Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The beauty of western governments is that they’ve known this for a long time. Countries like America and Canada reacted to this idea because they had to live under monarchies and they saw first hand the corruption of such systems.  As a result, what they tried to do [...]

I’m writing this from the train, on the way to Leeds and then Bradford. Hard to believe all the things that have happened over the last few days! Arrived on Sunday, it was dreary and foggy, and I wrote about how the cold seeped into my bones! Traveler beware. The temperature might claim it’s 7 [...]

Arrived this morning in pea soup fog! I had checked the weather forecast and was reassured by it being around 10 Celsius during the day and not getting any lower than 4 at night. That did not prepare me for the bone-chilling dampness! Gotta buy a raincoat! Gotta lack of sleep headache but otherwise I’m [...]

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain! And the waving wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain. I’ve been humming the tune ever since I found out I’ve been invited to Tulsa and Oklahoma city to do some presentations. Seems like the next few weeks will be very [...]

or…The ins and outs of marketing as I understand it. I think a lot of authors, when they’re just starting out, dream of making it big, being discovered through a sort of grass roots movement kind of thing. I know I did. There are people who make it fairly big that way, but the odds [...]

It’s ironic that I would feel like I’ve kind of ‘made it’ when I received my first hate email a little while back. My first thought was, “I must have done something right!” And my second thought was, “What if this person is right about me?” I have seen too many people delude themselves. These are [...]

A few years ago when Jon Stewart was hosting the Academy awards, the African American group that won for best song/score started jumping around at the announcement. Up till that point, Jon was uncharacteristically subdued and not his usual irreverent self. But at this show of raw emotion, he perked up and said something about how [...]

And what an experience. I’m starting to hate the travel that’s involved. I’m starting to dread packing and going to the airport…especially during summertime when I’m supposed to have some time to myself. But I’ve learned not to grumble because everytime I think this will be a lot of work, I end up having a great [...]

I just finished watching CNN’s documentary special with Soledad O’Brien Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door. And the kinds of things these people were saying about Islam and Muslims, oh my gosh! In it there was a court case, probably in Tennessee but I’m not sure, where the people were arguing about whether Islam was even a [...]

One thing I was looking forward to was the drive up to Sudbury! I think long car rides are akin to taking babies for walks in strollers, only on an adult level. It’s always nice to see new scenery, and I haven’t seen  Northern Ontario for quite some time. Just past Barrie you start seeing [...]