Creative commentary plus crafty composition

Archive for the ‘Social & political humour’ Category

TOP 10 Toronto Pan Am Games Thrills – Update

With day one under way (spot the changes from yesterday’s post)…

  • Bask in the glow of a more diverse range of sponsors
  • Partake in jingoistic television coverage with gushing announcers
  • Enjoy the non-violent excitement of sports like archery, shooting, and boxing
  • Gape at the sorry-looking, illogical Games mascot (i.e. a multi-colour porcupine in Toronto?) (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Top 10 Thrills of Having the Pan Am Games in Toronto

With the official opening today…

  • Bask in the glow of a more diverse range of sponsors
  • Partake in live jingoistic television coverage with gushing announcers
  • Enjoy the non-violent excitement of sports like archery, shooting, and boxing (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Aspiring to the Dumbest Catch Phrase

There’s a broadcaster for the New York Yankees baseball team who belts out whenever a Yankees player hits a home run, “See Ya!”.  I’ll grant that at least it’s a short phrase.  But it makes no sense.  And I’m not saying this because I’ve never cared a whit for the Yankees.  (I grew up a Montreal Expos fan.  As they’re not around anymore, I’ve reluctantly become a Toronto Blue Jays follower.) (more…)

Category:

Social & political commentary, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Happy Anniversary – to ‘The Watch of Time’!

Today, June 4, 2015 marks the first anniversary of this blog site.  (I also had my annual check-up this morning, but that’s not an event to be particularly enjoyed or celebrated, especially after reaching a certain age threshold.)

The first posting June 4th last year was a slightly edited version of a letter to the editor (more…)

Category:

Arts commentary, Social & political commentary, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Ways to Make Tax Filing Season More Tolerable

It’s that time for tax filing deadlines, i.e. April 30th in Canada and April 15th in the U.S.  How can this process be made less stressful or perhaps more rewarding?

  • Allow returns to be filed any time in the calendar year (which altruistically helps stagger workloads for tax authorities)
  • Permit opting out of completing schedules too complicated (i.e. ‘taxing’) to understand or interpret (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

TOP 10 Bureaucracy ‘Should Be’ Rules

With bureaucracies, it seems their modus operandi includes being self-serving, or unclear, or worse…

  • When municipal departments are doing traffic studies, they should ensure that more than 2% of the local population is in favour of a proposed change
  • When you have a photo I.D. picture taken, it should be your choice of facial expression (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Being There: Speech Contests

As a long-time member of Toastmasters, I’ve had numerous opportunities to participate as contestant, organizer, or judge, at speech contests at the club, area, and division levels.

According to the speech contest rulebook, these events are considered important to the Toastmasters educational program, providing for participants “…to gain speaking experience, as well as an opportunity to learn by observing proficient (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Lesser Known Impacts of the Switch to DST

Officially at 2:00 am tomorrow morning the annual switch to daylight savings time occurs.

Most people think of this as potentially losing some sleep, and having our biological clocks adjust to the hour’s difference (and looking forward to light later in the day).  Apparently for some, the reconciliation process can take a few days. (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

My Customer Appeals

When I phone or go on a chat line with customer service agents, I take a deep breath, and prepare for inevitable pain.

If it’s a phone call, I’ll usually have several minutes of waiting time, sufficient to invoke memories of the dentist’s waiting chair.  One could suggest that at least the latter needles you before the deeper work begins.  The customer service agent has no such balm, except by exuding an aura of welcome, like the warmth of a Venus flytrap. (more…)

Category:

Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with:

Lesser Known Awards Shows

The new year not only brings out the mental and physical challenge of surviving winter intact, but also a plethora of awards shows.  Those known to the public are almost inevitably the highest profile, most glitzy affairs.

Many others focusing on much less glossy subjects fly under the radar.  Let’s give a little recognition… (more…)

Category:

Arts commentary, Humour, Social & political humour

Tagged with: