Columns

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Brontë Sisters

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge.  Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile. From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and… Read more »

Fly on the Wall—When Reality Rends Calamity as Entertainment

Between puppy videos and snazzy floral arrangements, the violent facts of the news invariably enter our mind’s fray.  Terrorists seizing hostages and destroying buildings full of people in Israel is the most recent harrowing barbarity.  Fake news and dubious facts give way when we see other people’s lives become all-too stark and harrowing and real. … Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Ancient Greek Tragedies

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge.  Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile. From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and… Read more »

Fly on the Wall—Dude, That’s Not Normal!

A 2019 worldwide study finds that the average respondent spends 6 hours and 42 minutes online per day; Canadians in 2021 clocked an average of 4.4 hours per day, up from 3.9 hours the previous year.  (Salim, 2019.  Somos, 2022).  These facts might lead us at AU to ponder how many hours we’ve personally wiled… Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Jane Austen

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge.  Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile. From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and… Read more »

Music Review—Kindle the Flame

Artist: Drunktank Single: Kindle the Flame Recently, I stumbled upon a new band that caught my attention.   Drunktank, a Dutch skatepunk group, and just last month they dropped a music video for their latest single, “Kindle the Flame.”  Around the same time, Canadians had the privilege of witnessing this cool band in action during their… Read more »

Fly on the Wall—Orange Shirts

Truth and Reconciliation is the most black and white concept imaginable in our flimsy and ephemeral epoch of tweets and twists and turns as the political correctness wagon lurches ever onward.  We all know that what our cultural forefathers (and mothers) condoned and carried out with regard to Indigenous children sent to residential schools was… Read more »

[blue rare]—Questions and Answers

Once upon a time, I was the sort of person who liked nothing better than to delve into the esoteric mysteries of life.  From “What really happened to Lord Lucan?” to “How on Earth could it possibly be that middle-aged women who have given birth to multiple children can have better bladder control than me?”… Read more »