It is hard to identify to which English carols Robert Herrick (1591-1674) refers in his nativity text, What Sweeter Music: What sweeter music can we bringThan a carol, for to singThe birth of this our heavenly King?Awake the voice! Awake the string! When children would reach for their stockingsAnd open the presents they foundThe lights... Continue Reading →
From This Day in History’s Post Gary Burghoff stood on the M*A*S*H (henceforth MAS*H) set in October 1979, holding a teddy bear that had become as famous as he was, and told the producers he was done. Not for more money. Not for better storylines. He was leaving because playing Radar O'Reilly—the role that made... Continue Reading →
Kathie and I are working our way Emma Thompson’s new four-part suspense series on Apple-TV, described by Wenlei Ma on THE NIGHTLY as “a great show with an unusual tone that, like Slow Horses, generously peppers wry humour between the drama and thriller elements. It keeps things moving along without ever getting bogged down in... Continue Reading →
Ray Fletcher and I go back a long way, to the winter of 1983. We had both gone north to the Anglican Diocese of Yukon, Ray as a parish priest first in Atlin and later Dawson City. I arrived to join the Yukon Apostolate, an informal order of laity keen to serve the Church in... Continue Reading →
If the US resumes nuclear weapons testing, this would be extremely dangerous for humanity Published: October 30, 2025 at The Conversation Tilman Ruff, Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne Disclosure statement: Tilman Ruff is affiliated with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the International Campaign to... Continue Reading →
Final Blue Jays post for a while; I promise! But I can’t resist calling out John Schneider for his management of this year’s team. Still a newbie baseball fan myself I don’t know the great managers of the past. But I have admired John Schneider’s direction of our rags-to-riches Jays this season. “They went about... Continue Reading →
I met Bonnie a little over a year ago up on the hill at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens on the grounds of the Summerland Research Station. Dressed in jeans and a green shirt her small frame belied her confident energy; she was buzzing around like a Queen Bee (an adult, mated female that lives in... Continue Reading →
Our Jays are on an amazing run right now. Few predicted such success six months ago. Our boys just swept the Baltimore Orioles; they lead the American league East four games ahead of their heel-nipping rival, the New York Yankees. Manager John Schneider has strengthened a fragile bullpen and continues to finesse the starting pitching... Continue Reading →
[Cartoon by Joe Wos] Three simple letters, PBS. It’s arguably one of the best known and revered acronyms in the US today. Along with CBS, NBC, and ABC three-letter acronyms identified the media landscape throughout my childhood and coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s. Now add to that FOX, CNN, and international sources... Continue Reading →
Years ago I suggested to a justice-seeking colleague that we should investigate the role of humour in our social and ecological justice advocacy. We can be awfully serious, I said. Off-putting even. She replied that the context — human rights abuse; the climate crisis; avaricious market hegemony — didn’t lend itself well to comedic treatment.... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 