Long-ago workplace booby-trapped, Swain says

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This article was published 11/05/2015 (4114 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY: CBC senior investigative journalist Diana Swain was the lively host at the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction awards on Wednesday. She talked about the progress that’s been made regarding sexism in the workplace. She told a story from her early career, when she once worked in a newsroom where she was one of two women. Their male boss didn’t call them by their names. Instead, he referred to them as “little bust” and “big bust.”

It was easy to tell who the biggest boob was, and he wasn’t female.

 

ROMI MAYES: Crowdfunding online did the trick for Winnipeg musician/songwriter Romi Mayes, whose new CD, Devil on Both Shoulders, comes out Tuesday.

“I was blown away with the generosity my friends and fans displayed while I was running my Indiegogo campaign. It was a humbling experience,” Mayes said. (Psst! It was a five-figure experience).

After her CD launch party last Friday at the West End Cultural Centre, she’s packing her bags to go on tour.

“I have a brand-new band I’ll be taking on the road, consisting of Jesse Millar on drums, Bernie Thiessen on bass, with Ontario’s Jimmy Bowskill on guitar and backup vocals,” Mayes says.

“I feel like this is the best album of my career, 10 songs I love. Grant Siemens producing the album was the ultimate icing on the cake. He pulled out the best of me and everyone on the album.”

Mayes says of the album’s title, “I think everyone has a devil on both shoulders and has to desperately try to find that angel on either of one of them, sometimes.

“It’s easier to eat the last doughnut, to stay out late, to lie to your boss and call in sick, or to go over the speed limit because you’re in a rush. It’s harder to be good. And though we try, it’s even more challenging to always be good.”

Her favourite line? “One more time before it’s over / Say somethin’ ya mean, say it when you’re sober.”

It finally found its place on the album’s title track. Actress Jasmine Shannon stars as the good girl and the bad girl in the video. “I think she did an excellent job. I was pretty excited about working the project from behind the scenes as casting and art director.”

 

ZODIAC BIRTHDAYS: Finally, a guaranteed fun birthday, even if your friends and family forget.

“We invite people of the same zodiac sign to come and meet each other and let us give them a special birthday celebration,” says Gloria Stokes, manager of Soul Medicine Psychic Shoppe.

Birthday guests get 15-minute palm, tarot and flame readings with three different psychics. Each person also gets a gift, such as an oil, crystal or exotic tea, to go with birthday cake and finger food, Stokes says.

The parties happen from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 136 Provencher Blvd. May’s Taurus party happens May 14, covering birthdays from April 21-May 21. The Gemini party is June 18. People born on the cusp with another sign can choose which sign they most identify with. Cost is $59. Register at 204-995-8077.

 

CD RELEASE FOR NADIA DOUGLAS: Three years ago, paramedic Nadia Douglas showed up terrified at Danny Kramer’s live-band karaoke. She eventually grabbed the mike and then blew the roof off, singing When Will I Be Loved? by Linda Ronstadt.

After being urged by friends to take singing seriously, Douglas took singing lessons with Cindi Cain, got her own dance band and combos going, and made her way up from seniors’ homes to legions to the Palm Room at the Fort Garry Hotel. Next stop: the Winnipeg Jazz Festival, playing the Cube at Old Market Square on June 19.

Douglas celebrated the release of of her first CD at the Upperdeck bar at McPhillips Station casino, where it all started. The place was packed, with an overflow crowd in the adjacent bar.

Her big-band swing/jazz sound has a Latin groove. She was backed by Rick Boughton, Nenad Zdjelar, Dave Lawton, Ken Gold and Greg Black. “I’m very proud. I worked hard to get this sound. I know I have something unique that people will like. It’s a fun feeling,” Douglas says.

You can hear songs from her CD on Thursday at Mona Lisa Ristorante lounge on Corydon Avenue.

 

SPOTTED: Handsome Dave Hanson of Sage Gardens Herbs — who is also the organic gardening guru on CBC Radio. He was inside his colourful nursery with a big class of adults, gleefully getting their hands dirty, mixing designer dirt for container-gardening class.

Sage Gardens, at 3410 St. Mary’s Rd., offers crazy classes such as DIY Rain Barrel, Grow Your Own Sweet Potatoes, Back Yard Orchard and Solstice Garden, scheduled for June 18. The registration line is 204-257-2715.

The nursery just had geothermal pipes installed in the ground a few weeks ago to help heat and cool the place, says sales associate Tara Nemeth. The 2015 early spring has eager-beaver gardeners jamming the small parking lot and they’re not waiting for the usual season start on May long weekend.

“People are champing at the bit to do some planting,” says Nemeth with a laugh.

 

Got tips, events, special events going on? Call the tip line at 204-474-1116 or write Maureen Scurfield c/o Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, Mb. R2X 3B6.