Category: Guest Columnists

  • Caution for Canadian Snowbirds

    Caution for Canadian Snowbirds

    By Kim Inglis According to Investor Economics, one million U.S. citizens living in Canada have $30 billion invested in mutual fund industry assets.  Meanwhile, TD Economics reports that over 500,000 Canadians spend significant periods of time in the United States.  While the former likely know their U.S. tax reporting requirements, the latter may not.  They…

  • Planet Waves: Can You See What Truly Nourishes You?

    Planet Waves: Can You See What Truly Nourishes You?

    Note: Planet Waves Horoscopes has moved from their regular Friday schedule. Please watch for them early next week!  By Amanda Painter Generally speaking, our culture has difficulty recognizing what truly feeds and nourishes it. From reality TV shows to fast food, from misogynistic song lyrics to obsessions with brand-name fashions and technology, it can be…

  • Reel Reflections: Film from Books

    Reel Reflections: Film from Books

    By E. P. Whinters Movies come from two sources – they either start as a visual story, created for the screen through what you see and what the characters say, or they start as a print-source first, a book or a comic. The two movies that I will reflect on today started as novels, Room by…

  • Solutions & Substitutions by Reena: Unique Ideas

      By Reena Nerbas Magnetic Cat Hair Dear Reena, I own two very furry cats. I always put the toilet seat down when the toilet is not in use but when I lift up the seat it is covered with fur. Seems like fur is attracted to the seat, any tips for how to stop…

  • On Second Thought …Comparisons Gone Wild

    On Second Thought …Comparisons Gone Wild

    By Jonathan Pollard “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everybody else.” – Margaret Mead, American Anthropologist Ronald Reagan, as U.S. president, likely drew heavily from his successful acting career during WWII – a time during which Americans experienced marginal tax rates as high as 90% – while promoting his economic platform in…

  • Reel Reflections: The New Action Hero

    Reel Reflections: The New Action Hero

    Mad Max: Fury Road By E. P. Whinters An action movie up for Best Picture this year? Are they serious? Many people thought other, more “worthy” films should have been nominated instead of this film … maybe Straight Outta Compton? Or Carol? Or Sicario? Or even Star Wars?? But no – Mad Max: Fury Road gets…

  • Solutions & Substitutions by Reena: Spring Cleaning

      By Reena Nerbas Cleaning Cabinets Hi Reena, I read your column and wonder if you can tell me how to clean my cabinets? They are not melamine; they are custom made laminate cabinets. Thanks, Rudy Dear Rudy, The following is recommended for cleaning cabinets: Mild dish soap and water use a damp clean cloth…

  • Reel Reflections: The Big Short

    Reel Reflections: The Big Short

      Economic Jenga By E. P. Whinters What if you had the opportunity to make your most incredible dream come true, to actually achieve the success you have always dreamed of for yourself? … But it comes far from great for many others? Or at the collapse of an institution our reality is built on? It’s…

  • Solutions & Substitutions by Reena: In the Kitchen

      By Reena Nerbas Tarnished Silver Hi Reena, I just dug out a silver plated ice bucket; which has not been used for a long time and it is very tarnished! What is the best way to deal with this? Anne Dear Anne, Whether dealing with jewelry or serving dishes, silver pieces are known for blackening…

  • On Second Thought…….A Bad Idea

    On Second Thought…….A Bad Idea

    By Jonathan Pollard “Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law.” – Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist One word tends to exhibit shady, quasi-fraudulent nitwit tendencies, one’s a newly diagnosed bi-polar, while the last word is – to put it delicately – continually on a fruitless quest to…

  • Reel Reflections: Bridge of Spies

    Reel Reflections: Bridge of Spies

    Where Do You Stand? By E. P. Whinters When I saw the trailer for Bridge of Spies (named for the bridge in Germany that was used to exchange hostage spies of one country with hostage spies of another) in the fall of 2015, I’ll admit it didn’t capture my interest. I knew it had something…

  • Solutions & Substitutions by Reena: Cleaning White Towels and Wedding Dress

      By Reena Nerbas Mystery Marks on White Towels Hi Reena, Last year I purchased new white towels for my remodeled bathroom. They are Calvin Klein and lovely, but a few washes in they started sprouting grey blob shaped spots, especially on the hand towels. At first I thought it was my daughter’s toothpaste staining…

  • Evidence Points to Big, Undiscovered Planet

    Evidence Points to Big, Undiscovered Planet

    By David Rosen & Eric Francis Coppolino It’s not every day that a new planet announces its existence, but that depends on what you mean by planet. Moons, asteroids, centaurs, comets and dwarf planets are discovered relentlessly. Nearly a million are known and catalogued, all objects orbiting our Sun. The great majority have been spotted…

  • Reel Reflections: Brooklyn

    Reel Reflections: Brooklyn

      Directed by – John Crowley Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), and Best Screenplay based on Previously Published Material (Nick Hornby) By E. P. Whinters On the outside, Brooklyn seems like a simple love story – a young Irish girl immigrates to America in the 1950s, falls in love and needs to…

  • Solutions & Substitutions by Reena: Mildew in Closed Up Homes

      By Reena Nerbas Mildew in Seasonal Homes Dear Reena, Have you any suggestions on how to prevent mildew from growing in closed mobile homes in Texas while we Snowbirds are back in Canada? Ours is closed up for 9 months every year. But very many had the same problem as it was so wet…