Month: December 2024

We never got to mourn our friend: A tribute to Dr. Robbie Mahood on the third anniversary of his death on December 26, 2021

We never got to mourn our friend: A tribute to Dr. Robbie Mahood on the third anniversary of his death on December 26, 2021 We were living far away from Canada when we learned of the death of our good friend Robbie Mahood on December 26, 2021. We never had the opportunity to mourn his..

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She’s dreaming of a Weetabix Christmas

She’s dreaming of a Weetabix Christmas My wife Anne cannot live without Weetabix. This is a serious addiction. On Christmas morning, she will devour a delicious bowl of Weetabix as always. She has wolfed down Weetabix in many countries and on several continents and can provide a detailed, granular analysis of Weetabix variants world wide…

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Thailand: Kitsch at Christmas…Revisited

Thailand: Kitsch at Christmas…Revisited Last year, we spent the Christmas season in Thailand, mainly in Bangkok. Our younger son lives in Thailand, a world chock full of all things tacky, of corniness, of kitsch. Tongue -in-cheek, he suggests that I move to Thailand where my broken foot would never impede shopping, since little red cars..

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Alternatives to Ottawa Public Transit (Part Two): Bring back hitchhiking

Alternatives to Ottawa Public Transit (Part Two): Bring back hitchhiking Given the abysmal service offered by OC Transpo, hereafter known as Octopus Transit, and the 19% hike in the cost of a monthly pass for seniors (albeit down from the 120% increase originally floated by the Octopi commission), it is high time to seek alternatives..

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Indians by Arthur Kopit: A controversial play in 1980

Indians: A controversial play in 1980 As my exit from the theatre of life is imminent, I remember so fondly the many student actors with whom I had the privilege to work over a 35-year teaching career at Champlain St. Lawrence College in Quebec City. The first play that I directed at St. Lawrence took..

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Rascal scooter to the rescue: an alternative to Ottawa public transit (part one)

Rascal scooter to the rescue: an alternative to Ottawa public transit (part one) When I was a child my mom always called me “little rascal,” normally in Ukrainian, the language that her Polish family adopted when they came to Canada just before World War One. “Malenʹkyy dyyavol” she would yelp when I misbehaved…literally “little devil.”..

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