A rumination on the month of September …
Ask anyone to name their least favourite month, and September will make the list. It’s not as bad as February (how could such a short month seem so long?). It…
Maurice Tougas
Would-be Jeopardy! host becomes a future Jeopardy! question
As you know, there were three big stories in the world this past week. First, Justin Trudeau’s “snap” election call that everyone saw coming for months. Second, the collapse of…
I attend my first COVID-era gathering. It was weird.
On Saturday, for the first time since God knows when, I attended a large scale event with thousands of other humanoids in attendance. The event was rife with the utter…
Skip the hip, Olympics, and stick with real sports
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are nearing the half-way point. A few of you will be bleary-eyed from watching synchronized three-man fencing at 4 a.m., or something like that. Most of…
Is it time to cleanse yourself of the ‘news’?
I am currently reading an epic book called Humankind (subtitled A Hopeful History) by a Dutch historian and thinker named Rutger Bregman. OK, I realize that sounds incredibly boring, but…
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…
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…