Day 851: Eviscerating The Elected – Worst Politicians Part 1

originally published April 30, 2014 – NOTE THAT THIS WAS BEFORE THE ELECTION OF TRUMP. If a politician’s legacy was determined solely by how many bad things are said about them in public, then all of history’s worst politicians are either presently in office or they have served their terms since the advent of the […]

Day 850: When Society Slaps Back At The Intelligentsia

originally published April 29, 2014 The dumbing-down mentality within our popular culture is so pervasive, even those at the bottom of the intellectual food chain are aware it’s happening. Lest you worry that this will turn into a kvetch-laden rant about the Grand Media Conspiracy, let me assure you that we are doing this to […]

Day 849: From Bark To Boom – The Unflinching Spirit Of Our Animal Military

originally published April 28, 2014 James Joyce once said that one’s writing should inevitably become the pool of one’s deepest confessions. Actually he didn’t, but that sounded like a plausible opening sentence and it conveniently nudges me into the first point I want to make, which is a confession. It’s true that, for a brief […]

Day 848: No One Is Far From Bacon

originally published April 27, 2014 Those who know me (or who have read enough of my articles to have observed when my jokes and references get tired and therefore repeated) know that I love to write about bacon. Today I’m offering a new take on the topic; in fact, I’m refocussing my literary lens on […]

Day 847: Tales From Liberty Island

originally published April 26, 2014 If I were to brainstorm everything I know about the Statue of Liberty it would look like this: The French donated it as a gift to mark the United States’ centennial (and probably as a thank-you for having whomped their perpetual enemy, the British, in the Revolutionary War). It blows […]

Day 846: I Hereby Yield The Floor To The Member Of Parliament From Crazytown

originally published April 25, 2014 As much as I try to avoid writing about politics (mostly because I’m far more informed about other topics, like bacon and juggling), I am nevertheless somewhat boggled, baffled and befuddled at the fact that Rob Ford could very possibly win his bid for re-election this fall as Toronto’s mayor. […]

Day 845: The Red Side Of The Moon

originally published April 24, 2014 Stargazers with a curious mind, a tolerance for late night wakefulness and who weren’t locked beneath the astronomical cock-block of an overcast sky got to witness a spectacular lunar eclipse last week. It was a crimson marvel, a humbling reminder of a universe beyond petulant cat videos and the frustrating […]

Day 844: The Girl With The X-Ray Eyes

originally published April 23, 2014 I think I would have made a good superhero. I get along well with sidekicks, I’m mostly incorruptible, and I’d probably look pretty smokin’ in a cowl. But alas, I have fallen into zero vats of radiation, been struck by no meteors, and if I saw a radioactive spider I’d […]

Day 843: Locked Up For Life, And Then Some (Part 2)

originally published April 22, 2014 Yesterday’s article began with Bernie Madoff’s 150-year prison sentence and proceeded to climb up the ranks in search of the longest term of incarceration ever handed down by an earth-bound court (for the purposes of consistency I’m ignoring the Kryptonian sentence of General Zod and those other two inside that […]

Day 842: Locked Up For Life, And Then Some (Part 1)

originally published April 21, 2014 On June 29, 2009, District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Bernie Madoff to a whopping 150 years in prison for defrauding thousands of investors and ripping off more than $65 billion for his own pocket from people who presumably actually worked for that money. Madoff had committed an act of wickedness […]