Election day in the U.S. tomorrow. My American family and friends are all quietly freaking out. The whole world is quietly freaking out. The massive turnout through mail-in voting and…
Remember the severe hives I complained about? That condition is now officially chronic idiopathic urticaria. Translation: long-term hives of no known cause. After struggling through our mini-vacation in Victoria and…
The statement If you are exposed to any bigoted, right-wing media or social media — whether by misfortune, sport, or a delusion that you must counter their arguments — and…
I’ve just finished reading All My Puny Sorrows, the haunting, heartbreaking, hilarious, and life-affirming 2014 novel by Miriam Toews. It’s difficult for me to write about fiction. I don’t like…
Recently I was unable to play piano for three weeks — a combination of the unbearable hives (now about 75% gone!) and being on vacation. Since beginning Pianote’s “Foundations” course…
First reactions: the language police I’ve recently learned that calling a group of people you guys may be considered insensitive to transgender people. My first reaction to this was an…
September 28 is International Safe Abortion Day, a day to reflect on how many women around the world do not have control over their reproduction — that is, do not…
Love, the latest novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, is a miniature tour de force. It’s a story where seemingly nothing happens, nothing that you could really call a plot.…
I’ve been stashing these in a folder, but it’s been years since I’ve posted any! I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a break.
These highlights of Ginsburg’s decisions and dissents on the SCOTUS are a joy to read. I used two sources, and decided to keep the overlap. Many highlight the reason she…
I am so grateful to be home, and to have several more days off before returning to work. All four of us are happy to be back. What a joy…
I’ve spent the last two days reading, blogging, scratching, and occasionally eating and sleeping. There were other things to do on Salt Spring Island, but I was too uncomfortable to…
I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is the single greatest gift the Democratic Party could ever hope to receive. The Democrats have finally achieved their most…
Today’s big news is that the GP Dermatologist in Campbell River will see me on the day we are driving through that town, on our way home. Which is two…
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? Perhaps not as dramatic as all that, but yesterday was a tale of two days, for sure. We…
I am having the surreal experience of looking through photographs of the wildfire devastation in Washington State, Oregon, and California, and seeing the names of towns where much of my…
I slept more last night than I have since the hives started, and this morning felt halfway human for the first time in months. I took Cookie and Kai for…
We had another good breakfast at Popsey’s, then hit the road to Victoria. Campbell River is halfway between Port Hardy, the northernmost town on the Island, and Victoria, at the…
This is the time when wmtc turns into a travel journal, which I write almost entirely for myself, for a record of my travels. First of all, we were supposed…
I thought about choosing a few memorable heroes of the labour movement throughout history, writing some short profiles. There’s no shortage of fascinating information about the likes of Eugene V.…
