what i’m reading: just kids by patti smith
Just Kids is a memoir by the artist and musician Patti Smith, about her life and relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe. The book is a memoir of both Smith’s…
laura k
let them stay week day 2: letter to the editor
Let Them Stay Week 2014 kicked off yesterday with a flutter on social media. Today we get underway in earnest by writing letters to the editors of local newspapers. Three…
january 12-19: let them stay week 2014: stop the deportations!
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival in Canada of Jeremy Hinzman, the first US Iraq War resister to seek asylum here after refusing to participate in an…
i am a youth librarian. this is a good thing.
I am so excited about my new position! As I mentioned, I am now a librarian in the Mississauga Central Library’s “Readers’ Den” department. It is a full-time position, and…
government destruction of environmental archives: the harper govt’s war on facts marches on
At year’s end, The Tyee reported that a memo – marked “secret” and first reported on OCanada.com – cast grave doubts on the Harper Government’s claim that environmental archives were…
happy new year from wmtc
On January 1, 2013, I was still in library school, and working as a library page. Allan’s book proposal was still sitting on a publisher’s desk. We were living at…
murdoch mysteries, abortion on tv, and maybe an anti-war reference, too
I always like to have a detective-mystery series to follow. I try many of them, like a few, and watch several episodes in a row as downtime relaxation. I recently…
new year’s resolutions from our man woody guthrie
According to the good folks at WoodGuthrie.org, our hero Woody Guthrie wrote these New Year’s resolutions, which he called “rulin’s,” in 1943. Happily for us, an admirer at another website…
what i’m reading: the immortal life of henrietta lacks, by roberta skloot
I’ve just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. I’m sure many of you have read it, but if you have not, please run to your local…
not love, but crap, actually
Tonight I tried again to watch “Love Actually”, and once again am left shaking my head in disgust (at the movie) and disbelief (in its popularity, among people who ought…
before the onion, before the yes men, there was the post new york post
One day, as I was getting off the subway on my way from Brooklyn to my workplace on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, people were handing out these tabloids.…
after eight years, i have a less-than-ideal observation about ontario health care
Since moving to Canada in 2005, my experiences with Ontario’s health care system have been extremely positive. Through the public system, my partner and I have been able to access…
wmtc winter break goes low-tech
Every year I seem to break the holiest commandment of the holiday season: I’m not busy. I always hear how “everyone is so busy this time of year” and “this…
i hate christmas 2013: christmas in the public library
My annual I Hate Christmas post is a mixed bag this year. Last year, I found Christmas less awful than usual, thanks to the absence of both commercial TV and…
in which my library career takes another step forward
I am very pleased to announce that I’ve landed my first full-time librarian gig! It’s a temporary position, for six months, in the “Readers’ Den” Department of the Mississauga Central…
today is chelsea manning’s fourth birthday behind bars
Private Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning), who risked her freedom and her life so that people would see the truth about the US occupation of Iraq, is spending another birthday…
open letter to james moore
To the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry: In answer to your recent question, yes, it is your job to feed your neighbour’s child. And it’s my job, and it’s…
rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: …something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children’s lives to settle its differences. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
coming soon: let them stay week 2014
Maybe you thought we gave up and went away? Not a chance. The War Resisters Support Campaign is still working to make Canada a safe haven for people of peace…
war resister kimberly rivera released from prison in u.s.
At long last, Iraq War resister Kim Rivera is out of prison and reunited with her family. This is great news, the best news. I should be thrilled, but the…