The behind-the-scenes folks at Calgary’s anticipated annual book sales are devoted to reading between the lines.
Imagine opening an old book and finding a private cache of forgotten love letters from one famous Victorian poet to another—that’s the premise of A. S. Byatt’s Man Booker prize-winning novel Possession. 
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A writer’s love of Leonard Cohen can be traced to her father’s decision in 1970 to choose the album Songs from a Room over a pair of pantyhose.
It all began at a bingo game. A high-school student at the time, my father was taking part in an English-language camp organized by the British Council just outside of Krakow, Poland in the summer of 1970. As one of the camp’s extracurricular activities, the Polish students played bingo in the evenings, and as a victor one night, my father could choose one of two prizes brought in from the UK: a pair of pantyhose or a Leonard Cohen album. more
Here’s why dirt is so dirty and how you, too, can find the kink in a dish-choked sink. You just might want to lay off the spring cleaning.
I used to dread the arrival of spring as the only season to which the word “cleaning” had been attached—until I learned about the erotic implications of not doing housework. Apparently, there’s lust in that dust. more
If you are lucky enough to start your bonding at birth, the male-female dynamic can be the most beneficial friendship of all.
If Harry had met Sally at birth, their story would have been a lot different. Instead of spending 10 years avoiding a friendship on principle alone, only to wind up getting married in the end, they would have been able to marvel in the splendour of male-female companionship without any of the Mars-Venus grief. more
The owner of a Bardo-esque gingham bikini circa 1963 and her late father’s Burberry trench coat makes a case for not spring cleaning one’s wardrobe.
Lately it seems that every other day there’s an e-mail in my inbox from one of Oprah’s organizational gurus, filled with how-to tips on minimizing the presumed chaos that exists in every corner of my life, from the kitchen drawers, to my finances, to my relationship with my dog. more
Taking a flight means becoming lighter than air. But those who worry about soaring through the wild blue yonder bring along some weighty concerns.
On March 9 at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, an American Airlines flight was forced to taxi back to the gate due to a serious loss of equilibrium. The malfunction took place in the cranium of a flight attendant. As the plane prepared for takeoff the woman departed from the usual pre-flight instructions to suggest, loudly, that the plane was going to crash and that she would not be held responsible for it. The woman began struggling with her fellow flight attendants, and concerned passengers helped subdue her as the plane returned to the gate. more
A Calgary company is gaining a reputation for its electronic versions of Euro-style board games. Ironically, the apps’ popularity is prompting online gamers to rediscover the joy of sitting around a table with a printed board.
They resemble large books, with their colourful boxes arranged neatly in rows, a mix of the breezy and the heavy, the bestselling and the obscure. Discerning staff offer the same level of specialized knowledge found at indie bookstores. You liked the train theme of Ticket to Ride? Try Age of Steam. Want something more medieval? Try Caylus. As with the literary set, fans remember their favourite creators, whose names feature prominently on their work: Power Grid by Friedemann Friese, Carcassonne by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Tigris & Euphrates by Reiner Knizia. more
Facebook, Twitter et al. have made relationships even trickier, leading to the rise of unintentional snubs, countless hurt feelings and the use of “like” to send a substitute message of condolence to a friend who’s lost a loved one.
Rachel has a social-network problem. It goes like this: Rachel (not her real, or even her Facebook name) decides to stay home to watch the Grammys on TV. A few people drop by unannounced. Somebody takes a photo and uploads it to Facebook. And the next time Rachel checks her e-mail, she finds an outraged message from her friend Becky. “I thought we were friends,” Becky writes. “Why am I never invited to your parties?” more
With the aid of dated technology, Mad Max travels from the past to the present. It still kicks butt, but now it also raises questions about the youthful judgment of a cinephile.
Back when I finally sprang for my first DVD player I needed something to watch, and so I glanced through the bins. And there it was, an old reliable with a bargain price sticker—Mad Max; the first DVD I ever bought. more
The gym is great for sculpting abs and firming up arms, but treadmills and StairMasters are not exactly thought-provoking. Luckily, there are a host of new word games that can give your vocabulary and your brain a workout.
Ilove word games. Boggle, Scrabble, crosswords. I’m not a puzzle junkie—I hate Sudoku, for instance—just a word geek. As with so many things, I blame this on my family, mainly my father and uncle, who will spend an hour over a tumbler of scotch reciting palindromes. Oh camo, so macho. Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo. Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog. No, Mel Gibson is a casino’s big lemon. more
With its blasts of hot salsa and cold iced tea, New Mexico’s enchilada trail tests even the most determined foodies. But resolute and hungry pilgrims can find ample rewards. more
When the city’s landmark clock stopped, the job of fixing it was given to an old hand. Now, anyone with a view of Old City Hall knows what time it is, and life downtown once again moves to a steady rhythm. more
If you’re going to San Francisco in October, be sure to take in the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. It will knock your rainbow-striped socks off.
Back in 2001, a guy living in San Francisco decided to put on a little music festival. But this was no ordinary man: Warren Hellman was a Harvard-educated investment banker and private-equity specialist, who was once the youngest partner in the history of now-defunct Lehman Brothers. He was also a billionaire and his festival turned out to be no ordinary little show. more
Eight casual wine drinkers see their weekend in Oregon go sideways under the influence of endless samples of Pinot Noir and some seriously overblown tasting notes. more
Some people get the itch to travel. Others get home safely only to find they can’t stop scratching.
You say looting; Alexander the Great said “gathering souvenirs.” The French word for memory, a souvenir is a physical reminder of where you’ve been, and we’ve been carting them back as long as we’ve been going from A to B. more
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