The firing line
It is always refreshing to read about the downfall of a high flyer. Goodness knows, top executives are paid so much, it feels almost thrilling to see one get his comeuppance every now and then. So, for example, when Acme Widgets Inc. suddenly announces that its chief executive has quickly, and—from his standpoint—unexpectedly decided to […]
Food fight
We’re well past the halfway mark for the month of January, which means some of us have already abandoned our resolutions for the new year. Every new year should be celebrated with the fanfare of your choosing and with some resolve to either never do a certain something again or to do a certain something […]
Snakes and Ladders
To refresh your memory: Snakes and Ladders was that wonderful board game of your youth. You rolled the dice and moved your piece on the board. With good fortune, you would avoid the snakes. If you landed on a snake, you could go from almost winning to definitely losing. The ladders helped. You could climb […]
Noble rot
The Bordeaux region of France produces the iconic dessert wine, Sauterne from a blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc and muscadelle grapes. In a good vintage, a 375ml of Sauterne from Chateau d’Yquem can cost upwards of $100. However, a Sauterne from a lesser house can be purchased for less than $30. What makes Sauterne so […]
Sonny
Sitting in a Starbucks that is plunked at the end of a strip of franchise food outlets, standing in a row of other stores in a small, flat-roofed suburb mall is not a typical start-of-day for me. But these days, very little is typical, as I find myself in Ottawa lending a hand to my […]
Bovine logic
Big news: scientists are telling us that the new Mars rover, Curiosity, has detected methane gas. Methane could indicate the presence of life—past, present or future—on the red planet. But what kind of life? That presents a very interesting proposition, which has to be explained using the most rigorous logic. So here goes: There is […]
Sticks and stones
I come from a big, noisy, opinionated bunch. My family, all nine of us— and occasionally one or two extras—lived in a rather compact house just outside Toronto. My parents encouraged us to get along, share and accept that not everyone is the same. Mind you, if there happened to be a line up of […]
Tic Tac Tao, baby
Darnell Nurse quoted his coach, Benoit Groulx, at the end of the IIHF World Junior Championship game on Monday night in Toronto. The entire Canadian nation heaved a huge sigh of relief as the seconds ticked down to the end of the game against Russia. Coach Groulx made the slip of the tongue in the […]
Old Harry
The east light dances through the stretch of pine trees that fill the backyard of my father’s home. The sunrise is captured by the rain and as it freezes, it captures every needle of every branch with it. And sheltered in the shadows of the poised, veteran tree is Old Harry, wolfing down a banquet […]
Mulled wine
The recent snowfall and cold winter nights bring to mind cups of mulled wine enjoyed by the warmth of a fireside. Mulled wine is a modern reinvention of a pre-Roman practice. The Romans themselves would follow this tradition, and tended to heat and flavor their wines during the winter months, especially those living in the […]