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The no-name dead of Colombia
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Audio & Podcasts
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An interesting show on CBC Dispatches on how the un-identified dead found in the Magdelena river of Columbia are being adopted as "Patron Saints" of sorts - Very Louis de Bernieres- evokes his Latin American Trilogy.
Enjoy (short, 14:03 minutes)
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2192102020
The Marcel Marceau Mime School
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Conversations
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Sometimes people ask me where I've acquired such unrelated skills as my fluency in French, singing, dancing, balloon blowing and magic tricks.
It's tough to explain, really, I'm more at a loss as to why others aren't similarly gifted.
My line is simple, I tell them I attended the Marcel Marceau Mime school in Paris for a few years, got expelled when I accidentally swore during a routine in front of some children. After that, even living in Paris became hell, it's as if the Mimes were trying to run me out of town, following me about everywhere with their big baguettes and oversized shoes, mocking me as it were.
It was just easier to come to Canada.
A surprising number of people buy it.
Z's bought it, the newer East Indian waiter, he follows me around asking me questions about it until I explain that I was just kidding, I never attended the Marcel Marceau mime school, I don't know how I came by such an inane repertoire of tricks.
"But you could you know" he tells me...."You have that face...."
He's just trying to be nice. He's not letting it go. Now I must have the face of the sad clown, because his tone has gone from nice to conciliatory....
"You know, you could still study it on your own..."
Cats don't eat meat...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Conversations
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A mind-numbingly boring night at work has just been saved by the nephew.
I've been saving the scraps from the tables, bits of chicken, veal, filet, for the cats at home. It has to be better than the storebought crap, and they don't seem to mind, the nephew's noticed them and asked me what I'm saving them for...
"for the cats" I tell him.
- "Cats don't eat meat." he tells me. This is the moment that saves the night.
"Really?" I ask. "What do they eat?"
- "I don't know, they don't eat meat.". He's adamant.
"Do they like carrots? Broccoli? Pieces of lettuce?"
- "They don't eat RED meat..."
Now he's covering his ass, he's suspecting that he might be wrong, doesn't want to be entirely wrong and so he's qualifying....
"Your cat, Marvin, he ran away...." I'm starting to understand why. In the beginning it was a mystery, the Nephew loved him, hell, had even ordered him a Santa outfit online, cost of $300.00, but the cat had run away, he's seen him since then in the neighborhood, but the cat wants nothing to do with him. I'm imagining the cat, going about it's cat life, unable to stomach the carrots and salads the nephew makes for it to eat, waiting, as it were, for the door to be opened so it could escape...
- "I never see a cat eat meat"
"What about the mice and birds they kill? Why does cat food come in meat flavours, like beef and chicken and turkey and tuna...?"
- "I never see a cat eat. Sure, they kill, hundreds, but they never eat..."
"What about Lions and Tigers? What do they eat?"
- "They are not the same as a cat...."
He's going to check it later on Google. He's sure they don't eat meat, but I've raised some doubts.
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