From the Blog…
Check out Shane’s latest thoughts from his blog.
Morocco – the Northern Cities
I thought that travelling through Morocco during Ramadan would be as daunting as those “dry and hungry days” I faced in the Arabian Gulf during
Road to Santo Domingo
I’ve been coming to the Dominican Republic for over 15 years, but never had the chance to visit the capital, Santo Domingo. Why? It was
This article is NOT written by a robot
The world is agog with ChatGPT—the AI machine that writes for you based on the commands you give it—and the revolution it is going to
The Extinction of “Customer Service”
There was a time when, if you had a problem with a new service or appliance you bought, you called an 800 number, spoke to
In Praise of Indie Writers
We got out to book launches and readings again this fall after a two-year shutdown for the pandemic. And the world had changed. People were
The Queen is Dead, Long Live the King! Eh?
Queen Elizabeth, the only monarch who has ruled over the colonial domains I’ve lived in during my lifetime, finally passed away last month. Her Majesty
A Country of Paradoxes
Every time I sit down to write about Sri Lanka, I shake my head. The country never fails to surprise me. And sadden me. The
How the Novel travelled through the internet with me in tow
Every time there is a seismic shift in taste, technology or time-availability, pundits say the novel is dead. And yet this hefty tome that demands
Have Publishers Outsourced Their Slush Piles to Literary Agents?
It is now a given that you can’t submit work to a major publisher without going through a literary agent, for there are no more
Lament of a Forgotten Son
My heart mourns for Sri Lanka today when I see the pictures of lineups for gasoline and food, and the mass protests on Galle Face
Occupy Ottawa
This article was turned down by my regular publications when submitted in late February, for there was uncertainty about its reception. Then other geopolitical events
Do Sanctions Work? Cuba Begs to Differ
The West has launched economic warfare on Russia with its severest sanctions yet, in the hope that they would cripple the country faster and with
Stuck in a rut
The last two years of hibernation have taken their toll on everyone’s life. This forced change came at a time when lifestyle was going to
I used to be a good Canadian – not anymore, it appears
I remember when I took my oath of citizenship thirty years ago. After searching for more than thirty years prior to that, I had finally
A year of incongruency – why?
As this year winds down, I am left wondering about some of the incongruent happenings in the world around me, some of which I have
Is this Pandemic a Poor Person’s Disease?
This is possibly the last article I will be writing about the pandemic. For any others written from this point on can only be categorized