So my plan to launch JohnMilner.ca once I received the Milner Racing sweatshirt I purchased on Amazon (which I was going to use in the web banner on the main page) has been delayed. The sweatshirt – which was supposed to arrive sometime between March 16 and April 19 (yeah, I know right?) – arrived today. The only problem is that somebody decided the word “Milner” would look great in gray on a gray sweatshirt. Me, not so much, so I am going to be sending it back (maybe I will get it in blue).
That minor disappointment aside, this past week was pretty eventful, actually. After working the Open House at King’s last Saturday, I decided to take Wednesday which nicely split up the week. Monday and Tuesday weren’t too confusing but Thursday and Friday were because I kept waking up wondering what day it was.
Speaking of Wednesday, my Mom had a good idea that some day I should take a day off during the week and go to a couple of the area antique and collectibles, including the One of a Kind Antique Mall in Woodstock and Brydges Street Merchant Mall in London. Her thought was that during the week, there would be less people there and she was right. Before any reader blames that on COVID, I prefer going to places like that, even pre-pandemic, when it’s quiet and you can take your time and look around. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, going to these antique and collectibles stores (“flea markets” as I still call them, although I’m guessing that terminology will be deemed “problematic” in 2021) are a great way to get your mind off everything else. As you walk through the aisles, you definitely get some sensory overload but everything outside the four walls just disappears.
While I was in London, I stopped by Paul Sutter’s house to pick up copies of Issue #230 of Shelf Life Magazine. Earlier this week, I finished the update for the Shelf Life website, with excerpts from this latest issue. While I was there, I also picked up a couple of books, including The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer. It’s an alternative history about the group of people involved with the Manhattan Project. I don’t know enough about that particular chapter in history to know what’s alternative and what’s not but it’s an extremely fascinating read. If it continues the way it began, I will definitely give it a great review.
Speaking of reviews, Paul has been producing video reviews over the last year as COVID prevented him from putting Shelf Life out in print form. I decided to try my hand at it, producing my own video reviews for The Deep by Alma Katsu and Tombstone by Tom Clavin.
My folks and I are likely staying close to home this weekend but that’s okay because “IT’s BRISTOL BABY!” That’s right, NASCAR is running a Cup race on dirt for the first time since 1970, and it’s at the famous (or infamous) short track of Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s definitely going to be different and definitely going to be interesting. I will definitely have something to write about in Track Talk.
johnmilner.ca 