April 30, 2023
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Games People Play

I’m not much of a hockey fan, but last night I watched the game, which apparently caused the Leafs to win their series against the Lightning. Does this mean I have to keep watching? Go Leafs.

I’ve been more interested in following the World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Magnus Carlsen had decided not to defend his title, guaranteeing we would see a new champion.

After the 14 game classical chess match, the players were tied. They were super-exciting games, with plenty of risks taken and some unfortunate mistakes as well. Today they played a 4-game play-off in rapid chess. Congratulations to Ding Liren, the new World Chess Champion.

If you want to see a recap of the playoffs, there are several options. I like GM Ben Finegold’s analysis, but Gotham Chess and a few others are fabulous too.

April 25, 2023
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Urban Wildlife

We’ve had coyotes, possums, raccoons, skunks, owls, various hawks, nesting mallards, a bald eagle and even a lost dog show up around here over the years. Yesterday, my neighbour across the street texted to say she had a wild turkey in her backyard.

It hung out there for a while, then crossed the street and wandered into another neighbour’s yard.

Where it went from there, I have no idea, except that I have heard reports of a turkey showing up in yards as far east as Mimico. Same one? I have no idea. It was a treat to watch this huge bird checking out Long Branch.

April 13, 2023
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Rufus Guinchard on fiddle

I’ve been learning a little bit about the late great Newfoundland fiddler, Rufus Guinchard, and came across this old clip featuring Mr. Guinchard, at 90 years, still sawing out the tunes.

Check out the unusual way Rufus Guinchard held his fiddle when he played.

April 7, 2023
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House Musical

Listen to the latest from The Agency right here or find it at all the good podcast places.

This week:
We talk to creators Scott Free and Marcus Waller about their new musical HOUSE MUSICAL. The production is playing late April at The Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois.

The agents also share their love for New York City. Candy still doesn’t have Netflix or HBO and Eugene is caught up on Succession and has an idea.

The Agents love to hear your ideas for episodes, or your thoughts on life, the world and the universe. Email us anytime.

April 4, 2023
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Fish Tales #3: the big one

Fishing was a big deal in our house as I was growing up. You might say my childhood was punctuated by photographs of dead fish. Some catches were near legendary in the family, and the story of how my father caught a large sturgeon on a fly rod was told to me I don’t know how many times over the years. Dad would point at my brother Joe, who was a boy when it happened, and say: it was bigger than him and better lookin’ too.

My dad liked to tell the same stories over and over, and he felt free to change them up to fit the audience. He didn’t let facts get in the way of a good story either, so I sometimes I didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t. One thing for sure – he did catch a whopping big sturgeon and we have the dead fish pictures to prove it.

This was back before I was born. My guess would be around 1955. My dad liked to fish at Montgomery’s Rapids on the Nottawasaga River – for walleye, which we called pickerel, and for migratory rainbow trout, which these days everyone calls steelhead. The rapids formed a deep whirlpool on one side. Somehow, my father discovered that there were huge sturgeon living in that whirlpool, and he was determined to catch one.

In the evening, just before he was ready to quit fishing for the day and drive home, Dad would rig up a long fly rod with a bait hook, heavy leader and a sliding bell sinker rig. He baited his hook with what he described as a big gob of dew worms. He’s just flip the bait into the water and with the help of the long rod, he could drift his bait around and around and around the whirlpool. I believed him when he told me it wasn’t unusual to hook a sturgeon that way. Landing the fish was another thing altogether – he only ever landed one.

Dad bragged the sturgeon was 57 pounds and 57 inches. He brought it home and had the meat smoked, and gave away chunks of smoked sturgeon to friends. I guess the photo was taken in the yard of their home, which was on Methuen Avenue in the Jane and Annette area of the City.

The old photo of Dad with the sturgeon triggered my childhood imagination. It seems impossible, exotic even. I couldn’t wait to go with them and take part in their adventures.

March 29, 2023
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Keanu vs Bronson

Listen to the new episode of The Agency Podcast right here or find it in the usual places. However you access it, we’d appreciate it if you would “like” or comment and please subscribe to hear all the future episodes.

This episode The Agents speak with Peyton McCarty-Simas about witches in horror films, a subject which includes psychedelics and discussion on political movements.

Also:
John Wick 4 (or… who would win a cage match between Keanu, Liam Neeson, and Charles Bronson)
Ted Lasso
Succession – it’s back
Art and politics – Kent Monkman at the ROM
+ listener mail and more

Thanks for listening.

March 27, 2023
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Fish Tales #2: a pleasant afternoon floating the river

Back then, I fly fished the section of The River above the escarpment every chance I got. We called it The Brook Trout Water, because there were no browns above the falls. Early in the season when the Hendricksons were coming off, I’d park by the highway late morning, and walk the railway tracks down to where the stream flowed close to the tracks, wet wading and fishing my way back to the car. By the time I reached my fave stretches, the bugs were emerging and the trout were on them.

For a stream that close to the city, it was mighty fine, helped out by special regulations to keep the the bait plonkers out. The brookies were plentiful. They averaged 8 or 9 inches but bigger trout were not uncommon. Every once in a while I’d catch a brookie of unexpected size. A lunker. People have told me it’s not so great anymore, but I really can’t say. I hardly chase trout at all these days.

One afternoon, just as the bugs started coming off the water, I heard banging and clanging upstream. This was most unusual. In fact, most days I had much of the water to myself. When other anglers were on that stretch, it was usually because the Other River was blown out and guys were looking for a place to cast to some trout. Finally, I saw the source of the noise. Two guys were wading downstream toward me, pulling a 14 foot aluminum car-top boat behind them.

So much for a fine afternoon of fishing. These characters were sure to spook the trout all the way down to the falls. I took a deep breath, determined to be polite. Hi, I said.

Hi! How’s the fishin’?
Well, it WAS pretty good. What are you guys up to with that boat?
We’re floating down to the lake.
Huh?
We’re floating down to the lake.
I see. You guys know about the escarpment, right?
What do you mean?
The falls.
The falls?
Yeah, the falls.
We didn’t know there was a falls. I guess we’ll have to drag the boat around it.
Yeah, well, it’s not so easy. I think you’re going to have a problem.
Oh, we’ll manage!
If you do get your boat down below the falls in one piece, you’ll be facing a long stretch of pocket water. It’s fast, with lots of boulders. Tricky to wade, even when you’re not dragging a boat.

It was clear they didn’t believe a word I was saying. I wished them luck, and started looking for a comfortable spot to have lunch. Off they went, their boat banging against rocks along the way. I’ve often wondered what happened to them.