The crossword puzzle turned 100 last week, which has prompted all manner of adulation. The first ‘word cross’ puzzle debuted December 21, 1913 in the New York World and has been a fixture in newspapers ever since. I know that many people actually like crossword puzzles. I do not. Here is why: 1. There is […]
Almost every year around this time there are hot commodities on the Christmas shopping list that are in short supply, either because people fall prey to marketing hype or generally lack imagination. I never did have a Cabbage Patch doll, Beanie Baby, or Tickle Me Elmo. But I did have a pet rock, although it
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree Read More »
Unfortunately there has been no glamour in air travel for a very long time. This is even more unfortunate for those of us who spend a lot of time on planes. The current state of airports and airlines has created a siege mentality, where it is important to fight to retain at least some shred
Fly me to the moon Read More »
There was a cold snap in California this week, which also happened to correspond to the week that I was there. Which is typical. The most common sentence I hear in my travels is “you should have been here last week”. For example, the last time I was in Arizona, a place where it is
It never rains in California Read More »
I am not sure if this is truly a coincidence or not, but this week was both the 50th anniversary of the touch tone phone and the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who, the latter of which as you should know is closely linked to the phone. But in fact today’s topic is not Daleks nor
Another insult to the injury of November is leaving the cottage for the season. Not that I am not less than miserable at the lake when the sleet starts sleeting, the dark starts creeping, and the water lines start freezing – oh, is that a poem coming on? Maybe not, but the load-out time has
Stay, just a little bit longer Read More »
This may be an unfortunate way to start, but my inspiration this week is that an 81 year old man in Toronto just got arrested for murdering his roommate in his downtown nursing home. There are many things wrong with this (starting with the murder thing) but perhaps the most important is that he had
Run away, run away Read More »
I have a huge issue I must disclose. I don’t like a third of the year. I don’t like November, December, January or February. I have just come to terms with the fact that this is not a good thing. When you get to the second part of your life it is not acceptable to
I don’t like Mondays Read More »
The thing I find most annoying about life is how often people leave it. My friend Louis, my friend Rudy, and now my friend Doug, who died very suddenly last weekend, and unfortunately before he could eat Thanksgiving dinner. It is usual to talk about how wonderful people are after they die. But I am
Although we may like to think we invented it in the 1960s, the t-shirt is in fact 100 years old. Come to think of it, this should not be a surprise because I have a few that look at least 100 years old. Its longevity certainly makes sense as there are many things that would
