Do YOU have what it takes to be Governor General?

Job listing: Governor General of Canada  Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith – a.k.a. The Queen – is seeking a full-time representative for the Dominion of Canada. The selection process will be…

Can you buy guilt for a nickel? Some charities think so

Last week, I got a nickel in the mail. Yes, a whole nickel. Where do I even begin to spend that kind of money? Can you still buy Double Bubble? Are jawbreakers still a thing? Can you still buy two Mojos for a penny? Are there still Mojos? My unexpected windfall was attached to a…

A long, long time ago …

A long, long time ago I can still remember how that music used to make me smile… Recognize those lyrics? If you are of a certain age (e.g. old) you’ll certainly know them as the opening lines to Don McLean’s epic hit, American Pie. I was thinking about the somewhat cryptic song (McLean has spent…

We should have seen this coming …

On Wednesday morning, I was tinkering with a blog I wanted to call “We’re going to miss you know who”. The rough idea was that when a certain American president leaves office, we, the interested observers, we’re going to miss him. Donald Trump, one of the 45 best presidents in the history of the United…

UCP’s new slogan: Do as I say, not as I do

When news broke this week that two well-paid government staffers – government flacks, no less – had vacationed in Hawaii during the pandemic, I thought this was an easy call for Premier Jason Kenney. The only thing to do was to fire them, immediately. It’s not as if it would be hard to replace two…

At least the Grim Reaper had a good year …

By popular consensus, 2020 was The Worst Year Ever. But there was one person who had a banner year – the Grim Reaper. Along with taking hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 deaths, the Angel of Death was busy cutting a swath through the world of the celebrated. The list of celebrities and pseudo-celebrities who have…

The ballad of the headless elf

Bloggers note: This is a reprint – or whatever you call this – of a column I wrote a couple of years back for Edmonton Prime Times. I liked it, so I thought I would share it with both of my regular readers. Also, it means I don’t have to come up with anything new.…

The words of 2020 are like no other

The year 2020 will go down in history as one like no other. I mean, that must be true, because I’ve heard the expression ‘like no other’ countless times in this wretched year. I’m sure there is some lexicography nerd somewhere who will do a study of this, but I suspect 2020 will go down…

You are a good (old) man, Charlie Brown

It is entirely fitting that Charlie Brown’s 70th birthday this year went almost totally unacknowledged. In another year, the 70th anniversary of the most successful comic strip of all time would have been occasion for much media celebration. But with everything from Black Lives Matter to Donald Trump to COVID-19 sucking up all the media…

Look in the mirror, Alberta

Once upon a time, there was a comic strip called Pogo, which was famous for its detailed comic strip art and its sly commentary on contemporary life. From Pogo came a semi-familiar phrase that I think applies to our current Coronacrazy conundrum: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” Pogo’s comment was a…