I heard her on a podcast the other day, reading from her novel, Polar Vortex, which had just been shortlisted for the Booker prize.  It reminded me of the very first thing that struck me about Shani Mootoo ... her…

My friend Don Vockeroth is a pioneer in Canadian mountain climbing and anyone who climbs in the Rockies is standing on Don’s shoulders.  Don has an impressive list of first ascents, but always did it humbly and quietly, and always…

I recently discovered a podcast by Peter Mansbridge called “The Bridge”.  This episode was about Justin Bieber renting the Stratford arena on Boxing Day to play some shinny with some friends, including some Toronto Maple Leafs.  It inspired me on…

My dear friend Alfie was born in 1909.  He remembered the first car in town ... the honey wagon that used to empty the outhouses at night ... he took violin lessons 1400 feet underground in the mine.  He could…

Many years ago I was listening to Peter Gzowski on Morningside talk to an Inuit fellow from the Arctic who had just fought a polar bear, hand-to-hand.  He and his wife were out checking their trapline, and arrived at one…

I've never blogged before but the website comes with the ability, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I don't know if I'll keep it up, or how often, but I thought I'd start with this : A Lebanese…