forget seeing them in performance at the old Forum at Ontario Place, (it was a blast),

and while working at Global TV as entertainment reporter, getting the chance to meet and interview Davy and Mickey several times. I remember being saddened by the bitterness Davy lived with from day to day. He told me in our chat that he (and the other lads) should have been much better compensated for their work back in the days of The Monkees. He felt cheated. But those feelings never seemed to come across on stage, when he always had a smile on his face and played to the crowd.

Said to be Davy's last performance of Daydream Believer with the other Monkees, (except for Mike, of course), June 16, 2011. I don't want to believe that sweet singing voice has been silenced.

He remained as handsome as ever till the end of his life. I miss you already Davy.

 
And what teenager in the '70s could ever forget when Davy sang "Girl" on The Brady Bunch??????? Outasite!  And "Marcia Marcia Marcia" was the lucky one to get up close & personal with him!
I ask you, what girl in this universe wouldn't like to hear the man she loves sing THESE lyrics to her?

Girl, look what you've done to me,
Me, and my whole world,
Girl, you brought the sun to me,
With your smile, you did it girl,

I'm telling you girl, something unknown to me,
Makes you what you are,
and what you are is all I could ask for me,
and its good to feel that way girl.

Thank you girl, for making the morning brighter
Girl, for making the night time nicer
Girl, for making a better world for me.

I'm telling you girl, something unknown to me,
Makes you what you are,
and what you are is all that I want for me,
and its good to feel that way girl.

Thank you Girl, for making the morning brighter
Girl, for making the night time nicer
Girl, for making a better world for me.

Thank you Girl, for making the winter warmer
Girl, for making the music softer,
Girl, for making a better world for me.

Thank you Girl, for making the morning brighter
Girl, for making the night time nicer (fades off here)
Girl, for making a better world for me.

 
Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick) meets Davy! I remember wanting to be Marcia that day!
Sigh.

Thanks for sharing your talent with us Davy. My heart goes out to his wife, four daughters, all his family and friends, - and especially, to the other Monkees, whom I'm sure are very sad today.

Going, going, gone!

June 30/11.

Drum roll please! The sign now officially says SOLD! Thanks for everything Sinisa! Congrats. You did it!

One more week and a new owner takes over the house.
Today was another moving day. (in more ways than one). Several of those are still to come. Gotta get everything out of the house. Our friend, Tina, (sister of Carrie's boyfriend, Paul), and her partner, Bill, came back with a rented truck to pick up more items to furnish their new country place.

Lee's old bed. "Cut, print, moving on"!!

Paul, Tina and Carrie moving Lee's old bed into the van. (it was taken to Mum's place when we hired a caregiver for her, but now, it's going into storage at Carrie and Lee's place again). - Something tells me Paul is getting tired of moving it from here to there to here!
One of the big jobs today? Packing all of Mum's hundreds of coil notebook diaries from the basement, into my car and into storage in our garage till we can figure out what to do with them all. Ever-cheerful Lee, carted most of the boxes up to the car for transport.

Lee is one of the few people who truly understands the importance, value and history of these carefully kept journals. He and his Gramma had a close relationship and he watched her write in these notebooks every day for years.

When I asked Lee today what he thought she'd feel about us keeping all of these personal notebooks, he responded, calmly, "She'd probably have a panic attack." The answer took me aback, as I'd ALMOST put those dreaded panic attacks out of my mind for the moment, but he's right. On one hand, she'd be happy we're keeping them to read, but on the other, she'd be freaking, wondering what we'll think of everything she had to say! Don't worry Mum! We will treasure your words forever. No matter what you wrote! You were always a brilliant writer/archivist.

Not sure Bill was thrilled with having every moment chronicled! - (Sorry Bill, you work with the Lorings, you get blogged! Just part of the deal).
Felt sad to say goodbye to this piece. I can actually "FEEL" what it was like to open the doors.

Through our youth, it held every LP we ever loved, including The Beatles, The Chipmunks, The Monkees! (and every other "critter-record"!)

Today's team. - (left to right) - Paul & me (back row), Lee, Carrie, Tina & Bill (front row).
Miraculously, in the midst of all the moving today, Mum's beloved pigeons, (who flew the coop weeks ago), suddenly returned! We haven't fed them in quite a while, but I think they must have instinctively felt things are shutting down, and decided to check back in. (Since Mum still has half a massive bag of birdseed, we gave them what they wanted!)

After I got home from Mum's, Max helped me load all of Mum's journals into the garage to store for a while. Minutes later, my cousin, Marilyn (new Gramma!), called me from her cell in Withrow Park, (where she was walking her dog, Kalou), and asked if I could wander down and see her. It's been TOO long, between house problems here and a new baby there! I strolled down and hung out with her in the "dog park" for half an hour. Great to see her! She just finished her latest TV art direction job and is dealing with all the trials of "grandmotherhood."

While in the park, all hell broke loose with the many dogs.

Since I have SO many problems taking clear photos, Marilyn (photog expert), tried to help with my settings and tested out a shot with Kalou and me in the park. - (that is one big tongue Kalou!) - But the shot seems crystal clear, compared to the blurry ones I take!!

I mean, I rest my case! - ("automatic" - BLUR CITY!! What the hell?????)
Meanwhile, I try not to talk about pain on the blog too much - (at least, physical pain). But tonight, got plenty of it.

64 days since surgery and pain still not great. Haven't taken drugs in many weeks, but am starting to wonder if the pain will EVER really subside. Only three days till I'll be seen by the radiation oncologist. Maybe SHE'LL have some suggestions!

Well, it's after 1 a.m. now and I'm exhausted. Gotta get some rest for the big sale tomorrow! (why do I do these things?) As my Dad would say, "Night night!" Gotta go make some sandwiches now - for lunch at the sale. Cheers everybody!

Maurice Benard, Neil Peart, Micky Dolenz, Max and me!

June 11/11

Woke up this morning with the Intensity Entity within, just raging. Swear I can't figure out where all this energy is flowing from. It feels the way I would IMAGINE the high highs feel for those who suffer from manic depression/bipolar disorder.

Several times through the years, I've interviewed Maurice Benard (one of my favourite actors on General Hospital. - He plays sizzling, smouldering mob man "Sonny Corinthos'). In 1996, Maurice became one of the first Hollywood stars to speak publically about his personal experience with manic depression/bipolar disorder. He's helped many people by going public with his story and becoming a spokesperson for the cause.

Maurice Benard
He spoke to me about it during a visit to Toronto when he came to be part of a soap opera festival at Canada's Wonderland.

Interviewing GH stars at Canada's Wonderland - Left to right: Brad Maule ("Dr. Tony Jones") Billy Warlock ("A.J. Quartermaine") me, Maurice Benard ("Sonny Corinthos"), Wally Kurth ("Ned Ashton")
Maurice talked about the time before going on medication (Lithium), when he said his mind was racing 100 miles an hour and he felt almost as though he was going to explode due to so much emotion and energy. He admitted the high he got from it was like a drug. But the manic highs were always followed by deep depression.

Several times, he decided to take a risk and go off the medication because he felt fine, but also because he often missed the highs, the frenzied rapture. But each time he went drug-free, he would spiral out of control. He now says he's on the medication for life.


Click here to see Maurice in conversation about his battle with bipolar disorder
I don't believe I share a situation with Maurice, but I sure can relate to feeling excess energy and a kind of motor revving inside, ever since starting recovery from the breast cancer surgery. I can also relate to the notion of missing the highs. Strange as it is to feel this rush coursing through my body, it is an incredible energy level to live with and I'm sure I WILL "miss it", (if it ever dissipates).

At any rate, while sitting at the computer, checking a few things out, I ran across something that temporarily fed the cravings of Intensity Entity, courtesy of Neil Peart of RUSH.

I've been a fan of drumming all my life. (not DOING it, just listening). Even moreso, since my son, Max, (16) became a drummer six years ago.

Max, drumming at Rock & Roll Heaven - (during his fire engine red hair phase!)
Our house ia always buzzing with the sound of rock drumming from the basement. He is an amazing musician and extremely dedicated and devoted to practicing daily. He loves to play and I wonder, if drumming will be his life's passion and work in the future.


Basement Scene - Bandmates - Emmett Webb, Max Bornstein, Charles Wilson perform original song, Oh No at The Velvet Underground

My own love for drums began with Micky Dolenz of The Monkees! I wanted to become a drummer after seeing him in action, but never had the talent, so it makes me very happy to watch my son carrying out that early dream of mine.

Micky sure was cute!
On Thursday night, Neil Peart, considered by many to be the world's best rock drummer, was Dave Letterman's final guest on "Drum solo week" and gave a fantastic, (and yes, very intense), performance. Astounding to watch! If you're a drum fan, you have to check it out!



Yesterday, I wrote about "dead air." Here is CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos (in my opinion, the best showbiz interviewer in Canada) in conversation with Neil Peart about the current RUSH tour in which the band performs all the songs from their iconic album, Moving Pictures. This is a perfect example of a "NO DEAD AIR", in-depth conversation. Engrossing from beginning to end. George asks Neil to break down the Moving Pictures album, track by track.

Click here to see Neil Peart in conversation with George Stroumboulopoulos!

Neil not only has a beautiful speaking voice, but to hear how his mind works and races, the flow of his stories about the 30th anniversary of this album, the passion he feels for his work after 40 years - just phenomenal.

I've never heard a musician articulate feelings and emotions quite so clearly in a stream of consciousness way. During the course of the interview, he covers the state of mind the band members were in when they wrote the songs for Moving Pictures at Ronnie Hawkins' farm in Peterborough, the band's many influences, the organic, improvisational way the record was put together, his lyricism imagery, emotional crescendos in their music, how he uses personal experiences to put thoughts into images, the discipline it takes to be a truly great drummer, the way he works every day to maintain the strength, power, accuracy and speed of his drumming and the inner workings of the band. Every word fascinating.

Now I want to go listen to the album in a new context. (Maybe that will placate the revving of Intensity Entity for a while!)

Starstruck

March 29/11

From the time I was seven years old, I was in love with TV stars.

As a kid, I always wanted to look exactly like Connie Stevens,

     or Sandra Dee,

or, (if you can believe it), like "Marina" (the puppet), from the supermarionation show, Stingray!


 Stingray - Marina's theme - (I couldn't get enough of this pretty, but sappy song). I never even realized till years later that the face of puppet "Captain Troy Tempest" was modeled on James Garner, even though he looked exactly like him! Guess I was too busy studying Marina's exotic makeup so I could copy it!
I was just crazy about Johnny Crawford, ("Mark McCain") of Rifleman,

Bill Bixby, on left, ("Tim O'Hara") /My Favorite Martian, 

Don Grady, ("Robbie Douglas") /My Three Sons 

and Roger Moore ("Simon Templar") /The Saint.


Hey, hey, they're the Monkees!

Later, as a teen, The Monkees stole my heart, (especially Mickey), and I couldn't get enough of Bobby Sherman, ("Jeremy Bolt")/Here Come the Brides (sigh). I watched more TV than any kid I knew. It should have come as no surprise that I wanted to enter the field of entertainment reporting and meet the stars. Over 30 years, I've interviewed thousands of celebs. Anyone and everyone from the world of television, film, theatre and music. What a blast. I was always professional, but never tried to hide my enthusiasm when meeting my faves. Afterwards, stars often told me it was a pleasure to be interviewed by someone who knew so much about them and was actually a fan. That love of celebrities has never left me to this day.

Bobby Sherman was my ultimate teen idol!

Years later, as a very young radio reporter, I got to meet and interview Bobby. (and yes, I'll admit at age 22, I wasn't as professional as I might have been!) I also interviewed him again several times during the years at Global Television.  While at Global, I had the opportunity to interview Davy Jones & Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees! (if someone had told me as a teen I'd be sitting down and talking with my idols, I never would have believed it).

Even now, as I think about what lies ahead on this journey into the world of cancer, I find I'm inspired by many stars.

Robin Williams, (here showing off his surgical scar following heart surgery in 2009).


In 2007, Regis Philbin underwent heart bypass surgery.


David Letterman came through emergency quintuple bypass surgery in 2000.  I admire David Letterman, Robin Williams and Regis Philbin, all fabulous entertainers, who were brave enough to go very public with news of their heart surgeries. They inspire me with their courage and also because they found ways to use humour to plow through their challenges and help others face the same issues. Letterman has become part of my coping mechanism after the cancer diagnosis. He's hysterically funny and honest with his feelings and comments and there's just something so calming about him for me. He's always there, ready to talk and make you laugh.

Robin Williams - Never a dull moment!

 As for Robin Williams, he’s the all-time best interview ever! I don’t think he could give a bad one if he tried. Again, funny and honest. One time on a junket in Los Angeles, I was talking to him about Patch Adams, in which he played a doctor who uses comedy to try and make people feel better. I asked if he truly believes laughter is the best medicine. His answer surprised me.

He started off by saying, “Yes, I basically do believe that theory, but there are limitations.” He went on to talk about his dear friend, the late Christopher Reeve, and how he would visit him after the riding accident which left him paralyzed, and do everything he could to lift his spirits. Robin became quite emotional as he explained that even he had trouble believing laughter could help when Chris was in so much pain. I’ve never forgotten that, and recall departing the hotel room interview set, walking down the hall into a stairwell exit and crying. Robin usually leaves you doubled over in guffaws, but not on that day.

I often find just thinking about a star like Christina Applegate, (who had a double mastectomy), makes me feel, if she can do THAT, then I can do THIS.

Jaclyn Smith, Olivia Newton-John, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Suzanne Somers all faced their fears and came out winners. 

Here in my own hometown of Toronto, Dr. Marla Shapiro, Beverly Thomson, (CTV) Wendy Mesley (CBC) and Cynthia Mulligan (CityNews) are just a few of the incredible women who have made this journey. I only hope I can conjure up the kind of courage that they were able to find within themselves.