Author Archives: L. G. William Chapman, B.A., LL.B.

About L. G. William Chapman, B.A., LL.B.

Past President, Mississippi Masonic Hall Inc.; Past Master (by demit) of Mississippi Lodge No. 147, A.F. and A.M., G.R.C. (in Ontario) Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Canada July 20, 1861; Don, Devonshire House, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; Juris Doctor, Dalhousie Law School, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), Glendon Hall, York University, Toronto, Ontario; Old Boy (House Captain, Regimental Sgt. Major, Prefect and Head Boy), St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Ontario.

Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals.

Continue reading

The TikTok Generation

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed with a smartphone app.

Since its launch, TikTok has become one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, using recommendation algorithms to connect content creators with new audiences. In April 2020, TikTok surpassed two billion mobile downloads worldwide. Cloudflare ranked TikTok the most popular website of 2021, surpassing Google. The popularity of TikTok has allowed viral trends in food and music to take off and increase the platform’s cultural impact worldwide.

Continue reading

Old fogey?

One of the advantages of living in Riverfront Estates, and having lived on the other side of town on the other side of the river in a similar 3-storey apartment residential community called Jamieson Mills for ten years until two years ago, is that one is regularly assured to encounter elderly people; that is, those who are “over the hill”, those who are not uncommonly called with moderate affection and hidden allusion to conservatism “old fogeys”, widows and widowers, farmers, country gentlemen, ladies of the “horsey crowd”, perpetual gardeners, kayakers, cross-country skiers, inveterate travellers, retired people prominently, golfers naturally. people who are undeniably attune to the wonder of life and the prospect of adventure at any opportunity.

Continue reading

Waiting

While waiting today for a courier delivery (which agonizingly I appear to have missed by only minutes yesterday morning) I have thought to divert myself from the peril by reading “PRE-EMPTIVE COMMERCIAL REMEDIES” recently (or about to be) published through LexisNexis® by my longstanding friend Michael G. Tweedie B.A. (Hons), M.A., M. Litt., M.L.S., LL.B.

Continue reading

Out of the Chrysalis

A chrysalis (Latin: chrysallis, from Ancient Greek: χρυσαλλίς, chrysallís, plural: chrysalides, also known as an aurelia) or nympha is the pupal stage of butterflies. The term is derived from the metallic–gold coloration found in the pupae of many butterflies, referred to by the Ancient Greek term χρυσός(chrysós) for gold.

Continue reading

Summertime Jaunt

Directions: From Ottawa southerly on Hwy#416 past Kemptville, Oxford Mills and Spencerville to the St. Lawrence River then westerly along the Ivy Lea Parkway through Johnstown and Wexford to “Katarina’s Coffee Shop” in Prescott on Kellys Bay (almost directly across the river from Ogdensburg in upstate New York) east of Blue Church, Maitland, Brockville, Butternut Bay, Mallorytown, Gananoque and the Thousand Islands (directly north of Interstate 81 to Watertown and Syracuse, NY).

Interstate 81 (I-81) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from I-40 at Dandridge, Tennessee to the Thousand Islands Bridge at Wellesley Island in New York beyond which the short 2.7-mile (4.3 km) Ontario Highway 137 (Highway 137) links to Highway 401.

Continue reading

Reality

We’re on a path which though indefinable and unpredictable is nonetheless certain. Before that eventuality called certainty arrives, reality assumes many different characteristics and textures some of which are frightening, others of which are entrancing. Whatever the axes or descriptions by which reality is figured it is once again certain to be or become wondrous and possibly filled with delight or maybe even remorse. Yet all this certainty is expressive largely of external and exterior forces, external because they transpire without our control, exterior because they are beyond our control.  What then if anything is capable either within or because of our control?  Is reality merely as changeable as the weather and just as endurable or otherwise?  Or have we a way to manipulate or manifest reality to our liking? I think we do.

Continue reading

Aspinal of London

Many years ago when I began practicing law I was unwittingly introduced to what I have since learned is a “bespoke” product. I was informed of this through a client named Jeremy Godfrey who, although of British descent was not to my knowledge of princely lineage.  Nonetheless he had a distinguishable familiarity with worthy products. In particular he familiarized me with Asprey’s with whom I ended doing business of two occasions, both very satisfactorily.

Continue reading

Combermere

Today we visited my sister and her husband at a cottage south of Thrashers Bay on the Madawaska River near Combermere. Time spent with family is always assured to be enlivening. This was particularly so today because the weather was superlative.  From the moment we awakened early this morning until the time we returned home in the setting sun this evening the sky was perfectly cloudless. In addition the temperature was ideal for a summer day in late July and there was a pleasant breeze throughout the day.

Continue reading

Art

The date or event is uncertain in my memory regarding the moment I awakened to the inexpressible allure of art. The magnetism has since evolved to a ravenous appetite, an insatiable charisma, as much a charm as an enticement. It was fortuitous that my first house was so small that I had limited space to hang art.  I did however commission a local artist from the Village of Clayton to create a multi-coloured square pane to replace a small glass porthole window in the drawing room.

Continue reading