Oh, Baby! Female names for 2020 are U’nique
When last we met – if you can call one person writing and another reading an actual meeting – I was discussing the more intriguing and downright weird names Albertans…
Maurice Tougas
Baby boy names in 2020: From Aabid to Zyron, with plenty of Jaxs
Back when I was a youngster – literally in another millennium! – most kids had names that were pretty solid and stolid. Everybody knew a John or a Jim or…
Lessons from COVID … but will we learn?
Did you celebrate Canada Day on Thursday? If so, shame on you! If you read the daily newspapers (which nobody does anymore) or watch the TV news (which nobody should…
Battle of the butts: how we (almost) beat smoking
While driving around town recently, I saw something that actually made me come up short. The guy behind me was not pleased. Nothing turns a woman on more than blowing…
This just in … Father’s Day is Sunday
I’ve got some potentially bad news for any of you who have a father: Sunday is Father’s Day. Your reaction to this news will vary from “Yes, I know it’s…
Snips and Cuts of 1939 (2021 remix)
While rummaging through my junk recently (and by junk, I mean scraps of paper, etc., not, well, my junk) I came across something I didn’t know I had. A yearbook.…
Canada: home of the world’s most flexible constitution
Is Canada a country? Yes, I know Canada is a country in the land-mass sense of the word. You really can’t miss Canada on a map. It’s that massive slab…
The world’s super censor brings John Cena to his knees
Are you familiar with John Cena? If not, good for you; he’s not really worth knowing about. So for the uninitiated, John Cena is a former professional wrestler. According to…
I’m STILL confused …
So-o-o-o-o … what’s new? Well, the Stanley Cup playoffs have begun, so there’s that. I’m very excited, up until the Edmonton Oilers are eliminated which. After that, my interest in…
An abundance of confusion
So I’m at a pharmacy, getting a prescription filled. The pharmacy tech is behind a shield, of course. She is also wearing a mask, naturally. And, not so naturally, she…
Happy Mother’s Day … sorry, have I excluded you?
Happy Mother’s Day! Oh, I’m sorry. Have I offended you? Please accept my apology, especially if you are a student of Manchester University in England. Old school hot mother I…
Sorry, UCP, but you’re stuck with Kenney
When Jason Kenney assumed the leadership of the newly-hatched United Conservative party in 2017, he was no doubt expecting a long, unchallenged reign. Coupled with his resounding victory over Rachel…
The pure comedy of Spam, a lot of spam
Few crimes make me angrier than telephone or online scams. But I don’t know who I am angrier at – the scammer or the victim. The scammer is a reprehensible…
And the winner is … who cares?
The Academy Awards – Oscar to his friends – airs this Sunday. Are you excited? No? OK, mildly interested? No, not even that? Indifferent or openly hostile? Yeah, that sounds…
Sorry, Ernest, but I just don’t get you
While scrolling through the TV listings last week (I spent almost as much time looking for something to watch as actually watching), I came upon a new Ken Burns documentary…
What to keep, and what to trash: an old man’s dilemma
As regular readers (yeah, that’s you … admit it) know, your humble scribe turned 65 in February. In the course of three score and five years, I have accumulated a…
Hey, COVID protesters. Here’s a lesson in tyranny.
It has become an almost weekly event here in Alberta, and in other parts of the Mediocre White North, for a small group of malcontents to gather in protest of…
Ancient Rome: What every Grade 2 kid should know
The Alberta government has introduced a new social studies curriculum for Grades 1-6 that puts an emphasis on ancient and medieval civilizations and the history of religions. Here is a…
A logophile’s lament …
After many, many decades as a journalist and writer, I have developed a rare condition: I am a logophile, which is someone who loves words. You’ve likely never encountered the…
A cautionary tale about Twitter
Last week, I got a notice from Twitter that I was ‘celebrating’ 12 years on the social media platform. What an accomplishment. Here are my Twitter stats after 12 years.…