"...We love you Kon-rad and we'll be true-oo!When you're not ne-ee-ear us, we're bluuuueeee...O-oh Kon-rad, weeee loooove yoooouuuu!"You ever have one of those moments when the stars seem to align, a prayer is answered or that cute girl you've been eyeing all night finally smiles at you?Happened to me at 4:05 this afternoon. Okay, it happened without stars, any Supreme being or a hot blonde in a tight fitting little...uh, nevermind...Suffice...

Read more »

My grandfather fought in the WWI Battle of Passchendaele. Mostly, when people asked him about it he just sighed and shook his head. I had the same reaction after seeing the new Paul Gross film based on the same event.For any of you kids who Google brought here in search of information for an upcoming Remembrance Day essay, please go here or here instead. You'll learn about as much Military History from what follows as you will...

Read more »

I live on a street that's just filthy with kids. Driving down it some days is like running an obstacle course. Boarders, bikers, street hockey players and roving packs of wannabe Paris and Lindsays with their accompanying packs of untethered purse dogs. So Halloween is a big deal around here. A week in advance, the place is already beginning to look like something from the Universal backlot. We've got front lawn graveyards, Mummy...

Read more »

There's this envelope that's been sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks now. It contains a document the Superior Court of the State of California has asked me to fill out and return so that my name can be included in a Class Action suit on behalf of Writers over the age of 40.Basically, the Court recently ruled in that group of Writers' favor in the first settlement of 24 suits lodged against TV Networks, Studios and Agencies...

Read more »

If there's one thing those of us who deal in words and language are supposed to understand, it's how much difference a subtle change can make in what you're trying to say. Write the same sentence with alternate words and your intent is crystal clear. Shorten the punchline and you get a bigger laugh. Cut the dialogue altogether and the actor's face is suddenly able to say it all.Most of the media...

Read more »

The quickest way to lose your cynicism about politics and politicians is to work on a political campaign. In one of Michael Moore's books, he lays out the way almost anybody can get elected to public office. Find 10 people who'll dedicate a few months to one cause. That's all it takes. Like most things Michael Moore writes about, he's almost exactly right.I've spent the last five weeks working for a local candidate in the Canadian...

Read more »

There's a bench in front of the CBC's Toronto headquarters that has a permanent resident day and night, rain or shine. Dressed in a slouch cap and overcoat, he looks toward the West as if expecting someone or something. To most who pass, he could be just another of the city's nameless homeless or un-or-underemployed. I'd wager if you asked the passersby, nine out of ten couldn't identify the bench resident as classical pianist...

Read more »

This was a tough week for a lot of people. The financial meltdown on Wall Street turned many Billionaires into mere Millionaires and scores more who thought they had a future (or maybe a house) into folks wondering if they'll ever work again or how much of their stuff can fit in a grocery cart.If you read the papers -- or more correctly, if you BELIEVE what you read in the papers, we'll shortly be unable to afford retirement,...

Read more »