Posted on March 22, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

The Way of the Cross – A Play

 

Our dear friend, Bernie Vosman, died on January 11^th. but he won’t be soon forgotten…not as long as Bernie’s family and friends have anything to say about it.

The first annual “Bowl with Bernie” will be held at Pins Bowling Center, Post Road on Saturday, March 31^st. from 1-3 p.m. An endowment fund is going to be established through L’Arche in Bernie’s name to assist them with the great work they do. One can only imagine the money Bernie would raise himself if he were still with us. It would be hard to say no to Bernie.

So, for those of you on Facebook, here’s the link so that you can pre-register: https://www.facebook.com/events/2084692608427367/ But if you just show up that afternoon, and can “spare” a few hours of your time, that would “strike” a chord with organizers. (Have they created a groan emoji yet?!).Hey, you don’t even have to bowl. I would like to but can’t because of my well documented lack of talent for bowling and some painful arthritis.

But that doesn’t mean that I won’t be there to support the cause. I am going to bring several copies of my three books to the event. For “Bowling for Bernie,” I’m going to charge full price: $20 for any one book. (3 for $60. Now there’s a deal you can’t pass up! ). I will donate all proceeds to the endowment fund. I will accept cash or credit card as payment.

Now, I can already hear the litany of excuses for not coming and I am prepared to accept just about all of them. If you are stranded in Meat Cove in a blizzard that day but still want to support this effort, get in touch with me. Buy a book (or 10) as Easter gifts. The receiver of the book will get some chuckles and you will have made a valuable contribution to Bernie’s legacy. I can also ship books to you if you live in some other part of the country.

In Bernie’s words, ” Come on, come on.”

Add the following to your events calendar: Next week is Holy Week for Christians and St. Nininian’s Cathedral will be the scene for a dramatic re-enactment of the Way of the Cross. Performances will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m. in the Cathedral. There is no admission charge, how a free will offering will be taken to defray expenses. The performance lasts approximately one hour. There is a stellar cast of actors and musicians representing many different faith communities in and around Antigonish.

One year ago, I witnessed another re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross near New Delhi, India in the small town of Khera Khurd. It was held on a sports field by an adjacent school. It was over 40 degrees Celsius and there wasn’t a tree in site. The “performance” (I have a few other choice words but will refrain from using them in mixed company!), lasted 3 hours and people were dropping like flies. I was living with a group of Brothers at the time (during my visa troubles), and ducking out from the proceedings was not an option. Now, THAT was penance!

Easter will come and go. You will eat too much food, consume far too much chocolate (is this possible?) and will need to get out of the house to appease your conscience. Ok. Start humming with me… “Like a Bridge over Troubled Waters.” Would you like to take a little trip down memory lane and hear some unique and quite stunning arrangements of some old classics? The Antigonish Chorale Ensemble will be performing their “Earth Day” spring concert on Sunday, April 8^th at 7:30 p.m. at St. James United Church. Admission by donation. We’ll be performing Big Yellow Taxi, Bridge over Troubled Water, Song for the Mira, Gaia (James Taylor) along with classics like Shenandoah and many more. Also joining the choir will be the St. James Handbell Trio and St.F.X. Vocal Ensembles. These concerts typically last about an hour with no intermission so you old farts (like me) can still be home and in bed by 9:00.

No. There’s never anything to do in Antigonish!

Have a great weekend.

Posted on March 8, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

” The hills are alive…”

 

Did you watch the Academy Awards last Sunday? Neither did I.

It’s not that I don’t like movies although I could hardly be accused of being a movie fanatic seeing that one of the last movies I’ve seen on the big screen was ET… not a rerun but when the movie was first released in 1982. That’s a slight exaggeration of course. Don’t ever choose me as a partner in a trivia game to answer questions about Hollywood, unless it’s about Frederick’s, the naughty lingerie store!

I have a fundamental distaste for the Academy Awards and most other award shows as they are usually displays of glitz, glitter and self -aggrandizement. Many celebrities have mistakenly taken the hashtag #Metoo as meaning, “the spotlight is on me.” All this and the incredible display of wealth. It would be safe to say that tens of millions of dollars are spent on the Academy Awards show and the wardrobe budgets alone could feed a small impoverished country for a year.

I do have a couple of favorite movies from a bygone day: The Sound of Music and The Shawshank Redemption. These days, I choose to watch movies and television series in the comfort of my own home using Netflix. And we have a popcorn maker. I’m a pretty cheap date.

How about you? What are your favorite all time movies?

In the past couple of years, I have become a big fan of the local Antigonish International Film Festival. Trivago recently rated it as the second most popular attraction in Antigonish next to the Highland Games. How big a fan? Surely you remember the famous ad from 1979 when Victor Kiam proudly announced that he liked the Remington shaver so much that he bought the company. Well, I like AIFF so much that I’ve joined the organization.

The films screened by AIFF are educational and cause one to think. The topics are wide ranging and there is something for just about everyone’s taste. Last season’s lineup was sensational. I think I saw close to a dozen movies over a couple of days. With the cost of a pass ($20), that works out to about $1.65 per show… cheaper than a half a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Planning the Film Festival is a year round endeavour. Of course, the Festival could not be held without financial support. It has a long list of supporters including businesses, government and individual donors. And every year, these entities need to be approached to renew their commitment for this first rate event.

So…. Are you at loose ends? Are you looking for a bit of money to finance your next vacation? AIFF is looking for someone to be in charge of sponsorships. Most of the legwork takes place in May and June. If you are interested, give me a shout and I’ll give you the details.

How many of you saw the 1993 blockbuster, “Free Willy?”

There’s a sequel coming up called “Free Lennie: The Story of a Man’s Escape from a Vegan Posse.” If you haven’t read my last two posts, you won’t have a clue what I’m talking about.

And to encourage you to do just that, I have a new contest. In my most recent Monday Morning Musings post (March 5^th.), I made note of my new advertisers. Somewhere in that post, there is a reference to one of the advertisers. Did you pick this up? Message me. If you’re correct, we’ll go and have lunch. If you live in Calgary, you’ll have to fly me out but I’ll still buy you lunch!

(For those of you who subscribe by e-mail, you’ll have to visit my website at www.week45.com too see the ads.)

Have a great weekend.

 

Posted on March 1, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with 4 comments

Gluten free tofu… my fav

 

A few days ago, I was in the produce section at Sobey’s , when I bumped into the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. I couldn’t resist the temptation to ask him one of the great existential questions of our time; “Aristotle.  Is it possible to be vegan and happy at the same time?” His writings cover many subjects including logic. He was deep in thought as he shuffled past the Brussel sprout display. For the first time in ancient or modern history, Aristotle was stumped.

Strange conversations occur at funeral receptions, especially when they are extensions of a discussion that had their genesis in the cathedral, moments after the funeral of an old friend. I was exiting Tigh Dhe earlier in the week when I bumped into my dentist. I had been battling a toothache for several days.

Not surprisingly, we both showed up at the funeral reception. He was joined by his wife and the three of us had a wide ranging discussion about food and pain. I felt a bit sheepish discussing a toothache while nibbling on a small plate of sweets. To add to my shame, I discovered that I had, unknowingly, removed the sweets from the table assigned for the family of the deceased who had yet to arrive. I looked around the room for telltale security cameras but even worse, my act of larceny was captured by many people at my table.

Well one thing led to another and we ended up comparing notes on diets including the Mediterranean, the diabetic diet, vegetarian and vegan. There are theories that suggest a vegan diet can alleviate arthritis pain.

My most recent MRI provided me with some illumination about my chronic pain. “There is moderate degenerative disc disease at the levels of C3-C7 with moderate- sized paracentral and foraminal disc protrusions at the levels of C3-C5 causing predominantly moderate neuorforaminal stenosis.” Loosely translated, I have a pain in the neck.

When I got home, I decided to poke around the internet to see what people are saying about diet and arthritis. I was particularly interested in what the Arthritis Foundation had to say on the subject. Study results are inconclusive. Apparently, vegans don’t consume any animal products at all including meats, eggs and dairy. But… and here’s the kicker, you can eat all the tofu that you want. What a relief!

On a subsequent visit to Sobey’s, I bumped into Ari again. (We’re now on a first name basis.) I asked him for his thoughts on tofu.  For a man who commented extensively on physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, psychology, linguistics, politics and government, I thought that the merits of tofu would be a piece of cake. But even one of the brightest minds to have ever lived could not fathom why anyone would willingly and knowingly consume tofu on a regular basis.

I decided that I needed some empirical evidence so I consulted with one of my daughters who was vegan years ago. She told me that it’s not easy being vegan. (Cue Kermit the Frog: It’s Not Easy Being Green) It requires a fair bit of work and planning. She said that it is particularly tricky in social situations where food is being served. I asked about tofu and she assured me that with proper preparation and seasoning, tofu can be quite satisfying. I noticed that she had her head down while uttering this truism, all the while consuming my lovingly prepared sweet and sour meatballs.

I figured that I had done enough meaningful research to have one more go at Aristotle. “So, Mr.A (a tip of the hat to Mr.T at the Olympics), is it possible to be vegan and happy at the same time?”  He was deep in thought as he sifted through a bin of alfalfa sprouts.

“Yes, it is possible but not until this summer when marijuana is legalized.”