New Year’s Resolutions 2024

Last year, I did pretty well, keeping my New Year’s resolutions. I feel that I did increase my fitness – I made 10,000 steps almost every day of the year. I started a strength routine that — while patchy — showed me that strength training is important to my well-being. I achieved my Kayak levels …

In solitude, we don’t escape people, we escape machines

I went on a kayak trip to the West Coast of Canada recently. It was beautiful beyond one’s imagination. I kayaked from Okeover Inlet into Desolation Sound, British Columbia. The sense of solitude and togetherness with humanity there has remained with me since. I had many adventures on this trip. I saw a Minke whale …

A visit to De Mazenod Farm – A quiet Christian contribution

Sometimes you visit a place that just feels right. My recent visit to De Mazenod Farm was like that. The Farm is a development of the De Mazenod Door program, which was started by Fathers Tony O’Dell and Jarek Pachoki, both Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It was named after Saint Eugene de Mazenod, a …

We never walk alone

This is a quick personal narrative about why I love walking in the forest. Memories, imagination, creativity. I walk for many reasons. Obviously, I need to get from place to place. Sometimes I need a workout, so I walk fast or listen to music that will make me walk even faster. Other times, I walk …

New Year’s Resolutions 2021

This year was a strange year. COVID-19 kept us at home and made many of us sick – I had extended family members who caught COVID-19 and survived, thankfully. As many of you know, my life revolves around my work as a professor of communication studies and communications management at McMaster University and my work …

An uncanny conversation en route to dinner

I was in Ottawa last week and had the pleasure of having dinner with my friend Lars, who works on the Hill. We had plans to go and have a quick dinner at the food court in the Rideau Centre – I am partial to the Amaya chain for quick vegan and they have a …

The first snow – a moment of regret? or an invitation to contemplate?

We spend so much time in the waiting room of life, anticipating a future in which the conditions will be right for us to take action. The first snow fell today, in silent sprinkles. I am watching its flakes drift and glide in a zig-zag as they fall, in a manner similar to leaves. I …

Language and dimensionality: The movie “Arrival”

I watched the film Arrival last night. It was an interesting exploration of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which has two versions: Linguistic Relativity — claims that language shapes and colours our worldview (i.e. if you don’t have a nuanced set of words for different types of snow, you are less likely to see the different varieties …