From fornicating Mayors to mass shootings to random attacks on strangers, I’ve had quite enough of the news for a week. This week, my smart, beautiful, amazing step-daughter is visiting and I’m giving myself a break from everything in my usual routine. …
You’re familiar with the clutch-and-rotate? It’s the last song of the high school dance, and some dweeb asks you, or you ask some dweeb, and you clutch and rotate through the song. More often than not, when I was in high school, that song was Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. …
A Clutch-and-Rotate Classic Wins Read More »
Yesterday was my brother’s birthday. I call him my baby brother because he’s 20 months younger than me, but about a foot-and-a-half taller. It amuses me to call him that, while looking straight up to make eye contact with him. …
Throwback Thursday – Baby Brother’s Big AdventureRead More »
Throwback Thursday – Baby Brother’s Big Adventure Read More »
Reporting on sports is my least favourite part of my job as a newscaster. This is not new. I don’t generally watch sports, with limited exceptions. And I’ve never been such a fan that my happiness – even in the short term – depends on a bunch of people I don’t know scoring more points than a bunch of other people. No offence to rabid fans, it’s just not how I’m wired. Sometimes I’m a band-wagon jumper, but I generally just don’t really care. …
People are often surprised to learn how far back Derek and I go. We worked together at CKSL in London in the early 1980s. After that, we also worked at CKNX in Wingham, although our decisions to go there were separate and although we were pals, we weren’t “together” at the time. Our history is very When-Harry-Met-Sally. But this is about CKNX, which turned 90 on the weekend with an open house, a big birthday bash and the event we attended, an alumni BBQ. …
Our Favourite 90-year-old Read More »
We didn’t spend actual Father’s Day with my Dad this year. Yesterday was the 90th anniversary of CKNX Radio in Wingham – more about that tomorrow. But we did do an early Father’s Day get together. Despite enduring Parkinson’s for years, he has somehow kept his wit and sense of humour. And so today, I want to share with you my favourite picture of him, that shows his wonderful smile. …
Dad’s Day, The Day After Read More »
Maybe you heard about the Brockville man whom police are looking for after he hurled belongings of his son and his girlfriend into a campfire. One of those things was a propane tank and it caused quite a little burst of flames. The 56-year-old took off before officers could get there.
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Not Only in Brockville Read More »
The summer before the 2014 municipal election, Free-FM was one of the hosts of Rock the Park, the big multi-day music festival at London’s Harris Park. It’s an all-hands-on-deck event, from early morning until late at night. It was dark and it was raining as I returned to the VIP gazebo after visiting a porta-potty and noticed councillor Matt Brown and his wife Andrea, trying – and failing – to stay dry, so I invited them to our covered spot. …
Following George Takei on Facebook has its benefits. The legendary Mr. Sulu from the original Star Trek series has a biting sense of humour and loves to provoke, politically. Why shouldn’t he? He’s an openly gay man, married to his partner, who champions not just gay rights but all human rights. Gay rights are human rights, after all. …
Free to Pee, You and Me Read More »
When someone notices my sixteen-pounds-and-counting weight loss, they always want to know how I’m doing it. After they find out, they often have a suggestion of something I should take to help the mission along, or replenish a missing mineral/vitamin/acid, which they can apparently tell I need despite no medical training or test results. …
Supplementary Expenses Read More »
As news broke early Sunday that there was a mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the iPhone of the President of the National Rifle Association undoubtedly went off. His Media Relations Officer would be briefing him on the situation and designing the narrative they would put out. …
They call it Opaque Couche, with an accent on the e that I can’t make with this American keyboard. It’s in the Pantone paint family, and it’s a mix of camo green, puppy poop and the shade of sky just before a tornado forms. You don’t want it on your walls. …
The World’s Ugliest Colour Read More »
A colleague died suddenly at work a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know him well, but he was a friendly, cheery guy who always made a point of saying good morning. People who worked closely with him were devastated and he was clearly well liked around the building. …
There Must Be Some Misunderstanding Read More »
The Grammar Nazi. You have nothing to fear from her! …
Don’t Fear the Nazi Read More »
I should have known when I walked into the home and it smelled of stale smoke. I should have guessed that the rug I was buying from a Kijiji ad would smell that way too. But I had no idea that it would become the thing that stunk up the joint, and waste fifty perfectly good dollars. …
The Rug from HELL Read More »
There’s a TV show we watch regularly that ends with nearly everybody on screen, and in our living room, with tears in their eyes. And the other night, I figured out why I like it so much. It’s because it shows the way I think wealthy people should behave. Instead of accumulating more stuff than they could ever use, they could spread a little of it around and improve the lives of those who need a hand up. …
It took me some time to formulate my own thoughts about the revelation that Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip has terminal brain cancer. Obviously, I had thoughts I could share on the air, but I had to hold back on my instinctual reaction, which was to suggest that people give to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada if they want to do something useful in Gord’s name. …
Throwback Thursday – BTFC Awareness Read More »
China is well known for a lot of things: lead-painted toys, tasty food, over-population and for marginalizing groups who don’t go along with the majority. Many Chinese live in extreme poverty and a story came out late last week about a dozen children in the Zhaojue county, and their dangerous trek to school. …
Sorry Dads, Your School Stories Lose Read More »