Celebrities and wine are in the news recently, but is it a new thing? Is it even a thing, for that matter? In my first wine review I chat a bit about the non-issue and write a non-review of Brangelina’s new rosé, opting instead to put a Californian red blend on deck for a spin.

Toronto indie music and microbrew mainstay C’est What? celebrated 25 years of supporting local brewing and songwriting talent on Wednesday with an eclectic lineup of performers that represented the club’s history as a proving ground for both musicians and brewmasters.

There is a listlessness that comes over me in January as I am finally clear of all the best-of and worst-of lists that crowd my rss and social media feeds at the end of the year. One list did have a winning suggestion though – banishing the phrase “bucket list.”

If ginger beer is beer, why doesn’t it contain alcohol? The answer is that it does, if you brew it right. Plus: keeping the names of your Guinness-based bar concoctions straight, and how to invite ridicule (and possibly physical abuse) in an Irish pub.

A full generation of moviegoers now associates 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Randy Newman solely with the soundtracks and songs he has written for six Pixar films rather than the darkly sardonic ouvre he launched with a self-titled solo album in 1968.

We finally seized the opportunity to visit Prince Edward County on the occasion of the annual Wassail event coinciding with a gala in aid of the region’s Slow Food convivium. Our singing and tasting tour took us to seven wineries in one afternoon.

I was accosted by a huge sale bin of these attractively packaged cookie bars on the way in to the grocery store the other day. I was feeling a bit under the weather and they ended up in the bag with some jarred hot and sour soup and frozen garlic bread. I mustered the restraint necessary to wait until dessert before opening them.

The final mix of “They Want Subways” is done, and because people tend to skim over unadorned audio on the web I went ahead and created a video for it. Click the “read more” link to have a look, and a listen.

At various times during the construction of a new tune, I play a little home version of the David Letterman segment “Is this anything?” and the time has certainly come for “They Want Subways.” It is, much like the Toronto Transit System, a work in progress, but as I haven’t shared any music with you in some time, I thought I’d give you a preview.

Back in my agency days I had a client whose in-house design team was responsible for laying down the law regarding their online brand standards. It is of course right that they should take ownership of their brand. One of their laws, however, was that all headlines on their website should be in title case. Allow me to explain why this is a bad idea.