Coming up on Sunday: A Blue Met Walk in the Bairro Português
I think there are still places left in the walk I’ll be leading on Sunday morning as part of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. Called How the Portuguese Saved…
Mary Soderstrom
Who’s Winnig the Language War in Quebec?
On Tuesday I spent a fabulous day giving workshops in a large English language high school south of Montreal. The kids were 13 to 15, sometimes rowdy but in general…
A Very Funny Descendant of Zola: Marina Lewycka’s Novel about Quants, Commies and Community
Seems I spoke too soon a bit ago when I asked, rather rhetorically, in my book blog: where is a current novel to compare with Zola’s The Kill when it…
How Smart Is Your Dog? A Scientist Tries to Find out
When Jeanne was old enough to behave like a dog–to go and fetch something when you asked her–we were very pleased and proud. We laughed at the time that the…
Croissants: Now, That’s the Way to Start the Day
Looks like a missed something delicious on the weekend: a dozen bakeries in the Montreal area were celebrating the croissant. The lovely, light bun was one of my first discovery…
Saturday Photo Bis: Bougainvillea
The snowdrops are up. So are a few crocuses. But the nicest flowers around this place are those on my ancient bougainvillea.
Global Deforestation:
The buds on the trees are beginning to swell, so spring is on its way and once again I’m amazed at the way trees around here go from looking dead…
Something Not at All Political: A Short Story in Queen’s Quarterly….
Shameless self-promotion department: my story “Ancient Faults” has just been published in the Spring 2013 Queen’s Quarterly, Canada’s oldest literary magazine. Here’s an excerpt: The tide is out and Rebecca…
Harper’s Attack Ads: Will Cons Profit, or Will the NDP?
Just thinking out loud here, but is it possible that the nasty attack ads the Harper Conservatives rolled out on Monday, impugning Justin Trudeau’s lack of content and maturity, make…
Furher to Bagpipe Alert: Black Watch Pipers Try out Musical Swings
I didn’t hear or see them, but this morning Le Devoir has this great photo of Black Watch pipers swing on Montreal’s musical swings yesterday. The Royal Highland Regiment of…
Preparing for Conflict? Bagpipers in Outremont
Bagpipe alert! Somebody was practising bagpipe scales (very badly) on Durocher between St. Viateur and Fairmount this afternoon. Will be interesting to see if the player persists. In the meantime:
Stiglitz and Muclair VS. Trudeau and ?
Just returned from the NDP policy convention. While I’m not pleased that those assembled voted to replace the preamble with a more touchy-feely document (the vote was something 900 to…
Saturday Photo: Enough Snow Already!
We’ve had snow in April before, but for the last several years it’s been warm enough for me to eat breakfast on the back porch, albeit usually with a coat…
Day One of NDP Convention: Health Resolution Gets Good Priority
Just spent the day at the NDP Convention in Montreal. As some may know, I’ve spent years working for the party, but for the last several months I’ve taken a…
New Shoes Songs: The Horrors of Shopping
I absolutely must get a new pair of walking shoes now that winter is nearly over. So I spent far too much time today looking for what I need, and…
Is There an Upside to Climate Change? Maybe, If You’re Trying to Grow Wine in Canada
Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) a group of scientists have analyzed what climate change may mean for wine production around the world. The news…
Big Brother and Studying: What’s Wrong with Education I
CourseSmart is a new tool for university professors which allows them to track a students reading in e-texts. Apparently it’s a coming thing, but it seems to me to be…
Suburbs: Inequality in the American Dream
The neighborhood I live in was built a century ago as a “garden suburb” on a street care line with housing for a mixture of incomes. Our block is made-up…
Saturday Photo: Snow Drops and A Hymn to Spring
The snowdrops are in bloom, which does the heart good. I planted a dozen or so bulbs 10 or 12 years ago and they have slowly spread. Haven’t got a…
Trio of Shame III: If I Don’t Know about It, It Doesn’t Exist
I kept the way the Harper government is systematically undercutting any independent effort to find out what is happening in the environement to the last item of this trio. Last…