Category Archives: Food, Health and Nutrition

Sarah Polley – Run Towards the Danger

Posted on October 4, 2022 by barczablog

I have just finished reading Sarah Polley’s Run Towards the Danger, a book like none I’ve ever read before. It might be the most authentic autobiography I’ve ever encountered. Except that it’s not an autobiography. I notice too that while … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Cinema, video & DVDs, Dance, theatre & musicals, Food, Health and Nutrition, Popular music & culture, Reviews | Tagged concussion, Jian Ghomeshi, Lewis Carroll, Molly Shannon, Run Towards the Danger, Sarah Polley, William Wordsworth | Leave a comment

Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes

Posted on September 9, 2022 by barczablog

Do you compartmentalize? I ask because it’s common, a given in a modern life. Whether we’re speaking of the things we do for work-life balance, as part of an artistic discipline or simply to get through a busy day, it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Books & Literature, Food, Health and Nutrition, Music and musicology, Opera, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture, Psychology and perception, Spirituality & Religion | Tagged discipline, Etudes, Leslie Dala, Mary Trump, Philip Glass, Sarah Polley | Leave a comment

Rebuilding Janise: Andrew Smith’s labour of love

Posted on July 24, 2022 by barczablog

The cover picture is a disturbing metaphor for its subject. In 1992 Andrew and Janise were married. This poem “What Once Was”, is by Andrew Smith, posted in July 2022 on Facebook. what once was; is so long ago.two fools, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Literature, Food, Health and Nutrition, My mother, Personal ruminations & essays, Psychology and perception, Reviews | Tagged Andrew Smith, Bridgepoint Hospital, Rebuilding Janise, stroke | Leave a comment

Lindsay Anne Black: canary in the mine

Posted on June 2, 2022 by barczablog

Whether your Kafkaesque fate is to wake up to the discovery you’ve turned into an insect, or merely that you have to hide inside your house because of coronaviruses and lockdowns, I think we’re ready for Eldritch Theatre’s current theatrical … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Food, Health and Nutrition, Interviews, University life | Tagged asthma, Craig Walker, Donna-Michelle St Bernard, Eldritch Theatre, Environmental Sensitivities, Eric Woolfe, ES, Franz Kafka, Fred Euringer, HP Lovecraft, Karen P Hay, Lindsay Anne Black, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Natalie Rewa, Prairie Theatre Exchange, Queen's University, Red Sandcastle Theatre, rewild, Two Weird Tales, Women's College Hospital | 1 Comment

Toronto Choral Society – Mozart Requiem

Posted on May 26, 2022 by barczablog

I had my first experience with Toronto Choral Society last night at Eastminster United Church on Danforth. Holly Chaplin’s page on Facebook (where my review of the weekend opera was shared) told me that she and Joshua Clemenger (also in … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health and Nutrition, Music and musicology, My mother, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Dylan Wright, Holly Chaplin, Jennifer Elisabetta Centrone, Joshua Clemenger, Toronto Choral Society, Toronto City Opera, William O'Meara, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Leave a comment

News, positive and negative

Posted on April 28, 2022 by barczablog

It’s been a hard week so far. I’m heart-broken with the news in my inbox, that Elisa Citterio is leaving Tafelmusik. I can’t help but wonder about the subtexts for this change. Perhaps it’s just the pandemic and its deadly … Continue reading →

Posted in Dance, theatre & musicals, Food, Health and Nutrition, Music and musicology, Opera, Press Releases and Announcements | Tagged Amanda Hale, Carmen, Elisa Citterio, Flying Dutchman, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Kye Marshall, Macbeth, Marriage of Figaro, Pomegranate, Quinn Kelsey, Richard Wagner, Sondra Radvanovsky, Tosca | 2 Comments

Lessons of the Paralympics

Posted on March 9, 2022 by barczablog

As usual I’ve been watching tv with my mom when I visit her to bring her lunch and dinner. During the Winter Olympics she would sometimes get up in the night to watch opening or closing ceremonies, given the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health and Nutrition, My mother, Personal ruminations & essays, Sports | Tagged curling, hockey, James Dunn, physiotherapy | Leave a comment

Chatting with Bruce McGillivray about the German bow, music and rehabilitation

Posted on February 28, 2022 by barczablog

After a short stay in Mt Sinai after collapsing in early September, my mother went to Bridgepoint Hospital for rehab, gradually seeking to re-cover her mobility with the help of physical therapy. The beautiful view through the window lifts patients’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health and Nutrition, Interviews, Music and musicology, My mother, Personal ruminations & essays, Popular music & culture | Tagged Berlin Philharmonic, Bridgepoint Hospital, Bruce McGillivray, busking, French bow, German bow, Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Martin Heinze, physical therapy, rehabilitation, Sean Bennesch, string bass | 2 Comments

Dogs are right about winter

Posted on November 28, 2021 by barczablog

This morning I had that magical experience of taking my dog outside after the first snowfall last night. I remember my home room teacher (sorry can’t recall his name) chewed me out in grade 7 when I blurted out “it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Food, Health and Nutrition, Personal ruminations & essays | 2 Comments

Quality of Life and Playing God

Posted on November 3, 2021 by barczablog

Pet-owners often make profound decisions about their dog or cat, given that the law treats animals as property, ours to dispose of as we wish. I shudder when I think about it, ashamed of the time 32 years ago when … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, domestic & wild, Food, Health and Nutrition, Personal ruminations & essays | Tagged Alice Villalobos, Quality of Life Scale | 1 Comment