Author Archives: Jay Menard

Epic Overuse Symbolic of Me-Now Generation

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By Jason Menard

Fed up of the word epic? Join the club. Unfortunately, we’re only going to see more of it as it’s the perfect word to illustrate the narcissism of today’s youth – a narcissism that we’ve created and nurtured.

Nowadays, everything’s epic. It was bad enough when Web hipsters coined the term ‘epic fail’ to describe whatever pseudo-hip meme they posted on the Internet showcasing someone screwing up. What we used to call badly voiced-over Bob Saget-era America’s Funniest Home Videos and brushed off as mindless, now lives on in the Internet bestowed the same categorization Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Continue reading →

Stafford Case Prompts Question of Right Versus Need to Know

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By Jason Menard

Should there ever be a point when protecting the public’s need to know gets tempered by what the public truly needs to know?

Today the Supreme Court of Canada upheld an earlier decision to partially lift a publication ban in the Tori Stafford murder case. As a result, we’ve learned that Terri-Lynne McClintic pleaded guilty in April to first-degree murder charges that will see her serve 25-to-life in prison. Continue reading →

Lennon’s Latter-Day Lessons Also Lost 30 Years Ago Today

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By Jason Menard,

On this day, 30 years ago, the world lost one of its most influential poets. And while today’s a day to remember the life and music of John Lennon, it’s also a time for those of us approaching a certain age to consider what else we lost on Dec. 8, 1980.

I was only seven when Lennon was murdered in front of his New York home, so his passing didn’t even factor into my life. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-to-late teens that I discovered The Beatles – and it was very soon after that first exposure that I firmly became a John fan. Continue reading →

Je Me Souviens

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By Jason Menard,

On this date, in 1989, we lost 14 women at the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, QC.

Unfortunately, too many people remember the name of the gunman; not enough remember the names of the women we lost. You will not see the gunman’s name here. Continue reading →

Reading Between – and Outside of – the Lines

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By Jason Menard

Sometimes the best stories that a book can tell aren’t found in the text – it’s what’s in the margins that makes for the most interesting read.

I have a thing for old books. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t own a Kindle – there’s something about physically holding a book, turning its pages, brushing off the dust, and inhaling the familiar old-book scent, that an electronic version will never be able to match.

The one thing a Kindle will never do is give you the story behind the story. Continue reading →