Category Society
Testament of Time
I understand why this piece, originally published in February 2015, was popular in 2019. There has been a movement in Turkey for a number of years to convert the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque and it seemed there was increased talk of that this past year. This was the second-most read post […]
The Building Project
This blog was essentially born as I wrestled with some thoughts during a European vacation in the summer of 2014. This post, from October of that year, shows some of those thoughts, and was the seventh most viewed of 2019. At the end of the First World War, Winston Churchill suggested that the town of […]
Stoning Revisited
As we count down the 10 most popular posts here in 2019, the one in the eighth slot was one of only two actually from the year. The outrage seems a little contrived to me. Or maybe it was a slow news day The headline said Brunei, a small southeast Asian nation, was implementing the […]
Let It Snow?
Finally! Though I’m not sure I like it after all. All this fall I have been telling people how much I was looking forward to a Canadian winter, that the area of Germany we live in lacks winters, and my new boots are still in their box more than two years after I bought them. […]
It’s Boxing Day
There are bargains to be had today for Canadian shoppers. Those in Australia are getting similar deals at stores there, while in the UK people are returning unwanted gifts to the stores. That’s why they call it Boxing Day. Americans don’t get the same shopping spree because they had Black Friday last month, possibly the […]
Christmas Eve 2019
No Santa coming by sleigh to my house today. That’s a tradition we don’t observe. No chestnuts roasting by an open fire either – no fireplace available. Last minute shopping? Possibly – we’re low on milk and the stores are closed Christmas Day. The stores will be closing early, allowing employees to spend the evening […]
Skywalker Rising
I liked the ending. Somehow it seemed fitting. I could have done with a little less action though – it seemed like one light-sabre battle after another, to the point they all seemed the same. And, spoiler alert, you know the good guys are going to win. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker brings to […]
First Hand Experience
Four years ago I wrote a post I called “Climate Change For Dummies,” my thoughts on environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio’s hysterical reaction to living through a Chinook, a climate phenomenon I only knew from books. This week though I was in Calgary, Alberta, and more or less experienced a Chinook. I say more or less […]
On The Slopes of Vesuvius
They never saw it coming. I think that is a large part of the appeal, why millions of people visit Pompeii every year. It is not just that the city is well preserved thanks to having been buried for centuries under ash and lava. It is that we can empathize and identify with the people […]
He Swore At Me!
I won’t repeat the words. He called me names I won’t repeat here. I don’t use that sort of language. Then he hung up on me. All I did was talk about ducks. You would think by now this telemarketer would have removed my number from his system. I recognize his voice, though his name […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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