Columns

Hard Work is Euphoric

I’m never retiring.  As long as I can roll out of bed and stay upright for eight hours, I’m manning the battalions of the work front.  You see, Mom was meticulous and would tear our bed sheets off the bed, demanding we remake it at the sign of the slightest crease.  And Dad was the… Read more »

Music Review—The Long Con

Artist: The Revivalists Album: Pour It Out Into The Night Single: The Long Con Eight-piece rock band, The Revivalists, have released their latest single, “The Long Con”, from their upcoming album, Pour It Out Into The Night.  The single is currently available for streaming anywhere you get your music, and the album will be released… Read more »

Dear Barb—The Art of Friendship

Dear Barb: Hi, I read your column weekly and I appreciate your advice.  My question is about best friends.  I have known Chrissy for 25 years and our lives have paralleled in a lot of ways.  I believe that is the reason we bonded and were always there for each other.  However, recently, things have… Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Romanticism

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—Off the Grid as an Online Student

Being swept away by meaningful yet ineffable moments of joy, desolation, or brilliance is a powerful part of being human.  As students, such magical life mysteries extend to the realm of reading, where words on a page morph into ideas and imagery that whisk us away to realms unimaginable.  When we find an academic discipline… Read more »

Music Review—No Sleep

Artist: Regard featuring Ella Henderson Single: No Sleep DJ Regard has released a new single featuring artist Ella Henderson titled “No Sleep”. The single is available for streaming anywhere you get your music. You may know Regard from his viral singles “Ride It” and “Secrets” featuring RAYE. You may also know Ella Henderson from season… Read more »

Dear Barb—Changing Etiquette

Dear Barb: Hi, we are a group of girls in our twenties who are working on a college paper about the evolution of etiquette and changes that may have occurred over the years.  A couple of girls in our group are presenting the theory that the rules of etiquette have never changed and personal behaviour… Read more »

[blue rare]—Nothing Doing (In Praise of Laziness)

In 1962, in the context of the American-Russian space race, then-U.S.  president John F.  Kennedy famously proclaimed, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” I have always found these words inspirational, extolling as they do the qualities… Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Survivalism

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 »