memories of bacon
Do you watch Aziz Ansari’s show “Master of None“? I like it. It’s not zany or wacky; it doesn’t try so hard to be funny, which I find annoying in…
laura k
thoughts on canada 150
It’s Canada Day, this year dubbed Canada 150, with its own corporate brand and a carefully worded story of that number 150. We also have Canada 150+, which acknowledges that…
what i’m reading: words on the move by john mcwhorter
John McWhorter is changing my mind about language. And that is no easy thing to do. I’m a grammarphile. Word nerd, language junkie, spelling nut, stickler — whatever you want…
"what kind of dog is that?" part 2: in which we learn more but feel like we know less
You may recall, we decided to have Diego’s DNA examined to see what breed mix he is. Here’s what the folks at DNA My Dog have determined. Supposedly Diego is…
in which we answer the burning question: "what kind of dog is that?"
At the beach! Diego’s favourite place. What kind of dog is that? People ask this all the time. All our dogs have been rescues, but most had recognizable breed markers.…
authors i keep wanting to read but don’t
My book list is extremely long, so long that I don’t call it a reading list or a to-read list, because I will never read even half the books on…
what i’m reading: the new jim crow by michelle alexander
When I first heard the incarceration of African Americans in the United States referred to as a “new Jim Crow,” I thought it must be hyperbole. So did Michelle Alexander,…
what i’m reading: leaving lucy pear
The year is 1917. A teenage girl from a wealthy family is pregnant, the result of rape — by a man who her mother pushed her to pursue for marriage.…
arun gupta’s perfect takedown of food-as-cultural-appropriation
I read this on Facebook and absolutely love it. The author, Arun Gupta, understands and acknowledges cultural appropriation as a fact and a legitimate concern (as do I). But he…
postscript: some clarifications and addenda to my recent post on cultural appropriation
Many people have been discussing my recent post about cultural appropriation on Facebook. I’m not surprised that many people disagree (that’s why I wrote it, to put my countering opinion…
accusations of cultural appropriation are a form of bullying — and don’t reduce racism
I’m increasingly dismayed by accusations of cultural appropriation that are used as weapons, rather than as a tool for raising awareness and educating. Accusations of appropriation have become a form…
what i’m reading: swing time by zadie smith
Zadie Smith is on my list of “authors I will follow anywhere”. I may not love everything about every book she writes, but that’s unimportant. For me, her books are…
what i’m reading: giovanni’s room by james baldwin
James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, a landmark in LGBT literature, is one of our library’s current “Raves & Faves”. The 1956 novel takes place in Paris, narrated by a young American…
things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #23
Girl: Do you have this book, something like, “keeping a secret about you”? Me: Let’s take a look in the catalogue. Hmm, do you mean Keeping You a Secret? Girl:…
we movie to canada: wmtc annual movie awards, 2016-17 edition
I’m actually getting to the annual wmtc movie awards while the baseball season is still young — a sign that I have a bit more time to myself, as our…
disrupt and transform: 2017 cupe ontario library workers conference
The 2017 CUPE Ontario Library Workers Conference was a very special event for the Mississauga Library Workers Union. Over the course of two days, our 2016 strike and the great…
ontario librarians: should the ola support staffless libraries?
This week, the Toronto Public Library announced plans to open libraries with no staff. Not just no librarians — we’ve seen that in many places — but no staff whatsoever.…
hail hail rock ‘n’ roll: rip chuck berry
To mark the death of rock legend Chuck Berry, everyone should watch “Hail Hail Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Taylor Hackford’s movie chronicling two concerts that celebrated Berry’s 60th birthday. If you…
what i’m reading: a mother’s reckoning by sue klebold
On April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, two teenagers from Littleton, Colorado, marched into Columbine High School with explosives and automatic weapons. Their plan to blow up the…