Playoff hockey
Last Monday night, Tyler Johnson was a one-man wrecking crew for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He scored three goals in New York City, as the Bolts defeated the Rangers 6-2. That series is now tied at a game apiece, and the teams meet tonight in Florida. Johnson is a special player. Relatively speaking, he is […]
Building Brix
Created perhaps by happenstance, appassiemento is a style of wine that became the norm for the taste of the early wine consumers, especially the Romans. In this method, the natural brix in a grape is condensed and magnified by partially drying the grapes using a number of methods. They can be kiln dried in a […]
Roads
The fog spreads in from over the lake, soaking newborn fields; veiling treelines in shades of grey. Robins, fat, shiny earthworms, squitters ‘n lilac proclaim the season. Heading east, the road before me takes on a list of metaphors. The boredom of driving allows for mind escape. Escape when we are sometimes in periods when […]
Shearer, eh?
It comes as a bit of a shock to hear that the voice of Ned Flanders, Montgomery Burns and Principal Skinner is poised to leave—or be booted from—The Simpsons. But there were several reports last week that Harry Shearer, the voice behind those three characters and others, was at the exit door. And that the […]
Out of the park
There are times when I deliberately avoid discussing a hot topic because I just can’t be bothered, or the topic doesn’t bother me enough or I just don’t want to open a can of worms. In the past week I have been bothered by a news story and it is, most certainly, a can of […]
Belonging
There is a topic that has been an ongoing part of the human conversation since our species stopped being inherently nomadic and we began calling one place or another home. It’s a topic that, as an immigrant, as the child of immigrants, as the grandchild of immigrants, always leaves me torn. It is the discourse […]
Rookie of the month
Of course, I am excited about the Stanley Cup playoffs. When Chicago takes the ice against the Ducks, we will see Ameliasburgh’s Andrew Shaw playing against Matt Belesky. Belesky, the former Belleville Bull, had a great series against the Calgary Flames. He scored a goal in every game in the series—five in total—establishing a team […]
Out of Africa
Pinotage is a South African, red wine grape that is recognized as that country’s signature variety. Developed in 1925, this varietal is a cross of pinot noir and cinsaut grapes. In South Africa, cinsaut is known as hermitage, so pinotage is an amalgam of pinot with a tail of age tacked on. In 1925, Professor […]
Act naturally
I’ve heard of feng shui— and may even have tasted some somewhere along the line—and have seen wasabi running through the northern woods somewhere; so I have always considered myself borderline sophisticated, in a rudimentary sort of way. But I have to confess that until a few days ago, I had never heard of wu […]
Red maps
Ah, Mother’s Day! It evokes, like many celebrations, a wide variety of emotions. I thought about my mom. She was young-atheart, funny, loving and generous. I hope everyone took a moment to celebrate the mother in their life and luxuriate in all of the emotions. I certainly did. And,now that Mother’s Day has passed, I’m […]