(Port) Coquitlam Odysseus

Yes, I know this is completely off-topic for this blog, but I found the story so amusing I just couldn’t resist putting it up. You can find the BBC story, with some rather humorous details, here.

(With apologies for the lack of verbs) It’s not the aggressive ones I’m thinking about. There aren’t many of those left anymore. It’s the just plain inconsiderate and incompetent drivers who are driving me crazy these days. The folks at the head of the line who drive below the speed limit in the fast lane. [...]

Recently, the President of Iran was invited by Columbia University to participate in some kind of “leader’s forum” (see the BBC story here), upsetting many Americans, and prompting calls within Congress to seek ways to penalize Columbia. On the surface, this looks like a typical ivory tower exercise in self-congratulatory enlightenment and the celebration of [...]

Last Sunday my wife, young Telemachus, and I visited Fort Langley, a historic Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) fort that is also the birthplace of the mainland colony of British Columbia. Fort Langley was originally built 2.5 miles from the present location in 1827 by the company, which built the fort as part of its usual [...]

While it might seem trite to put “9/11″ next to “& me,” as though the two elements were puppies, 9/11 had a big impact on this Canadian. Partly inspired by my friend the Big Hominid’s thoughtful post on the subject, I decided to set down here what I experienced that day, and how it has [...]

The World of Odysseus by M.I. Finley. It was a very enjoyable read. Also finished (some time ago, actually): Agamemnon by Aeschylus. I’ve been delaying the second two books of Aeschylus’s Oresteia because I’ve been waiting for a certain special someone to return my copy of the Iliad, which I need for a bit of [...]

Yesterday was a stressful but wonderful day. Chae Young had to have a minor surgery (which was successful) in the hospital, I had to go into Vancouver to deliver a book to someone, getting stuck for what seemed an eternity in Skytrain on the way, and on the same day I received word that my [...]

Scroll down for all the thumbnails This post is dedicated to my loyal and wonderful friends Rob and Lee. Yesterday I met my friend good friend Rob, who was my favorite English teacher back in junior high school, for a trip to UBC’s Museum of Anthropology. At present, the museum is undergoing renovation, but it [...]