2017 All-Star Game
For the first time in several years, I really enjoyed the NHL All-Star festivities. I have read several reports on the All-Star contests, both pro and con. One of the indications that I took from the event was that the players were having a fine time. Of course, there were one million reasons why the […]
A perfect companion
Fermented beverages were preferred by early civilizations because they were safer for consumption than the water of the time, they were more nutritious, and (when consumed in quantity) they could have a psychotropic effect. The discovery of alcohol offered a “safe” alternative to disease-plagued water, which extended the lifespan of our ancestors, and gave rise […]
Learned behaviour
Common wisdom dictates that when a child throws a temper tantrum, the best course of action is to ignore the behaviour; to avoid any response that could be perceived as a reward for behaving badly. The same advice is often used for dogs, whose psychologies aren’t too different from our own, in some ways. Any […]
One hundred and fifty
So, this is the year Canada celebrates its one hundred and fiftieth birthday. In good conscience, I don’t think I will feel right celebrating Canada Day the way I have in the past. In the last decade or so, I’ve felt that Canada Day was a bit like thumbing our collective noses at the First […]
A Political Football Game
The Super Bowl (Version LI) is happening just four days from now. Canadians watch in big numbers: the audience for last year’s event was estimated at over nine million, with over 20 million of us tuning in at some point. And this year we are going to watch it for a special reason. We are […]
A fine achievement
The Court of Master Sommeliers was established in London in 1969, as a training school for wine knowledge and service. It offers four levels of wine knowledge from the basic entry level to the stratospheric Master Sommelier diploma. There are only two hundred and thirty-six individuals who have acquired this prestigious award, which allows them […]
Black and white and red
US politics, there is a hallmark issue upon which leaders have been taking a hard line. It is an emotional issue that leads to horrible, irrational behaviour, but somehow it all ends up black and white. When the Roe v Wade decision came down on January 22, 1973, the highest court in the land determined […]
The Mascot Bandwagon
It’s been a couple of years now since the new County logo (grapes, waves and sand, a barn and silo) came to live among us. Some people even quite like it. But a logo is two dimensional. It sits flat on a page or a T-shirt. It doesn’t move. It doesn’t scream excitement. So perhaps […]
Hug a museum
It’s Sunday. This year was supposed to be better than last and so far, not so much. I’ll just plough ahead with this column and address one of those items I said I would address a couple of weeks ago. I know. I know. It’s a surprise, right? I decided that today I’d be all […]
Hockey Life, on the road
A hockey life is a very transient one. For a variety of reasons, you do not often stay in one place for a long time. You might get traded or demoted. Then again, you might get “called up” to play in a better league. Injuries are always a factor. There may also be personal reasons […]