Fiscal Crisis in US and the World Over? Should We Get Happy?
Like many folks I breathed a sigh of relief when the Republicans ever so reluctantly agreed to step away from the precipice on Wednesday. But we’re not out of danger,…
Mary Soderstrom
Day to Get Rid of Stuff: A Trip to the Eco-friendly Dump
Got rid of three dozen old batteries, a Mac that dates from 1995, several cans of paint and paint thinner, a dozen rotten planks that Lee took out of the…
Women to the Rescue? In the US Female Senators Come up with a Plan
There certainly are examples of women leaders who are just as tough, misguided and unsavory as their male counterparts: Sarah Palin, Margaret Thatcher and Bev Oda are examples. But sometimes…
SOS: Reverse Dixiecrat Solution Needed
As usual Krugman comes through: “The question for the next few days is whether plunging markets and urgent appeals from big business will stiffen the non-extremists’ spines. For as far…
Saturday Photo: Getting Ready for Thanksgiving at Jean Talon Market
Spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday either preparing for and eating our annual Thanksgiving feast. For maybe 12 years we’ve had friends and family over for a buffet…
The Urban Gardenener: Foraging in Kansas City and in the Woods
Great story in The New York Times today about serious use of invasive and otherwise normaly uncultivated plants for cooking. Linda Hezel supplies several trendy restaurants in Kansas City with…
Well, Not Really Flying Down to Rio, But Something Similar
Went this morning to the Brazilian Consulate in Montreal to apply for my visa to go to Brazil in November. I wont’ be flying down to Rio–won’t go anywhere near…
Saturday Photo: Self-Censorship
This is the photo that I’m using on the hardcopy invitation to my book launches for my new collection of short stories, Desire Lines: Stories of Love and Geography next…
Required Reading:Don’t Let Anyone Run on Your Left
Great opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun (the Vancouver Sun!!!) that compares the recent BC election and the New York City Democratic primary which saw the front runner crumble before…
US Shutdown: You’ve Got to Laugh if You’re Not Going to Cry
The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz has been posting daily about the ridiculousness of the tragedy unfolding South of the Border. What about this: “In a special Sunday radio address, House…
Saturday Photo: Dahlias
I used to think that the best flowers were those of early spring. Perhaps that’s because spring is when I’m really thinking gardens. But late summer and fall also have…
Plutocrats Feeling Persecuted: What’s Next?
Paul Krugman in The New York Times writes about the Titans of Finance comparing uproar about their huge bonuses to lynching or Nazis invading Poland: “Sometimes the wealthy talk as…
Hijab Power: The Muslim Fashionista Who’s Gone Viral
Just spent an hour watching videos made by this irreverant young Muslim woman who specializes in make-up and popular culture. Here she is with her husband answering questions about their…
Bixi: Shouldn’t Be for Profit, Should Be a Public Service
Montreal’s famous bike rental system is undergoing a liquidity crisis, it seems. The program is wildly popular here, and has had success in New York and London, but the financial…
Saturday Photo: Street Flowers
We had cold weather and warm weather this week, followed by rainy weather right now. Many of the summer flowers are looking a little bedraggled, but the cosmos continue to…
Too Much Money Department: House in Westmount and Desmarais Marriage
Life is not easy for some people–just take a look at the unemployment rate and the growing disperity between the rich and poor–but others are doing just fine, thank you…
Cooking Today, Wine Tasting Tonight
My cousin Mary Lynn Thompson and her husband Mark took us wine tasting in the Walla Walla are when we were there last month. It was a great experience. From…
Snot Suckers, Antibiotics, and Healthy Kids
By the time my kids were the age my grandkids are now they’d taken many courses of antibiotics. Both of them had ear infections at an early age, and Lukas…
Fallout from War: Connecting Former US Soldiers with Their Offspring in Vietnam
One of the books I’ve re-read recently is Ru by Kim Thuy, a Vietnam-Québécoise, who tells in a most poetic way a story of “boat people” who ended up here.…