Gord Downie, Tragically Hip singer, has terminal cancer
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a spot-on view from down south.
In order to understand Canada—its tepid mores and self-important culture, its assumption of election and ingrained narcissism—one could do worse than listen to the music of The Tragically Hip and observe the adulation that greets its lackluster songs and mannered performances. My American readers may have never heard of the group; Canadians have scarcely heard anything but—especially of late. The group, which has a street named after them in their native Kingston, Ontario (Tragically Hip Way that runs beside the Rogers K-Rock Centre), is symptomatic of a self-inflated country, the sort of country where one of its major newspapers, The National Post, can proudly devote an entire page to congratulating an Olympic athlete who brought home—a bronze.
The band’s co-founder and frontman Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. This is every reason for sympathy. But it is no reason to manufacture a farewell tour capitalizing on the illness to create a raucous circus of weeping fans, voracious scalpers, media parasites and CBC prime-time theatricals. Consider the CBC’s self-glorifying “special presentation” of the final stop on the tour in Kingston:
more
https://pjmedia.com/blog/canada-a-tragically-hip-nation/?singlepage=true
We get to feel small, but not out of place at all: How the endless quest for a Canadian identity elevated The Tragically Hip | National Post
In order to understand Canada—its tepid mores and self-important culture, its assumption of election and ingrained narcissism—one could do worse than listen to the music of The Tragically Hip and observe the adulation that greets its lackluster songs and mannered performances. My American readers may have never heard of the group; Canadians have scarcely heard anything but—especially of late. The group, which has a street named after them in their native Kingston, Ontario (Tragically Hip Way that runs beside the Rogers K-Rock Centre), is symptomatic of a self-inflated country, the sort of country where one of its major newspapers, The National Post, can proudly devote an entire page to congratulating an Olympic athlete who brought home—a bronze.
The band’s co-founder and frontman Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. This is every reason for sympathy. But it is no reason to manufacture a farewell tour capitalizing on the illness to create a raucous circus of weeping fans, voracious scalpers, media parasites and CBC prime-time theatricals. Consider the CBC’s self-glorifying “special presentation” of the final stop on the tour in Kingston:
“It was an honour and a privilege for CBC to bring this unprecedented event to audiences across the country and around the world. This is public broadcasting at its very best," said Heather Conway, CBC's executive vice-president of English services."For nearly three hours on a summer Saturday night, an entire nation paused to celebrate and pay tribute together.”
The CBC was pumping it for all it was worth—standard publicity-stunt crassness. Why should it be a “privilege” to cover a rock concert? Why would it be “public broadcasting at its very best”? Are there not more important issues to address and probe in a time of rising terrorist attacks and deepening economic decline? Rhetorical questions, no doubt, considering that the national broadcaster is a liberal/left propaganda bullhorn at war with reality and desperate to prove its relevance. Nor was the broadcast “commercial free,” as the network claimed; it was a multi-hour commercial for the CBC, at taxpayer expense.
more
https://pjmedia.com/blog/canada-a-tragically-hip-nation/?singlepage=true
We get to feel small, but not out of place at all: How the endless quest for a Canadian identity elevated The Tragically Hip | National Post
Who gives a feck what his American readers have heard of? Their heads are buried so far up their asses, they haven't heard of much from the next county, let alone country. Half of them can't find Canada on a map. What's typically Canadian about this article is that someone needs to read an American's opinion of us for, I don't know, some sort of affirmation.
Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie releasing new album and graphic novel
The Canadian Press
First posted: Friday, September 09, 2016 07:44 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, September 09, 2016 10:08 AM EDT
TORONTO — Just weeks after fans bid what they feared could be a final goodbye to beloved Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, the terminally ill singer has revealed he will release a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel and animated film inspired by the tragedy of Canada’s residential school system.
“Secret Path” tells the story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario named Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
The album and book will be released on Oct. 18 and the film will air on CBC on Oct. 23.
“I never knew Chanie, but I will always love him,” Downie said Friday in a statement. “Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada’s story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were.”
In May, Downie made the shocking announcement that he has terminal brain cancer. Tickets for the band’s “Man Machine” summer tour, which many feared could be their last, sold out almost immediately, leading to CBC picking up a national broadcast of the final tour stop in Kingston last month. The concert quickly became a national event as millions tuned in across the country.
During that final show, Downie called out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the concert, to help fix problems in northern Canada in his last scheduled live performance with his band.
“It’s maybe worse than it’s ever been, so it’s not on the improve. (But) we’re going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help,” Downie said onstage.
In Friday’s statement, Downie said he learned the story of Chanie Wenjack, who was misnamed Charlie by his teachers, from a 1967 Maclean’s magazine article.
Downie recounted in Friday’s release how the boy died beside railroad tracks after escaping the school and trying to walk to his home more than 600 kilometres away.
“All of those governments, and all of those churches, for all of those years, misused themselves,” Downie said. “They hurt many children. They broke up many families. They erased entire communities.”
For more than 100 years, the federal government funded church-run schools across the country to eliminate parental involvement in the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of Aboriginal children, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The last school closed in 1996.
More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents’ wishes, which led to an apology from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008.
Downie began “Secret Path” as 10 poems that were turned into the 10 songs for the album, which was recorded over two sessions near Kingston in late 2013.
Proceeds from the album and graphic novel will go to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the residential school system.
Tracklist: ’The Stranger’ and ’Swing Set’ among new songs on Gord Downie solo album
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie announced Friday he is releasing a new solo album called “Secret Path.” Inspired by the harrowing story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy who died in 1966 after running away from an Ontario residential school, Downie transformed 10 poems into songs and recorded them over two sessions near Kingston, Ont., in November and December 2013. The album and accompanying graphic novel will be released on Oct. 18. Here is the tracklist:
Side A:
1. “The Stranger”
2. “Swing Set”
3. “Seven Matches”
4. “I Will Not Be Struck”
5. “Son”
Side B:
1. “Secret Path”
2. “Don’t Let This Touch You”
3. “Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them”
4. “The Only Place To Be”
5. “Here, Here and Here”
Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie releasing new album and graphic novel | Music | Ent
The Canadian Press
First posted: Friday, September 09, 2016 07:44 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, September 09, 2016 10:08 AM EDT
TORONTO — Just weeks after fans bid what they feared could be a final goodbye to beloved Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, the terminally ill singer has revealed he will release a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel and animated film inspired by the tragedy of Canada’s residential school system.
“Secret Path” tells the story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario named Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
The album and book will be released on Oct. 18 and the film will air on CBC on Oct. 23.
“I never knew Chanie, but I will always love him,” Downie said Friday in a statement. “Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada’s story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were.”
In May, Downie made the shocking announcement that he has terminal brain cancer. Tickets for the band’s “Man Machine” summer tour, which many feared could be their last, sold out almost immediately, leading to CBC picking up a national broadcast of the final tour stop in Kingston last month. The concert quickly became a national event as millions tuned in across the country.
During that final show, Downie called out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the concert, to help fix problems in northern Canada in his last scheduled live performance with his band.
“It’s maybe worse than it’s ever been, so it’s not on the improve. (But) we’re going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help,” Downie said onstage.
In Friday’s statement, Downie said he learned the story of Chanie Wenjack, who was misnamed Charlie by his teachers, from a 1967 Maclean’s magazine article.
Downie recounted in Friday’s release how the boy died beside railroad tracks after escaping the school and trying to walk to his home more than 600 kilometres away.
“All of those governments, and all of those churches, for all of those years, misused themselves,” Downie said. “They hurt many children. They broke up many families. They erased entire communities.”
For more than 100 years, the federal government funded church-run schools across the country to eliminate parental involvement in the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of Aboriginal children, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The last school closed in 1996.
More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents’ wishes, which led to an apology from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008.
Downie began “Secret Path” as 10 poems that were turned into the 10 songs for the album, which was recorded over two sessions near Kingston in late 2013.
Proceeds from the album and graphic novel will go to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the residential school system.
Tracklist: ’The Stranger’ and ’Swing Set’ among new songs on Gord Downie solo album
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie announced Friday he is releasing a new solo album called “Secret Path.” Inspired by the harrowing story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy who died in 1966 after running away from an Ontario residential school, Downie transformed 10 poems into songs and recorded them over two sessions near Kingston, Ont., in November and December 2013. The album and accompanying graphic novel will be released on Oct. 18. Here is the tracklist:
Side A:
1. “The Stranger”
2. “Swing Set”
3. “Seven Matches”
4. “I Will Not Be Struck”
5. “Son”
Side B:
1. “Secret Path”
2. “Don’t Let This Touch You”
3. “Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them”
4. “The Only Place To Be”
5. “Here, Here and Here”
Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie releasing new album and graphic novel | Music | Ent
Hoping Gord's cancer reaches a long plateau of functional life. Perhaps that's not beyond the realm of possibility.
Gord Downie announces 'Secret Path' shows
Norman Provencher, OTTAWA CITIZEN
First posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 08:26 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 08:32 AM EDT
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the release of Gord Downie's solo project, Secret Path, a a set of songs and a graphic novel honouring Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibway boy who died from exposure after trying to find his way home from a residential school near Kenora 50 years ago.
Downie, who has terminal brain cancer, recently completed a goodbye cross-Canada tour with the Tragically Hip that raised more than $1 million for cancer research.
The tour ended with a nationally-broadcast concert in the band's home town of Kingston.
The popular musician revealed the Secret Path project, years in the making, when the Hip tour ended.
"Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada's story," Downie said in a statement.
The Secret Path project includes 10 songs, and a graphic novel by award-winning author Jeff Lemire.
The album is to be released at a pair of shows, Oct. 18 at the National Arts Centre, then at Toronto's Roy Thomson on Friday, Oct. 21.
Times and ticket prices for the shows have not been announced.
All proceeds from the shows are going to going to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's efforts.
Gord Downie announces 'Secret Path' shows | Music | Entertainment | Toronto Sun
Norman Provencher, OTTAWA CITIZEN
First posted: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 08:26 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, September 20, 2016 08:32 AM EDT
Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the release of Gord Downie's solo project, Secret Path, a a set of songs and a graphic novel honouring Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibway boy who died from exposure after trying to find his way home from a residential school near Kenora 50 years ago.
Downie, who has terminal brain cancer, recently completed a goodbye cross-Canada tour with the Tragically Hip that raised more than $1 million for cancer research.
The tour ended with a nationally-broadcast concert in the band's home town of Kingston.
The popular musician revealed the Secret Path project, years in the making, when the Hip tour ended.
"Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada's story," Downie said in a statement.
The Secret Path project includes 10 songs, and a graphic novel by award-winning author Jeff Lemire.
The album is to be released at a pair of shows, Oct. 18 at the National Arts Centre, then at Toronto's Roy Thomson on Friday, Oct. 21.
Times and ticket prices for the shows have not been announced.
All proceeds from the shows are going to going to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's efforts.
Gord Downie announces 'Secret Path' shows | Music | Entertainment | Toronto Sun
Well at least it ain't RAP music:
Any country that could invent that retarded, pipeline to prison, ( who let the ) dog Sh!t, and then judge another country's culture as "tepid", could only be high on crack glue
...and then there is Acky breaky Heart..what was his handle again?
silly gay virus...and I can't even remember the name of his putrid spawn...what...hannah bananah?
well, hello USA
you listen to rap Loc?
or achy breaky?
In any case, enjoy your big mac.
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Fans can vote for lyrics on stone honouring Tragically Hip in Kingston, Ont.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Monday, September 26, 2016 02:37 PM EDT
KINGSTON, Ont. — Tragically Hip fans are being asked to vote for Hip lyrics that will be engraved on a commemorative stone in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ont.
City council — following suggestions from the public — has decided to have a commemorative stone in Springer Market Square where more than 25,000 gathered to watch a livestream of the Tragically Hip’s Aug. 20 concert.
City officials say they consulted the band and the lyric options are “everybody was in it from miles around” from “Blow at High Dough” and “We danced the sidewalk clean” from “New Orleans is Sinking.”
Along with the chosen lyrics will be the words “The Tragically Hip, A National Celebration, August 20, 2016.”
Nearly 7,000 people packed the city’s K-Rock Centre that night for what legions of Tragically Hip fans fear was the band’s final live concert, the end of a tour arranged after lead singer Gord Downie revealed his diagnosis of terminal brain cancer.
The two-question survey — which can be accessed online at http://cityofkingston.ca/getinvolved or by calling 613-546-0000 — closes Oct. 12.
Fans can vote for lyrics on stone honouring Tragically Hip in Kingston, Ont. | M
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Monday, September 26, 2016 02:37 PM EDT
KINGSTON, Ont. — Tragically Hip fans are being asked to vote for Hip lyrics that will be engraved on a commemorative stone in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ont.
City council — following suggestions from the public — has decided to have a commemorative stone in Springer Market Square where more than 25,000 gathered to watch a livestream of the Tragically Hip’s Aug. 20 concert.
City officials say they consulted the band and the lyric options are “everybody was in it from miles around” from “Blow at High Dough” and “We danced the sidewalk clean” from “New Orleans is Sinking.”
Along with the chosen lyrics will be the words “The Tragically Hip, A National Celebration, August 20, 2016.”
Nearly 7,000 people packed the city’s K-Rock Centre that night for what legions of Tragically Hip fans fear was the band’s final live concert, the end of a tour arranged after lead singer Gord Downie revealed his diagnosis of terminal brain cancer.
The two-question survey — which can be accessed online at http://cityofkingston.ca/getinvolved or by calling 613-546-0000 — closes Oct. 12.
Fans can vote for lyrics on stone honouring Tragically Hip in Kingston, Ont. | M
Gord Downie on cancer diagnosis: ‘I am resigned to the direction this is heading’
By Steve Tilley, Postmedia Network
First posted: Thursday, October 13, 2016 12:59 PM EDT
Gord Downie is fighting for time.
The Tragically Hip frontman is speaking publicly for the first time about his battle with terminal brain cancer, which he revealed to shocked Canadians in May before kicking off an emotional summer concert tour with his bandmates.
In an interview with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge set to air Thursday night on The National, Downie tells Mansbridge that he has the veteran journalist’s name written on his hand in order to remember it.
“And I say that, just to be up front, ’cause I might call you Doug,” says a subdued Downie, in a snippet of the interview posted to CBC.ca. He admits he even has trouble recalling his own kids’ names at times, a side effect of the cancer’s attack on his brain.
The charismatic and irrepressible singer, who used a teleprompter to help him remember song lyrics during the band’s recent Man Machine Poem tour, tells Mansbridge, “My memory used to be my forte, and now I can’t remember hardly anything.”
Downie was diagnosed last December with glioblastoma, a rare and particularly aggressive form of brain cancer for which there is no cure. In July and August, Downie and bandmates Gord Sinclair, Paul Langlois, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker undertook a 10-city, cross-Canada tour, during which Downie displayed an incredible amount of on-stage energy at each sold-out show.
Following the concert tour, Downie has been working on The Secret Path, a solo album and accompanying graphic novel inspired by Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibway boy who died in 1966 while in the care of Canada’s controversial residential schools system.
When Mansbridge asks Downie if he’s fighting what’s in front of him, the singer – who has undergone surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to slow the cancer’s progression – says yes. “For sure. I can get more time,” Downie says. “More time if I try this, I can get more time.”
But he admits that he is resigned to the eventual outcome of his disease.
“I am resigned to the direction this is heading, yes. I am. I really am,” Downie says.
“Because I can see it, and feel it, doing some… not doing some good, but it’s… creating something. An opportunity, I guess, and they don’t come around too often.”
STilley@postmedia.com
Gord Downie on cancer diagnosis: ‘I am resigned to the direction this is heading
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie on battle with terminal cancer: I 'can’t remember hardly anything'
The Canadian Press
First posted: Friday, October 14, 2016 07:32 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 14, 2016 07:42 AM EDT
TORONTO — Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie says his memory is fading as he battles terminal brain cancer, but he is keeping busy with projects that may include another record.
Downie spoke with anchor Peter Mansbridge in an exclusive interview for CBC’s “The National,” which aired Thursday night.
Downie told Mansbridge he “can’t remember hardly anything” and admitted he had to write “Peter” on his hand so he wouldn’t forget the name of the man interviewing him, whom he’s known for 25 years.
Downie also said he’s fighting his terminal illness and hopes he “can get more time.”
When Mansbridge asked if he’s “resigned to the direction this is heading,” Downie replied, “Yes, I am. I really am.”
Downie revealed his cancer earlier this year. Over the summer, he and the Hip put on a 15-show tour that ended with an emotional live broadcast concert from his hometown of Kingston, Ont., that drew millions of viewers.
Next Tuesday, Downie is set to release “Secret Path,” a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel inspired by the tragedy of Canada’s residential school system. He is also scheduled to perform at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Tuesday, and at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on Oct. 21.
“Secret Path” tells the story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario named Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
An animated film on the story — accompanied by documentary footage of Downie tracing Chanie’s steps with the Wenjack family — will be broadcast on CBC on Oct. 23.
“This is what I want to do,” Downie said of the project. “Nothing else really matters to me.”
He also said the Tragically Hip are working on another record, adding that “just doing things” brings him peace.
The interview marked the first time he’s discussed his condition publicly. He said he feels lucky in a sense because he can still accomplish some things.
“It’s given me this long kind of way to do some of these things that I’ve always wanted to do,” Downie said.
Downie told Mansbridge one of the biggest effects of his illness is his memory that used to be his “forte.”
“And now I can’t remember hardly anything. I have ’Peter’ written on my hand. I have a few things written on my hands. And I say that just to be up front, because I might call you Doug.”
He said he struggled with his memory during the summer tour and had to use six teleprompters to help with lyrics. Downie said before his illness he always had one teleprompter at his shows as a backup, but rarely needed it. He had difficulty remembering lyrics during the summer tour, he said.
“For some reason every line, I just couldn’t, it’s the worst kind of punishment,” he said.
“It was one savage kick in the pants, can’t remember people’s names and can’t remember lyrics.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNDXiyeWWLk
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie on battle with terminal cancer: I 'can’t rem
By Steve Tilley, Postmedia Network
First posted: Thursday, October 13, 2016 12:59 PM EDT
Gord Downie is fighting for time.
The Tragically Hip frontman is speaking publicly for the first time about his battle with terminal brain cancer, which he revealed to shocked Canadians in May before kicking off an emotional summer concert tour with his bandmates.
In an interview with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge set to air Thursday night on The National, Downie tells Mansbridge that he has the veteran journalist’s name written on his hand in order to remember it.
“And I say that, just to be up front, ’cause I might call you Doug,” says a subdued Downie, in a snippet of the interview posted to CBC.ca. He admits he even has trouble recalling his own kids’ names at times, a side effect of the cancer’s attack on his brain.
The charismatic and irrepressible singer, who used a teleprompter to help him remember song lyrics during the band’s recent Man Machine Poem tour, tells Mansbridge, “My memory used to be my forte, and now I can’t remember hardly anything.”
Downie was diagnosed last December with glioblastoma, a rare and particularly aggressive form of brain cancer for which there is no cure. In July and August, Downie and bandmates Gord Sinclair, Paul Langlois, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker undertook a 10-city, cross-Canada tour, during which Downie displayed an incredible amount of on-stage energy at each sold-out show.
Following the concert tour, Downie has been working on The Secret Path, a solo album and accompanying graphic novel inspired by Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibway boy who died in 1966 while in the care of Canada’s controversial residential schools system.
When Mansbridge asks Downie if he’s fighting what’s in front of him, the singer – who has undergone surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to slow the cancer’s progression – says yes. “For sure. I can get more time,” Downie says. “More time if I try this, I can get more time.”
But he admits that he is resigned to the eventual outcome of his disease.
“I am resigned to the direction this is heading, yes. I am. I really am,” Downie says.
“Because I can see it, and feel it, doing some… not doing some good, but it’s… creating something. An opportunity, I guess, and they don’t come around too often.”
STilley@postmedia.com
Gord Downie on cancer diagnosis: ‘I am resigned to the direction this is heading
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie on battle with terminal cancer: I 'can’t remember hardly anything'
The Canadian Press
First posted: Friday, October 14, 2016 07:32 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 14, 2016 07:42 AM EDT
TORONTO — Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie says his memory is fading as he battles terminal brain cancer, but he is keeping busy with projects that may include another record.
Downie spoke with anchor Peter Mansbridge in an exclusive interview for CBC’s “The National,” which aired Thursday night.
Downie told Mansbridge he “can’t remember hardly anything” and admitted he had to write “Peter” on his hand so he wouldn’t forget the name of the man interviewing him, whom he’s known for 25 years.
Downie also said he’s fighting his terminal illness and hopes he “can get more time.”
When Mansbridge asked if he’s “resigned to the direction this is heading,” Downie replied, “Yes, I am. I really am.”
Downie revealed his cancer earlier this year. Over the summer, he and the Hip put on a 15-show tour that ended with an emotional live broadcast concert from his hometown of Kingston, Ont., that drew millions of viewers.
Next Tuesday, Downie is set to release “Secret Path,” a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel inspired by the tragedy of Canada’s residential school system. He is also scheduled to perform at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Tuesday, and at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on Oct. 21.
“Secret Path” tells the story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario named Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
An animated film on the story — accompanied by documentary footage of Downie tracing Chanie’s steps with the Wenjack family — will be broadcast on CBC on Oct. 23.
“This is what I want to do,” Downie said of the project. “Nothing else really matters to me.”
He also said the Tragically Hip are working on another record, adding that “just doing things” brings him peace.
The interview marked the first time he’s discussed his condition publicly. He said he feels lucky in a sense because he can still accomplish some things.
“It’s given me this long kind of way to do some of these things that I’ve always wanted to do,” Downie said.
Downie told Mansbridge one of the biggest effects of his illness is his memory that used to be his “forte.”
“And now I can’t remember hardly anything. I have ’Peter’ written on my hand. I have a few things written on my hands. And I say that just to be up front, because I might call you Doug.”
He said he struggled with his memory during the summer tour and had to use six teleprompters to help with lyrics. Downie said before his illness he always had one teleprompter at his shows as a backup, but rarely needed it. He had difficulty remembering lyrics during the summer tour, he said.
“For some reason every line, I just couldn’t, it’s the worst kind of punishment,” he said.
“It was one savage kick in the pants, can’t remember people’s names and can’t remember lyrics.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNDXiyeWWLk
Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie on battle with terminal cancer: I 'can’t rem
Gord Downie's experience shows how devastating brain cancers can be, researcher says
By Kevin Connor, Toronto Sun
First posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 01:26 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, October 22, 2016 01:36 PM EDT
TORONTO - Brain cancers go beyond taking a physical toll, often robbing people “of the essence of who they are,” a Toronto neurosurgeon says.
Dr. Peter Dirks of the Hospital for Sick Children says the experiences of Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, who has become an advocate for brain tumour research since announcing in May he has inoperable brain cancer, illustrates how devastating the disease can be.
In a recent interview with ET Canada, Downie, 52, spoke of how his cancer was robbing him of his memories and how he had to fight to remember the names of his children.
“My memory used to be my forte,” he said.
Brain Tumour Awareness Week, running until Oct. 29, offers a chance to share information about these cancers, which are often difficult to treat — unlike tumours on the liver, for example, which can be removed while retaining organ function, tumours in particular parts of the brain can’t be accessed safely by surgeons.
“This is a disease of younger people in the prime of their lives,” Dirks said, adding the median age for brain cancer is 58, compared with the 70s for lung cancer.
“Gord highlights the reason to raise awareness as we still need more research. Brain tumours rob people of the essence of who they are before they pass away.”
With advances in treating leukemia, brain cancers now rank as the deadliest for children.
Drug therapy isn’t always an option. Some treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation can disturb critical function and damage the brain.
There are advancements being made on the genetic analysis of brain tumours which would open up new options for treatment.
“Genetics can give us a road map how DNA changes and what mistakes push tumour cells to grow,” Dirks said.
“This is one of the toughest cancers. We are still a long way away and there is work to be done, but we are gaining knowledge,” Dirks said.
Statistics Canada says that in 2011 45,000 people in Canada were affected by brain tumours.
kconnor@postmedia.com
Gord Downie's experience shows how devastating brain cancers can be, researcher
By Kevin Connor, Toronto Sun
First posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 01:26 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, October 22, 2016 01:36 PM EDT
TORONTO - Brain cancers go beyond taking a physical toll, often robbing people “of the essence of who they are,” a Toronto neurosurgeon says.
Dr. Peter Dirks of the Hospital for Sick Children says the experiences of Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, who has become an advocate for brain tumour research since announcing in May he has inoperable brain cancer, illustrates how devastating the disease can be.
In a recent interview with ET Canada, Downie, 52, spoke of how his cancer was robbing him of his memories and how he had to fight to remember the names of his children.
“My memory used to be my forte,” he said.
Brain Tumour Awareness Week, running until Oct. 29, offers a chance to share information about these cancers, which are often difficult to treat — unlike tumours on the liver, for example, which can be removed while retaining organ function, tumours in particular parts of the brain can’t be accessed safely by surgeons.
“This is a disease of younger people in the prime of their lives,” Dirks said, adding the median age for brain cancer is 58, compared with the 70s for lung cancer.
“Gord highlights the reason to raise awareness as we still need more research. Brain tumours rob people of the essence of who they are before they pass away.”
With advances in treating leukemia, brain cancers now rank as the deadliest for children.
Drug therapy isn’t always an option. Some treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation can disturb critical function and damage the brain.
There are advancements being made on the genetic analysis of brain tumours which would open up new options for treatment.
“Genetics can give us a road map how DNA changes and what mistakes push tumour cells to grow,” Dirks said.
“This is one of the toughest cancers. We are still a long way away and there is work to be done, but we are gaining knowledge,” Dirks said.
Statistics Canada says that in 2011 45,000 people in Canada were affected by brain tumours.
kconnor@postmedia.com
Gord Downie's experience shows how devastating brain cancers can be, researcher
and then you hear about the most cancer causing virus ever, simian virus 40 in the vaccines from un purified monkey kidneys the old polio vaccine was made from
no wonder they want to make vaccines manditory...
they think there is tooo many OTHER people
no wonder they want to make vaccines manditory...
they think there is tooo many OTHER people
Tragically Hip documentary coming out next year
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 11:16 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 11:21 AM EDT
TORONTO — The Tragically Hip’s recent smash cross-country tour is getting the documentary treatment.
Bell Media says the doc, which has the working title “Man Machine Poem,” will roll out on several of its channels and platforms next year.
The media company is working on the project with Banger Films, which was behind the documentary “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage,” and directors Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.
Producers say they have hundreds of hours of footage from the Canadian band’s sold-out summer tour and beyond.
The tour, which ended with a nationally broadcast concert in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ont., came after lead singer Gord Downie announced he has incurable brain cancer.
Tragically Hip documentary coming out next year | Music | Entertainment | Toront
THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 11:16 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 11:21 AM EDT
TORONTO — The Tragically Hip’s recent smash cross-country tour is getting the documentary treatment.
Bell Media says the doc, which has the working title “Man Machine Poem,” will roll out on several of its channels and platforms next year.
The media company is working on the project with Banger Films, which was behind the documentary “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage,” and directors Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.
Producers say they have hundreds of hours of footage from the Canadian band’s sold-out summer tour and beyond.
The tour, which ended with a nationally broadcast concert in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ont., came after lead singer Gord Downie announced he has incurable brain cancer.
Tragically Hip documentary coming out next year | Music | Entertainment | Toront