Coddling kids does them no good
I’m glad I’m not raising kids today, and not just because I am old enough to be a grandfather by now. I am worried that the new generation, the kids…
Maurice Tougas
The girl name list, from Aabish to Zunaira
Last week, as you recall (I hope), I issued my annual deep dive into baby boy names of 2022 in Alberta. This week, let’s check out the ‘babies born as…
The boy names list, from Aabir to Zaidan
Every year around this time, the Alberta government bestows upon its winter-weary residents a gift: every baby name in Alberta in the past year. I say it’s a gift because…
Warning: Blog may be offensive to nobody
Late last year, Stanford University (one of those ritzy U.S. colleges that parents spend fortunes to send their kids to so they can brag their kid went to Stanford), issued…
Spare me any more news about Spare
In my last blog, I offered up some suggestions to add to your reading list for 2023. Looking ahead, I can safely say that Spare, the tell-all, woe-is-me book by…
A few humble reading suggestions …
Looking for something to read to take your mind off this awful world? I have some suggestions, based on my readings of 2022. A word of caution for fiction fans…
Those we said goodbye to in 2022
For reasons I don’t understand, I’ve always had a thing for celebrity deaths. Weird, right? And in keeping with that weirdness, here is the most comprehensive list of the famous,…
Do kids still play with toys? Yes, MY toys!
The other day, one of my sons asked a seemingly silly question: do kids still play with toys? At first, I thought the question was weird, but as he explained,…
The World Cup is over. For me, anyway
There is a silver lining to Canada’s abrupt and rather humbling dismissal from the FIFA World Cup … I won’t have to watch any more soccer. Oh, I might tune…
Bad days for billionaires
Next time you’re paying $5 for a head of lettuce, consider this – things could be so much worse. You could be a billionaire. I mean, c’mon. These poor schlubs…
How TSN is hurting the Grey Cup, and the CFL
Once upon a time, most of Canada would gather around the ol’ RCA (or Philco, or Dumont, or Electrohome) to watch the Grey Cup game, the championship of the good…
Grounded: one man’s airline hell
My son Scott recently experienced a truly dreadful experience trying to fly out of Ottawa. Here’s his blog … When I was a young man, I visited a friend of…
The U.S. is on the edge of madness. Can it happen here?
As a political junkie, I find elections fascinating. Unfortunately, we tend to have them only once every four years or so here (depending on the state of the bromance of…
Boo! Now that I have your attention, here are some scary movie suggestions.
The month of October – where we in Alberta begin the gloomy wait for the first cold snap (which might last five months) – has over the past few years…
Is Danielle Smith too much, even for Alberta?
She’s ba-a-a-a-ck! When Danielle Smith accepted the leadership of the “United” Conservative Party last week, with an underwhelming 54 percent of the vote after six ballots, she took to the…
“Henderson has scored for Canada!”
Is there a more famous phrase in Canadian history, coined on this day 50 years ago? To be honest, I’m at a loss to come up with another famous Canadian…
It looks like we’re stuck with Chuck III
And so we say goodbye – a very, very long goodbye – to Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Canada and her other realms, Defender of…
Pierre Poilievre’s biggest selling point is who he isn’t
‘Look at me! I’m a cowboy!” So, Pierre Poilievre has been anointed as the new leader of the Conservative Party, and by an overwhelming majority. Canadians will now have to…
Canada-Russia ’72: When Canada stopped
Today, September 2nd, marks the 50th anniversary of Game 1 of the Canada-Russia Summit Series, the single greatest sporting event of all time. An exaggeration? I don’t think so. Just…
Four future Danielle Smith scandals
I don’t think anyone will disagree that Premier-for-now Danielle Smith has gotten off to a rocky start. If I may mix my metaphors, you might even say she blew up…