Category Society
Some Random Thoughts From This Past Week
Canada’s largest drugstore chain had a computer glitch. No credit or debit cards were being accepted. Who carries cash these days? What would we do if the system went down as a whole, not just one store but everywhere? We have as a society become so dependent on technology, who knows how we would react. […]
ABBA The Museum – I
Before leaving Canada I polled my friends and colleagues. The verdict was unanimous; I had to visit the ABBA museum in Stockholm. Of course, none of them had ever been there. I am not an ABBA fan. I have acquired over the years about 10,000 albums. (I know that sounds like a lot, but remember, […]
Thoughts On Survival
This showed up in my email this week. It wasn’t the first time I had seen it, or something similar. It usually doesn’t have pictures attached, which is what convinced me to share it here. I’d give credit, but a quick online search convinced me that authorship is unknown. I know I didn’t write it […]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
My family came to Canada from Ireland in 1846, so you would think I would be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today. But I’m not. Our Irish sojourn was a short one, 1843-1846, so I don’t really qualify as Irish. Also, as Protestants, Presbyterians in fact, I don’t think my ancestors would approve of my taking […]
The Apostates
Life is an unending series of choices. Some are rather trivial: should I have cereal or toast for breakfast? Why not both? Others have more impact: should I take this job? Should I marry this person? None though is more important than the choice involved in religious belief. The question of God and our relationship […]
Visions of Empire
It’s a huge monument, popular with tourists and pigeons alike, right in front of Buckingham Palace. Looking at it had me thinking about just how much times have changed in a little more than a century. The Latin inscription reads ‘Regina Imperatrix.” My high school Latin translates that as “queen and empress.” The empire is […]
End of An Era
The day was inevitable once someone figured out how to digitize music, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. HMV, Canada’s last remaining national record store chain is closing its doors. At a time when it seems the majority of people download their music (and frequently without paying), it is not surprising that a […]
Whose Rights?
I get so tired of people whining about their “rights.” What they usually mean is their “right” to impose their viewpoint on others and insist everyone agree with them. My latest trigger was a radio interview with an activist protesting an Ottawa appearance by psychologist Jordan Peterson. He has some ideas on gender that the […]
Do You Find This As Strange As I Did?
In my youth smoking was not seen as the social scourge it has become. You could smoke anywhere. Everyone had ashtrays in the house, because if you didn’t smoke your guests did. Athletes smoked. Doctors smoked. Politicians smoked. Entertainers smoked. Even some pastors smoked, but only in those “liberal” churches. Or perhaps Christian Reformed. The […]
And The Oscar Goes To…
They hand out the Oscars on Sunday. For the 50th straight year or so I will forego the pleasure of watching the telecast. I didn’t bother watching most of the movies either. However I did recently see Toni Erdmann, which has been nominated for Best Foreign Film. It’s the only nominee in that category that […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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