Once again my timing is off. If there were ever a day to quote an American president, today—the 150th anniversary of Confederation in Canada—isn’t it. Surely it would be much more appropriate for me to reference an inspiring thought from one of our great Canadian luminaries. But American presidents are just so damn quotable. I […]
You may have missed this, but recently there was a minor furor over avocados. Some gazillionaire from Australia got on an internet soapbox and chastised today’s young people for spending too much money on brunch. $19 on smashed avocado toast plus four $4 coffees, to be precise. Kids nowadays, eh? His point, albeit a tired […]
This is going to sound terribly unromantic, but I’ve never found the image of the starving artist the least bit appealing. In the tear-jerking, gut-wrenchingly poeticized version of my life, I’m so committed to the making of my art that I don’t care (or perhaps don’t even notice) that I can’t afford shoes without holes […]
CBC News, Saskatchewan
Gordon Gerrard’s first season as the musical director of the Regina Symphony Orchestra is nearing its end and any success, he feels, lies in his approach to the music and players.
“It’s really important that you start with respect,” Gerrard told CBC Radio’s Saskatchewan Weekend on Sunday. “There’s not a difference in status.”
Gerrard took on the role of maestro back in August. He said his first hope heading into the job was to solidify the relationship and rapport between him and the players.
When I was a kid, Sundays were sacred, and not for the reasons you may think. The subject of my church attendance will have to wait for another day. The much-anticipated highlight of Sundays was to tune into CBC Television for The Muppet Show. Of course, we all remember Kermit, Miss Piggy and even the […]
My limited understanding of trends these days tells me Facebook is now way uncool. I still have a sort of nostalgic attachment to it for some reason though. Back in its heyday, before people posted pictures of food and before fake news ruined the United States of America, Facebook was a relatively harmless way of […]
Writing about alcohol is most likely a bad idea. Anyone wanting to add to the booze canon should be deterred by the fact that so many clever people have already written on the topic. It’s a tough act to follow. Hemingway said, “I drink to make other people more interesting”; Oscar Wilde said, “Work is […]
I’ve written before how I get annoyed with people who romanticize the past, and yet here I go again getting all nostalgic about the good old days. When it comes to cartoons, they just don’t make them like they used to. I will concede that no one under the age of twelve was consulted before […]
The best people I know tend to avoid being Debbie Downers. (If you’re unfamiliar with this instructional character, do a little googling of Saturday Night Live history.) Occasionally though, there is some value in looking at what’s happening in the world without rose-coloured glasses. George Bernard Shaw said, “We learn from history that we learn […]
All you romantics out there will need no reminding that Valentine’s Day is next week. Of course, how you choose to celebrate is a personal matter. If you consider your love life to be in the “Hot Mess” category, you may choose not to celebrate at all, which is just fine too. Because we all […]
