Blog

Good afternoon, Never-Ending Stories: If we’re having a hard time wrapping a mask around our faces for the latest threat from Covid, the weather outside might give us another reason to do so. Here’s a few tidbits to inhale, on a smoky weekend, as we anticipate...

Good afternoon, Just a few quick notes this afternoon as we head in to the August long-weekend. Building mental resilience -- Olympian Clara Hughes Sometimes right when we need strength, we just can’t muster it, emotionally, mentally, physically – whatever...

Good Afternoon, Friday Trivia: What former head of state adamantly refused to brush his teeth, bathe or even wash his hands for decades? Instead, he allowed one of his fawning minions to occasionally sponge him off. (Ew). Unhelpful Hints: 1) Years after...

It’s Friday Are you Saying I’m Fat? Today, a timely report on inflation, which, like a big, over-yeasty cinnamon fritter, plays an outsized roll (get it?) on markets. The gooey centre of the debate is whether or not the expansion is a sticky problem....

Love and Money: Near the climax of the most recent BBC production of Les Miserables, naive young Cosette tries to sneak out to rendezvous with her earnest lover Marius. But just then the street battle between the rebels and the French army is on, and...

Remember a year ago, when bleach-based cleaning products were more precious than, ah, toilet paper? Right. So what do you get when…? Every bleach product in the world gets bought up in the early days of a pandemic, and; About 1/3 of the world sits on...

A Non-celebratory Anniversary: He was born one hundred and fifty-one years ago today, on April 23, 1870, to a solid middle-class family. His father, a liberal-minded educator, was not aristocratic, but kept life pleasant enough for Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanovis...

Forever wishing he was fishing, an urban teen could wade the creeks of Burnaby, angling for mischief and trout. For me, the once pristine city streams were the fascinating wrong-end of demographic flow. Trickling past concrete pillars holding millions...

On TV the other night, the male lead, played by a beefy-looking Russian, was portraying a rugged outdoorsman. He was believable enough until he had to split a few pieces of firewood for his damsel -- and then the fourth wall sort of just fell on him....