Is impotence contagious? At what age should a senior be surgically separated from his automobile, or obligated to donate his sex toys to the Salvation Army? These and other timely questions are among those not answered in Eric Nicol's latest cure for serious reading, Old Is In . This palsied opus responds to demographics warning that our Western society is about to be engulfed by a tidal wave of seniors. How to cope? Is stoicism the answer? Hell, no! The best way to relieve the stiff upper lip is with a smile. And that prescription is filled, merrily, by Eric Nicol's Old Is In.
Canadian politics is/are not well understood, no authority being prepared to say whether it/they is/are singular or plural. Canadian Politics Unplugged bravely breaks new ground in ignoring this question. The book concentrates on the central problem of democracy in a country that is too big to digest without getting gas. Readers are assured that the authors have studied Canadian politics for years, from a safe distance, and enjoy the unique perspective of never having been elected to high office, low office, or any place where wearing shoes is mandatory. Canadian Politics Unplugged is Whalley and Nicol’s fifth successful collaboration.
Why write in the first place, other than your grocery list? Eric Nicol believes it’s the second-most satisfying thing you can do lying down. But it’s not enough to want to write. You must need to write. Now, after more than seventy years of scribbling – he wrote for the school newspaper at Lord Byng High School in Vancouver, British Columbia – Eric holds forth on dangling participles, punctuation, and literary jargon. What’s more, he answers the burning question: «How much should creative writers depend on editors to correct their grammar?» Then Eric provides a wide selection of essays to demonstrate how it’s done. These include a dramatic demonstration of the chutzpah of a big Tom wild turkey and its harem on a B.C. Gulf Island, the discovery that Eric’s one-way-view window in the bathroom has been installed incorrectly, the trials and tribulations of computers and the creative process, and a riposte to the query, «Are nipples really necessary on guys?» Pure Nicol. Minted in Canada. Priceless!