Archive for January, 2012

Alicia Keys: Birthdays, Broadway and back in the studio

Posted Jan 24, 2012 When someone celebrates their birthday it usually all ‘me, me, me’, Alicia Keys, on the other hand, has taken the run-up to her 31st birthday in a more humble manner and as an opportunity to honour others. Lending her voice to Steven Spielberg, Alicia was on hand to honour the cinematic [...]

Berkun, Scott: Confessions of a Public Speaker

I have no intention of doing any public speaking myself in the next, oh, decade or so, or if I can help it ever, but nonetheless, after picking up this book on a whim, I found it engrossing. The author is a professional speaker who has clearly thought a lot about what makes for a [...]

BOOK GROUPIE: Another thumbs-up for Jeannette Walls

Some time ago I featured Jeannette Walls’ “The Glass Castle” in this column. “The Glass Castle” is the most moving memoir I’ve ever read, and I wasn’t the only one affected by it. Shortly after the column published, I received numerous emails from readers who were also touched by the book. Memorable characters abound in [...]

Bistro 36 offers a taste of the finer things

The dining room, with chandeliers and hand-stenciled walls, emanates elegance. But with entrees from $16 to $36 and gourmet pizzas starting at $11, the pricing falls between casual and fine dining. Our party tried an appetizer, a soup, two entrees and the four-course chef’s tasting menu which, at $35 with wine pairings, I thought was [...]

Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz New Deals

There’s one thing that Hollywood studios now know they can depend on more than the Sun shining in the morning and that is just about anything comic book related is HUGE money. Such is the case for the writing team of Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz who penned two big blockbusters “Thor” and “X-Men: First [...]