Gifted Typist

Visit my Herald column here. Forgetting where you put the scissors is one thing. Forgetting an article you discussed with your SO a few days ago is another thing. But when the article you forgot was on the topic of memory, well, then you really start wondering about things. Self-doubt anyone?

For a few days. Bit of swimming, bit of paddling in the mayak, which is a sit-on-top kayak. Bit of boating over to the other beaches on this lovely shore. Weather’s actually quite nice, hot and sunny with lots of good weather in the forecast. Ocean water’s not bad either, warmest North of the Carolinas, [...]

Visit my Herald column here. My ambitions for an idyllic English country garden were halted somewhat the day I beheaded the begonias. It happened during the transplanting, plop, plop, plob and off they fell. The grass around the flower bed was strew with the colourful petals of the fallen begonias. RIP Begonias. RIP idyllic English [...]

I went. I saw. And I was disappointed by the newest Harry Potter blockbuster, The Half Blood Prince. In fact, the flick left me feeling a little steamed, so steamed that on the way out I gave a big thumbs down to friends on their way into the movie. I later phoned to apologize for [...]

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of sign-offs and sign-outs from some of my A-Lister bloggers. It started last year when Chelene the investment banker from New York City signed off Bliss and Bile. That sent shock waves through our little blogging community. Her blog was funny, smart and consistent in tone and output. I used [...]

See my Herald column here. Last year, the band Sons of Maxwell sat on a United Airways plane and watched as baggage handlers destroyed their $3500 guitar. When they sought compensation through customer service, they were stonewalled. Over and over again. How many of us know that feeling. So the band got even. They wrote [...]

This typist’s typing has been transformed from the old ten-finger style to the new two-thumbed style. That’s because I just got me one of those sexy new iPhones. The keyboard is on-screen. It works either vertically (the hard way) or horizontally (much easier), depending on which way you hold it. Two-thumbed typing on-screen is a [...]

Guess all is forgiven. Sir Paul MacCartney played to an audience of 50K here on Saturday night. And it was all adoration, “We love you Paul” and local bagpipes backing up on Mull of  Kintyre. All stirring stuff that won over the hearts and minds of New Scotland. How quickly we forget. Remember when Sir [...]

Go here to see my Herald column. One was at the back up a steep pitch. Wheel barrowing was impossible so I had to carry the dirt I ordered uphill in five-gallon buckets, two at a time, like a packmule. Six yards of dirt. Do you know how much dirt that is? Think a Mount [...]

A blogger and Twitter friend – the lovely and talented Alias Grace – asked me to guest post as part of a series  she’s doing on immigration/emigration. Having lived and travelled internationally more than once, I came to know about something called Reverse Culture Shock. The *syndrome* was explained to me by a foreign aid [...]

I recently penned a letter, a real live paper-and-ink letter with the date on top and a *Dear…* opener. It’s part of the Artful Penpals project started by Shelagh of Alice in Paris. The project is designed to revive the art of letter writing. It works like this: people send a short bio to Shelagh [...]

See my Herald column here. Now that he’s dead, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Michael Jackson. Just like Marilyn and Elvis who are bigger in death that life. These mega-celebrities are like the undead, ghosts of tortured souls who walk amongst the living for years and years after they’ve gone. We’ll see Michael’s [...]

I’ve always been a tad uncomfortable with the forced patriotism of “Canada Day.” Flag-waving and nationalistic chest thumping runs contrary to the Canadian national character. Canadians pride themselves on their understated, low-key, practical nature. We aren’t a terribly flamboyant or excitable people. (Unless there’s a hockey game.) We don’t wear our pride on our sleeve [...]