fame Archives - Keith Shields

Ambition

It may be a surprise to hear a Baby-Boomer analysing his own ambition and the ambition of the rest of his demographic cohort. Put a group of us together and you will always have more “horsepower” than people in the room. Yet, we have not always been very good at introspection. We have traditionally left…

Jim Carrey the Philosopher Part 2.

(Yesterday’s post was part 1 of my attempt to make sense of what has been happening with Jim Carrey. Today I will conclude the story.) Jim Carrey goes even further when he espouses the idea that others do not exist. “I don’t believe that you exist,” he told an E! News correspondent at New York Fashion…

Jim Carrey the Philosopher Part 1

Jim Carrey, by most accounts, is one of Canada’s most well-loved actors, and one of our best exports to the United States. He has certainly generated a good deal of laughter with his insanely comedic movie roles. Who could ever forget his portrayal of Bruce in Bruce Almighty. We applauded his stunningly stupid performances in…

No Hit Wonder

The latest composition by “Key of Zed” is more auto-biographical than previous offerings; and long-time fans will recognize references to previous songs. Enjoy listening to it on ReverbNation and follow along with the lyrics below. No Hit Wonder (Words and music by Mike Charko and Keith Shields; SOCAN, 2017) It started for me in ninety-three The…

Meltdown at Madame Tussaud’s

CBC news online featured a video of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, New York, presenting a new statue to the public. I am sure it is quite an honour to have a wax figure made in your likeness but it does bring to mind a number of questions. How do they decide who to immortalize? What…

American Idol Expectations

“American Idol” and “Survivor” were certainly not the source of the concept but we can recognize that they have contributed to a sense of quick and easy fame in our culture. These television programs and many more “reality” shows have made household names out of ordinary people. Generations ago, if a person desired to become…

The Light Yoke

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (New…

The Power of a Moment

In our family we often ask the question, “Which would you rather have: fame, or fortune?” My answer is always fame. A weakness of mine is that I want to be known as someone who accomplished great things. Chris Rice, in his song “The Power of a Moment,” helps me keep things in perspective. The…