It’s All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween, the night when the spirits of the dead are free to walk the Earth, a night of frightening sounds, horrible sights, terrible deeds…not to mention a night when forty-seven iterations of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers will appear at your door begging for candy. Of all our holidays, Halloween is surely the …
Category: Science Columns
Werewolves and vampires
A few months ago, people crowded theatres to see Jack Nicholson as a werewolf. In a few days, they’ll flock to see Tom Cruise as a vampire. It might seem odd, in this supposedly scientific age, that such ancient cannibalistic terrors as werewolves and vampires should still hold such fascination for us…but actually there are …
Books
There are few things I esteem more highly than books, and I’m not just saying that because I was honorary patron of Saskatchewan Library Week (October 15 to 22–and if you missed it, don’t worry; your local library will welcome you any week). Books have been my friends, companions and teachers since I learned to …
Diamonds (1994)
Once in a while, a columnist has to tackle a particularly hard topic. This week, I tackle the hardest topic of all: diamonds. Diamonds have been much on my mind recently for a variety of reasons, not least because of watching a spate of romantic movies. It is perhaps a sad commentary on the way …
Lights
Human beings like light. We don’t see well at night, and our vaunted intelligence goes hand in hand with a vivid imagination that loves to populate shadows with Things That Go Bump in the Night. As a result, we’ve always looked for ways to light up our lives: campfires, torches, candles, oil lamps, gas lamps…and, …
Guitars
One of the problems with being a musician whose instrument of choice is the piano is that it’s very difficult to take your instrument with you to parties. I mean, it’s almost impossible to find a piano carrying-case, and have you ever tried to load one into the hatchback of a Plymouth Laser? (I suppose …
Science fiction prophecies
I wrote last week about attending the World Science Fiction Convention in Winnipeg. You didn’t seriously think I was going to limit myself to just one column, did you? All those science topics I talked about last week were included in the convention because science fiction concerns itself with “the shape of things to come,” …
ConAdian: The 1994 World Science Fiction Convention
On Friday evening I attended a fascinating lecture by Dr. Jack Cohen, one of the world’s leading reproductive biologists. On Sunday, I attended an equally fascinating lecture by Dr. William Sarjeant, a geologist at the University of Saskatchewan. I wasn’t at a scientific conference or a university lecture series: I was at ConAdian–the 52nd World …
Electrical shocks
I distinctly recall, as a kid in junior high, being required in shop class to stand in a circle holding hands with my classmates, two of whom were attached to opposite sides of a small hand-cranked electrical generator. Somebody (probably the teacher) cranked the generator, and the rest of us were expected to “ooh” and …
Food additives
It’s a national pastime. You buy a snack; then, while enjoying it, you read the label. “Contains Yellow #6, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.” (All of which I found listed on a bottle of iced tea I bought recently.) It doesn’t usually stop you from eating or drinking (not me, anyway) but it does make …
Anger
I’ve always had a temper. I know of several holes in several walls that I could autograph, I once smashed my hand through the plastic covering of a light switch in a high school classroom, and we won’t even mention the window in another classroom just down the hall. Believe me, anger is something I’m …
Laughter
At a dinner party I recently attended, the hosts commented on having seen the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral during their vacation cruise. Several of us immediately began waxing eloquent about the film’s delightful humor. Whereupon our hosts concluded their assessment, which we had interrupted in our enthusiasm: they’d been bored stiff. A sense of humor …
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