I could well belong to the last generation that does this. I’m putting real books into storage. There I am, sitting in front of nineteen Rubbermaid containers with a thousand books I’ll be shipping off to a storage unit until such time as I have a place to live with room enough to set them [...]
Continue reading...19. April 2012
If I see another posterized snippet of wisdom on Facebook, I think I’ll blow chunks. Download a full-sized copy of my wise poster to share with all your friends. Gandhi image provided via Steve Fernie (CC), thanks. (Note: I recognize the paradoxical nature of my poster. Life is such a puzzle.)
Continue reading...12. April 2012
Now, for a limited time only–and by limited I mean “for as long as the human species is not extinct”–readers can download my enovel, The Land, for free. It’s written with a doff of the hat to Cormac McCarthy and the “southern grotesque” style of story telling. It includes the three F’s: farming, funerals, and [...]
Continue reading...21. March 2012
I haven’t posted much on my blog for the past two months. It’s not that I’m afraid of what people will think about my writing. It’s more a case of being afraid that I’ll be misunderstood. Sometimes, I would rather say nothing than be misunderstood. But I inadvertently heard an oldie but goodie from Madonna [...]
Continue reading...25. January 2012
I recognize this wall from a visit to Victoria last September. At the end of the video, the camera pans the wall and you can see a face by the KWOTA crew on the side of the building. That tipped me off that it’s near Douglas and Bay St. There used to be circus themed [...]
Continue reading...25. January 2012
Friends who know about my intolerance to gluten (and my love of irony) brought over a box of gluten free Farm Animals Rice & Corn Vegetable Pasta which is a vegan product. But is it really vegan? Once you cook it up and put it in a bowl, aren’t you eating animals? And how do [...]
Continue reading...17. January 2012
While walking my dog, I passed a box of books by the curbside. As is my habit, I paused to scan the titles and three caught my attention, not because I want to read them, but because my heart goes out to anyone who needs to. All three concern bereavement for the death of an [...]
Continue reading...16. January 2012
Early last year, I had posted a photo of a neighbour’s lawn done with astro turf. The grass is indeed greener on the other side of the fence, even in winter. However, he has put out a real Christmas tree for the chipper this year. I would have thought a man who has an astro [...]
Continue reading...11. January 2012
Almost two years ago, The Guardian published 10 Rules of Writing from Elmore Leonard. Leonard is famous for his allergy to adverbs and his advice in The Guardian includes the usual harangue. But Leonard goes further and issues a fatwa against the word “suddenly” and against adverbs that specifically modify dialogue words like “said”. Being [...]
Continue reading...3. January 2012
Every year begins with certain literary rituals. The first is to pay homage to Public Domain Day – the acknowledgment of literary works which have passed into the Public Domain and therefore are no longer subject to copyright law. Because copyright terms vary from country to country, one must be careful. In the U.S., for [...]
Continue reading...7. November 2011
A year and a half ago, Toronto-based Kobo launched a bare bones eReader to give its biggest competitor, Amazon, a run for its money. It was a decent offering supported by a decent library (2.2 million titles and counting) especially when you consider the behemoth it was battling. See my review here. Kobo followed up [...]
Continue reading...18. October 2011
I observed this sign on the wall beside the door at 457 Bathurst St., Toronto. The location looks to be abandoned or at least between tenant/owners. In that tautological Yogi Berra sort of way, these are words to live by. Now pay attention!
Continue reading...15. October 2011
So it begins. The Occupy Movement rolls into Toronto. I couldn’t get to the kick off in the financial district, but went to St. James Park in the early afternoon. Below are a few photos and comments. You can view more photos on my flickr space. Early on, I saw a sign I liked: “Let [...]
Continue reading...6. October 2011
At the news of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ death, I pulled out my very first Mac and held an interment ceremony. This is one of the original 128k RAM Macs. No hard drive. It boots from a 3.5 inch floppy disc. I bought it in 1984 after I saw one at a trade show. I [...]
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7. May 2012
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