Alex Carrick’s Blog

Washington has a huge debt problem and the Democrats, Republicans and Tea Party can’t agree on which comes first, increase taxes or lower spending. Here are some innovative answers I’ve come up with, combining both approaches and some “outside the box” ideas, to break the impasse. (1) Privatize the issuing of birth certificates to Donald […]

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  “Daddy, why does Canada have so many comedians?” 10-year old Justin asked, one blustery winter evening.  The magic hour approached when the burden of parenthood was about to be ever so briefly lifted and some time might be spent by mom and dad alone in front of the television set.  “I have a theory […]

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As a special favor, Louise Traynor was escorted to a couple’s table in the trattoria’s alcove by the establishment’s executive chef and owner late into the luncheon sitting. The faux Italian décor was complemented by Dean Martin crooning in the background. A tiny fountain listlessly gurgled in the centre of the room. Other diners noted […]

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Tracy Tindale was at her wits end. This was the Olympics in which she was supposed to shine. Instead, she was struggling again. While most of the problem was mental, it wasn’t all her fault. In fact, her condition had recently been given a name. It was going down in the medical books as a […]

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Herb Green was frustrated beyond containment. His toxic mood might have been possible to deal with except he had newly acquired a truly foul vocabulary. He started swearing like Regan in The Exorcist. Furthermore, he lacked the originality to be entertaining in his gross verbiage. No, he was disgusting to listen to. His wife, Wanda, was really […]

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Pedro Martinez had entered the United States illegally. There was no denying the fact. He was part of a group of 20 individuals brought over in the false back of an 18-wheeler from Mexico in early spring two years ago. To pay for the privilege, he made a cash contribution to his wife’s distant cousin, Jose […]

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There are three nations that have survived the recession quite well, thank you very much, due to their raw material riches – Australia, Brazil and Canada. It would seem to be a natural progression for these three countries to come together in a new economic bloc to be known as the ABC nations.   Canada […]

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During a recession, some companies buck the trend. For example, shoe repair stores and the makers of Spam have seen sales soar. Macdonalds and Wal-Mart are experiencing an influx of customers. All the trouble that people are having coping means the drug companies will probably do okay as well. In fact, more than just okay. They’ll […]

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Frank Gehry’s design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, has launched a new age of stunning architecture.   Other examples include the Burj al-Arab hotel tower in Dubai (sailboat appearance), the new Milwaukee Art Museum (resembling a bird in flight) and the addition to the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto (on […]

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Economists are not really known for being funny. Let me give you an example.   You know the old joke about a man who falls out of a plane and on the way down, he passes another man shooting upward. The first man says, “Do you know anything about parachutes?”

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