tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379204192011-08-09T11:46:46.738-04:00A journal of uncommon findings.Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-90055353842406616912011-06-05T11:15:00.129-04:002011-07-01T14:28:27.028-04:00

The delay tactics from Priceline, whom I called to report false advertising on their Mariott Courtyard listing, had worn me out. I had no choice but to maintain the reservation.Tired upon arrival in Toronto, I rode the hotel elevator. When I approached my room, the housekeeper's trolley stood between doors at the end of the corridor. Like an inkblot in the Rorschach test, I saw something else:

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-81390975655430072772010-11-11T13:56:00.051-05:002010-11-14T12:23:45.038-05:00

When most people sat down to dinner, on November 10th, young cadets stood guard at the London Cenotaph. Hours later, the silent sentinels were still there. Nearby, in the shadows of Victoria Park, stood a lone man with a camera strapped around his neck. He explained that his son was one of the cadets, on shift, standing guard all night long."He hates the cold," the father said of his son. "And he

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-31581864701590728382010-09-27T15:22:00.093-04:002010-10-24T20:24:48.704-04:00

Photo: Sydney HedderichThe Museum of Ontario Archaeology in London provided the setting for my first experience with a spiritual gathering to honour Aboriginal culture. I was not disappointed. Before the Traditional Pow Wow and Harvest Festival, I scouted the Museum grounds, between the palisade of pointed cedar poles and a Carolinian forest. The peacefulness and beauty of the site promised a

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-52294581251434536902010-09-16T17:53:00.080-04:002010-10-24T20:26:29.900-04:00

Photo courtesy Hawk MigrationIt was an overcast day when I approached the recreated palisade of an old aboriginal site, now the Museum of Ontario Archaeology.The entry looked forbidding. But that was the point when the Neutral Iroquoians erected the pointed cedar poles for protection.Just as I was about to enter, a large wingspan flew over me, nearly grazing my head. I looked up to see a large

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-73493455809135939442010-08-15T23:43:00.081-04:002010-09-27T16:41:35.971-04:00

Church of God, London, OntarioIf the humidity weren't so bad, I could tolerate these 25°C plus heatwaves. But the humidex is wringing my patience when it adds another 10 degrees, and more, to our level of discomfort. Some say the excessive heat is caused by global warming. That so? Then how come the almanac records hotter temperatures, decades prior. Take yesterday, for instance. The high of 31°

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-53289044245375652432010-07-27T14:09:00.009-04:002010-08-12T11:02:27.958-04:00

The decorator came knockin' at my blogdoor. Told me I needed a new design. Maybe the site did need a fresh face, after all. But did the experience have to resemble a home reno? My apologies to readers during the construction overhaul.

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-26534781263056651792010-07-26T11:10:00.047-04:002010-10-07T12:06:45.521-04:00

Context is everything.Then again, not so much.Sometimes the message and the medium are just plain bizarre, regardless of context. Take, for instance, this church billboard by a dead-end road in Scarborough, Ontario. Under the banner of Grace Church Christian Reformed, I read: "Well, it is a whole lot better than shooting each other."Sure, the message grabbed my attention. Not because of what the

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-25341576369418123312010-07-26T00:06:00.045-04:002010-09-16T21:45:20.422-04:00

There it was. An anniversary announcement to beat all. The sign stood before the Château. Château trailer, that is, by the road that leads to Mitchell, a town near Stratford, Ontario, home of the Shakespeare Festival. Somehow, methinks the Bard would have loved the ribald humour in this southwestern Ontario countryside.But forsooth! What's this? A change in camera position (and lens) reveals a

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-52933234414376200552010-07-15T14:26:00.021-04:002010-07-27T14:41:57.145-04:00

The Special Olympics are the only Olympics where contestants hug their officials. Or so it is said. And how true that turned out to be. I saw plenty of hugs. Lots of high-fives, bumps, and handshakes, too. But above all, I saw smiles. Miles of them. The joy was infectious. And genuine. For five days, London, Ontario hosted the 2010 Canada Summer Games of the Special Olympics. I'll never forget

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-29350296165034325752010-05-25T10:58:00.022-04:002010-07-27T13:58:43.631-04:00

Eighteen months ago, I gingerly changed lanes in heavy traffic on a rainy night. After nearly completing entry, I found an express transit bus of the Toronto Transit Commission scraping my driver's side. I remember my terror; I don't remember the impact to my front wheel well. I do remember the bus rolling a little ahead of me, on a diagonal. It's rear end was still in the left turn lane. A

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-23972013170763734132009-09-14T14:42:00.028-04:002010-08-05T09:30:48.358-04:00

Summer ended before September 12th. But you'd never know it that Sunday afternoon. Unless you felt a difference in the light from the sun. Unless you realized that tobacco-tinged leaves signalled early autumn. Unless you suffered allergies from abundant goldenrods.My feet stamped along a trail of packed dirt, knobby roots and river stones around Fanshawe Reservoir while my eyes feasted on the

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-4082489931272881892009-08-22T12:54:00.058-04:002010-09-16T21:44:19.448-04:00

Angel by Marc Chagall Call it writer's block. Effects from an accident with an urban transport bus, late last November, have left me in a curious limbo. Stress-related anxiety and limited performance continue to plague me. Though I've improved since the first week after the accident, when I was bumping into glass doors and burning myself without feeling pain for an unusual length of time. I still

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-31318700195359068782009-07-22T12:02:00.145-04:002010-07-27T14:44:14.025-04:00

Ordinarily, it's a hum-drum view. Not much breaks up the monotony of shingled rooftops in this not-so-new development of north London, Ontario. So when my neighbour popped up against darkening skies, I was marginally curious. More so, because I'd never seen him before. All of a sudden, there he was, balanced on the rung of an aluminum ladder. He had propped it up against his garden shed, next to

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-9565510810049146512009-05-28T00:10:00.158-04:002010-05-13T12:20:10.327-04:00

Nineteen years. That's how long it took the authorities in Mendoza, Argentina to fully investigate the more than 20 anonymous reports of sexual abuse, committed by Armando Lucero, 67. The victim: his daughter. Now 35, she was violated, beginning at age 8. Tormented, sometimes at gun point, she was not deprived of her liberty, unlike Elisabeth Fritzl of Amstetten, Austria. But she was

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-47160687127833112652009-05-19T00:38:00.171-04:002009-07-25T10:53:04.696-04:00

Even if you drive a jalopy on the digital highway, you can still embrace an aspect of new media. The journey may be nerve-wracking, but keep in mind four guidelines. One, if you can dream it, it is likely possible. Two, there's more than one way to reach your destination. Three, you may need to test some bumpy freewares before you find the one that's best for you. Four, it's going to take time to

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-59619661061545820522009-05-17T15:37:00.087-04:002009-07-15T12:55:27.963-04:00

Audio recordings have come a long way since my first exposure to this medium. Back in 1957, my dad tried to figure out how to operate the buttons and reels of a portable apparatus the size of two breadboxes. When he had mastered the basics, my Mom called us children to gather round. Then she asked each one of us, in turn, to speak into the microphone and tell a favourite story, or sing a song we

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-54011507906421275962009-05-13T13:59:00.173-04:002009-07-15T12:59:24.179-04:00

Enough with the confusion! As a cautious adopter of new technology, I have a bunch of questions. Some get answered on the Web. Other questions get the red-carpet treatment. Meaning, they get posed to tech-savvy people I know and trust. As a result, the answers are generally accurate and normally realiable.Can you say that about answers you find on hobby forums or social marketplaces, online? I

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-4266067902155195582009-04-27T18:26:00.096-04:002009-08-29T10:00:30.114-04:00

Normally, dim circumstances are just that: dim. But one had a silver lining. It happened during rush-hour traffic in north Toronto on a rainy night, last November. A public transit bus entered the centre lane from the median and stopped on a diagonal ahead of me. Not before the bus had scraped the driver's side of my car then with full impact, crashed into my front-wheel well. Before I knew it, a

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-71267940984780040572009-04-15T14:43:00.079-04:002009-05-06T12:28:12.723-04:00

Barbie's 50. And she's still turning heads. Even mine as I arrived at a neighbourhood park last Sunday. Above, four Barbie kites fluttered in the clear blue sky as tweens, below, tugged the lines. Mattel introduced its teenage fashion model at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. Ever since, Barbie has continued to "inspire several generations of girls to dream, discover and explore a world

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-69812869092665952882009-04-03T15:53:00.086-04:002009-05-14T12:58:35.454-04:00

I confess. Long after posting, I may tweak one phrase or another before republishing. That makes me wonder: Is there a rule in blogdom that stipulates commitment to a post once published? If so, I plead the low-readership defence. Turns out, I have an audience of ten. One of those readers is me. And I'm not complaining.I'm also the push-button publisher of this blog called Exploro. That's kinda

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-68726947981077945732009-02-20T21:14:00.280-05:002009-05-20T16:20:55.982-04:00

The Vuongs* have faced monumental challenges, before. They've ploughed through mud up to their shoulders. And they've ducked the beams from search lights that scanned the dark shores by the Mekong Delta. It was 1990. And crouched in the reeds was a dory, waiting to take the young couple to a small fishing boat, farther out. Both vessels would be overloaded. But not as badly as other boats that

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-50866313215615163642009-02-03T13:17:00.024-05:002009-04-30T18:01:09.870-04:00

Organ and tissue donation needs more publicity than my blogging efforts. So imagine my surprise when I came across a related ad in, of all places, the weathernetwork.com.It goes like this. Ontario has instituted new rules on organ and tissue donation. If you marked "Yes" to the question of whether you wish to donate your tissue or organs, your answer will be stored in the database of the Ontario

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-77866350094337195312008-12-28T00:40:00.134-05:002010-07-27T15:01:32.494-04:00

There's something odd about a movie critic who plays the public moralist without the tools of research. Likewise with the screenplay of Valkyrie, a movie that packs into two hours more action than attention to detail. It's been over 63 years since the end of the Second World War on the European front. But that doesn't stop the less well read from labeling any German with a uniform as an evil Nazi

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-71896889504595317112008-12-16T23:22:00.026-05:002010-07-27T15:05:38.006-04:00

On the heels of my collision with a bus from the Toronto Transit Commission, comes the news that a bus driver broadsided an SUV, killing its driver.Evidently, I was luckier than that SUV driver. I also wondered who was to blame for the accident. How fast was the TTC bus traveling? Are the police and bus company using drivers of smaller vehicles as a scapegoat? What is the safety record of the

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-11234255394348982372008-12-04T15:45:00.054-05:002010-11-22T10:09:56.795-05:00

It was a cold and rainy night. After medical appointments in Toronto, I headed north. But not before I went down my old avenue, where I lived for 12 years before moving away this past August. Turning onto Yonge Street, I found the remnants of rush hour. With my left blinker on, I gingerly changed lanes. From first to second. The visibility was so poor, I even rolled down the window to check my

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-36803529379724486212008-11-22T17:40:00.103-05:002010-07-27T15:08:42.675-04:00

Summer had just begun. And with it, the realization that it was time. Time to walk the thought. Time to wrap up my 25 years in Toronto. For the next three months, I scouted for a new home. And on the brink of fall, I moved to the other London. The one between Toronto and Detroit. It was a decision I did not regret. Much.About one eighth of the size of where I used to live, "Forest City" offers

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-5632153848302507612008-10-16T18:26:00.305-04:002008-12-17T13:17:54.124-05:00

The road of life can be long. But not for everyone. Nor for a young member of my family.Caracas-born Pierre Paul Pacannins B. died on September 29th at Children's Hospital in Boston. In his twelve and a half years, he fought the Great Battle. Over and over again. Enduring eleven heart surgeries from the age of seven months, Pierre displayed more bravery than do most adults in their lifetime. His

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-63764151633815103962007-11-18T19:31:00.017-05:002008-11-22T20:32:37.847-05:00

Ric Lombardo of a long-ago Caracas, now of Melbourne, Australia, warned me earlier this year: "Once you start a blog, you must keep it up.""Yeah, I know," I answered, flush with excitement over my embrace of this media. I was certain I could meet the challenge. After all, didn't I have some related experience? But editing a trade quarterly for a commercial taskmaster (Touche Ross) is not the same

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-54409227725929208332007-05-21T13:12:00.014-04:002008-11-22T19:46:05.680-05:00

Millions of victims from Nazi atrocities during the Second World War are still unacknowledged in Holocaust literature. Sure, there is documentation on the subject. But it is limited and to this day, the approximate numbers of non-Jewish victims, and their stories, continue to be skirted by the media at large.I thought of those millions who met a grisly end during the Second World War, only to be

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-90682334272130443422007-05-20T18:39:00.045-04:002008-11-22T19:46:21.611-05:00

I traveled to Poland to learn more about its history, to document my impressions, and to gain some answers. But the more I saw and the more I learned, the more I questioned.The bus stopped at the outskirts of the village of Sztutowo, 65 kilometres east of Gdansk, three kilometres from the Baltic Sea. Getting off, I walked down a cobbled stone road. At the end, were the main gates of the Stutthof

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-39646113814999252742007-05-16T18:05:00.021-04:002010-11-04T18:08:44.816-04:00

Issues from the Second World War have intrigued me these past few years. Blame it on my 90-year old Polish neighbour.By the time the Second World War was declared, Roman Goralski had left his farm, near the border of East Prussia, to join the Polish armed forces. Within weeks, he and his fellow soldiers were captured by Soviets who, like the Nazis, were scheming to carve up Poland, according to

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-8421457345908341342007-03-04T14:27:00.008-05:002010-07-27T15:15:35.202-04:00

No other car shouts, "Heyyyy, looka me!" like the Efijy. Painted in Soprano Purple, this is one curvaceous car, channeling an Australian model from 1953, the FJ Holden. Made by a subsidiary of General Motors, the Efijy is not intended for production, but rather to showcase the creative talent available in-house. And what creative talent it is. Beyond the lush design, no expense was spared in the

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-72002672107247544852007-03-04T14:27:00.006-05:002008-11-22T20:37:44.262-05:00

Some folks have an addiction and a pocketbook for toys. Their motivation can come from numerous sources: fulfiling flights of fancy, or bolstering a need for prestige. Ultimately, though, toys promote a mirage.Tools are another matter. They come with a patina of use. They signal the owner's commitment and dedication to a craft. They involve a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, and an

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-86451309490707962092007-02-17T13:03:00.003-05:002010-07-27T15:13:48.056-04:00

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- If a 605-horsepower, 390-cubic-inch all-aluminum V-10 engine, and a 6-speed transaxle with limited-slip differential works up a lather, then the Auto Show is for you. Even if projectile headlights don't make you quiver, you're likely to find plenty of interest. So it was when I joined two boys and their grandfather on a quest for automotive Shangri-la.Making our way past

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-81520763659347948202007-02-10T00:33:00.001-05:002010-07-27T15:12:57.116-04:00

Somehow I don't think Valentine's Day cards will be exchanged this year between certain high flyers. Unlike a siamese twin tomato, the case surrounding NASA astronaut, Lisa Marie Nowak, is more like an onion: multi-layered. Adding to it is speculation, including my own.Of Nowak we know the most, which is not much. And of Colleen Shipman we know a lot less. But what about Bill Oefelein? Why is his

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-38957657949375370262007-02-04T14:24:00.003-05:002010-07-27T15:14:22.840-04:00

NORTH YORK, ONTARIO -- It's taken me decades to get used to northern winters. And to understand why Canadians normally start a conversation with a remark on the weather. But I have a long way to go before I spend hours in the bitter cold to perfect a winter sport. That's why I salute those who exert their muscles in wind chill factors of minus 20 degrees Centigrade. Especially new Canadians from

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-69865916353048343962007-01-27T22:30:00.007-05:002010-07-27T15:27:43.565-04:00

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- When my friend, Megs, and I had nothing better to do on a blustery Friday afternoon, I suggested, "Let's check out the traffic on the 401." "Suits me," she answered. And so off we went, looking for the densest (is that a word?) traffic pattern. Now, you may think we're nutcases. And you're entitled to your opinion. But the reality is that we were completing a photographic

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-78257194710770998342007-01-26T13:20:00.003-05:002010-07-27T15:29:08.558-04:00

So the other day I picked up a wheel of Brie. Two things attracted my attention: its sale price - I'm a sucker for a good deal, and its name which evoked memories. I thought of my late uncle, Pedro Pablo Benedetti, whose Corsican ancestry demanded that he wax poetically on Bonaparte. My Dad being his good friend - meaning my uncle's, not Bonaparte's - would follow through. And on the homefront,

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-60547792405868276732007-01-21T13:00:00.003-05:002010-07-27T15:28:33.070-04:00

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- It was Friday evening in the GTA. As traffic bumped along the 401 eastbound, a thousand lights advanced from the western horizon. How many cars, do you figure, had a sole occupant?

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37920419.post-1169324804503037102007-01-20T15:18:00.027-05:002010-07-27T15:29:55.109-04:00

True to my nature as an ox — slow but sure — I'm not an early adopter of technology. And yet, I'm not that far behind. As others jumped on the bandwagon to blog away, I chose, instead, to stay on the sidelines. Until now. For ..."The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes and ships and sealing-wax — Of cabbages and kings — And why the sea is boiling hot —And whether pigs

Sydney Hedderichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14827048433400326520noreply@blogger.com0