vancouver island day four: downtown victoria and to sooke
After our last lovely hot breakfast at the Beacon Inn, we hit the road to downtown Victoria. It was much closer than we imagined! It’s amazing how quickly you are…
laura k
a note about vancouver island
Vancouver Island has several regions, but the first division is between the south island and east coast, as distinct from the north island and west coast. The south island is…
vancouver island day three: sidney and saanich peninsula
The B&B had self-serve coffee starting earlier than breakfast, but for guests whose internal clocks are on eastern time, it was a long and painful wait! I watched the clock…
vancouver island days one and two
Getting from Toronto to Vancouver Island is a long haul. Getting from pretty much anywhere to Vancouver Island — except a few places on the west coast — is a…
retroactive travel blog: vancouver island april 16-24
In April, we spent a week on Vancouver Island — an exploratory trip with an eye towards a possible (probable? definite?) move there. I had already been contacted by the…
we movie to canada: wmtc annual movie awards, 2017-18 edition
The list of movies I want to see gets longer and longer, as I watch more series and fewer films. Even so, the 2017-18 list is impressive. First, the annual…
on poppies, veterans, trolls, and doxing
First of all, I do not apologize. I have nothing to apologize for. No one should apologize for having an unpopular opinion, or an opinion that the majority finds offensive.…
where i’ve been and where i’m going
Where to begin? Not blogging for the last eight weeks has been difficult! I was reminded how much I need to write, and how much I enjoy writing for readers.…
the return of wmtc
Friends of wmtc, rejoice! Or at least put me back in your feed. This blog will be back and I will be writing again soon.
elect laura kaminker for mississauga centre
Dear friends of wmtc: I have been nominated as the NDP candidate for Mississauga Centre, the riding where I live and work. You can follow my campaign here on the…
reading can make you a better person. here’s evidence.
Celebrate #EmpathyDay with a good book. Last year, a prosecutor in the US state of Virginia asked a judge to hand down an unusual sentence. Five teens had defaced a…
things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #28
With apologies to my man C. Dickens, it was the worst of customers, it was the best of customers. Our Children’s Department is short-staffed right now, and although that is…
in which i discover jordan’s cereal and need to tell everyone about it
We used to eat President’s Choice Blue Menu granola. The vanilla-almond flavour was crunchy, delicious, and reasonably healthy. My favourite way to eat it was with plain Greek yogurt and…
sheraton hotel’s "green choice" is really just precarious work
These days, most hotel rooms contain some sort of green messaging, as companies are expected to show how eco-friendly they are. Usually guests have the option of not having their…
in ontario election, the choice is clear. put down the polls and pick up your vote.
I am very frustrated by progressive reaction to the appointment of Doug Ford as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. People are acting as if Ford has already won…
marching for their lives: the student activism around gun violence gives us reason to hope
In my continuing (and usually failing) goal of remembering to write about things here, instead of just posting to Facebook, I feel I should write something about the student organizing…
from the 2018 cupe ontario library workers conference: libraries and the opioid crisis
I recently attended the CUPE Ontario Library Workers Conference, which has become a highlight of my year since I first attended (and was elected to the organizing committee) in 2015.…
what i’m reading: brendan’s way by matthew bin
Brendan’s Way by Matthew Bin is a genre-blending journey story combining adventure, mystery, and conspiracy in a futuristic setting. It’s technically science fiction, as it takes place in the future…
what i’m reading: short reviews of fiction by margaret atwood, madeleine thien, frances itani, elizabeth kostova
I’ve gathered some thoughts about several novels I read but neglected to write about. I enjoyed them all to varying degrees; all are worth reading if you enjoy the type.…