19 shades of ski wax
Just for a second, I thought that Norway had its own April Fool’s Day in June. I was briefly fooled by an article from the Dow Jones news service, which let us in on an open Norwegian secret: there is a huge demand in Norway for what can only be described as “dull TV.” Among […]
Lather, rinse, repeat
The true start of summer is, for me (and LOML) at least, the long, Canada Day weekend. On this weekend I appreciate all of the hard work it takes to run a small business in a small tourist community. Let’s face it, Prince Edward County, is a small touristy kinda place when the long weekends […]
Mis amigos
The rooster calls; the sun glances over the glacialcarved basin bringing signs of daybreak to the plateau above. Down in the ravine an orange tractor creeps between earthen rows; Artemio Medrano Lopez manages the wheel. Seated aboard a mechanical planter hitched in tow, coworker Luis Ramirez Alvarado feeds seed potatoes into the hopper. The […]
Drunkard
Beginning in 1916, the law of the land prohibited the manufacture and distribution of alcohol in Ontario. When Prohibition was finally repealed, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) was formed. Since then it’s been a long road to the more relaxed standards of today. Even though the great sobriety experience had failed, the newly-formed […]
Toronto Blue Jays, June 2013
In a remarkable series of fortuitous events, the Toronto Blue Jays have climbed right back into the fight for a championship, and could emerge as World Series Champions. Their recent winning streak has captured the hearts of Blue Jay fans, and has allowed the bandwagon fans to hop back on, for a while, at least. […]
Wheat or what
At the risk of tickingoff a lot of people, I’m going to venture into the murky waters of “needy food orderers”. You know what I mean. Yes, you do. And. Warning. Warning. This is not about people who have legitimate allergies, syndromes, sensitivities and religious restrictions. This is about people who have made the consumption […]
NBA finals 2013
There are many factors that contribute to winning basketball. If the end result is that you score more points than your opposition, you are in pretty good shape. For the San Antonio Spurs, the emphasis is on speed. And more speed. They realized from the outset that they had to come up with something to […]
What’s in a leaf?
Grape varietals are generally identified by the shape of their clusters, their size and their colour. But they can also be classified by the shape and size of the vine leaves. Some time back I wrote a column about how the carmenere varietal had been rediscovered in Chile in 1994. By carefully examining the shape […]
The small bugaboo
Politicans are great vanquishers of their enemies. If only they were more adept at dealing with the shenanigans of their allies. Consider Kim Campbell, holding the rather tatterered legacy of Brian Mulroney much like she held her legal robes—at arm’s length. Or the Oliphant Commission that Stephen Harper was forced to set up to examine […]
Put a helmet on it
Honestly, I don’t know what makes me angrier, Pamela Wallin’s “honest mistakes” and the rest of the Honourable Senate’s bull-pucky, or idiots who cycle without a helmet. Seriously, both of those issues irritate me, big time. Let me start with the ilk of Senator Wallin. In the big scheme of things, aren’t Senators supposed to […]