Jeff Healey of Toronto died Sunday of cancer. He was 41. Healey was considered a prodigy and earned numerous Juno and Grammy nominations in the course of his career.
He lost both his eyes to cancer before he was eight-months-old, but never let that slow him down. What makes Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers is also what keeps some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty -- the fact that the blind guitarist plays his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey was head and shoulders above his competition.
By the time he was a teenager, Healey had formed a four-piece band called the Blue Direction and was playing in clubs throughout the Toronto area. His best known work came when he formed the Jeff Healey Band several years later with bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. His career took off when he appeared in the movie Road House, which starred Patrick Swayze.
In 1988, his Grammy-nominated album See the Light included the major hit single, Angel Eyes. In 1990, he earned the Juno for entertainer of the year. Healey became an internationally-known star who played with musical greats that included B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Always remembered, in tribute here is my favourite Jeff Healey song, aptly, "While my guitar gently weeps"
Later,
Kenaz
Showing posts with label city of toronto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city of toronto. Show all posts
Monday, March 03, 2008
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thanks and congradulations for two Canadian ledgends
Entrepreneur Mirvish dead at 92
Flair, dedication, infectious enthusiasm and unending caring are all words that describe Canada's discount king, Ed Mirvish.
Honesty in business, especially in retail sales has almost become an oxymoron but not in the world of the man who revolutionized retail in North America. The man was completely free of pretension, a claim that none of his cold big box competitors could ever claim. His gigantic, multi-floor store on the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets in Toronto contests to his character. The store famously was called “Honest Ed’s.
Ed Mirvish, was a child born into poverty, but left this world as Canada’s leading patrons of the arts and humanity. Mirvish was known for his corny humour, using slogans like “Don’t faint at our low prices — there’s no place to lie down.” to promote his business. He was a man who took giving back to the less fortunate seriously, at Christmas he would give out thousands of free turkeys.
Sadly, Mirvish is no more.
He died today in Toronto at the age of 92 — just days away from his 93rd birthday.
David Onley named Ontario’s new lieutenant-governor
Ontario’s incoming lieutenant-governor who join a long list of governors who lead key “activist” roles. Over the next five years he says his aims are in the direction of improving the lives of people who, like him, live with physical disabilities.
Stricken with polio when he was three, Onley grew up to become one of Canada’s first on-air personalities with a physical disability when he joined CityTV in Toronto in 1984 as a science and weather reporter. In his long career with the station, he has also been an education reporter, a science and technology reporter, news anchor and producer.
Outside of his journalistic endeavors, Onley has been high-profile advocate for people with disabilities joining other Canadian role models, the likes of Terry Fox and Rick Hansen in offering kids with disabilities hope in turning their set backs into life embetterments.
Prime Minister Harper announced the appointment Tuesday, describing Onley as a “respected author, broadcaster and tireless champion for persons with disabilities. Through this work, he has demonstrated the qualities needed for such an important position."
Good luck,
Later,
Kenaz
Flair, dedication, infectious enthusiasm and unending caring are all words that describe Canada's discount king, Ed Mirvish.
Honesty in business, especially in retail sales has almost become an oxymoron but not in the world of the man who revolutionized retail in North America. The man was completely free of pretension, a claim that none of his cold big box competitors could ever claim. His gigantic, multi-floor store on the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets in Toronto contests to his character. The store famously was called “Honest Ed’s.
Ed Mirvish, was a child born into poverty, but left this world as Canada’s leading patrons of the arts and humanity. Mirvish was known for his corny humour, using slogans like “Don’t faint at our low prices — there’s no place to lie down.” to promote his business. He was a man who took giving back to the less fortunate seriously, at Christmas he would give out thousands of free turkeys.
Sadly, Mirvish is no more.
He died today in Toronto at the age of 92 — just days away from his 93rd birthday.
David Onley named Ontario’s new lieutenant-governor
Ontario’s incoming lieutenant-governor who join a long list of governors who lead key “activist” roles. Over the next five years he says his aims are in the direction of improving the lives of people who, like him, live with physical disabilities.
Stricken with polio when he was three, Onley grew up to become one of Canada’s first on-air personalities with a physical disability when he joined CityTV in Toronto in 1984 as a science and weather reporter. In his long career with the station, he has also been an education reporter, a science and technology reporter, news anchor and producer.
Outside of his journalistic endeavors, Onley has been high-profile advocate for people with disabilities joining other Canadian role models, the likes of Terry Fox and Rick Hansen in offering kids with disabilities hope in turning their set backs into life embetterments.
Prime Minister Harper announced the appointment Tuesday, describing Onley as a “respected author, broadcaster and tireless champion for persons with disabilities. Through this work, he has demonstrated the qualities needed for such an important position."
Good luck,
Later,
Kenaz
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Ontario governments should go "FLICK" themselves
The Ontario government is supporting a campaign aimed at getting young people to cut energy use with the gutter scrapping title of "Flick Off." The campaign was launched British billionaire Richard Branson who stops at nothing in order to get publicity. This stunt is even worse than his awful attempt at a reality show, anyone remember the 2004 turkey "The Rebel Billionaire"? The tongue-in-cheek campaign alludes to a four-letter word and the logo uses a typeface that makes the capital letters "L" and "I" look like a "U."
On the website homepage, a call to action says: "We need you to FLICK OFF, and tell everyone you know to FLICK OFF. The more you do it, the cooler it gets. Apparently they mean the planet. "The campaign's website uses such phrases as "Go flick yourself," and "Are we flicked?" to punch up their double meanings.
The answer to the second question if your the ad agency is yes their a bunch of flickin' idiots if they think this campaign is appropriate for viewing by children.
In another bonehead move by government officials, this time the City of Toronto who refused to pick up 12,000 spent batteries collected by 500 Grade 7 and 8 students in Scarborough during a clean up the environment collection drive.
The science teacher who runs the environment club, says she called Toxics Taxi – the city's free pick-up service for hazardous waste expecting praise for her young student efforts – only to be told by a staff person that the service is for residences only. Because they are considered an institution the city refused to pick up the batteries.
That left the teacher and students frustrated with a government headed by a mayor who erroneously claims Toronto to be the greenest city in the world. Their is very little green left in mudville. The teacher punctuated her frustration by pointing out the obvious to anyone except the brain drains at city hall. The batteries are from homes, to which the city staff person countered, "No, it's an institution."
A student wrote an insightful email to his local councillor, Brian Ashton, in March to air his concerns. "If we just threw the batteries in the garbage, they would be sent to landfills and over time, they would start leaking into rivers and oceans, which could cause major acid rain, which is very harmful to the world," he wrote. Ashton at first offered the lame excuse of not receiving the email. Then tried to cover his lie when pressured saying he would make sure the batteries are collected and that the club receives a $250 cheque from the city budget.
I hope these kids passion to save the environment continues and one of them takes the torch from David Suzuki some day and continues the fight to change the attitude of people who continue to destroy the planet all because it would mean loss of money for corporate and government misers if we made products that lasted forever instead of ending up in a landfill.
Later,
Kenaz
On the website homepage, a call to action says: "We need you to FLICK OFF, and tell everyone you know to FLICK OFF. The more you do it, the cooler it gets. Apparently they mean the planet. "The campaign's website uses such phrases as "Go flick yourself," and "Are we flicked?" to punch up their double meanings.
The answer to the second question if your the ad agency is yes their a bunch of flickin' idiots if they think this campaign is appropriate for viewing by children.
In another bonehead move by government officials, this time the City of Toronto who refused to pick up 12,000 spent batteries collected by 500 Grade 7 and 8 students in Scarborough during a clean up the environment collection drive.
The science teacher who runs the environment club, says she called Toxics Taxi – the city's free pick-up service for hazardous waste expecting praise for her young student efforts – only to be told by a staff person that the service is for residences only. Because they are considered an institution the city refused to pick up the batteries.
That left the teacher and students frustrated with a government headed by a mayor who erroneously claims Toronto to be the greenest city in the world. Their is very little green left in mudville. The teacher punctuated her frustration by pointing out the obvious to anyone except the brain drains at city hall. The batteries are from homes, to which the city staff person countered, "No, it's an institution."
A student wrote an insightful email to his local councillor, Brian Ashton, in March to air his concerns. "If we just threw the batteries in the garbage, they would be sent to landfills and over time, they would start leaking into rivers and oceans, which could cause major acid rain, which is very harmful to the world," he wrote. Ashton at first offered the lame excuse of not receiving the email. Then tried to cover his lie when pressured saying he would make sure the batteries are collected and that the club receives a $250 cheque from the city budget.
I hope these kids passion to save the environment continues and one of them takes the torch from David Suzuki some day and continues the fight to change the attitude of people who continue to destroy the planet all because it would mean loss of money for corporate and government misers if we made products that lasted forever instead of ending up in a landfill.
Later,
Kenaz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)