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Bob Ramsay

Born in Edmonton. Educated at Princeton and Harvard. Speechwriter. Book editor. Copywriter. Communications strategist. Presentation trainer. Marathoner. Explorer of the world's distant places. Travel writer. Op-ed page writer. Fund-raiser. Board member. Speaker series host. Arts addict. And of course, relentless enthusiast.

Loud Quitting

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum /

Richard II said that, or at least his creator William Shakespeare did in 1595 when the word “doth” was used a lot before “waste”. I mention this for two reasons: the New Yorker cartoonist, George Booth, died this month at 96. As the magazine’s art director said: “if you can’t recognize a Booth cartoon, you need the magazine in Braille.”

But also because our under-rated Canadian seer, Dan Gardner, wrote about Booth’s passing on how we always misjudge time, and especially age, and most especially, other people’s age.

Booth’s cartoons were as quirky and charming as the man himself who was profiled in a 23-minute documentary on getting old and staying in the game.

Meanwhile…

Loud Quitting Read More »

“I wasted time, and now time wastes me.”

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum /

Richard II said that, or at least his creator William Shakespeare did in 1595 when the word “doth” was used a lot before “waste”. I mention this for two reasons: the New Yorker cartoonist, George Booth, died this month at 96. As the magazine’s art director said: “if you can’t recognize a Booth cartoon, you need the magazine in Braille.”

But also because our under-rated Canadian seer, Dan Gardner, wrote about Booth’s passing on how we always misjudge time, and especially age, and most especially, other people’s age.

Booth’s cartoons were as quirky and charming as the man himself who was profiled in a 23-minute documentary on getting old and staying in the game.

Meanwhile…

“I wasted time, and now time wastes me.” Read More »

“You’re the smartest in the room.”

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum /

Diana Henriques was the New York Times reporter who broke the Bernie Madoff story, the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. She said Madoff was different from even the most sophisticated con artist who would try to convince you they were the smartest person in the room. Madoff convinced you that you were the smartest in the room.

It seems Toronto has its own Bernie Madoff. Albert Rosenberg conned wives, banks, investors and the world for years. CBC Gem has a wonderful hour-long documentary on his story, written and directed by Barry Avrich. [CBC GEM is password-accessed but free]. Very worth watching, and a reminder that not all frauds are online.

Meanwhile, beyond the watering holes of Yorkville…

“You’re the smartest in the room.” Read More »

Science progresses one funeral at a time.

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum /

Max Planck said that. He  won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918 for creating quantum physics. That year the Spanish Flu became the deadliest disease in history, killing 50 million people. But COVID, which has killed 6.6 million people so far, may be rising again.

Science is a lot more ready for it this time around. So it’s easy to forget the dreadful early weeks of COVID when residents in Ontario’s Long-Term Care homes accounted for more than 60% of all COVID-related deaths, despite them being less than 1% of the province’s older population.

Another way to ensure we avoid that particular fate is via art, of course.

Science progresses one funeral at a time. Read More »

Tomorrow, the Queen will have ruled Britannia for 70 years.

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum, Ramsay Writes /

It was on February 6th, 1952, when her father, King George VI, died. She was vacationing at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya at the time and became the first Sovereign in over 200 years to “accede while abroad.” She wasn’t actually told until the next day.  A telegram to Government House in Nairobi couldn’t be

Tomorrow, the Queen will have ruled Britannia for 70 years. Read More »

“Christmas is at our throats again.”

Leave a Comment / Omnium-Gatherum /

Thank you for that, Noel Coward. It’s what oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed for lots of people this time of year. But this year, the predations of the season take on a new and feverish tone. It knows if we’ve been bad or good, so we’d better watch out, we’d better….well, before we open any gifts, let’s make sure we get our booster shot, okay? 

“Christmas is at our throats again.” Read More »

Fit for a Maharaja: Not Your Traditional Adventure Through India

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized /

Everyone who travels to India returns to say a variation of this: “I am inside the most opulent palace in the world—and outside its gates, the most pitiful beggars are pleading for enough rupees to keep them alive.” In other words, the contrasts between wretched wealth and clutching poverty are so inescapable in India that lots

Fit for a Maharaja: Not Your Traditional Adventure Through India Read More »

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