The dawn of each season brings ideas galoreSome which survive, others shown the door,Like that time travel story, or the love romp not done, Or the Dark Daniel arc trimmed from six tales to one. We begin each new year with the best of intentions,Seeking to craft our inspired inventions.But conditions are altered, storylines change,From…

I hear Disney is taking some of their titles off store shelves and putting them "in the vault". In a matter of weeks, titles such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Bambi: Special Edition, and Lady and the Tramp: 50th Anniversary Edition will become unavailable (until a time of Disney's choosing when they will naturally be…

My wife loves boardgames. I think it must be a genetic predisposition because, every holiday, whenever she and her sisters get together, they end up playing into the wee hours of the night, loosening such shouts, shrieks, and maniacal laughter that you'd think they were playing Scattegories: The Bloodsport Edition. I prefer to steer clear…

Every time I come into town, my mother has yet another friend of a friend or cousin's neighbor's son to recommend, some neophyte writer-director-editor looking to get into show business who just needs that one break to get his foot in the door. And the way my mother sees it, I hold the keys to…

Sorry. No photos today as I'm on a Mac. Instead, here are a few more scifi book I really enjoyed and would highly recommend:The Forever War - HaldemanA Canticle for Leibowtiz - MillerParable of the Sowers - ButlerOld Man's War - Scalzi

In the Summer it’s the mosquitoes, in the Spring it’s the house flies, and in the Fall it’s those big-ass spiders that emerge from the darkest recesses of your basement to traipse across the carpeted floor whenever you happen to be entertaining. You’d think that Winter would be clear of such nuisances but, in fact,…

Good haul this year. I suppose it's no coincidence that most of the gifts I received were edible. And those that weren't certainly smelled like they could be. Tonight was Christmas Dinner 2: Revenge of the In-Laws. On the menu this night: lasagna, chickpea salad, cabbage rolls, our second roast leg of lamb of the…

Remember those ten pounds I lost over the course of the past month? Well, I think I've gained them all back over the course of tonight's meal. For dinner: Fondy's super-garlicky garden salad, oven-roasted asparagus, sis's super-garlicky mashed potatoes, mom's canelloni stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese, mom's lasagna, mom's eggplant parmesean (my favorite), oven-baked mussels…

I have never enjoyed traveling. Specifically, the “traveling” part of “traveling”. The board a plane and fly for five hours/get into a car and drive for half a day/catch a bus before transferring onto the subway and then catching a train only to miss your connection and have to spend three hours cooling your heels…

Last day of shopping and running errands as I prepare to board a flight for Montreal tomorrow. Unfortunately, web access won’t be quite so readily available at my mother’s place, so I may miss a day here and there. On the bright side, I’m bringing along my camera and will be snapping photos of the…

The cold night air swept in through the partially open doorway, chilling me through my modest t-shirt, as the Greenpeace volunteer yammered on about bears and whales. I could hear the clatter of my wife starting on dinner, snug and cozy back in the kitchen, no doubt reflecting on my rotten luck. “Sucker,”she was probably…

For some reason, I’m at my most prolific while driving. Forget sitting in an office, parked in front of a laptop. Give me my Q7 and a nice long drive. Case in point - after agonizing over this script for days, I wrote five pages today while motoring around the city. No phone calls or…

Pursuant to yesterday’s Olympic tirade comes word out of Montreal that, after 30 years, the city has finally paid off the cost of its Olympic stadium. Congratulations to all those who helped make Opération Elephant Blanc such a rousing success.   The news didn’t do much to inspire the dogs who are clearly resting up…

The Winter Olympics are coming (God help us)! Only four short years before we can once again thrill to world-class displays of athletic prowess in events such as curling, the bobsled, and the skeleton. Move over football and baseball. Here come sports that the every day individual can relate to. What child hasn’t dreamed of…

I read online today that a woman in Canada presently holds the record of “second oldest living woman” at 115 years. These milestones always make me think back to my own grandmother who passed away at the ripe old age of 112, remaining lucid to the very end, always firm in her belief that she…