In our last year at university, my friend and I joined the University Singers, an amateur choral group supporting the more advanced singers within the School of Music. I think we saw a poster advertising the group’s plan to perform Handel’s Messiah that fall, and so we signed up. Thus began a lifelong love of... Continue Reading →
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. Pub 1970
This is one of those “I can’t believe you’ve never read that” books. How did I make it through my pre-teen years without this one? Well, I did. I was reminded about this one recently while searching for books that have been banned, and so decided to at last check it off my list. Margaret... Continue Reading →
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Book report #9 (2022)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Pub 1949. As I saw on Twitter recently, satire writers are having a hard time these days keeping up with reality. In the current state of the world, reality seems like it must be satire, and writers have difficulty making up things that are too absurd. There are also plenty... Continue Reading →
2021 Reading Challenge – summary
I didn't quite make it through the entire 2021 list, but was very close. The goal was 34 books, and I got to 33, including one that did not make the official list due to redundancy. Here's the final book list for 2021: 1 - Book with a murder in it Death in a Darkening... Continue Reading →
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Book report #26 (2021)
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Pub 1850 When I read this book back in 1983, it was under duress - a high school requirement. This novel was part of what we referred to as the 'fallen women' section of Grade 12 english, a trilogy of reading that including this, Doctor Zhivago, and Tess... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Book report #14 (2018)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Pub 1884 I was led to re-read this book after watching the Ken Burns documentary about Mark Twain (which was fascinating and highly recommended). A big part of the documentary was about his most famous book and character, and so inspired me to pick this one up... Continue Reading →
Early experiences in science
April 27th is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 71st birthday. Time for another story with him. Pop did his PhD in the mid- to late-Seventies, on the topic of cocaine. Specifically, the study looked at the effects of coca leaf extracts on the physiology of rats, as a way to understand... Continue Reading →
Book of Treasures: Grade 9
Grade 9: 1980, JH Bruns Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB. Homeroom teacher - Mr. O. Veldnick This is me in grade 9 – except it’s not, as I don’t have a class picture from grade 9 to share. Grade 9 was the great convergence of students from the three local elementary schools into the one collegiate (a... Continue Reading →
Book of Treasures: Grade 8
Grade 8: September to December 1979, Souris Elementary School, Souris, PE. Teacher - Mr. D. MacDonald. January to June 1980, Van Bellingham Elementary School, Winnipeg, MB. Teacher – Mrs. A. Enns. In the summer before Grade 8, we moved with my dad to Souris, PE, a tiny town in Eastern Prince Edward Island. The change... Continue Reading →
Item #19: Mouse pad
At first glance, this looks like a squashed mouse. It is in fact a mouse pad - a rubber mouse track pad, made from recycled tires. I acquired this in the early 1990s, while shopping at the UBC Bookstore with my friend, Natasha. At least I think I did - I thought it was older... Continue Reading →
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