Dry January was easy. De-Trumping will be hard
Last month, I decided to go the ‘Dry January’ route and abstain from alcohol. It really wasn’t that hard, since my alcohol intake consists of one reasonably priced beer a…
Maurice Tougas
Baby girl names, from Aad to Zyra
Last week, we looked at Alberta boy names for 2024. This week, let’s look at the girl names, but be warned. This may take a while; more than 7,500 different…
The great Alberta boy names list, from Aad to Zyx
It’s that time of year again, dear readers, for my annual dive into Alberta’s wide world of baby names. This week, it’s boy names, or for the more woke amongst…
Some reading suggestions for the new year
Welcome, dear reader(s) to my annual look at the best books I read last year. I do this not to brag about how many books I read (22, but who’s…
The word of the year was … huh?
Well, gentle readers, it’s that time of year again when media outlets and other organizations produce their ‘(fill in the blank) of the year’ lists. First out of the gate…
Chat GPT wouldn’t lie to me, would it?
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of my unexpected ascension to the lofty heights of provincial power as outlined here a couple of weeks back, my son Blake thought…
Remembering the day I became honourable
November 22nd is a date that has been indelibly etched in history. I know what you’re thinking; 1963, the Kennedy assassination, right? Wrong, at least for the purposes of this…
My 1,000 days with Duolingo
This past Sunday, I reached a milestone. Or, as we say in French, Dimanche dernier, j’ai franchi une étape importante. On Sunday, I hit the 1,000 consecutive day streak learning…
How could Trump win? Just ask the guys
In a famous Saturday Night Live sketch from 1988, George Bush (played by Dana Carvey) faced Michael Dukakis (Jon Lovitz) in a debate. When Carvey (who is now killing it…
October really sucks, historically
October is the worst month of the year. Sure, it can be pretty, with the change of seasons turning green leaves to gold. But in Alberta, that beautiful period lasts…
Reflections on having a 40-year-old son
Some birthdays are more significant than others. Turning 12 is no big deal, but 13 is huge. Seventeen is just another year, but 18 is cause for legal celebration. Twenty-five…
Behind closed doors with Danielle Smith
Premier Danielle Smith has made major policy announcements at closed-door meetings with UCP members in select communities. There will be plenty more to come … At a private meeting with…
Dispatches from Gens A to Z
This week, let’s take a peek into the confusing and sometimes disturbing world of the pre-teens and teens as seen through the prism of social media, and the legacy media…
Remembering when comedy was, well, funny
The tributes to Bob Newhart last week were universal in tone. A great comic, a great sitcom star, and a great guy. If there was anyone who had a bad…
Two old men meet, and the world weeps
On Thursday night, the first United States presidential debate will air on CNN (for those of you who do not subscribe to CNN, you can see it on CTV News…
This is the blog we need right now
We all have little things that irk us, things that other, more normal people would never notice or care about. In my case, it’s lazy and/or stupid media blather. I…
Wide world of … sports?
There’s a little sports spectacle, something about a cup that belongs to some guy named Stanley, that has been taking up most of the oxygen in the sports universe lately.…
Happy birthday, Annette and Cecile. Some have not forgotten you
On May 28, two Quebec sisters will celebrate their 90th birthdays. The event may or may not go unnoticed. But when they were born, the whole world knew it. The…
Cap’n, my Cap’n, what happened to you?
On one of my infrequent trips to the grocery store, I found myself scanning the cereal aisle, looking for an age-appropriate cereal that wouldn’t set me back seven dollars. Unfortunately,…
Boy names for 2023, from Aabnay to Zyre
Last week, I took a look at the interesting names given to children-assigned-female-at-birth, formerly known as girls. This week, let us peruse the 6,630 different boy names of 2023. The…