Come Talk about Richler’s Best–Barney’s Version–in French and English
I’m nearly to the end of Barney’s Version, Mordecai Richler’s last novel. It’s not the first time I’ve read it, but next Tuesday I’ll be leading a causerie littéraire at…
Mary Soderstrom
Go Figure Department: Gas Shortages in New York/New Jersey But Rises Low in Montreal
If you ever wondered why or how gasoline prices are determined, your questions should get deeper this week. We’ve been told that spikes in prices comes from shortages: shutting down…
Pumpkin Pie Coming Up, One of These Days
No, I haven’t made the pie yet. The pumpkin with the face that Jeanne and I carved last weekend is still on the front porch. But never fear, it will…
Halloween 2012: Pretty Scary Time
The photo shows the kind of low level Halloween decorations I like. Seems that the holiday has overtaken Christmas when it comes to expenses for store bought goodies. That’s a…
La Folia–Great New Music Coming Your Way from Elin, Cléo and Tawnie
Attention all of you in Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and Gabriola Island: you have a crazy treat in store! New music for flute, hyper-flute, viola da gamba and harpsichord is coming…
Romney on Diaster Relief: Preferably Privatize It
I didn’t think this was for real when I first saw reference to it, but here’s the clip. According to the Huffington Post, his staff today, as Sandy raged, reaffirmed…
Waiting for Sandy: Storm Surf
Well, actually it’s not supposed to be so bad here. But I couldn’t resist.
Saturday Photo: Woodside Cottage on a Busy Street
I must have walked by this house on Chemin de la Côte Ste-Catherine thousands of times, literally, but always on the other side of the street. This week I took…
Silliness Because the US Election Is So Close and So Scary: Wintergreen for President
The first time I heard this was in 1960 when George and Ira Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing was performed at UC Berkeley with the Kennedy-Nixon presidential campaign in the…
The Wages of Sin Are Hard to Spend, Or Why the Bad Guys Have Casches of Cash
What you see to the left is part of the cash that Guy Suprenant, the Montreal engineer who accept wads of money for boosting payments to dishonest contractors, turned over…
Paying for Writing: Douglas & McIntyre and The Globe and Mail
The celebrated Canadian publisher Douglas & McIntyre has just announced that it is filing for protection from its creditors. In other words, it is trying to avoid bankruptcy and complete…
Conrad Black, Vito Rizzuto, but Not Omar Khadr?
Vito Rizzuto who recently finished a prison term in the US for involvement in a gangland killing, was whisked back to Canada as soon as he stepped out of jail.…
Planting Daffodils: Confidence in the Future?
Time to do something about the garden. I spent most of the morning cleaning out the compost bin, including watering various places with the compost tea that collects in the…
Saturday Photo: The Last of the Roses
Roses are related to apples. I always that was an interesting fact, one of those things to tuck away to bring out when playing a trivia game. But this picture…
Advertising Offensive, Or Offensive Advertising?
The newspapers I read have been full of advertising from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers with pictures of attractive “real” people extolling the virtues of the Alberta Oil Sands…
Person’s Day: When Women Got Recognition in Canada
One of the shocking things about life in the 21st century is how we quickly forget the fights of the past. Today is Person’s Day, the anniversary of the British…
Virtual Mothering from the UK: A Tradiition Continues
Spending time first with Jeanne and now with Thomas, I’m much more aware of the ways that the virtual world affects life. Among them is the ease with which you…
As Exciting as "Garbo Smiles"
Thomas Edouard Soderstrom has begun to smile, and his Grandma spent most of the day playing with him. Therefore no post today, but lots of happy smiles.
Thinking about Maybe Going to Brazil in January
I’ve got a new non-fiction book project running around in my head. Called Road through Time, it will be about the marks we humans leave on the world, and other…
Saturday Photo: The Season Advances
It’s not even the middle of October, but the Halloween decorations are out, and Reno Depot already is showing some Christmas decorations. But the colour are nice, so I suppose…