Snowbound with ‘Rabbie’
There is an eerie silence to the woods this morning. The rise of light on the horizon hangs stiff in the pines. The snow beneath my feet grumbles at every step. Even after leaving the daily handful of peanuts on the tree stump, I don’t hear the shriek of a bird-call that belongs to Jack […]
The deadliest oxymoron
I grew up on it, so I consider it fair game for retribution. That would be English cooking—the deadliest oxymoron, far eclipsing such favourites as “guest host,” “government assistance” and “appearing live.” Tripe. Kippers. Turnip, boiled beyond recognition in a pressure cooker and then mashed to a sodden pulp. Beef, roasted to match the consistency […]
Eat clean, play dirty
Is there anything left on any food list that’s fit to eat? I’m beginning to doubt it. Documentaries have been devoted to food terror. Every afternoon, television scare-tioners, with impressive credentials, scream about the 10 latest “must eat”, “must avoid” and “must add”. Magazines devote entire sections to supplements you can’t live without, vitamins you […]
Trade and traffic
But how do you make a living by trading wine? Early Neolithic wine producers would transport wine down river to market in reed boats covered by animal hides. Since these boats were unable to travel up river, they would bring along a donkey to transport goods received in exchange for their precious cargo of wine. […]
Super Bowl XLVIII
In just a few days, the football will be kicked-off to start Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, across the Hudson from New York City. In its supposed wisdom, the National Football League decided to try a game in the colder climate. That decision has been called into question, especially considering the […]
Please and thank-you
The words “telephone” and “etiquette” are not frequently employed together. In fact, if you are assuming that “etiquette” is a code of behaviour employed by living persons, then we don’t often get to experience any etiquette at all. Our telephone enounters are first and foremost with automated phone menus; then with interactive but recorded voices; […]
Death and kisses
No. Nope. No way. It wasn’t my Mac’s grey-screen-of-death that made me think about changing my life as it relates to communication technology. Although, it is fitting in that it is the second time in less than a year I’ve been confounded by the Mac GSOD. This time, as it was the last time, the […]
The wren
Sheared corn-stalks bristle in fields of ice; rivers and streams hold still; the big lake is cranky and unwelcoming. We drift in the shadows of the festive season, and as I sit here at my desk and ponder the grey woods beyond, I hear a song in my head. It’s a traditional Irish folk ballad […]
New World Order
A wine event of seismic proportion took place in Paris on 24 May 1976. The 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from the Napa Valley finished first in a blind tasting of American and French white wines. The 1973 Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, also from Napa, finished first in the reds. Also known as the “Judgement in […]
Juniors and the big boys
Last week I shared some information with you about the Post Cereal Canadian Hockey League cards. Many of those players spent the holidays in Malmo, Sweden, competing in the World Junior Championships. There was a fair amount of weeping and gnashing of teeth after the dust had settled from that tournament. The Canadian boys lost […]