All photographs by Fransen CR (all rights reserved), Campbell River, BC. More of Fransen’s work can be found on Flickr.
Ambulance NB is not free if you are from out-of-province
Before Christmas I was visiting in New Brunswick and needed an ambulance for a midnight trip to the hospital.
My heart almost did a flip when a $650 bill for ambulance services came a month later.
If I had been traveling in a province that didn’t have reciprocal medicare coverage, the bill could have been more than $10,000. Continue reading
Perigee moon May 5 2012 (photo Peter Asquith, New Zealand rights reserved)
Last night I saw the Perigee Moon when I fell asleep early but not at 3:50 AM when I awoke on the east side of the house.
I jumped in my wheelchair and zipped to the west end of the house and there it was, big and butter yellow shining through the trees.
I had to get dressed and go chase the moon for a better picture than from a kitchen window. I would get a picture of the moon, but not as good as the by Peter Asquith from New Zealand. Continue reading
Perigee super moon rising (photo Bill Watson Hamilton Ontario)
I knew something magical was happening last night. When I was going to sleep, the almost full moon was streaming light through the blinds.
I opened them up and fell asleep bathed in the moonlight. When I awoke at 2:30 AM the night was alive with moonlight. Continue reading
"Don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters" - Bob Dylan 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'
The US White House announced that singer songwriter, writer, and actor Bob Dylan will receive the the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
To followers of the iconic leader of baby boomer counter culture, the award has some irony. But then we were all younger then, we’re older than that now. Continue reading
Everyone was thrilled by the exploits of Newark Mayor Cory Booker when he saved his neighbor from a burning building.
Well perhaps his Republican opponents were less than enthused by the Super Hero Mayor.
Ellen did a video interview with Mayor Booker, posted it on her website and on YouTube then pulled it. Continue reading
NY Post
Newark Mayor Cory Booker appeared on Ellen today to talk about his adventure saving his neighbor from her burning home.
Update – for some reason the “Ellen” clip was removed from YouTube.
There are some men who are heroes and Cory Brooker is one. Continue reading
Alison Redford, Alberta Premier on the phone jubilant at election win(photo credit - Todd Korol / Reuters)
Against the odds and Canada’s top pollsters and media predictions, Conservative Alison Redford has won a decided victory in Alberta’s provincial election.
Canadian human rights advocates can breathe a sigh of relief that Wildrose didn’t take the government. Wildrose leader Danielle Smith announced plans to close down Alberta’s Human Rights Commission, replacing it with a branch of the court system to weed out “frivolous” human rights complaints. Continue reading
“Stealing Genius” which contains “30 for 60″ is a great gem for Newfoundlanders and people who wish they were Newfoundlanders – which pretty much takes up most of mankind.
The phrase “30 for 60″ means an all-out-bid in the Irish game of Forty-Five’s (45′s). When your down in the game, it’s a Hail Mary bid to beat your opponent with a 60 point upside or downside.
Jim Marshall of Marshall amps - the sound of rock and roll (photo credit Damien Maguire)
James Charles “Jim” Marshall OBE (July 29, 1923 – April 5, 2012) was a man with poor health, a musician and business person.
In the 1960s he created the Marshall guitar amp and changed the volume of rock music forever.
He died on April 5, 2012 at a hospice in London, UK surrounded by his wife and four children. Continue reading
We built this economy (photo credit - Jesselangham Wikiality)
Every day we are being told the problems of Canada and the United States are too many aging Baby Boomers.
It’s as if they want us to move onto an ice flow and disappear in the Arctic spring.
Well, it’s not our fault if we built the strongest economic boom in history. Through hard work we provided the great standard of living our children would like to inherit without the same amount of effort. Continue reading
