I’ve developed a real affection for British TV, even when the accents are so gumbo-thick that I’m forced to turn on subtitles
In my TV-besotted youth, we had precious little exposure to British television. There was Dr. Who, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Avengers. The Avengers starred the curvaceous, recently departed Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, every teenage boy’s fantasy figure (tied with Julie Newmar’s Catwoman on Batman). Otherwise, that was about it for exposure to British…
One day, you’re an unshakable fan of a company; the next day, you’re warning complete strangers to stay away
The relationship between customer and company is a delicate thing. One day, you’re an unshakable fan of a company; the next day, you’re warning complete strangers to stay away. Here are three examples of customer service and how it can go so right – or so wrong. Many years ago, my Telus internet went out.…
Examples of tweets destroying careers are numerous. Commit your thoughts to Twitter and you're forever setting your opinions in amber
Last week, I got a notice from Twitter that I was ‘celebrating’ 12 years on the social media platform. What an accomplishment. Here are my Twitter stats after 12 years: I have sent out 3,475 tweets. I’m following 50 accounts, one of whom claims to be a graduate of ‘Bovine University.’ Bafflingly, I have 431…
Last weekend marked the 700th episode of The Simpsons. My first thought upon hearing this news? D’oh! Which led to my second thought: While that’s an impressive run, has the show overstayed its welcome? The Simpsons premiered on Dec. 17, 1989. A three-year stint on Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show from 1987 to 1989 as…
It’s time to bring back Hee Haw and its successful brand of comedy and country music to a whole new generation of TV viewers
“SAA-LUTE!” Does that ring a bell? If not, maybe a quick “Howdy!,” “Pfft! You was gone!,” “Uh-huh, oh yeah!” or “Hey Grandpa! What’s for supper?” will bring back fond memories. Perhaps a short visit to Kornfield Kounty and Archie’s Barber Shop would help. Or we could grab a guitar and banjo and start pickin’ and…
While not scrupulously accurate, it is still quite engrossing
An electrician in to do some wiring work a couple of months ago ran his eye over the media shelf, noticed the Vikings DVD set and announced that The Last Kingdom was better. So in the midst of a pandemic winter, we tracked down the extant four seasons and gave it a whirl. The series…
It’s important for schools to have a knowledge-rich curriculum that sequentially builds on knowledge year by year. Alex Trebek taught us that
Canadians were saddened to learn that longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away recently from pancreatic cancer. For more than 35 years, Trebek was a familiar face in our homes. There was no better way of testing your general knowledge than seeing how many Jeopardy! questions you could correctly answer. The outpouring of emotion over…
He was an early and vocal critic of Nazism., an unapologetic opponent of eugenics and derisive towards the concept of racial purity
G.K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton was born in 1874 and died in 1936, just two weeks into his 63rd year. During his lifetime, he was one of England’s most notable writers. His output was truly prodigious, including novels, poems, short stories, newspaper columns and such. Today, it’s probably fair to say that he’s best remembered for…
Tens of thousands of new students from nearly every country in the world have joined Dan Levy in relearning history from Indigenous perspectives
Since its launch in 2017, the massive open online course Indigenous Canada has been among the most popular MOOCs in Canada. But in 2020, its popularity skyrocketed. “It all started in March with COVID,” said course instructor Paul Gareau. “Normally around 300 new students register each week, but in March we started getting around 1,000. Then, when…
Few people don’t have harsh opinions. Trump and Biden are generally thought of as great or awful
For the past few months, I’ve watched way too much TV dealing with the U.S. presidential election. I tried to keep a reasonable balance by watching CNN and Fox. I often saw their diverse reports on the same item and you would think they were talking about two different stories taking place in two different…
In my TV-besotted youth, we had precious little exposure to British television. There was Dr. Who, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and The Avengers. The Avengers starred the curvaceous, recently departed Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, every teenage boy’s fantasy figure (tied with Julie Newmar’s Catwoman on Batman). Otherwise, that was about it for exposure to British…
