No Enemies; No Accomplishments
Have you ever read this poem? I hadn’t, until recently. But now it makes sense. Take a moment… No Enemies You have no enemies, you say? Alas! my friend, the…
Ian Chadwick
The Cancer Diaries, Part 17
Well, it has begun. Today I drove to RVH for my first radiation treatment session, the third stage of my treatment. One hundred forty-one days since my prostate surgery, and…
We’ve Seen It All Before
“ are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against…
Synecdoche, Universe
In the delightfully quirky, postmodern film, Synecdoche, New York, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a movie director obsessed with creating a set that realistically represents New York City for…
Still Watching the Three Stooges
There’s a bittersweet pleasure in watching the Three Stooges these days, knowing about them, their careers, their lives. What seems like zany comedy on screen was, like so many celebrity…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 16
Yesterday, I went for my second bone density scan — aka bone densitometry or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry — the one that had been planned, but scheduled then delayed twice previously.…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 15
“… my only object was that all the world should enjoy itself and live in peace and quiet, without quarrels or troubles; but my good intentions were unavailing to save…
Remembrance Day thoughts
An article on the Global News site titled “Fewer Canadians plan to wear poppies this Remembrance Day, poll finds” made me think again about what Remembrance Day is for. The…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 14
More back and forth to RVH, this time for another CT scan today. I arrived early, as usual, and then spent most of my time there waiting and reading. Not…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 13
It’s been an emotional, roller-coaster week for me (if you’ll pardon the cliché…). Back and forth to Barrie for consultations, scans, and tests, more blood work, phone consultations with doctors…
The Judicial Inquiry and $7+ Million
Was it worth more than $7.7 million of your tax dollars? That’s roughly $8,400 a page (including, yes, the blank pages). That includes $232,866 in town staff salaries and $48,008…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 12
Well, that was easy. Relatively, so. Last Monday I got to remove my catheter all by myself. Not the sort of thing one looks forward to — doing the removing,…
The Long Read Lost
“What we read, how we read, and why we read change how we think, changes that are continuing now at a faster pace,” wrote Maryanne Wolf, a neuroscientist, in her…
Back to Montaigne
When I find myself in times of trouble, I go back to read Montaigne. Seeking words of wisdom, Read some more… (to the tune of Let It Be, with apologies…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 11
Anaesthetic must be one of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century. While various forms of anaesthesia have been used since the ancient Egyptians (with varying degrees of effectiveness),…
Bring Back the Salons
Today if someone mentions a “salon” you probably think about a haircut or manicure. But in the 18th century, prior to the French Revolution, salons were the focus of civil…
The Cancer Diaries, Part 10
My father died of esophageal cancer several years ago. It was a horrible, lingering death, and I watched him shrivel and die, in constant pain towards the end. On one…
It’s *NOT* Junk Mail
I recognize that we all like to apply labels to categorize things, as shorthand in communication and in conversation, and to identify common views and beliefs. I do it myself;…