Behold Thorin, Ori, Dori, Nori, Bombur, Bifur, Bofur, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Fili and Kili. I’ve been doing my best not to spend too much time checking out Peter Jackson’s latest project – the prequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Hobbit. But I have wandered over to check out some of the updates … [Read more…]
This last weekend was spent playing board games with other board game enthusiasts at FallCon, here in Calgary. FallCon is an annual convention where multiple tournaments are held, used (and new) games are auctioned off, the Canadian Game Design award is presented, and attendees can borrow from a library of hundreds of games to play … [Read more…]
For much of my life, Christianity was defined by my church tradition: Seventh-Day Adventism. It took just over two decades to begin to recognize and even appreciate other protestant denominations. I attended conferences, seminars, and worship services put on by Baptist, Vineyard, and non-denominational groups ultimately leading us to work with Impact Ministries in Guatemala. … [Read more…]
A couple weeks back a friend, Miguel, invited me to some muay thai fights. If your not familiar with muay thai, it’s basically a kickboxing martial art from, you guessed it, Thailand. Miguel used to work out and work with some of the fighters at the Mike Miles Club here in Calgary, so he got … [Read more…]
I got mentioned on the radio this morning. The CBC Radio 1 morning show, The Calgary Eye Opener, put out a request for listeners to send them photos of them listening to the program so they could see what some of their listeners looked like as they listened. Amber took a shot of me eating … [Read more…]
My father initiated my stamp collection when I was in grade 1 or 2. It was modest to be sure, until we met Dr. Pierce in Alberta. Dr. Pierce was a tremendous collector with lots and lots of doubles to which he gave us full access. Our collection grew quickly and broadly during my grades … [Read more…]
Before the summer expired, but just into the school year, one of my coworkers invited Blaise and I out for a day of canoeing on Barrier Lake. Richard is one of the elementary teachers at my school so I don’t really see him much, but we have some shared passions (music, canoeing, our sons, etc.) … [Read more…]
One of my faves since ’92, R.E.M. has broken up. Their 80s material was always their best, but I have to say, I really enjoyed all of their albums right to the end. Cheers to great music for over 3 decades! MIKE MILLS “During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting … [Read more…]
(image from ctv.ca) Some thoughts swirling in my head regarding the recent passing of NDP leader and leader of the Loyal Opposition Jack Layton that I wish to comment here. It’s no secret to zaakistan.com followers that I tend to the left on both the economic spectrum and the libertarian spectrum, therefore I listened carefully … [Read more…]
BY CAR 5728 kms: Calgary to Regina to Fort Qu’Appelle to Regina to Fort Qu’Appelle to Regina to Fort Qu’Appelle to Regina Fort Qu’Appelle to Calgary to Prince George to Smithers to Hazelton to Smithers to Prince George to Edmonton to Calgary … [:Moncton to Cormier Village to Cap-Pelé to St. Louis de Kent to … [Read more…]