Once upon a time, “back in the days” (last year, in October) when the Greyhound bus still existed, a garter snake slithered out of the way, a pronghorn bounced over a fence, and I happened to step into cactus. This is the beginning of a most auspicious tale … In the days of the Greyhound, …
I’ve already mentioned how easy it was to provoke calls on my radio open-line show in Charlottetown in the 1970s, by inviting listeners to share either recipes or gardening tips. One desperate morning, I stumbled across a topic that lit up the switchboard for three days before I had to call a halt. I started …
Have you heard the one about the farmer’s daughter, the music teacher, the composer and the jazz singer? It’s not a joke. They’re all the same person: Karin Plato. Although she has called Vancouver home since 1985, Plato grew up on a grain farm near the tiny (current population: 129) community of Alsask, Saskatchewan. That’s where …
Raspberries, blueberries, crowberries and cranberries: being on Yukon time means planning your weekends around where to pick once the – dare I say it? – latter part of summer rolls around and hints at fall. There is one berry fairly new to the Yukon scene that is well over and done with by the time …
When Jolie Angelina McNabb was buried 16 years ago, Kwanlin Dün elders gave her the name, Blue Feather Eagle Woman. The Bluefeather Music Festival started in 2010 as a tribute concert to Jolie, who committed suicide. She had a dream, that she wanted to do something for youth, something to give them hope so they …
Unlike many a published author, Saskatoon writer Sandy Bonny didn’t study to become one. It just happened. “I haven’t got an English degree,” she says, “and didn’t train or apprentice purposefully with literary mentors before my first publications, but I did always enjoy writing and continued writing recreationally long after it was required for school. …
One thing I often notice about winter is the way it makes you really appreciate warmth. It feels great to get out of the cold, cuddle up under a blanket and enjoy a hot beverage while you jealously flick through pictures online of other people’s beachside holidays. I’ve lived in Yukon for almost a year …
Mustard. It calls to mind sausages, one side of the inside of a sandwich (the meat side), pretzels, Dijon, grainy, spicy, Germany, France, omnipresent condiment, pestle and mortar, seeds, curry, and for some reason, fine beer. But Saskatchewan? No. Roslyn Woodcock recently learned that 90 per cent of the world’s mustard is grown in Canada, …
The Condiment that Some Take For Granted, and that Others are Really Into Read More »
This year I will completely, absolutely and wholeheartedly do my best to not start my articles with hyperbole! Indeed, for an opening joke, I chose a particularly weak one … call your ombudsman. I have quite a lot on my mind as time marches forward into 2008. You see, this year I’ll be taking a …
This summer, I discovered I had an unconscience reason for leaving the Yukon. I was sitting in a Winnipeg movie theatre, my body comfortably slumped into the plush reclining seat. I stretched my legs (I know! There was ROOM!) and readied myself for the usual onslaught of trailers for films I’d likely not care to …
Perspective – use it or lose it. Words I’ve been pondering quite a lot lately. Recently I was noticing how much I dwelt on things I’ve left behind in the Yukon. While I was on a grand new adventure, I couldn’t help but resent having to re-establish myself in a new community. You could say …
“You can’t please ’em all.” Now there’s an oft-spouted aphorism from the comedy world, lemme tell you. This is a general kind of excuse you can drop to someone who has walked off the stage, not to thunderous applause but to deafening silence. Welcome to the wonderful world of bombing. I find stand-up comedy far …
I’m generally not one to gauge the success of my summer by small degrees, but there are certain small, simple moments that make life grand. Allow me to paint you a picture. There is a nary a breeze in the parking lot of the Travelodge hotel. Perched right on the edge of town, it hails …
Nothing Screams Summer Louder than, Well … Summer! Read More »
Beautiful portraits of the people and dogs of Colville Lake, NWT, encircle the Yukon Arts Centre Community Gallery. Arctic Journal was put together by Deb Jutra in honour of Bern Will Brown. Jutra knew the artist as Father Brown, her Catholic priest when growing up in Uranium City, Saskatchewan. Brown arrived in the Arctic in …
As I shove my hands into the remnants of last night’s revelry, dripping what can only be described as garbage juice, I mouth what may not be necessarily words, but sounds that still express the emotional quotient of my current well-being. “Ewww! Ugh!” and my Mad-magazine-approved favourite, “Blecch!” This is the last day of the …
Bonjour! Si t’était pas au courant, je suis le régissuer pour la production de Bonneau et la Bellehumeur pour La Troupe Du Jour, une compagnie de théatre à Saskatoon. I’m pretty sure I spelled all that decently enough. To more or less translate: I’ve recently taken on stage-managing for a Francophone theatre company’s touring show. …
For a skeptic, I sure do scare easy. While I stand by the tenet that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof”, it really doesn’t take all that much to scare the living bejeebers out of me. I’m a nerd. Suspending my disbelief is a part of my genetic code. Look at horror movies. Most of us …
Man, could I ever have used a Rendezvous this year. The past month was a particularly dark sinkhole of a time for yours truly, and unfortunately these flatlanders in the town they call “Toon”, only seem to get together and celebrate when the Riders are on the field. I’m not sure exactly how February got …
Neil Pert, in his book Ghost Rider, said that for “the ‘armchair traveller’, it’s only the vicarious, pristine experiences they want to share … not the unhygienic, exhausting reality … the solitary traveller is frequently invested by others with an aura of romance, myth and desire.” I read this in a $30 a night hotel …
