Columnists

This is Your Cap’n speaking

Posted: February 22, 2018 at 9:10 am   /   Columnists

Chile has taken a hard stand against obesity. Chile for heaven’s sake! In the face of “skyrocketing obesity” the government of Chile’s hammer came down on the likes of Pepsico, Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay and Ferrero Rocher, to name a few food producers/processors. Chile is “waging war on unhealthy foods with a phalanx of marketing restrictions, […]

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A test of batteries

Posted: February 22, 2018 at 9:07 am   /   Columnists

Sorry about missing last week. I went under the knife in Toronto on short notice. As regular readers of this column will know, I have had Parkinson’s for the past 25 years. Seven years ago, I was outfitted in Toronto with a “neurostimulator,” which sends an electrical pusle into the brain to override the misfiring […]

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Lessons

Posted: February 21, 2018 at 9:48 am   /   Columnists

Another Tuesday was unfolding. Keint-He’s winemaker, Lee, was taking his daughter to dance in Belleville. The harvest intern, Ryan Beverly, was looking forward to his volleyball game. Ryan had been working in the cellar for a month. He is a young guy; twenty-two but quickly gaining experience in winemaking. Before Ryan went to volleyball, he […]

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Ollie, Ollie, Triple Lutz

Posted: February 15, 2018 at 8:50 am   /   Columnists

So, I might have said I wasn’t going to watch anything “Olympic” this year. A good friend asked, “Not even the women’s hockey?” Well, maybe women’s hockey. But the truth of the matter is I haven’t watched women’s hockey, yet. But on Saturday evening, LOML and I poured ourselves a wee drink, filled a bowl […]

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Renewal

Posted: February 14, 2018 at 10:06 am   /   Columnists

County winters are too cold for grape vines. Most vines are buried every winter under a few inches of soil to protect them from the coldest days. After fall harvest, the four most promising canes from each vine are tied along a wire six inches above the ground. Through a mix of cultivating and plowing, […]

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The renomination targets

Posted: February 8, 2018 at 9:09 am   /   Columnists

In the last federal election, Justin Trudeau found himself transformed from leader of a corporal’s guard staring irrelevance in the face to prime minister heading a majority government. All of a sudden, everyone was a Liberal. A Liberal candidacy has become a valued commodity. Mr. Trudeau has in the past taken the position that, assuming […]

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Spring

Posted: February 8, 2018 at 9:04 am   /   Columnists

February. I’m not much of an out-of-doors person in the winter. I used to be, but by the time I hit the teen years of my life having winter fun was so grotty. Show me a 1960s teenager who wanted to cover up their mod-fashions with a bulky overcoat and a pair of galoshes and […]

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When all is said and done

Posted: February 1, 2018 at 8:51 am   /   Columnists

I was going to write about grammar this week. And then Roger Federer won the Australian Open men’s singles title for the sixth time to bring his tally of Grand Slam titles to an even 20, a feat which deserves recognition. So I decided to combine the two. What am I after on the grammar […]

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A strong foundation

Posted: February 1, 2018 at 8:49 am   /   Columnists

So, here’s one for all of the manufacturers of foundation garments. Why do you make it so freaking difficult to buy a brassiere? Who knew that the world of brassieres would be a world of planned obsolescence? I no sooner purchase the bra of my dreams and “sproing” it’s off the shelf, no longer available. […]

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Super Bowl 52

Posted: January 25, 2018 at 9:33 am   /   Columnists

The dust has settled. It is the Monday morning after the American Football Conference Championships. The upstart Jacksonville Jaguars fell just short in their attempt to conquer the New England Patriots. What were they thinking? Even after “Gronk” was banished to the sidelines in the first half, the Patriots found a way, as they always […]

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