Three Things from Edmonton

Thanks for dropping by the podcast! Hope things are good at your end. This week's three things:

1. CN -- one day I'll take a couple of youngsters with me to the CN Tower. The one in Edmonton, I mean.

2. Time signature -- I've been listening to the old-new Beatles song.

3. Gaslighting -- A good book and a good movie came together.

Th original music in the podcast is composed and performed by Brendan McGrath of Edmonton. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian Slavo Cech.

Take care. Imagine peace.

Thanks for dropping by the podcast this week! It dropped a bit late. This might be the new drop date, we’ll see! This week’s troika: 

1. Grim Reaper – Our door was darkened last week.

2. Fellowship of the rinks – My mom got to remembering!

3. Alliteration – Dylan is to be heard, not just read.

The original podcast music is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com.

Hello, thanks very much for dropping by the Three Things podcast. Predictably, here are the three unpredictable things that made for some happiness and gratitude this week: 

1. Goalies – I was struck by the generosity of the answers given by Winnipeg Jets’ netminder Connor Hellebuyck. 

2. First snow – First snow means first questions here in YEG. 

3. Cross-examination – Under the influence of cough syrup, I got my eras mixed up a bit. 

The original podcast music was composed and performed by Edmonton composer and performer Brendan McGrath. The end bells in the podcast are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. Josh Classen doesn’t know he appears. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by the podcast! This is where I try to notice little things from my life that left behind tracks of gratitude and happiness. Basically being a shut in and still fighting whatever it is that has taken up residence rent free in my chest and throat, I was a bit more introspective this week. 

1. Confirmation bias – the universe didn’t unroll as I thought it might

2. Waiting in line – a psychological thriller set at Rice Bowl Deluxe 

3. Above the fold – my big accomplishment while Shelagh was away in Italy.

The original podcast music is from Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for checking out the little podcast. And it is little. Piddly little. I mean, three little things that left behind tracks of happiness and gratitude when the news is what it is? Come on, I sometimes answer myself. But, other times, there is a quieter voice that says, keep going, don’t be blind, but take a few minutes to put some stuff on the other side of the scale, too. This week’s other things, then: 

1. Weather map – watching all the cable TV this week provided a welcome perspective on local weather

2. Shelagh in Italy – that’s it: Shelagh in Italy. Shelagh in Italy!

3. Class reunion – it wasn’t the best of times, but we got through high school. 

The original podcast music is from Edmonton composer and pianist Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton humanitarian and metal artist, Slavo Cech. 

Thanks for dropping by to give the podcast a few minutes of your time. The gift of your time is appreciated. I started the podcast as a way to force myself to notice the things of my own life, a reaction, perhaps, to all the noticing the attention merchants are doing for me. I have nothing against them. I just need some counterweights. Three counterweights each week. This week: 

1. Wedding – Aimée and Steve got married, and it was a musical event.

2. Margaritaville – Sometimes you’re still in  Margaritaville at 4 AM.

3. Friendly face – A welcome hello in traffic. 

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello and happy end of summer 2023 from Edmonton. Here, fall lasts between 14 minutes and about three weeks. We’ll see!

While waiting for autumn’s rapid or less-rapid transition into pre-winter, it’s a decent use of time to make note of things that make for happiness or gratitude in our lives. So the winterweathermongers don’t win the day. For me, this week: 

1. Experts – I don’t miss all of them, but I do miss some of them.

2. Tomatoes – A bit of a ode to the backyard varieties.

3. Relay – It’s baseball season. Every pitch, every out matters. Some outs are gorgeous to witness.

The original podcast music is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

Go, Jays.

Hello and thanks for dropping by the podcast. Here are three things that left behind notes of happiness and gratitude last week: 

1. Sounds of summer – They are in their final days.

2. Replay – There are some benefits to attending a conference in our dining room

3. Poets – RIP, Jimmy Buffett. 

The music in the podcast is original. It is the work of Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

Take care. 

Welcome to the Three Things podcast, it’s cool that you’re here. From each care-worn week, I try to steal a few minutes to notice three things that left behind tracks of happiness and gratitude, remember those things and then record those things. So keep some kind or record of those noticings. This week’s offering: 

1. Small world – There are people you know who bring people you don’t know together. This is what I learned again last week, this time at the Sugared & Spiced bakery.

2. Licence plates – Bored? Make up a game, my mother would say. It’s advice I use when sitting in LRT construction.

3. Destinations – Happy & Olive is open in Crestwood. All aboard. 

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. Dude is talented. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metals artist and humanitarian Slavo Cech. 

Shop local. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by the podcast, friends. I try my best once a week to preserve the time it takes to notice, remember and the make a record of three things that made for some happiness and gratitude in my little life. This week those three things are: 

1. Le Tour – the Tour de France is my favourite kind of TV.

2. Sleep – sometimes, you get the sleep you need. 

3. Ruins – some squash, some thunder and an old clothesline pole. 

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metals artist, Slavo Cech. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Happy summer from Edmonton, where it’s been smoky, sunny, windy and rainy. It’s an elemental place. While we’re waiting to see how bad the mosquitoes will be, here are three things that left behind tracks of happiness and gratitude.

1. Meow! – The day Fred Penner came back to Edmonton.

2. Red – The internal debate continues, this time with some communications theory.

3. 1 – That’s how old Little Buddy is!

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are sounded, as always, by Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian Slavo Cech. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by the podcast. It was tough this week to watch former colleagues get the axe from Bell. I admired Tom Walters, especially. Great writer, great newsman, went where the story asked him to go, always willing to confront Pocklington with a unexpected question.  Just want to put that on the record, as they used to say. 

Back now to regularly scheduled podcasting, and three things that left behind, in my little life, tracks of happiness and gratitude. 

1. Strong ads – I admire good ads. Like IKEA’s latest pics.

2. Squeak – I was stuck in a traffic circle. Darlingside kept it real. 

3. Cats – I come to terms with our sons having become cat people. Almost. 

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton composer and pianist Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton humanitarian and metal artist, Slavo Cech. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by the Three Things podcast! This is where I practise stopping to remember and record three things from my little life that left behind tracks of gratitude and happiness. This week, for your consideration, those three things were: 

1. Soft rain – These are elemental days in northern Alberta

2. Hard Rain – It’s been a-falling for sixty years now.

3. Chainsaw – Teething pains after a simple request to borrow the chainsaw. 

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist, piano teacher and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello, and thanks for stopping by the Three Things podcast. This is where I try to keep some kind of record of the little things that made for some happiness and gratitude while the maelstrom keeps doing what it does—maelstroming. This week’s offerings: 

1. Tulips – Audrey Hepburn in Crestwood.

2. Infidelity – A short reflection on a valuable bit of TV news theory I still carry with me. It helps in these tricky times.

3. Chalk – A few lines about lines at this time of year in Edmonton.

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist, humanitarian and O’Leary Spartan (‘82), Slavo Cech.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello, and thanks for dropping by the podcast, my weekly/weakly (Differs By A Letter was a Jeopardy category this week) effort to insert into the maelstrom a few bits of countercyclical force—things that made for some happiness and gratitude, I mean. This week those mundane things were: 

1. Old film – not the celluloid stuff, but, rather, the memories that friends play back.

2. Bottom line – What’s the most valuable currency in the world? was the question Iannick asked the crowd.

3. Anemone – How do you pronounce that sea creature? 

The original music in the podcast is the work of Edmonton composer and pianist Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

I hope you have a good day.

Hello from our basement in west Edmonton, and thanks for dropping by to take a listen to the podcast. The entire editorial and production team appreciates the gift of your time. Here are three things from my little life that left behind still discernible tracks of happiness and gratitude. As the great Tyson said, get it all done before she goes. 

1. Scrabble – I’m trying to find the words to describe the joy it is to sit down across from Rob with a Scrabble board between us and a couple of hours that can’t get us.

2. Colour – Dessert for Easter dinner is not a trifling affair in Shelagh’s kitchen.

3. Reading – There is always a better way for me to do things. I rely on characters to bring that lesson home.

The music in the podcast is original—the work of Edmoton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells were made and are played by Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello from west Edmonton, and welcome to the Three Things podcast. The premise of the podcast is straightforward, and easily replicable: try to notice three things from my own life that leave behind tracks of happiness and gratitude. Turn down the loud speakers, try to ignore the algorithms and just try to notice what I notice. This week:

1. Downtown vibrancy – some notes from a concert at McDougall United Church

2. 118 Ave – some notes after a trip to the music store

3. Water in the house – some water music

The original music in the podcast is just the best. It’s the work of Edmonton composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist, jewelry hider and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello, welcome to spring, bonjour from Edmonton. For those who still follow the French Republican calendar, bienvenue à la saison Germinal. For those who follow Ian Tyson, we’ve made it through another on the Northern Range. Here are three things that left behind some tracks of happiness and gratitude as we did: 

1. Resources - What I have learned teaching. 

2. The East - What I found at the Nova Scotia Archives.

3. The West - What I heard on Edmonton AM.

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton musician Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks so much for dropping by the podcast. It’s a little experiment, going on 113 experiments now, to see, if, in the maelstrom that is life in 2023, I can invoke the stillness to name three things that made for some happiness and gratitude each week. I am always grateful to hear from you, especially when you share your own stories of happiness and gratitude. This week’s offering from me:

1. Digging – The CN Tower still has a great pull on me. No, not that CN Tower!

2. Building faces – Have you seen the giant cat of MacEwan University? How about the nearby giant emoji face?

3. Music room – For the record(er), we owe a lot to music teachers.

The original music in the podcast is from music teacher and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello, and thanks for dropping by the podcast. This is my ongoing effort to trust myself when it comes to noticing things that make for happiness and gratitude. It’s some kind of record, as is asked of all of us. This is what came up the top this week:

1. Socks – On some days, I have a tight connection to my socks.

2. Serious dream – An account of some time in the shadow kingdom.

3. Maracas – The music of the seed display at the neighbourhood grocery store.

The music in the podcast is as original as its composer, the talented pianist, Brendan McGrath. The end bells again sound thanks to the faithfulness of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech.

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello, and thanks for dropping by the Three Things podcast. This is where I keep a promise to myself to try harder to notice things for myself, at the expense of having things noticed for me by the algorithms. Specifically, things that leave behind tracks of gratitude and happiness. This week's noticings:

1. Timing – I admire people who not only say the right thing but say the right thing at the right time. There’s an extra dose of the bliss of being alive when the timing is perfect.

2. Specifically – Saul Alinsky, George Saunders, Mark Connolly and Tom Petty, specifically.

3. Sounds of home – An ode to the furnace and the other infrastructure of living here in February.

The music in the podcast is original. It comes from the original Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech.

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Hello and thanks for checking out this week’s Three Things podcast, which is made up of three things from my little life last week that left behind tracks of happiness or gratitude.

1. Boss – Springsteen is coming back to town.

2. Belief – Having a beer at Aradia, looking forward to Ted Lasso, season 3.

3. Bike – A few words in thanks to my bicycle.

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are supplied, as always, by Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. The sun is now up at 7:51 am.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for dropping by the podcast. Each week I try to do three things: notice, remember and record three things that made for some happiness and gratitude in the maelstrom. This week: 

1. Waves -  in the live stream of traffic in Edmonton

2. Radio - the kitchen counter feels more complete now that we have a radio again. 

3. Resonance - I hear this alot: "that really resonates with me." A print helped me understood the root of things.

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton composer, pianist and teacher, Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech. 

I'm at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for giving my little podcast a listen. It’s a continuing experiment to see if each week I can notice and remember and then record three things that left behind tracks of gratitude and happiness. Just stuff from my little life I share with Shelagh up here on latitude 53 in Edmonton, Canada. This week:

1. Print – reflections on a wonderful dinner at Filistix that left a kind of stamp on me

2. Dolphins – the night Hawksley Workman ascended from the deep

3. Crunch – putting the i back in kitchen

The original podcast music is from Edmonton pianist, teacher and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells of gratitude are the gift of Edmonton artist and humanitarian Slavo Cech.

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Welcome to this week’s Three Things. Once a week I try to notice in the maelstrom three things that made for some happiness and gratitude. Rising to the top this week:

1. Comma – The first punctuation mark in Crosby, Stills & Nash hit home last week

2. Streeter – What do you think about the person on the street interviews?

3. Jerky – A serving of memory from the deli counter.

The original podcast music is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells, the gift of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian, Slavo Cech.

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Thanks for checking out the little podcast, I appreciate it. Frustrated by the various other approaches to things, I decided 105 weeks ago to try a little gratitude and happiness. Each week, stop, reflect and record three little things from the gratitude and happiness side of the ledger. This week:

1. Magic - I was reading a New York Times Magazine article about a Spanish magician when one thing led to another and I had a thought about a very curious Dylan song. Welcome back to the podcast, Señor Bob.

2. Misdirection - I was thinking about the Dylan song when I recalled my friend Graham’s touch with misdirection jokes. I gave him a call.

3. Observation - I was thinking about something Graham said about misdirection when asked Shelagh to pick a card, any card, and, then, surprise!

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton composer and pianist Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal sculptor and humanitarian Slavo Cech.

I’m at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

-30-

That’s how newspaper reporters would indicate the end of their copy. Remove the second hyphen and it’s how Edmontonians this week indicated the temperature. Yikes. Robbie Burns is outside? Yes, yes, come in, please, get warm, sir! What's this now? You have some winter music for us? A dirge? Yes, the floor is yours: 

The wintry west extends his blast,

And hail and rain does blaw;

Or, the stormy north sends driving forth

The blinding sleet and snaw:

While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,

And roars frae bank to brae;

And bird and beast in covert rest,

And pass the heartless day.

The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast

The joyless winter-day,

Let others fear, to me more dear

Than all the pride of May:

The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul,

My griefs it seems to join;

The leafless trees my fancy please,

Their fate resembles mine!

Thou Pow’r Supreme, whose mighty scheme

These woes of mine fulfill,

Here, firm, I rest, they must be best

Because they are Thy will!

Then all I want (O, do Thou grant

This one request of mine!)

Since to enjoy Thou dost deny

Assist me to resign.

Thank you, sir, here are three things that left behind tracks of happiness and gratitude in my little life in the cold and snaw and -30 weather:

1. Family – Shelagh is ninth of nine, and has a lot of cousins. She encounters them regularly.

2. What a drag! – What happened when my bicycle broke in the cold and the dark.

3. Zamboni – Why I always stop to watch a Zamboni do the rounds on a sheet of ice.

The music in the podcast is original, the work of Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are played, as always, by Edmonton metal sculptor and humanitarian Slavo Cech.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, happy holidays. Thanks for being out there, friends. Jeff, the baking from Sugared & Spiced is next level again this year.

Peace. 

Can I sneak in a fourth thing? When it gets this cold, I listen to the Skydiggers. Thank you, Skydiggers.

-30-

Welcome and welcome back to the Three Things podcast, recorded and sent out to the world from the basement of our bungalow in Edmonton’s Parkview neighbourhood. It’s been cold this week. Here are three things that left behind tracks of happiness and gratitude during a bike ride through that cold. Cold is a preserving agent.

1. Cold comfort – some thoughts about base layers in this weather

2. Theory – some thoughts about thinking

3. The Indy scene – dada da-daah, dada daaah!

The original music in the podcast is from Edmonton pianist and composer Brendan McGrath. The end bells are courtesy of Edmonton metal artist and humanitarian Slavo Cech. Siri is from Cupertino, California.

I am at glenn.kubish@gmail.com

Stay warm.