From Shaman's Rock Jim Poling Sr. We now have new reasons to distrust the politicians we elected to protect us and our democracy. A troubling report from our intelligence watchdogs says that some of our…
The dangerous buffoon
From Shaman's Rock by Jim Poling Sr. Canadians have watched the U.S. happenings involving former president Donald Trump with an amused sense of entertainment. It’s been like looking over the fence and seeing neighbours struggle…
Bad books and good books
From Shaman's Rock by Jim Poling Sr. I thought it was just me complaining that more and more mediocre – or just plain bad - books are being published. A search of the Internet tells…
Buffalo story offers hope
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. We live in an increasingly crazy world that some believe is on a fast track to extinction. Perhaps, but despite humanity’s destructive tendencies you have to believe the…
The importance of snow
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Many folks are cheering the recent arrival of snow that has been missing for most of this unusual winter. Lack of snow in October, November and December has…
Our roadside shame
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. The exceptionally late arrival of winter’s snow has covered up Canada’s dirty little secret: We are not holier than other countries when it comes to garbage. Especially the…
O Night Divine!
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. (I have written and told this story many times. Christmas would not be Christmas without telling it again.) --- Fresh fallen snow protested beneath my gumboots breaking trail…
Mysteries with a bonus
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. We tend to think of global warming and climate change as some new development, It’s not. There have been warnings about it going back many decades. You find…
To tie or not to tie
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Society’s deep thinkers have varying theories on the three stages of life. Like childhood, adulthood, and old age. Or, learning, working, and teaching. I discovered a theory of…
Goodbye Self-checkouts!
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Some people are unhappy with the growing number of retailers getting rid of self-checkouts. I am not. Self-checkouts don’t pay income tax. They don’t contribute to social insurance…
Red tape and small business
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. There’s much talk lately about the need to reduce red tape. We live in a country in which people are swimming in it, just trying to keep afloat.…
Those beautiful burgers
From Shaman’s RockBy Jim Poling Sr. Try as you might, it’s hard to ignore television commercials. Especially when you arewatching a lot of sports, as many of us were during the World Series and now…
That unequal tax exemption
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. “Politics will always break your heart,” Catherine McKenna once tweeted on the social media platform now called X. She should know. She suffered a barrage of verbal attacks…
Living in a world of despair
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. There is much controversy over whether mental illness is a significant cause of mass shootings, which are becoming a common occurrence, notably in the gun-crazy United States of…
Litter boxes and lies
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’ve never been a fan of cats. I find them self-obsessed and neurotic. If I was a cat fan, however, I certainly would not be dressing up as…
Replaced by a computer?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’ve tried to ignore all the hype about artificial intelligence (AI). How it will transform work and reinvent business. How it will replace me as a writer. Any…
We want baseball, not Moneyball
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Baseball broadcaster Buck Martinez said the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2023 season would be a disaster if they could not advance past the first wild-card playoff round. They didn’t.…
Time to say goodbye
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. The turning leaves tell us about change; the need for it and the importance of making change at the right time. Autumn leaves turn colour then drop to…
Harvest time and hungry kids
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. And so we enter the time of plenty. Crops ripen in fields. Apple trees hang heavy with fruit. Autumn is the time of plenty of food. The time…
Why do sunflowers droop?
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I now know why sunflowers droop. It’s not because they lack water, or because their seed heads have become heavy. When you see sunflowers drooping, instead of standing…
Clowns that aren’t funny
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. My laptop computer is driving me crazy. It’s like it has been invaded by those evil clowns you see in television commercials. You know, the ones with white…