Our friend came by to visit us yesterday with her new four-month old puppy, a friendly Golden Retriever named Mia. Since we already have a fairly complacent ten-year old tom cat at our place (who is just slightly smaller in size than Mia), I was curious how they would interact.
Historically the stereotype has been that [...]
Today’s hockey games at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics showcased unfortunate defeats for two country’s teams, which was felt particularly hard for us, the estimated 98,090 people of Czech descent currently living in Canada. I didn’t actually watch the majority of these games, but after some exemplary plays on both sides, the final scores were:
Russia vs [...]
Every year, it seems that I am reporting on the same massive North Korean white elephant. In June of 2007, I wrote an article about the Ryugyong Hotel – simply out of amazement that this building actually exists. This 330-meter tall pyramidal hotel is in the country’s capital city, and has remained an incomplete concrete [...]
This short audio clip, entitled ‘The World’s Biggest Lie‘ is an .mp3 worth sharing.
Hope you enjoy.
In Ontario, the predictable request of its public elementary school teachers for more money has come up recently in the news again, due to union contract deadlines. This time, there are complaints about the difference in funding between elementary school and high school, as described in brief here, and in more detail here. Apparently, elementary [...]
No one disagrees that there are some wretched movies out there. Any number of factors can cause a film to be derided: an incohesive script, laughable acting, and predictible, pointed clichés being common reasons. It is good to remember that when a movie is made available for our consumption, it has made a [...]
Just over a year ago, I wrote of a concrete architectural monstrosity based in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang. This pyramidesque building is called the Ryugyong Hotel, and has stood 105 storeys tall, yet far from complete, ever since its construction came to a halt in 1992. If finished, its 330 meters of height would [...]
Occassionally, the movie ‘King Ralph‘ comes to mind. This 1991 comedy stars John Goodman in the title role of an American who was found out to be the only living successor of the British throne following the freak death of the entire Royal Family during a photo-session electrocution (the film’s original preview trailer captures the [...]
It is seemingly obvious, but I can almost understand why we don’t make the connection too easily. And those of us who do realize this would be considered foolhardy to share a potential idea that could only make the first few implementers of it fabulously rich. However, I do have reasonable motives for sharing this, [...]
My place of business is currently getting a thorough cleaning, which has allowed some interesting objects to emerge. One surprising item which I came across pre-dates the end of the Cold War, clearly indicated by the words ”Made in USSR” marked upon it:
This historical curiosity is actually a simple cardboard box with dimensions 11″ x 13″ x 13″, which has been used around this office [...]