Monday, June 29, 2026
“A bore is a fellow who opens his mouth and puts his feats in it.”— Henry Ford Henry Ford’s well-known observation has a decent pun in it, as well as a sharp insight into human… Read More
Saturday, June 27, 2026
My mobile phone rang, and my mom’s name was on the screen. It was almost a couple of hours after she went to bed, so I quickly prepared myself for whatever prompted her to call. … Read More
Friday, June 26, 2026
One of the peculiarities of journalism is hewing to a phrase that is the right usage, yet does not appear to be grammatically correct. An example is the Tim Hortons coffee chain, and another is the Sobeys supermarket chain…. Read More
Thursday, June 25, 2026
I love libraries. I wish the libraries in St. John’s were like cathedrals, that there were more of them, that they were better located and that they had better resources for public use and service…. Read More
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
“I began to understand that self-esteem isn’t everything; it’s just that there’s nothing without it.”— Gloria Steinem Self-esteem has been on my mind a bit lately, for a variety of reasons. One thing that has… Read More
Saturday, June 20, 2026
Last Saturday, I went to see Mumford and Sons in Toronto. It was a great show (some notes follow below), and I also learned that there is a big difference between Rogers Centre and Rogers… Read More
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Wendi Smallwood died earlier this week after a long and (let’s be frank) brutal battle with cancer. She fought it with vigour, stamping on it, and often with humour. Her Facebook posts found the joy… Read More
Monday, June 8, 2026
On my most recent appearance on a trivia episode of CBC Radio’s The Signal with Adam Walsh, I called back to a show that had a particularly cheesy quality. The actor Lionel Sander, playing Max,… Read More
Saturday, June 6, 2026
There are many songs that came out of the British invasion, but there’s one — a veritable anthem to this day for football fans in the United Kingdom — that often comes to mind when… Read More
Friday, June 5, 2026
“I was a voracious reader, but you would be mistaken if you took that as evidence of my quality.”— Mordecai Richler The phrase “voracious reader” can be a loaded one, often without meaning to be…. Read More
Thursday, June 4, 2026
“I guess I don’t subscribe to the twee school. I remember trying to lose our copy of Thomas the Tank Engine before I had to read it again. Life is a more dimensional and interesting… Read More
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
What kind of person was David Feder? I learned a story this morning, when I was watching the recording of his funeral, which was held Tuesday in St. John’s. When he was recovering from one… Read More
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
“Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.”— Carl Sagan Carl Sagan uttered these words in the groundbreaking TV series Cosmos, which aired on PBS in the fall of 1980. Sagan’s documentaries, and… Read More
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Here’s a story about a gift that left me speechless. Well, for a good few moments. Years ago, I had a wonderful scarf — until I no longer did. It was long, warm, striped and… Read More
Saturday, May 30, 2026
It might seem unusual, but I’ve been leaning into the main rule of improvisational comedy as a way of helping my mom, especially in moments when her Alzheimer’s disease is posing a challenge. A few… Read More