April Fools
Exactly 20 years ago today Coffeetalk was about April Fools Day. I said its history isn't entirely clear. You can't pinpoint the first April Fools Day on a calendar. The beginning of the tradition may have been the year 1582 in France. Prior to that year the New Year was celebrated for eight days ending on April 1. ...
Apr 01, 2024
Saskatoon Black Business Expo
February was Black History Month, during which people across the country participated in events and festivities that honour the legacy of Black people in Canada and their communities. There were a number of Afro-centric events in Saskatoon including an African and Urban Fashion Show at the Remai Art Gallery that I had...
Mar 27, 2024
World Happiness Report
I saw this headline, "Canada slips to 15th place in annual World Happiness Report". Well, if that didn't just make me want to crawl under the covers and hibernate till June. Only the 15th happiest country on the planet? Parliament should take a break from fighting over the carbon tax to look into this im...
Mar 25, 2024
Gaza
I've said before that I am something of a newshound. I like to keep up on what is going on in my city, province, country and elsewhere in the world. As if the war in Ukraine isn't bad enough, the stories coming out of Gaza in the Middle East night after night on both our Canadian and American TV newscasts is heart w...
Mar 22, 2024
VLOGGER
We may soon live in a world where it is hard to tell whether the person speaking to us in a video is real or generated by a computer program. That's something to ponder. Here's something else: Google researchers have unveiled an AI that can bring still photos to life. You heard me right. It's called "VLOGGER...
Mar 20, 2024
Airlines
When you look at the airline industry over the years, the changes are interesting. Westjet has bought Sunwing and will wind it down and integrate it into Westjet later this year. Westjet has come a long way since its inception 30 years ago in 1994. Who remembers what Air Canada was called before it became Air Cana...
Mar 18, 2024
popular names throughout the decades
What's in a name? Supposedly plenty. Parents spend serious time pondering names for their newborns. Popular baby names change through the eras..... well, mostly. Let's go back to the middle of the Fab Fifties in Canada, 70 years ago, the beginning of Rock & Roll. The Top 5 names for girls in order? Mary, ...
Mar 15, 2024
AM/FM
A couple of interesting articles caught my eye during weekday lunch hour reading. One piece from Monday was titled, "Biden and Trump pour big money into AM/FM as Radio proves vital". The reasoning behind President Joe Biden's multi-million-dollar radio advertising push in battleground states is to "m...
Mar 13, 2024
NATO commitment
The non-profit Angus Reid Institute that does independent research has found that the percentage of Canadians prioritizing military preparedness has more than doubled over the past decade. NATO countries have a commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence. To date 18 of 31member countries are at that level and Canada isn...
Mar 11, 2024
SAIL
Last Saturday I accompanied my wife who was bringing greetings on behalf of the City for International Language Day at an event organized by SAIL (Saskatchewan Association of International Languages). I'm glad I went because it reminded me that we live in a multi-cultural country. There were songs and dances with gr...
Mar 08, 2024