Return of the Cold: No Day to Think Creatively
It's been four weeks now that we've been dragging colds around. Thought I was over it and had made plans to make fruitcakes with Sophie and play with little Thom…
Mary Soderstrom
Icelandic Star Bjork Interviews Arvo Pârt: Preparation for a Great Concert of SMAM
The past and the present, as everyone knows, are intertwined in all domains.Music lovers will have a great chance to see just that when The Studio de musique ancienne de…
Saturday Photo: Snow Fallling on Nearly Bare Branches
This photo was taken a couple of winters ago, but I don't think I've ever used it as a Saturday photo. It seems particularly appropriate today, when the snow is…
In-laws and Jane Jacobs: Densifying the Suburbs
Jane Jacobs at the end of her life was all in favour of densifying cities by allowing "in law apartments" and the like on single family lots. In her last…
First Snow!
We've had a few flakes at least three times, but yesterday was the first snow that lasted. Not much on the ground, but still...
Are You Listening, Politicos? Health Care Is What Matters to Canadians
Most interesting survey got quite a bit of press yesterday: Canadians hold the health care system more important than any other characteristic of their country.As the Globe and Mail reported:…
Is This the End? History from Taticus to The Doors and Sandra
Very interesting meditation on time and the river(s) flowing by James Atlas in The New York Times, entitled "IsThis the End?" A sample:"History is a series of random events organized…
Saturday Photo: Holly, a Harbinger of Holidays
I had always thought that you couldn't grow holly in Montreal, that the climate here is just too tough for the lovely shrub. But I found this vigorously growing stand…
What I Read During My Fall Vacation
Well, it really hasn't been a vacation, but I've been attacked by several little viruses, generously shared with us by Jeanne who picked them up at the day care centre.…
Happy Thanksgiving: One Thing the US Accomlished That Maybe It Shouldn’t Be so Thankful for…
Always knew this, but videos of Hillary Clinton explaining how the US funded insurgent forces in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and earlyl 1980s to defeat the Soviet invasion have…
"The rich stay rich and everyone else churns around in the bottom."
Interesting analysis of the Fraser Institute's recent study of income mobility just put out by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The right wing think tank suggests that four out…
Twinkies in the Service of Science
Great story in The New York Times today about the use of Twinkies, those disgusting little cakes, in science experiments. Seems they don't burn, can be shown to be made…
Why Historical Novels? Why Not Just History?
For my various book groups I found myself reading two historical novels this week end. One is Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks and the other is The Midwife of Venice…
Saturday Photo: Upside of Climate Change Is Longer Biking Season
Let me say straight out that I don't ride bikes unless my life depends on doing so--got hit by one when I was little and was traumatized. But I appreciate…
Part of the Story Behind the Montreal Super-Hospital Projects: Residential Developoment of the Mountain?
For some I've wondered about the reasons why many parts of the Montreal community were so gung-ho for building two new super-hospitals. The story goes back nearly two decades, with…
Building on a Swamp Doesn’t Make It Not a Swamp, Or My Mother on Rising Sea Levels
The New York Times has an opinion piece today arguing that rebuilding along the New York and New Jersey shoreline in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is not a good…
The Super Rich, Austerity and Life in the These Difficult Times
Chrystia Freeland says that the top .01 per cent control about 8 per cent of the world's wealth. So crazy that's is probably true! Check out her interview on CBC's…
Jeanne Visitng, Grandma Busy…
Elin and her friends are heading for Victoria today, to round out their Western tour. They got a lovely feature in Vancouver's Georgia Straight, and sound like their audiences have…