Category Society
What If It Doesn’t End?
It doesn’t matter what country they are from or what their political philosophy is. COVID-19 is their worst nightmare. But not in the way you might think. Very few politicians worldwide have dealt with the pandemic with any degree of competence. At least that is the way it looks from my vantage point, and I […]
Along The Path
I’ve read about a time when parts of Canada were religiously divided, Protestant and Catholic, with not much interaction between them. Religion, especially in rural areas, played a big part in people’s daily lives. There were traces of that when I lived in the Ottawa Valley in the late 1980s. I remember being told that […]
Walking The Dog
What would you do for love? Would you let your spouse lead you around on a leash? In public? That was what a Quebec couple did earlier this month. Police were not amused. The couple were ticketed and fined – $1,546 dollars. It wasn’t the leash that was the problem. Or even that the woman […]
Your Tax Dollars At Work
I wasn’t going to say anything. But the outrage has gotten the better of me. And, after all, I’m paying for something that offends me. Canada’s taxpayer supported public broadcaster recently had a news article about an underage teenager whose gender reassignment surgery was halted, at least temporarily, by a court order. That does seem […]
Donald Trump Is History
Are you surprised to be alive today? To discover the world is relatively peaceful? Today is the last full day of Donald Trump’s presidency. Go ahead, admit it, four years ago you were certain he was going to start a war. Maybe the last war that would destroy life on earth. Yet he didn’t. The […]
The View From Quarantine
For ten days I missed my daily walk through the Black Forest and the vineyards. Taking COVID-19 quarantine seriously, I stayed inside for the required time. My wife wanted fresh air, so she would walk in the apartment building yard as long as there was no-one around. That didn’t appeal to me – 18 steps […]
Love and Devotion
Do cemeteries fascinate you as much as they do me? I enjoy walking through graveyards, reading the tombstones and wondering about the stories of the people buried there. There can be a lot of social history packed into simple inscriptions. You can see family relationships, names being passed along for generations. Reading between the lines […]
This Is Amerika
The politicians and commentators wringing their hands at last week’s coup attempt in Washington were for the most part united in their protestation that “this is not America.” They were wrong. This is what America has become. The ideals are there, perhaps, but the reality is a nation divided with no end in sight unless […]
Taking A Break In COVID
I’ve enjoyed the recap of your favorites from 2020, but it was difficult not to interrupt. A couple of times I almost broke into the cycle to deal with some breaking issues. So will be my focus over the next few days. Criticizing politicians is a national sport in Canada. Is it like that where […]
2020 In Review – Hagia Sophia
That this was the most-read post here in 2020 was, I think, largely because of the controversial decision by Turkey’s president to turn a world heritage site into a mosque. Mind you, it was popular in 2019 also (number two for the year), when the conversion was only a rumor. I wrote two posts in […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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