23rd June 2008

A mixed day

Even though the media can’t repeat what he said, the word was out; George Carlin has gone to find out if the “Invisible Guy” really does exist. For those of us that first learned about commercial humour from a friend’s vinyl library, he was one in a million. Irreverent jokes do have a place; otherwise he wouldn’t have marked our collective psyche as he did. George, you’ve left the party far too early.

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posted in music | Comments Off on A mixed day | 294 words

4th June 2008

It ain’t over ’til it’s over, OK!

Politics and sports. Two parallel worlds based on (endless) conflicts. Teams trying to one-up the others, putting marks on scoresheets that will have no meaning in a decade, but that infuse their followers with adrenalin and allow unbelievable amounts of money to be disbursed in a quest that seems to defy logic.

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posted in politics | Comments Off on It ain’t over ’til it’s over, OK! | 280 words

18th February 2008

The potential holiday draws near

If my calculations are correct (and the data set is accurate) then 56% of my fellow citizens now enjoy a mid-winter civic holiday. As of this year, four provinces have designated the third Monday in February as Family Day. One more province and we’re at the level of participation that could be used for things like constitutional amendments. Come on Maritimes! And Newfoundland. You can push this whole numbers game over the two-thirds required. Just out of curiosity, who used that number with a country composed of ten provinces. Can we say “it does not compute” in either official language?

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posted in politics | Comments Off on The potential holiday draws near | 275 words

27th December 2007

Aimlessly rooting around

I’ve been a “collector of names” for decades now. I was reared to believe that it was important to know who was related to who; just in case, you know. My father wasn’t much help in all of this, but my mother remains a goldmine of tidbits, covering half of the country and more. Ergo, it’s a genetic trait.

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posted in genealogy | Comments Off on Aimlessly rooting around | 361 words

11th October 2007

Charted genes

I’m just a searcher, I’m just a seeker… no, this isn’t the first line to my next hit single. Rather, it describes the mindset of anyone who passes time in that most addictive of pastimes; genealogy. Lots of us do it. We all learn that this is one of those personal interests that will last more than a lifetime. The adjective “”finished” is not part of the wordlist.

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posted in genealogy | Comments Off on Charted genes | 310 words

20th June 2007

If I could just see the big picture

If we were to sketch our personal worlds based on the news broadcast from a local radio station, what sort of image would we achieve? Well, maybe one that looks like those collages done on Bristol board for a grade six current affairs class. Confused.

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posted in media | Comments Off on If I could just see the big picture | 436 words

8th April 2007

History redux

As we move through this Easter weekend (a tale of history in its own right) the top news story took place ninety years ago. If I’d been around then, I would not have been privy to much detail, because a policy of disinformation made sure that those “at home” were shielded from the horror. Now, we can reflect in serenity over past battles, and perhaps learn.

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posted in history | Comments Off on History redux | 265 words

9th July 2006

Our odd topic for today

One of my favourite radio programs is “Cross Country Checkup” on CBC, hosted (regularly) by the erudite Rex Murphy, Newfoundland’s answer to the thesaurus. Excellent use of the spectrum. Exceptions occur.

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posted in media | Comments Off on Our odd topic for today | 248 words

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