Anti-rape education is making poor frat-boys’ penises sad, according to this article at Bloomberg. …making out with a girl at a party. Things were going fine, the student said, when suddenly a vision of his school’s disciplinary board flew into his head. “‘I want to go to law school or
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Dead Wild Roses: Shadow is a good dog!
When Shadow asks me for something, I’ll often make her earn whatever it is she wants by asking her to sit or lie down or shake a paw. Apparently ‘lie down’ is my favourite, because lately she’ll come boop me with her nose and make want-noises, then immediately lie down
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Friday Musical Interlude: The Intransigent One’s Favourite Band
This is VNV Nation, an Irish/English alternative electronic/industrial duo currently based out of Berlin, but touring to Canada this fall/winter – I’ve already got tickets – and plane tickets because the closest they’re coming is Vancouver. They were my first exposure to electronic/industrial music – I grew up in a
Continue readingwmtc: in which i attain the holy grail of librarianship: the permanent, full-time job
Meet the new permanent youth librarian at the Mississauga Central Library. I’ve been in this position since January, but on a temporary or contract basis. Two big things had to happen in order for this job to post as permanent, and they were completely out of my control: two other
Continue readingwmtc: mini-garden update: the eggplant arrives
I grew this! It’s eight inches long, and three more are on the way. What’s ordinary to you veteran gardeners is still miraculous to me. Gardening on a small scale is easy, fun, and very rewarding. Next stop, eggplant recipes.
Continue readingwmtc: depression is to sad as cancer is to pimple (a few thoughts after the death of robin williams)
Reading a news story about Robin Williams’ death, I saw a tweet from Jimmy Kimmel. It said, in part: “If you’re sad, tell someone.” Depression is “you’re sad” the way cancer is a pimple. And telling someone doesn’t make it go away. For severe depression telling someone is… well, it’s
Continue readingwmtc: photos from france, may 2014
Giverny I have been avoiding the photos I took on my trip with my mom in May. I suspected they were going to be pretty crappy and I didn’t want to see them. But finally I did go through them, got rid of the worst offenses, and posted the rest
Continue readingwmtc: this year’s mini garden and a mini pupdate
This year’s garden-ette is completely out of control! In a very good way. Here’s June. And here’s today. No idea what I’m going to do with all the zucchini. Neither of us bakes, so zucchini bread and muffins are not an option. Guess I’d better start Googling… This eggplant is
Continue readingwmtc: happy blogiversary to wmtc
This month – July 11, 2014 – I have been blogging for 10 years. Ten years! I clearly remember telling Allan I was considering beginning a blog about emigrating to Canada. He thought it was a great idea. July 11, 2004. I was working weekends at my (incredibly easy, wildly
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Back in (and out of) the saddle again!
Hi everybody, just a random update from your friendly Intransigent blogger, to lighten the mood around here. I have a tale of a happy convergence of circumstances. One day, I’m at the horse rescue and another volunteer invites me to come to a different horse-establishment to meet her horse. Of
Continue readingwmtc: sometimes knowing your rights is all it takes: in which we win our landlord battle
We won! And we won so easily, we’re left scratching our heads and asking, “What just happened?” As you’ll recall, our landlord asked for an illegal rent increase – 10.5% when the legal allowable is 0.8%! – and implied that he would resort to dirty tricks if we didn’t pay.
Continue readingwmtc: know your rights, rental edition, part two
Just about one year ago today – July 8, 2013, to be exact – our area was hit with a massive flood that swamped homes, cars, highways, trains, and . . . our basement. The basement had been Allan’s office. The office in which he was working to meet a
Continue readingwmtc: wmtc: happy birthday to me
I have been alive and kicking on this planet for 53 years today. I’m pretty damn happy about it. I’m celebrating my birthday by taking the day from work, reviewing my talk for this weekend’s Marxism conference, getting caught up on some personal business, having a play date with Allan
Continue readingwmtc: for those who believe meat-eating can be ethical: in praise of beretta farms
I’ve mentioned Beretta Farms in many different posts over the years, but I’ve never specifically blogged about them. With grilling season underway, it’s time to give Beretta a shout-out. When I learned about the horrors of factory farming, first from reading Michael Pollan, and later through other sources, I knew
Continue readingwmtc: this year’s garden-ette and sweet dogs in their small backyard
Here are some visuals for this post. This year’s crop, we hope: eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and thyme. As you can see, it’s a fraction of the backyard we used to have, and kind of bare. But it does the job! We’re putting a canopy over the patio. “Wither thou
Continue readingwmtc: this year’s garden and diego’s new favourite food
Three years ago, we planted our first-ever garden, really a tiny garden-ette, growing two tomato plants and some daisies. (I had forgotten about the flowers til I saw that older post.) I really enjoyed growing the vegetables, and was surprised and pleased to learn that it wasn’t very time-consuming, at
Continue readingwmtc: where to stay in giverny and rouen, where to eat in rouen, where not to eat in giverny
I’ve mentioned our wonderful accommodations in Giverny and outside Rouen, but each deserves a post of its own. I’ll review them on TripAdvisor but for Googleability, I’d like to do more. Giverny: Les Jardins d’Helene In Giverny, for comfort, convenience, and an absolutely delightful stay at a very reasonable price,
Continue readingwmtc: rouen and home
We slept wonderfully in our beautiful little cabin, and the following morning we waited to see the other Canadians emerge from breakfast before we ventured out. I was amazed that my mother also didn’t like them: she is so much friendlier and less curmudgeonly than me. We ran into them
Continue readingwmtc: rouen
My plan for Rouen was a bit more complicated than it had to be. I was reasonably certain it would prove well worth it. There are many hotel options in Rouen, but they all left me unimpressed, mostly chain hotels or what sounded like dumps. I thought for the final
Continue readingwmtc: giverny to rouen
I have a lot to write tonight, and only two fingers to write with, so I may have to post this in two parts. Yesterday, after we dried off, we rested for the afternoon. I remembered that our host needed payment in cash, so we asked about an ATM… and
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