Author: Michael Murray

I’ve been on television three times now, and I’m not very good at. After each performance, I’m certain that the news agency that called me up, will never ask me back. I get nervous on air. I stammer and blink, rocking back and forth in my chair like somebody who was raised in a damp…

A certain somebody who shall remain nameless, recently told me that my Blog posts, “although sporadically diverting” were “WAY TOO LONG!!!”  She—I mean, he or she—went on to add “ not everybody cares about every little thought that pops into your head. Most of us have REAL lives and REAL jobs, and simply don’t have…

For a few weeks there in the winter, as a philanthropic effort, I was making soup and then distributing to homeless people down on Bloor Street. Unfortunately, this ended badly after the ground beef soup debacle. Apparently, the soup I made had been giving out was causing diaherra*1, which was not my intention. At any…

Rachelle’s nephews, William and Sammy are aged 7 and 5. We think that they’re brilliant, and routinely send them postcards from various fictional characters. They always respond, dictating a letter to their mother, and then decorating it with stickers. This is a letter that Sammy, the youngest boy, sent to us in response to one…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtEin5dgZqY&feature=channel_page]

The first walk of the day usually sees Heidi and I heading down Bloor. The territory that we cover, between Spadina and Bathurst, is pretty dog friendly, with all sorts of places habitually having a store of dog treats. This is less a native generosity toward canines than it is a savvy business plan, because…

As my debts to Goran, my bookie, have been steadily increasing after my disasterous string of bad luck betting on the weather, I have realized that I am going to have to go out and get a job. I am willing to do pretty much anything, just so long as no spiders are involved, and…

As times are tough, Rachelle and I are always looking for an edge. This year, I decided to create my own Valentine Card business, in which I hand craft personalized cards for species that are non-human. I’ve noticed that people are very willing to spend time and money on their pets, and that there is…

The other day, Rachelle and I got an e-mail from a friend that contained this link :  http://www.hame.ca/blog3/norm/ It concerned Norman Elder,  an explorer, exotic animal owner, author, artist and Olympic equestrian. A child of privilege and wealthy bachelor, he was a Toronto eccentric who lived in a beautiful and strange home at 140 Bedford…