Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Like hundreds of millions of others, we’ve been watching the men’s World Cup. Sometimes we’re at home, but we’ve been making a point of joining others for a communal watch at bars downtown. This is… Read More
Sunday, July 5, 2026
You’re not supposed to have a special auntie, but we all do, I think. I was fortunate to grow up with plenty of aunts and uncles, and wonderful family connections, but Trish Cogswell was the… Read More
Thursday, July 2, 2026
On Wednesday, Martha and I stopped for a pint and caught the final stretch of the England-Congo match at the World Cup. Congo was leading 1-0, and then — boom. Harry Kane scored not one… Read More
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
I’ll be on CBC Radio’s The Signal with host Adam Walsh this Friday for the kick-up-your-feetest hour of radio. Well, that’s the intention. It’s time for another trivia show, and I’m … what? thrilled? ecstatic?… Read More
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
“I believe the climax of our troubles will be reached within the next few days, (after which the day of peace will quickly draw near), though they will undoubtedly bring trouble to many. Jim and… Read More
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