Famous Teetotalers 04: Politicians staying on the wagon
There was never any indication that Donald Trump over-indulged in alcohol, but any indulging he ever did came to a halt in 1981 when his brother died of complications from alcholism. From then on, the...
View ArticleOOC Receipients 07: Entertainers
While Connie Kaldor won Juno awards on three occasions (1989, 2004, and 2005) for her work on Children’s albums, she is better known for her amazing talent in folk music and live performances. She has...
View ArticleFamous teetotalers 011: Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay, was a lot of things to people living in the 1960s and 1970s. Apart from being thrice awarded the world championship in boxing as a heavyweight (1964, 1974, and...
View ArticleFamous Teetotalers 012: Right-wingers
Ted Nugent or “The Nuge” is a hard rock/psychedelic guitarist whose musical career dates back to 1963. He has made his stance against drug and alcohol abuse part of his right-wing activism. He is an...
View ArticleIn Memoriam, 2016
What a year. A lot of really well-liked musicians and entertainers have shuffled off this mortal coil. Indeed, it was a depressing year for celebrity deaths, and increased global warming and Trump...
View ArticleThe Government is telling me who I am: The voting Survey: a lesson in...
As a response for participating in the survey, I finally know who I am, because the government told me so. Apparently I am a pragmatist. In an earlier one of these online surveys, I was someone on the...
View ArticleThe most annoying sound on radio
Why do jewellery commercials have to be so tasteless and annoying? I single out jewellery commericals, since they are more annoying even then furniture commercials, their main competitor for the gold...
View ArticleGoogle Autocomplete Follies
Humans are a curious species. We like to ask the questions about why things exist/happen/not happen, and so on. When I built my search engine questions, I began with the word “WHY”, then gradually...
View ArticleOh yeah, and by the way: JFK Documents released
Back on 26 April, what I understand should have been the last of the JFK documents released to the general public and made available for download. Apparently, the deadline to release the last of them...
View ArticleYoung Trump staffers and their dating troubles
I think we can agree that Business Insider is not exactly a Leftist online publication. The news item has been echoed on MSNBC, GQ, The Cut, Vice – and possibly many other media (Politico apparently...
View ArticlePolitical Correctness
Today, I am going to possibly offend both sides of a sensitive discussion about political correctness, and that’s because my opinion here is neither on the “left” nor “right”. I think that means I will...
View ArticleThe indices of Harper’s Magazine
I have been a fan of Harper’s Magazine since the 1980s. In particular, I loved the Readings section, as well as the factoids list (with citations) known as Harper’s Index, near the front of each issue....
View ArticleWhy I am glad I don’t have cable TV
In the early nineties, Bruce Springsteen had a hit with the song “57 Channels and Nothing On”. It was the precursor to the same feeling we felt over the “500 channel universe” we experience today. I...
View ArticleTampering with Freedom of the Press
I have tried to hold off on writing about the latest kerfuffle regarding Donald Trump being cut out of the CBC televised version of the 1992 film Home Alone 2 during the time that Trump was still a...
View ArticleBob Dylan’s only #1 Billboard hit, and Armageddon
In my series on Crappy Album Covers, Bob Dylan has appeared at least twice. I had also written about his singing skills or lack thereof at least once before. Needless to say, I have established my...
View Article(Almost) Binge Watching Monarchy News
I can say that I have not sat in front of the television for a sustained number of hours watching all things related to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, but I can see that the networks are trying...
View ArticleA century of Gasoline Alley
I see that the Toronto Star has purchased rights to publish the continuation of Gasoline Alley, a comic strip started in 1918 and originally written by Frank King, and is just over 104 years old since...
View ArticleFlorida Man Made an Announcement
This is when some media have nailed it. The New York Post wrote a news article yesterday regarding a certain Florida retiree making an announcement. The headline is below the fold and cross-references...
View ArticleSearch Trends on Google, 2022
Unless something major happens in December to upset all stats (which can happen these days), I will embark on an end-of-year reflection on search trends in 2022, in a timelier fashion than I did for...
View ArticleMusic Reviews for the Impatient
This is a music review, but also a commentary. Dolly Parton – Rockstar – Dolly got inducted last year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I can’t understand why. Her non-country hits were largely...
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