Randy | June 25, 2016
Just yesterday, my friend the Esteemed Cowboy John laid down this challenge: I used a word today that I simply love, and honestly don’t use enough. I don’t think it is used enough period. It is “feckless”. So I challenge my friends to USE this word today. Either in text or spoken. It is actually […]
Randy | June 5, 2016
Grohmann Knives (GK) designs and produces its excellent line of outdoor and kitchen cutlery from its factory outlet in Pictou, Nova Scotia. If there’s anyone who owns and uses a Grohmann knife anywhere in the world who can utter a substantive criticism of its quality and craftsmanship, he or she is a rare beast indeed, […]
Randy | May 29, 2016
I grew up in the small but (then) prosperous town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, in a house across the street from what was generally referred to as “the Minister’s lawn”. A part of the grounds of the Anglican Reverend’s residence, it was a beautifully manicured expanse of table top flatness, and came to be used […]
Randy | May 21, 2016
Everyone now living is the product of tough, and as necessary rough, people, whether your 21st century sensibilities like it or not. Those of my own memory and upbringing were the kind of stoic, hard working, hard swearing, hard drinking, won’t take shit from anybody kind of folks who abounded in those days. It may […]
Randy | April 20, 2016
“A man cannot understand the perfection and imperfections of his chosen art if he cannot see the value in other arts. Following rules only permits development up to a point in technique; to advance further the student and artist must learn and seek other knowledge. It makes sense to study other arts as well as […]
Randy | April 15, 2016
Plying my trade(s) in rural Nova Scotia exposes me to all manner of ordeals and sights you just can’t unsee. Oh, the panic that can’t be unpanicked! Case in point, the photos that follow taken last week on departure from a client’s premises. I’d say they are located in a typical area of woods and […]
Randy | April 13, 2016
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the adjective use of the word “deliberate” as: 1 Done consciously and intentionally: ‘a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict’ 2 Careful and unhurried: ‘a conscientious and deliberate worker’ 2.1 Fully considered; not impulsive: ‘a deliberate decision’ In common usage today, the word is most often associated with actions that are […]
Randy | April 6, 2016
I write about cannibalism now and then, most commonly revisiting the quaint and rustic social custom in my October annual Dark Sentiments series. As you read what follows, I would remind you that thanks to good old fashioned fairy tales, the subject has already entered the curriculum as taught in our house. SFM #1 went […]
Randy | April 1, 2016
This poem is born of actual events, and is offered with apologies to those hopefuls among the distaff who may have fallen for it in the past, and feel ill done by at its clear exclusivity to the sensibilities of your male counterparts. Please know, you are not forgotten. Apologies too to Groucho Marx whose […]
Randy | March 25, 2016
“Sport Fencing”, will frequently be the inroad for many in pursuit of a broader exploration of the Blade Arts. While in its development it has veered decidedly toward being an athletic pursuit more than a combative one, Sport Fencing undeniably imbues the serious practitioner with a sound grasp of footwork, timing, distance, quickness of wit, […]