As audience members at the Yukon Arts Centre allow the Christmas tradition of Nutcracker to wash over them – joined, for the first time, by an audience in Dawson City – it would be interesting to note that this is a production of the Northern Lights School of Dance. As a school, it has many …
Kissing underneath the mistletoe is among the most favourite of traditions celebrated during the holiday season. But where did this unique symbol of the season come from? The interesting telltale folklore of the mistletoe dates back well into the Victorian age. Mistletoe has as many customs and traditions from various cultures as the meaning of …
As the Christmas and holiday season roll around, several friends have asked me for gift suggestions for the wine enthusiasts on their gift list. Without knowing the wine tastes of their enthusiast friends, I am hesitant to suggest a particular wine, but often suggest wine-related items that have caught my attention and are available locally. …
In Philadelphia to attend a science-fiction convention, I received an email telling me that a young gay teen, Jorge Lopez Mercado had been dismembered, partially burned and decapitated in Puerto Rico. It was also only three weeks after American President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act, the new Hate Crimes Legislation. The man charged with …
As December begins, we reflect on the “High Lights” of November. Unsettled weather, with cloudy nights, high winds and snow flurries, offered few good opportunities for observing. From the observer’s log … After being “closed down” for five Saturdays in a row, due to nasty weather, I headed out. The temperature was a balmy minus-eight …
I was lucky enough to be able to see The Soul Menders twice. Because of travel plans, I had to miss opening night and reviewed a dress rehearsal, instead, with all the rules about certain things I couldn’t talk about. One of those taboos was talking, really, about performance. Actors still had at least three …
Nicholas Mah is obsessed with music. But obsessions are good: “You know how, when you are an adolescent, you can get obsessed with things?” he asks. “For me, it was music. All I wanted to do was to be a professional guitar player.” You don’t get to make a living as a professional musician, by …
After a two-year hiatus, the Rainbow column has returned. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA), without an active board to keep it running, had gone into a one-year dormancy period; however, GALA is once again an active group and has some interesting projects underway. By the time this column goes to print, the GALA AGM …
My eyes were closed as my teeth rested in the juicy, flavourful shawarma. It was beautifully spiced and juicy meat, wrapped in a warm pita along with lettuce, hummus, tomatoes and a homemade Tarator sauce. I was instantly transported back in time, 30 years, to Oromocto, New Brunswick. It is where I tasted my first …
From the Middle East, to the Maritimes, to the Yukon Read More »
Simple ingredients: butter, sugar and flour make up real old-fashioned shortbread. While variations on these basic ingredients are many, the real McCoy is hard to beat. The trick is in the kneading; you really can’t knead shortbread too much. The more you knead, the stronger the dough (your arms, too) which, in turn, will result …
Barring the whole atheism thing, I swear on a giant stack of Bibles that the next paragraph is completely true. Scanning the BBC News website recently, one article in particular leapt out and grabbed my attention. It seems that Father Gabriel Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, made a statement in the official Vatican …
I can’t remember when it began, but I had been noticing that the knuckleheads at City Hall were using street signs that cannot be read until you are right on top of the intersection. And homemade signs that advertised yard sales were mostly useless. Then, proving only that I am marginally smarter than a frog …
