Issue 419, March 12, 2015
“Make Yourself At Home”
Yukon birds, and its birding community, have lost a true friend. When he died last month, at 75, Helmut Grünberg had spent over 40 years promoting the enjoyment, study, and conservation of Yukon’s bird life. He found his way to Whitehorse in the early ‘70s when, en route to climb Denali in Alaska, he was …
Brigitte and Caroline Desjardins-Allatt were well into elementary school before learning about their father’s musical past — and the instruments stashed in the family garage. “Before he met my mother, he used to play a lot of music with his ex,” Brigitte Desjardins explains. “Then she had an accident and died, and I think my …
Ah, stuff. Sometimes my life can feel way too focused on the next thing I think I “need”, as precious hours are spent reorganizing the ones I already have in order to make room. When I get fed up and hop on my anti-materialistic horse, my mind is split between rationalizing what I have and …
They have a saying in the Dixie States — or maybe it’s the military: “When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember your mission was to drain the swamp.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard this truism before launching my career as a DIY homereno star. Winnipeg, 1971. The summer of peace and …
The inherent drama of buying, selling, or renovating homes is tailor-made for reality television. You don’t need to own a house to be captivated by the minutiae of managing the large and small choices these programs painstakingly document. Still, it’s common to feel somewhat suspicious of the heightened “reality” on display. In recent years, in …
I like blank, plain walls in the kitchen. Uncluttered and simple. If the paint is the same colour as every other wall in the house, even better. Crap! I am not even kidding myself, here. We have a very nice kitchen, but those walls are just a glaring bore. I guess I won’t be binge-watching …
It’s 8 p.m. on a Saturday night. After finishing a delicious lamb dinner, the perfect end to the evening is found in the billiards room. So down into the basement I go, past the laundry room, sewing room, workshop, and into my richly decorated destination. To the left is the bar. Glasses made of Austrian …
Up on the Alaska Highway, in the bright boîte called Tonimoes, attached to the SKKY Hotel, a quiet ritual takes place every Tuesday. Informally known as Scotch night, the weekly event “honour[s] the bounty of Scotland with the frugality of a Scot,” according to the Tonimoes website. In other words, you can get a really …
The Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) is challenging Yukoners to embrace “spring break up” in all its disparate meanings. To help with that, YAC is hosting a Pecha Kucha evening on Friday, March 13 at the Old Fire Hall. Pecha Kucha, which translates to “chit chat” in Japanese, is a unique presentation format that will bring …
They’ll hand you a paper An’ a pencil with a taper. If you mark the wrong place You’re allowed to erase. If you really think You can write in ink. When you write your test Yo have to try your best. If you study all night You can get them all right. You have to …
As a shout out to Gary Bob Joe Bremner’s love of specialty cocktails, I conducted our interview at Whitehorse’s newest, not-yet-open, cocktail-andwine bar, Woodcutter’s Blanket, on Strickland and 2nd (known to most as the two-moose building). The pews were just being set up when we arrived, but our place at the bar was ready for …
At the beginning of his noon hour public lecture David Neufeld said he was working on his book but didn’t want to finish it because then he would lose his excuse to spend so much time on the Yukon River. He said when you say you’re working on a book, you get away with things. …
Before working on my school’s float, I didn’t think school spirit mattered or even truly existed. I thought it was a thing that teachers loved talking about. But working with my fellow 2015 F.H. Collins grads on our school’s float made me realize how it important it truly is. Waking up early on a Sunday …
In autumn 2009 I slipped on a frosty stair and broke my left humerus. Before the accident my left arm had an angle of 20°, meaning that when it was fully extended it reached 160° instead of the normal 180. When the dust finally settled after my injury — including one botched healing attempt — …
