Fresh Air
with Mary Ito

0700 Mark Wigmore brought Fresh Air listeners another installment of his On The Doc column. This morning he profiled a documentary called If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front. It's nominated for an Academy Award and it airs tonight (Feb 19) on CBC News Network's The Passionate Eye at 10 pm.
Learn more at the Passionate Eye website.

0730 He's a musician whose star is on the rise in Quebec. But you've probably never heard his name before. It's Patrice Michaud. And he's coming to Ontario later this month. Radio Canada's Line Boilly joined Mary to talk about Patrice and his approach to music.
Listen (runs 7:37)
Patrice Michaud will be in concert in Hamilton on February the 24 at the Staircase Cafe and then in Oshawa on Feb. 25 at La Salle Paroissiale.
There's more info about him on Patrice's website.

0800 This past week, CBC launched a digital service called CBC MUSIC DOT C-A. It provides listeners with a choice of 40 different web radio stations. CBC's director of radio music, Mark Steinmetz, gave Mary the lowdown on what it's all about.
Listen (runs 7:49)
Check out the web stations on offer at the CBC Music website.

0830 He lives in a hotel. His name is Christopher Heard. And he's written a book called The Suite Life. Christopher shared some of his experiences with Mary.
Listen (runs 10:47)
The Suite Life: The Magic and Mystery of Hotel Living is published by Dundurn Press.
There's more on Christopher and the book at the Dundurn website.

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Family and Heritage Day at Watson's Mill
The Dusty Owl Reading Series celebrating Black History Month
The Voyageur Winter Carnival
Chamber music concert organized by The Human Family in Christ

Would you like Mariel to feature YOUR event? Let her know about it!
Just click on What's On to send her information about your event .

0730 If you have a teen driver, it's time to have "the talk" That's what Lorraine Sommerfeld advocates. Lorraine writes the "Drive, She Said" column in The Globe and Mail's Drive section. And she joined Mary Ito to talk about ways to make YOUR teen a better driver.
Listen. (runs 9:56)
Read Lorraine's columns at the Globe's Drive, She Said website and be sure to check out her other writings at Lorraine's website.

0800 Planning a home reno? Looking for a reputable contractor?
Citizen Talin came into the Fresh Air studio to talk about the do's and don'ts if you're in search mode. You can hear her conversation with Mary by going to Talin's column.

0830 They're a pair of brothers from Ottawa...who just happen to be one half of one of the hottest bands in Japan. Their names are Maynard and Blaise Plant. Their band is called Monkey Majik. And they joined Mary to talk about their life and musical times in Japan.
Listen (runs 12:39)
Learn more about the band at the Monkey Majik website.

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Kids Fest/Toronto & Hamilton
Family Days at the ROM
Big Sale at the Textile Museum
Sudbury Winterfest
Flamenco Show in Etobicoke

Would you like Mariel to feature YOUR event? Let her know about it!
Just click on What's On to send her information about your event .

The Toronto Public Library recently asked Mary to pen a list of her favourite recent reads. Here's Mary's introduction to the list:

The Best Books Make Me Stupid

I know there's a general belief out there that books make you smart. But something strange happens to me that defies that notion. I can't seem to function properly after reading a book that moves me, in a soul-shaking, mind-bending, chest-thumping kind of way. Thank goodness there are only so many of these BMDs (books of mass destruction) because the better the book, the worse my condition. It's been very hard on my family.

Here are five outcomes (in ascending order, or descending depending on how you want to look at it), of what a great book can do:

1. Feel deeply satisfied after reading it
2. Must blab about it to anyone within a 100 miles (call it the 100 Mile Book Diet)
3. The opposite effect - I'm rendered speechless
4. Speechless AND prostrate
5. I enter a coma-like state as a fog settles in my brain and disrupts all cognitive function.

Because of this precarious condition, I must be extremely careful NOT to read two coma-inducing books back to back. This happened once unintentionally when I read Jon Lee Anderson's Che Guevara and then Blindness by Jose Saramago immediately after. I honestly can't remember much of Venice. (What did happen on that trip?) But that's where vacation pictures come in handy. The problem is (like a relationship) you never know what kind of effect it's going to have until you're deep into it, and then once it's got a hold of you (like a relationship), it's almost impossible to extricate yourself.

Another time, we were vacationing in San Francisco and my husband had the misfortune of trying to talk to me immediately after I'd read The Elegance of the Hedgehog. BIG mistake. He asked me the most impossible question, something like, "where do you want to go today?" It might just as well have been "what are the chances we'll have peace in the Middle East , and do you think Kim Jong Un's hairstyle will eventually morph into his father's?" Eerie silence. My husband looks at my daughter and asks "what's with your mother?" She replies, "Dad!!! You KNOW she just finished reading that hedgehog book!!!" True story.

These books left me at the very least deeply satisfied, and a few were coma-inducing. But no worries, I've recovered. You may not.

And here's the link to the TPL Book Buzz Virtual Book Club to check out Mary's selections---her entry is dated February, 9, 2012, so you'll have to scroll down to find it.

0730 Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches Of A Little Town is coming to television. And one of the actors in the CBC production is Jill Hennessy. She plays Leacock's mother in this unusual adapatation...which weaves Leacock's real life into those of his characters. Jill joined Mary to talk about what's in store.
Listen (runs 8:29)
Sunshine Sketches Of A Little Town airs tonight (Feb 12) on CBC Televison at 8:00 p.m.
Get all the details at the CBC TV website.

0800 She was a slave who gained her freedom...and then brought more than seventy other slaves to Canada along the Underground Railroad. Her name was Harriet Trubman and she's the subject of a new book by Rosemary Sadlier. Rosemary joined Mary to talk about this remarkable woman,
Listen (runs 8:50)
Harriet Tubman: Freedom Seeker, Freedom Leader is published by Dundurn Press.
Learn more about the book at the
Dundurn website.
Rosemary is also president of the Ontario Black History Society. You can find out more about its activities at the OBHS website

0830 Unjunk Your Junk Food is a new book that offers healthy alternatives to conventional snacks. Lisa Tsakos and Andrea Donsky---two of the three authors---joined Mary Ito to talk about what they learned when they "deconstructed" many of the most popular snacks and beverages.
Listen (runs 10:45)
Unjunk Your Junk Food is published by Gallery Books and distributed in Canada by Simon and Schuster.
You can learn more about the book at the Simon and Schuster website.

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Ottawa Winterlude

Aurora: Story Quilts, The Threads That Bind Us

Would you like Mariel to feature YOUR event? Let her know about it!
Just click on What's On to send her information about your event .

0630 World Music columnist Reuben Maan joined Mary Ito to preview a concert by the Israeli singer Yasmin Levy. The details are as close as Reuben's column.

0700 Laugh Out Loud Presents takes place on Thursday (Feb 16) at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. It features comedians Dave Merheje, Ali Hassan, Keith Pedro and Gilson Lubin. You can get ticket information at the Laugh Out Loud website.

0730 Tia Brazda has just unveiled her first recording. It's an EP called Cabin Fever . And the ex-Vancouverite says she had to come to Toronto to find a home for her mix of musical styles. Tia came into the Fresh Air studio to talk with Mary and play some tracks from the recording.
Listen (runs 12:17)
NOTE: Music clearance restrictions prohibit inclusion of music originally contained in this item.
Tia will launch her EP--- Cabin Fever ---at The Cadillac Lounge in Toronto tonight (Feb 11). Showtime is 9:00 pm. All the details are on Tia's website.

0800 Valentine's Day is almost here. What better way to say "I love you" than with a good book,.. But choosing the right read for your sweetie can be a challenge. Erin Balser from CBC Books and her partner, Matt Elliott, shared their literary ups and downs with Mary.
Listen. (runs 7:55)
There's lots about books and other literary topics at the CBC Books website.

0830 It's called Big Chill marketing. It's the use of hit songs by advertisers. And it's Terry O'Relly's topic this weekend on Under The Influence. Terry gave Mary a sneak "listen".
Listen (runs 13:14)
Under The Influence airs Saturdays at 11:30 am on CBC Radio One...and repeats the following Monday, also at 11:30 am.
Get the full story about the show at the Under The Influence website...and take time to check out Terry's website, too.

Here are Mariel's What's On selections:

Toronto Rhubarb Festival

Toronto Zoo: Valentine's Weekend

Cobourg Winter Festival

Cobourg Heart for the Hospital

Cobourg An Evening with C.S. Lewis

Would you like Mariel to feature YOUR event? Let her know about it!
Just click on What's On to send her information about your event .