Category Society
Stronger Than Death
It is a beautifully told story – and one of the most disturbing books I have read in recent years. I am left to confront the question: why am I not like that? Stronger Than Death, by Rachel Pieh Jones details the life and work of a woman you probably have never heard of, someone […]
Public Art in Back Spaces
I’m seeing things in Ottawa I have never seen before. Like this statue. A good chunk of my time these days is being spent in the Byward Market area of the city, not far from Parliament Hill. Despite working (and living) downtown for close to 20 years, I really don’t know the neighbourhood. What […]
Does It Matter?
I saw this sign at the grocery story. It left me with questions. Does Canadian salmon taste better than other salmon? If so, what makes a salmon Canadian? Is it spawning location or should citizenship be determined by where the salmon has migrated to? Or do salmon have dual citizenship? Do salmon even know that […]
An Act of Bravery or Political Suicide?
In 2015, as I remember it, a young woman running as a Liberal candidate in Calgary had her candidacy revoke by the party. Some old Facebook posts had surfaced, anti-Semitic statements she had made at 16. She said she no longer held those views, but that wasn’t good enough for the party. They replaced her […]
And They’re Off…
I know some people don’t like it when I compare politics to sports, because they think I am trivializing the political process. But there are similarities. You have winners and losers – and a lot of heartbreak. The stakes are higher though. When it comes right down to it, it doesn’t matter who wins the […]
The Transformation
I’d never been in the place before, despite it being across the street from our apartment. Respectable people didn’t frequent Pembroke Ontario’s Windsor Tavern. My biggest memory of the place came from my days as a newspaper reporter on the court beat for The Pembroke Observer. The place was the focus of a domestic assault […]
Cell Phones And Schools
I have a confession to make. I managed to get through four years of high school without once using my cell phone during school hours. When I look back at that, it wasn’t difficult. There were no cell phones when I graduated in 1972, so there was no temptation to use one. From that experience, […]
Trash or Treasure
It only took a couple of hours to fill the dumpster. Who knows what else is still in the house? One of my neighbors moved recently. I am a little hazy on the details but I gather they jumped at an opportunity in another province, leaving the place in care of their “adult” children. They […]
Choosing Donald Trump
There are some mysteries that may never be solved. Where do crop circles come from? Is there really treasure on Oak Island? Are there still riches hidden in secret passageways in the pyramids? And why would American Christians vote en-masse for someone as un-Christian as Donald Trump? Why do they appear poised to do it […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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