Miss Tracey Nolan

Post-modern.

2008-07-24T18:24:00.002-04:00

The only thing that seems to be getting more news coverage than Obama's trip overseas is the coverage of the coverage of Obama's trip overseas. Also, I want more talk about my Republican boyfriend, fellow fact-finder Chuck Hagel. THERE'S your Maverick, folks.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mandela.

2008-07-18T09:06:00.003-04:00

His first interview.

Watch for him here at 7:30. It always gives me the chills.

Ever wonder what the worst thing is on the internet? Look no further. I've found it.

2008-07-16T00:30:00.005-04:00

Oh. Dear. God.

MY EYES! MY EYES!!!

Rat, drowned.

2008-07-08T20:42:00.004-04:00

It's been pouring for an hour. This is the kind of rain that is so...torrential...that even people with umbrellas wait under awnings for it to calm down. I wouldn't be one of those people. Cause you know that if I had my umbrella with me it would NOT have rained. Have I ever even used my umbrella? Like ever?

So, when backed into a corner, I got all plucky about it. I was going to walk in the rain, damn it. And you know, it was kind of fun. All the other idiots that were getting soaked were laughing and screaming every time a gust of wind came along, or the thunder rolled. There's something about getting soaked that acts as a great equalizer. There we were, all the people who never would have made it through boy scouts, mascara streaming down our faces, feet sloshing through puddles knowing we weren't alone.

SO...now that I am home, cozy in my robe listening to the rain on my window, a rain themed playlist from The Youtubes:

Rihana / JayZ - Umbrella

I know? I'm SO current all the sudden. But it's a catchy tune damn it.

Gene Kelly - Singing in the Rain.

Only the best ever, that's all.

Tay Zonday - aka "The Chocolate Rain Guy" - Chocolate Rain

Weird-ass Youtube sensation Zonday and his weird-ass song Chocolate Rain.

Have you seen the South Park Episode Canada on Strike? Chocolate Rain guy is featured there. Go on, have a laugh:

And check this out! Some Dude (Jack Casey) did a bass-jazz-fusion-cover of Chocolate Rain. I find that to be both clever and snarky. In a good way.

Jake Wilkinson, every Monday in July!

2008-07-07T17:19:00.005-04:00

A quick note to let you know that Jake Wilkinson will be playing with his wonderful Quartet every Monday in July starting at 6:30pm at The Rex Hotel. Wash away the dust of the work day and enjoy Jake's blend of standards and ballads over a drink or dinner at one of the most comfortable and welcoming rooms in the city. If you are in Toronto, and would like more details, drop me a note...

"Jake is one of those rare musicians who really understands the voice of the trumpet. His horn sings and shouts whispers. It tells you a story. It lets you in on a secret. It surprises you. It guides you through songs that are fresh and new but somehow familiar. It's the voice of a friend who knows jazz, inside and out." - Andy Sheppard, CBC Radio.

Happy Fourth!

2008-07-03T17:55:00.004-04:00

Hey Yanks - congratulations on yet another year of keeping the world safe from weirdoes! And thanks for Jazz, Baseball, Apple Pie and all that good stuff. You guys rock.

Lucky, more than proud.

2008-07-01T19:31:00.000-04:00

"Luck, that's when preparation and opportunity meet.” - Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Humanity on Display.

2008-06-28T14:46:00.005-04:00

This morning while flipping channels, we stumbled on The Wiz. It's a weird movie. Lots going for it, but lots of missteps too. That said, there are four minutes towards the end that may be home to one of the greatest performances ever captured on film. I know it sounds like I'm overstating something here, but stick with me. Now, I've documented my affection for Richard Pryor here in the past. But this morning, while watching a movie as a curiosity, I was reminded what made him so great. I laughed and cried, all within FOUR MINUTES. Pryor was broad and subtle at once. Pryor knew how to inhabit a character. Pryor gives a master class in comedy and acting inside of a weird, kind of mediocre movie like The Wiz. Watch it here - but skip ahead five minutes to avoid an undeniably creepy dance number. I hope he blows you away, too.

Radio Silence

2008-06-26T13:52:00.006-04:00

So I've been on radio silence these last few days because I've been up to my nostrils in jazz. It's the Toronto Jazz Festival this week - which means barrels of both work and fun for me. Just stopping by to share a few quick pics from some of the great shows we've hosted so far.

The Lovely Terra Hazelton and The Hogtown Syncopators.

"Sliding Hammers" all the way from Sweden.

My friend and yours Andrew Scott (with Archie Alleyne on drums).

Ahmad Jamal. Ahmad Jamal. Ahmad Jamal.

shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits.

2008-06-23T11:20:00.003-04:00

And that's all I have to say about THAT.

In my dreams.

2008-06-20T14:11:00.003-04:00

Oh my GOD, you guys, READ THIS!!!!!!!

The best part:

Lee also said he thinks there's room for a scripted feature about post-Katrina New Orleans, and tipped that "The Wire" creator David Simon.

How exciting is this?!?!?

Damn it.

2008-06-13T16:08:00.007-04:00

I don't know what to say, except maybe "Go Bills". Today is a dark day.

It's silly, but I was having one of those good on a superficial level days. I went shopping on my lunch break and discovered that it was "buy one get the next 50% off' at my favourite clothing store. Score! The weather was not nearly as yucky as had been predicted. Breezy! I sat down for lunch at the salad place and somebody had left a fresh, unread New York Times Arts section behind. All the news that's fit to print about Tony Weekend and the JVC Jazz Fest. Thoughtful! I went to Starbucks for an iced coffee and they were playing A Love Supreme. Awesome!

So when I read the shocking news about Tim Russert a few minutes ago, all the good superficial stuff just seems, well, superficial. Life is cruel sometimes and yeah, I didn't know the guy, but on some level I did. On some level, we all did. And we're gonna miss him. We should all carry with us some of his class, his pursuit of truth, his work ethic and his love of family, friends and country.

I'm sure we'll all tune in to Meet The Press this Sunday, Father's Day, a day I've come to associate with Tim and his family.

Sunday mornings will never be the same, that's for sure.

If only Blogger had smell-o-vision.

2008-06-07T14:48:00.005-04:00

A low grade summer cold makes me unable to comment on all the fun political stuff, the passing of Jim McKay or all the great stuff going on in Toronto like the Art of Jazz and Luminato. I can't seem to form a coherent sentence. So, instead, I give you this yummy lilac, snapped last weekend on our Collingwood getaway.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'll be back when the fog has lifted.

Congratulations, America. I knew you could do it.

2008-06-03T21:16:00.003-04:00

In fact, I told you so, almost four years ago.

The Countdown is ON!

2008-06-03T14:12:00.003-04:00

There is a bottle of Veuve Clicquot in my fridge that has been chilling for six months waiting for what I think is going to happen tonight. Please let it happen. My thirst, it needs quenching.

Robert Wexler

2008-05-31T12:18:00.001-04:00

You are rocking my world.

Thanks for that.

Harvey Korman was a funny man.

2008-05-30T09:41:00.001-04:00

Best. Spam. Ever.

2008-05-28T21:09:00.001-04:00

Last week, I got several spam emails with the subject "we have pictures of you in the shower, tnolan".

Okaaaaay.

Today? "you look really stupid, tnolan".

Awesome.

The Ghost of Offices Past

2008-05-28T16:52:00.003-04:00

When we make a pot of coffee in the morning, we turn off the machine so the coffee doesn't burn. If we want a second cup, we reheat it in the microwave. Which I'm sure is a whole 'nother brand of bad for you but whatever. Yesterday, I left the burner on and the smell of the coffee heating in that coffee pot on my counter took me back immediately to my first office job. Ain't sense memory grande? Aren't I glad I took those method acting classes when I was in my 20's? It was then I realized that an office smelling of burned coffee is a thing of the past. Everyone has those thermoses now, or espresso machines. While the coffee is better, I miss that smell. The same way I miss thermal fax paper and standing in front of a photocopier for hours on end and cleaning every phone in the office with a can of Lysol every single night because my boss was a germaphobe freak. Which is to say, not at all. I don't really miss it, but I look back fondly on the burned coffee and my ink stained hands and the fact that I never had to stay one minute past 5:00pm.

Crack.

2008-05-23T11:33:00.002-04:00

I feel like I'm on it. This is my brain on PMS, my job and the to do list that still needs to be made. This is my brain on unanswered emails, uncleaned closets and unwritten blog posts. At least it's Friday, right?

Blogging from Buffalo

2008-05-17T20:41:00.004-04:00

The Robeau and I are spending Victoria Day, that most colonial of holiday Mondays South of the border in Buffalo, New York. We've already enjoyed seeing some of downtown near our hotel and hope to balance some sight seeing and book reading / relaxation for the rest of the weekend. Even on short trips like this, not far away from home, The Robeau and I travel very differently. As I discovered on our trip to New Orleans a few years back, he is of the "relax and do nothing in the hotel room" variety and I am of the "chart it, graph it, see it all" variety. My theory is that this has to do with him traveling so much for work (it's no big deal) and me not being very well traveled (it's a BIG freaking deal). In life, I am not type A. Not at all. On vacation, I'm crazy type A. So he's doing his best to come along with me and look at STUFF (Stuff in a different city!) and I'm here blogging in our room at the Hyatt Regency because it feels like I'm being more productive than it does when I'm lying in bed reading. I need to get my head checked. But not this weekend. TOO MUCH TO DO!!! TOO MUCH TO SEE!!!

Here's the view from our hotel room. Where I blog.

Time Travel

2008-05-15T16:48:00.003-04:00

So last night I watched a great new episode of Law & Order that guest starred both Melissa Leo and Tom Evertt Scott. Hello, 1996! What's next? Am I going to start eating Nutri Grain Cereal Bars for breakfast everyday? Decorate my room with too many clocks and dried flowers? Seriously. What was up with all those dried flowers? What were we all thinking?

Hutch is a Brew-Gooder!

2008-05-13T15:36:00.004-04:00

Check it out, Bloggy McBloggerson! My good friend Sarah Hutchison, co-founder of World Playground Project is being recognized for all of her good work by Breakfast Television and Maxwell house. Watch the video here. She's a "brew-gooder"!

I'd also encourage you to take a look at the website for WPP and consider making a donation, or spreading the word about the project in your own way. People like Hutch actually make me believe that together, we can make a difference.

May 15th
Note: The video only seemed to be up for a week. I'll see if I can find an archive somewhere. Meanwhile though, DO check out WPP!

Friday - and the CODA events keep rolling on!

2008-05-09T14:03:00.003-04:00

If you are near a radio or your computer today (Friday) at 5pm tune into JAZZ FM 91.1 and listen to Andrew Scott, oft mentioned guitarist and Editor of CODA magazine, on air with my favourite jazz DJ and yours, Mr. Larry Green! You can find them here .

Then, turn off your computer damn it, it's the weekend!

Might I suggest if you are in Toronto and looking for something great to do tonight you come on down to QUOTES for the Canadian Jazz Quartet and special guest Bruce Cassidy? And then, well, then you're just gonna have to come on down to the Stealth Lounge at The Pilot Tavern to catch the Brandi Disterheft Trio fresh off their win at the 2008 Juno's! Not only are we giving away copies of the 50th anniversary issue of CODA at these events, there's no cover! So you have NO EXCUSE for not coming on down!

See you there!

CODA Magazine 50th Anniversary Party

2008-05-08T17:06:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to share a few snaps from last night at the Rex, where the jazz community came together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of CODA Magazine. Don't forget, there are events going on all weekend!