Randy | February 22, 2014
I’ve mentioned my Esteemed Friend and Fellow Fiend Jim Keating more than a few times here, and no doubt will again because he persists in provoking me. His daily updated MAAJAK World (pronounced “MAGIC World”) ezine (MAAJAK = Master At Arms James Albert Keating) has been a daily morning stopping point for me since I […]
Randy | February 9, 2014
It is always with the greatest of joy that I greet every morning, just because of who I wake up next to, and today marks yet another reason to be both joyful and thankful – the anniversary of my incomparable Wife’s birth! So to you, my Love and most powerful inspiration, there’s this. The happiest of […]
Randy | February 6, 2014
Yesterday I had the brief, though always delightful, opportunity to converse with Debbie Scottcrnec (click here to read the origin of the name) whose husband Zac has the delightful propensity to buy her sharp pointy things as gifts. Zac follows us here, mostly because of his interest in the Blade Arts and what we have […]
Randy | February 5, 2014
To many a modern fencer, the “weapon” in hand is no weapon at all, but an instrument of athleticism no different and more deserving of noble regard than a tennis racquet. In discussion with one who openly brings concepts of martial artistry into fencing practice, even accomplished fencers routinely ridicule any such idea as archaic […]
Randy | February 4, 2014
It was Jim Keating who brought this wondrously bloodthirsty ditty to my attention this morning, so thanks to him I’m sharing it with you, including the lyrics so you can sing right along if so inclined. Only 18 years old (as of publication), New Zealander Lorde (AKA Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor) is hitting ALL the […]
Randy | January 28, 2014
“Storytelling has a special place in indigenous culture. It’s a cultural torch passed from one generation to another, and from it flows teachings, lessons, and continuity. Storytelling is a powerful force for cultural survival and it can be many things – funny, profound, educational, a force of resistance, and a tool of reconciliation.” ~ Shelagh’s […]
Randy | January 25, 2014
On the subject of that famous Christmas confection called fruitcake, Johnny Carson once said, “The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.” He appears to have had little of the sort to say of The Haggis, and that was wise of […]
Randy | January 23, 2014
Do what thy manhood bids thee do, From none but self expect applause; He noblest lives and noblest dies Who makes and keeps his self-made laws. ~ Sir Richard Francis Burton ~ If you’ve never heard of Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890), then you have been denied exposure to one of the greatest minds in […]
Randy | January 14, 2014
Mrs. LFM and I are fans of the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in Halifax and have enjoyed their food and drink many times. On one visit a while back, an item on the menu caught my eye that apparently came served with their celebrated “shillelagh sauce”. Now I couldn’t let that pass me by, so […]
Randy | December 29, 2013
“I am a product […of] endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as […]