Pop 89: Fake Smart gods
In 1995, I travelled by train from Vancouver to Quebec City, where I was invited to perform in a festival that had one stipulation: keep technology to a bare minimum…
Check It Out: It’s time to clean house!
Can you imagine what your house would look like if you neglected to clean it for a decade? If you allowed dirty laundry, dishes and junk to pile up…
REMEMBERING WHEN: The different kinds of love
For many single and unattached individuals, Valentine’s Day can feel like the most disheartening day of the year.
Pop 89: You Are Innocent When You Dream
I took this title from a Tom Waits song because, in these strange times of random accusations, heinous behaviours, and uncensored insults…
Check It Out: Helpful hints to survive the groundhog’s verdict
Early in February, the groundhog presented his verdict. Afterwards, a meme featured a coyote with the caption, “The groundhog said six more weeks of winter … so I ate him”.
Pop 89: At Least You’re Not Seeing Dragons
My brother Doug is doing his morning word search exercises. He also moves his eyes along a wall chart image of a clock, then zigzags a pencil across a page, connecting letters to numbers.
Check It Out: Government’s promise is like a 7-day weather forecast
Canadian comedian Rick Mercer created a funny skit years ago about Canada’s 7-day weather forecast promising +1 temperatures.
Pop 89: Manifest Mercy
Every morning I light a couple of candles on the old wagon wheel coffee table that came with my prairie apartment. The wheel has become an altar.
Check It Out: A recommendation that in reality, is terrible
A man shared the following memory: “I once told a girl I was dating I loved the dish she cooked for me. In reality, it was terrible.
Growing Through Grief: Making New Memories
One of the things that can be really painful after losing a loved one is longing for things to be the way that they were. We want so badly to have our loved ones back…
POP 89: Word Search
My brother is back on the prairie. Living alone in an isolated community is tough when you're in the best of health. While great poets and authors, from Henry David Thoreau…
Check It Out: Who are the important people?
An episode from the BBC archives included an interview of 9-year-olds in 1967. When the kids were asked who they considered an important person, one little girl said she thought the Prime Minister was important.