A thought on trying to bury something down deep
“What you try to bury just ends up burying you.”— Jane Wagner You may not recognize Jane Wagner’s name or face, but I bet you know Lily Tomlin, her comedic and life partner for decades…. Read More
Year: 2026
Dry January, dark February: A harsh season for the craft beer industry
The taproom at Quidi Vidi Brewery in St. John’s has often been a hopping (no pun intended, honest) place most of the times I’ve been there, but it’s quite quiet these days. That’s because the… Read More
A thought on waiting (maybe in vain) for lightning to strike
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”— Jack London The stroke of genius, the bolt of blue, the eureka moment: so much of our culture has various threads… Read More
Folding in the cheese (with Lego)
There was a lot of grief in the wake of Catherine O’Hara’s death, but there were also great memories, and from those a lot of laughs and shared joy. One thing that has delighted me… Read More
A thought on finding the truth
“People assume actors are born liars but I’d argue the actor’s job is to tell the truth. And I’ve realized I’m not a good liar.”— Cate Blanchett Cate Blanchett — who gave this answer to… Read More
All the songs referenced in X’s True Love Pt. #2
For a while there, X were arguably the coolest band in Los Angeles. They’re often called a punk band, even though they never quite sounded like the Ramones, the Damned, etc. That said, John Doe,… Read More
It can be hard making new friends as we age. Loneliness is not a small hurdle; it’s a health crisis
Cindy Billingham had lived out her working years in Yukon before moving to Newfoundland with her husband Ron for their retirement — only for Ron to die. Now she’s on her own, in a small… Read More
A thought on why you should always but always have a notebook
“Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea forever.”— Will Self A quote like this… Read More
I thank bus drivers, and it’s not (just) because I’m Canadian
I haven’t been on a bus nearly as much since I retired a few months. But for years, I took the bus to work most weekdays, and had things down so pat that I knew… Read More
A thought on how it takes all kinds
“There has been, is, and always will be every conceivable type of person.”— E.M. Forster The British novelist’s astute observation was published decades after he wrote it, in the posthumous novel Maurice, arguably his most… Read More
‘Some things aren’t that great any more’: Paddy Daly on knowing when to say goodbye
Less than two weeks ago, Paddy Daly announced he was done as host from VOCM’s Open Line, as much of a political institution in Newfoundland and Labrador as the House of Assembly itself. I mentioned… Read More
Trump the Murderer? An Agatha Christie game lost to time (or the Wayback Machine)
I was stumbling around the Wayback Machine (the internet archive) for something connected to my old blog, and linked out to a former post from the official Agatha Christie website. This is from a capture… Read More
A thought on the benefits of laughing more as you age
“I read some excellent scientific research that said that as men and women get older, we get happier. I’ve noticed that in myself: sometimes I’ll be reading something, and I’ll be smiling like an idiot…. Read More
Imagine if this football-powered hit kept its cringy original lyric and title
In the movie Bend It Like Beckham, there are sequences where the young girls playing soccer football seem like they’re about to fly into the air. They’re moving at speed, there’s joy all around, and… Read More
Saturday digest: Smoke, mirrors & music fans; Epstein and kompromat; just Jack, not John
Happy weekend. Here are some things I’ve been looking at. Not all that long after everyone hopped on Facebook in the mid-2000s, we saw a phenomenon play out: people indicated they were planning to go… Read More