Originally published on June 28 in issue no. 24. It made me laugh.
Columns
Since late November, I’ve watched several Christmas movies. And by several I mean more than twenty. And by watched I mean caught snippets, previews, or chunks of movies as I went about my day. Some people have ear buds permanently attached to their heads; I’ve got the TV playing in the background of my life… Read more »
Primal Numbers ? Ring Out the Old ?Tis the season for gifting and giving, and we’re sure to find all sorts of digital goodies under the tree. Yet when we toss our old toys aside, they often become a gift that keeps giving?but not in a good way. With 50 million tonnes of electronics waste… Read more »
During the holiday season, we hear a lot about ensuring that our greetings are inclusive or inoffensive. But there’s not much press given to spelling, grammar, and usage errors, is there? I know, I know. It’s the thought that counts. But if misspellings and mistakes turn you into a grammatical Grinch, read on. Seasonal salutations… Read more »
Whether you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or as a cultural tradition, It’s a great time for moral inventory. This is reflected, if not in the marketplace, then in nearly all films produced for the annual. As usual, the moral inventory motivator prize goes to the National Film Board of Canada, whose ethical exhortations… Read more »
In the first two articles of this series (see Part I http://www.voicemagazine.org/articles/columndisplay.php?ART=9337 and Part II http://voicemagazine.org/articles/columndisplay.php?ART=9357), we examined the proper use of punctuation and quotation marks, including whether to place commas and quotes inside quotation marks and how to handle multiple sets of quotation marks. But although the steps and rules discussed cover most situations,… Read more »
In late November I spent a week at our Canmore timeshare: a functional, yet cozy location for a working retreat. After a few hours or days of work I feel entitled to goof off. That diversion may entail shopping or eating out. As I visited new and old haunts in town I thought about my… Read more »
By now, we’ve all seen that look of dread in someone’s eyes when they realize they’ve left their smart phone at home. It’s as though they’ve dropped the equivalent of Tolkien’s One Ring down a crevasse. they’re suddenly adrift, powerless without their Precious. Some researchers claim this anxiety is a sign of smart phone addiction,… Read more »
Album:Inside Llewyn Davis (soundtrack to the film) Producers:Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, & T-Bone Burnett Songs won’t save the planet, but neither will books or speeches. Pete Seeger By the mid-70s, I wanted to get out of the business. I was tired anyway. Dave van Ronk The fact that the soundtrack for this film was made… Read more »
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employes (AUPE) are the support staff at Athabasca University. They’re the people who process your applications, your loan papers, your library requests, who answer the phones at the information desk and try to get your question to the right person?who is usually another member of the AUPE. They’re also the… Read more »