With our “normal” agendas in disarray and social distancing the norm, there could not be an easier time for a Toad Day. Not only will a Toad Day make you feel so much better, it will work wonders for your personal and professional productivity. “Toad Day? What the heck is a Toad Day?” you may…
There are two kinds of rebels, couldn’t be more different. The first kind takes on the world for reasons of principle, and is willing to pay any price. My mother was such a rebel. Notwithstanding her unfailing gentleness and sweetness, if she saw an injustice, especially towards an underdog, you had better stand aside because…
Don’t get me wrong– I’m a huge fan of Grammarly and Spellcheck, and without predictive typing I would not even attempt texting on the small screen. These are amazing and highly useful technologies. To be sure, these technologies are used in producing the Friday Briefing and Norm’s Notes, but from time to time I worry…
You need a cwtch. In fact, the whole world needs a cwtch. Let me explain. There are words in other languages that are able to say something we can’t quite express in a single word in English, and where a long explanation just spoils the mood. Cwtch is such a word. When the Welsh say…
In the classic Christmas story “The Gift of the Magi”, we are told of a sweet but impoverished young couple, very much in love, each wanting to give the other something extravagant, but not being able to afford anything. They owned only two treasures: Jim’s heirloom pocket watch and Della’s long and gorgeous hair. Of…
Trump. We’re not done with this reprobate yet. Nor his evil brood. For the foreseeable future, Donald Trump will remain the cult leader of about one in five Americans, and as such will retain enormous influence and power. The Trump Royal Family will appear on talk shows, write books, keynote “freedom rallies”, highlight county fairs,…
After a respectful time mourning our dear old Benny, Karen and I decided that the house was too empty and too quiet. We began a search for a new dog, which may or may not have been such a clever idea. In any event, we now have a border collie and a shih poo, both…
Lawrence Harvey Zeiger was a nice Jewish boy born in 1933 to Eastern European immigrants who ran a bar and grill in Brooklyn. Things got tough when his father died while Lawrence was just a boy, and his early years were destitute and somewhat troubled. Things could have turned out badly. But Lawrence had a…
When I was a very little boy my Mum and my Dad would read me stories from a collection of picture books surprisingly vast for such a poor family. Amongst my very favourite books was a Bible story picture book full of all kinds of neat stories about various miraculous events. I loved every page….
In the latest brimstone belch from Donald’s Bottomless Pit, we learned that some legal counsel are able to maintain their moral and professional compasses even when flying over the Bermuda Triangle of Trumpism. After the craven nuttiness of Giuliani, Barr, and Powell, it’s refreshing to see the impeachment defence team refuse to bend the knee…