beverly cleary, rest in peace, and thank you
Beverly Cleary, who died last week at the astounding age of 104, was a pivotal figure in the world of children’s literature. Her books are treasures; her influence can scarcely…
April 2021
An encounter
Improbably, ran into an old Ontario Liberal friend, who – like most of them – had scooted up the 401 to become a pensioned Trudeau Liberal. Small talk. Social distance.…
Web post from a miscreant
The greatest Canadian pop song ever written. (I’m a sucker for the bass line, too.) Danced to it with Gordie and others one drunken night in Florida. Good times.
Ditch Apple & Big Tech
Just a little rant here, for a change, but one with an important point: Man, Apple is such pure shite. The fanfare and mob hysteria is definitely undeserved. Yes, it…
Saturday Photo: (Very) Urban Agriculture
This year’s crop from the ornamental orange tree. Have had up to 23 in the past, and this year it took months for these to ripen (they’d set on during…
The boy from Flemingdon Park.
Flemington Park in Toronto is not a prestige address. I watched the area grow over the years. It was never much in the way of architectural creativity. It was rabbits’…
On Torture
Torture, disappearances, kidnappings, rule by executive decree, the dispensing and systematic violation of human rights, parliamentary democratic powers and constitutional rule, and summary extrajudicial executions, are the hallmarks of fascism.…
What Jason Kenney calls the virus-versus-vaccine race is part of Alberta’s problem fighting COVID-19
According to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s logic, Alberta’s doing a better job of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic than New Zealand. New Zealand, a country with a population roughly the…
Paradigm Shift: A Revolution of the Mind
Below is a high level talk by a theoretical physicist, which I will critique here. Yes, that is audacious, but not unfitting. Here are my thoughts. Really wonderful and lucid…
Musical interlude
Christine and the Queens – People, I’ve Been Sad
Me
I was born into a Montreal at the depth of the terrible 1930s when most people were very poor. As my parents felt the time coming of my birth,, they…
We don’t deserve dogs, do we?
After breaking his ankle — Russell Jones noticed that his dog Billy was limping too. After an exam, X-rays, and a $400 vet bill Billy presented no injuries. He was…
An Example Our Mayor Should Follow
In a recent story in the Quinte News (March 31, 2021) the headline told us, “Belleville Councillor Ryan Williams has resigned from Belleville City Council.” Williams was elected the federal…
High cost of Site C will discourage electrification
A reader asked what I might say to an NDP MLA about Site C. What follows is the gist of my response…
Nuclear colonialism and the Marshall Islands
The second atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific on July 25, 1946. This was the fifth detonation of a nuclear weapon in history. Photo courtesy the…
Bill 64 earns a failing grade
The Manitoba provincial government’s proposed re-organization of K-12 education completely ignores the connection between poverty and educational outcomes. Photo from Twitter. The proposed re-organization of K-12 education in Manitoba being…
Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – John Michael McGrath discusses how Ontario (like so many other jurisdictions) has walked directly into a third wave, resulting in people dying for…
Kim struts his stuff
Nuclear technology does more than make powerful weapons. It also makes for powerful politics. It allows Kim Jong-un, ruler of a sordid little dictatorship, possibly the most backward nation on…
The COVID-19 Vaccination Screw Up
For a long time during this pandemic, Susan and I were in the “not eligible” age bracket for the COVID-19 vaccination (65-79 years old) here in Ontario. Why our age…
So Why Would I Buy An E-bike
It’s not that I have anything against e-bikes. I think they are great for people who want to use them as basic transportation or for whom cycling would be difficult…