Living with your environmental choices and the ones others make for you while on the road
We must reckon with the environmental impacts of our personal travel decisions in this time of climate crisis. For us, it was our current trip – to hike in northern Italy with friends, just after my wife’s retirement and, coincidentally, climate activist Greta Thunberg’s trip to New York from Sweden on a sailboat – that…
A recent poll tells us that 26% of Canadians have either adopted the ketogenic diet, tried it or considered it in. But there are meany health questions
Are you on the ketogenic diet? Apparently, many people are or have tried it in the last year or so. It may be the most popular dietary trend in North America right now. Over the last 12 months, the word ‘keto’ was the most googled food-related topic in the world, not just in Canada. The…
It doesn’t do to embarrass oneself in front of the waiter in the lobby bar of the Four Seasons George V hotel
When we were dating, my wife-to-be made the mistake of mentioning that it would be nice to stay in the Four Seasons George V hotel with me in Paris. I took this idle chat as a mission. Twenty years went by, but I remembered my assignment. I had some business in Geneva and suggested that…
This all-electric car offers range, jump, comfort and practicality – but it’s not cheap
The first thing that occurred to me when I picked up the all-electric 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric were the two words: range anxiety. It’s the paranoia of driving more than a block or two for fear of running out of battery power and being stranded. Part of the reason for this is that most electric…
There’s more than enough good in this world for everyone and every person has the potential for greatness
A study of history exposes many mistakes mankind has made. But we also see many great successes. What creates this difference? At the core of each person, there are guiding principles. We innately know that love, kindness, humility, truth and compassion are paramount, and our ability to embrace these ideals impacts the direction of the…
From Jerusalem to Rome, from Kyoto to Mecca, from Varanasi to Lhasa, all the major religions of the world have cities of special significance
Just coming off of a trip to Israel, we started thinking about pilgrimage cities of the world. While most people take a pilgrimage for religious reasons, pilgrimage cities are interesting to all travellers. Most have layers of history. There is much to see and learn about in all of them. All the major religions of…
Focus on these three Cs — calm, collected and confident
Too often, we’re exposed to the energy-sucking power of worry. What a waste. But you can do something about it. When I was a young mom, I worried about making mistakes raising my children. I was so concerned about scarring them for life. It seemed that every article I read eluded to poor parenting as…
Welcome to the future of big-league sports, which will depend on a merger of sports and the star-making machine of the culture industry
Mitch Marner has signed. Someone wake Lord Stanley in heaven. A parade is coming. Okay, that might be a tad optimistic. But the hopes for any National Hockey League playoff success in Toronto hinge on Marner, who may not get the headlines but is the key to the Maple Leafs offence. Marner’s signing ended a…
Deciding to close up shop comes with a lot of stress, shame and disappointment. But you can disappear with some grace
I have a great disappearing act, though my wife Margaret doesn’t appreciate it much. I usually do this act when company comes over and stays late. If they don’t get the hint when I blow out all of the candles, I’ll say that I’m going up to do laundry. Or when they’re a little unfamiliar…
The hypocrisy in college athletics promotes the amateur myth and tries to suppress the fact that the young athletes have significant market value
California is leading the way towards economic justice for U.S. college athletes. The California State Assembly unanimously passed the Fair Pay to Play Act recently. If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill, or allows it to go into law without his signature, college athletes in California will be able to profit off of their own…