Day 481: The Morality Cops

originally published April 25, 2013 Let me paint you a picture. On a Sunday night at 8:00, my family has the option of watching America’s Funniest Home Videos on ABC (channel 13), or flipping over to the latest episode of The Walking Dead on AMC (channel 39). One of these two shows contains profanity, excessive […]

Day 480: Where The Stars Go At Day’s End

originally published April 24, 2013 Have you seen Quartet, that new Dustin Hoffman-directed movie about the four singers in the retirement home full of singers? I’ve seen the trailers for it, and what sparked my imagination was not so much the story itself but the idea that there could be an old-folks home full of […]

Day 479: There’s More Than One Way To Pluck A Chicken

originally published April 23, 2013 I sat down to write this morning and found myself a little bit hungry. Good news! The first item that squirmed through the button-hole of randomosity belonged to chicken lollipops. Okay, they’re just the inner sections of chicken wings with bones sticking out of them. Nothing special, but it was […]

Day 478: Getting Into The Hoo-Ha Of Double Meanings

originally published April 22, 2013 As a Canadian, I find myself uncomfortably headlocked between the sweaty bicep of American hegemony and the sturdy torso of my nation’s British roots. I share familial roots in both countries, though should the Revolutionary War once again rear its violent, musket-y head, my loyalty would fall immediately to Sweden. […]

Day 477: Poe’s Stalkiest Fan

originally published April 21, 2013 It’s not uncommon – though perhaps a tad on the morbid-meter – to contemplate one’s legacy after death. Who would make the trip to your funeral? Surely not all of your exes, but hopefully your current significant other and most of your kids. How would you be remembered? For that […]

Day 476: The Most Glorious Buildings That Aren’t

originally published April 20, 2013 There’s something deeply magical about a skyscraper. It has the ability to transform the personality of a city, to allow its residents to survey their domain from within, and gives restaurants a reason to slowly revolve. When I was young, Edmonton used to have a 360-degree observation floor on the […]

Day 475: A Brief History Of Face-Pieing

originally published April 19, 2013 Ah, the pie. You fill us full of chocolate cream, hot apple or key lime goodness, make even the most intolerable meal redeemable with the promise of dessert, and your mere scent has lured cartoon creatures into physics-defying floating reveries, led by their hungry noses. But you can do so […]

Day 474: Disney’s Hidden Corners

originally published April 18, 2013 Anytime someone uses the term ‘Mickey Mouse Organization’ to denote a company or government that is inexperienced, ineffectual or somehow incompetent, I wonder why such a saying exists. The real Mickey Mouse organization – in particular the theme parks with Mickey’s trademark ears plastered all over the place – is […]

Day 473: The Big Box O’ Juke – 90s Edition

originally published April 17, 2013 Once again it’s time to twist that volume knob all the way to the right, wrap yourself in your favorite flannel shirt, bring your old Tamagotchi back to life, and ease into the latest batch of vintage tuneage from the Big Box ‘O Juke. Today we’re dipping into the music […]

Day 472: Strange Deaths From The Dyatlov Pass

originally published April 16, 2013 Some winter activities demand no justification – downhill skiing and snowboarding are thrill-rides, skating on ice is invigorating, and ice fishing is… well, it’s sitting outside in the cold, holding a stick. I’d avoid that one. But perhaps the most outlandish of all winter pastimes is the act of ski-hiking […]