Monthly Archives: March 2016
Bumper Cars
When I was younger I enjoyed riding the bumper cars at amusement parks and fairs. You know the ones, heavily padded vehicles colliding into each other at slow speeds. It’s pretty much impossible to get injured. I never thought I would see them in real life. Naples was a stopover on our Italian sojourn, an […]
The Verdict
It isn’t often that I get to say “I told you so,” but I did last Thursday when Canadian broadcaster/musician Jian Ghomeshi was found “not guilty” on all the sexual assault charges he was facing. I didn’t follow the trial closely (I have better things to do with my life), but I had paid enough […]
Mer Bleue Once Again
We were there Christmas Eve when it was unseasonably warm – two months later than our usual last visit for the year. Yesterday was Easter, and it was also unseasonably warm, so we headed back to Mer Bleue. We avoided the wooded trails, which were certain to be all mud, and stuck to the boardwalk. […]
Remembering Johnny
It’s Easter, and today I miss Johnny Hart. The creator of two popular late 20th century comic strips died in 2007. Neither the Wizard of Id nor B.C. is among my all-time favourite strips. I am more partial to Doonesbury, Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. Still, most of the time I would find […]
Spoiler Alert
This is the in-between day. Yesterday was Good Friday. Tomorrow is Easter. Sorrow will be turned into laughter. Mourning into joy. They didn’t know that in 29 A.D. of course (a calendar error means our dating of BC and AD are a little off). They knew all about Good Friday, about the dashing of hopes […]
Am I A Criminal?
Canada does not, to the best of my knowledge, have a statute of limitations on criminal acts. There is no sunset clause for minor offences, as is found in some American jurisdictions. I mention this because I am about to confess to a crime. My hope is that the authorities will decide it isn’t worth […]
Considering Mortality
Today’s post was supposed to be a travel piece about the Italian city of Pompeii. Then circumstances changed. I was writing the post in the spot where most of these posts are written, on the bus traveling to my job on Parliament Hill. As we got near to my stop I was reflecting on the […]
Colosseum II
It’s an iconic sight and no visitor to Rome should skip it. We call it the Colosseum, but its formal title is the Flavian Amphitheatre, taking its name from the three emperors during whose reign it was constructed. Completed in 80 A.D., a good chunk of the building still stands despite the ravages of time […]
Colosseum I – The Cross
This cross may have been the thing that moved me most when visiting Rome. I still get a little choked up thinking about what it signifies. The Roman Empire is long gone. Latin as a language is dead. Ironically, it was kept alive by the church for centuries, then abandoned with the move to the […]
Papal Audience
I’m sure they must have updated the system by now. It seemed so antiquated in 2009, it would seem even more so today. I figured since we were going to be in Rome we should take in a papal audience. Not a private one you understand, but the Wednesday public gathering in St. Peter’s Square. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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