Bah! Humbug! Call me the Scrooge of Sports. From a young age, I knew I’d never be the type that lives in a beer commercial, surrounded by beautiful people and cheering wildly for favorite teams. It really came down to the fact that I really don’t care who wins. I think it’s wonderful to keep …
JOLTIN’ JOEB HAS LEFT AND GONE AWAY
Joeb Bidinghistime stunned the entertainment world last Sunday by announcing his withdrawal from November’s contest to crown ‘Murica’s Greatest Comedian. Joeb’s decision is widely seen as a spitball in the eye for the favored contender, Ronald Rump, Ex PREZ, Grand High Imperial Twitterbug (the ‘GHIT’) and leader of the Publican Cult - the group that …
THE GHIT FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHTS BACK!
On the surface, THEY say it was a lone and jealous comedian that shot at Ronald Rump last week, fearful that the Grand High Imperial Twitterbug (GHIT) was going to recapture his title as World’s Greatest Comedian and move back into the Whitey House. HAVEN’T WE HEARD THE STORY ABOUT A ‘LONE GUNMAN’ BEFORE? That’s …
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY BY BONNIE GARMUSM
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmusm, Penguin Doubleday, 2022 - This book is a real jewel - it’s by turns fun, fresh, funny, feminist, serious and chock-a-block full of compellingly oddball characters, the most notable being Elizabeth Zott. Elizabeth is a chemist, a genius and living in the wrong era - 1950’s America. Defending herself …
THE GREAT DEBATE-ACLE
I got a text last Thursday from my #1 son: “Are you watching the presidential debate? It’s hilarious. One is seemingly quite literally dying and the other is bat shit insane.” Now that summed it up quite nicely - #1 son’s views on the comedy value of politics resonates. The results? The real ‘winner’ of …
COLLECTIVE GUILT
Let’s take stock of the situation in the Middle East: Israel has, for some time, effectively set up a system of apartheid against the Palestinians. Palestinians chaff under this iniquitous system but it’s quite clear that they don’t have the weapons, troops or resources to go ‘toe to toe’ with Israel’s military. Enter Hamas - …
I WAS WRONG!
YES, DEAR READER, I WAS WRONG! Who would have thought? Ex-Prez and Grand High Imperial Twitterbug - the GHIT, the ONE, the ONLY, RONALD RUMP is once again close to regaining his crown as King of Comedy. After weeks of practicing his scowling face for supporters and reporters, the courtroom verdict came in and …
ADRIFT BY LISA BRIDEAU
ADRIFT BY LISA BRIDEAU, Sourcebooks Landmark, 2023 - She wakes up in a sailboat called the Sea Dragon in the Canadian Pacific waters off Haida Gwaii. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. She has some memories - knows how to read, write and still has lots of skills, including …
OPEN SECRETS BY ALICE MUNRO
Open Secrets by Alice Munro - M&S, 1994 - Alice Munro, short story writer, Nobel prize laureate in literature (2013), winner of the Giller prize (1998 & 2004) and other notable awards, was credited with ‘revolutionizing the structure of the short story’. She died last May and there I was, living in close proximity …
THE WEIGHT OF INK BY RACHEL KADISH
THE WEIGHT OF INK BY RACHEL KADISH, Houghton Mifflin, 2017 - Helen Watt is an aging historian at a middling university in London. She has lived a solitary life, devoting herself to her work without producing anything of significance. On the cusp of retiring and beset by a debilitating illness she receives a call from …
Richard's Left Bank 