Umberto Eco’s Strange New Book: The Prague Cemetery
There are no library book discussions in January–it is January, after all, and there is no telling what weather will befall us in this climate–so in addition to reading Christmas…
Mary Soderstrom
You’ve Come a Long Way Baby Dept.: Who’s Catering to Men?
What is appropriate dress is as much a matter of fashion and wanting to please as it is of following strictures laid down by authority. Interesting question for my female…
Pink Ribbon Nonsense–Or Is It Even More Sinister?
As someone who has gone through a breast cancer scare (excision of suspect tissue and radiotherapy, and, thank you for your concern, five years later all seems well) I have…
Saturday Photo: No Holly, But Some Ivy
It’s January 14 and the end of year holidays are over for everyone (although Russian Orthodox Epiphany will be next week and the Asiatic New Year is just around the…
Public Debt Explained in a Few Minutes, and If You Don’t Have Tax Enforcers Taxes Don’t Get Paid
An interesting explanation of public debt from Le Monde with English subtitles. The context is European but the principles apply on this side of the Atlantic too And here’s the…
Hommage to a Woman Whose Research and Advocacy Has Saved Immense Numbers of Premature Babies: Mary Ellen Avery
Everyone whose life has been touched over the last 40 years by a premature baby who survived owes a debt to a woman whose death was reported this morning in…
A Laugh from Musicians, That Might Work for Writers Too
Deep in rewriting my novel about a pianist, I’m seeing music everywhere. The latest is this multiple choice chart that might give you some advice. I particularly like the sequence…
Hugs Versus Inequality: Investments in Social Programs Are Essential to Equality of Opportunity
More about the increasingly unequal society that is the US: Today Paul Krugman rails against those who are bent on making the playing field even more bumpy. After pointing out…
Saturday Photo: Finally, Skating….
Or there was until about an hour ago. Many years the outdoor skating rinks around here begin iln the first of second week in December. This year, not much happened…
The Feast of the Three Kings from Persia: How Times Have Changed
Just where exactly the Magi came from is uncertain, as far as I can tell. But it would seem that at least some of them were astronomers from Persia. Therefore…
Nasty Words Don’t Survive Translation: The T-Word Means F%@&-All in English
For those who arn’t plugged in local controversies, the cartoon from this morning’s Montreal Gazette refers to the fact that the new head coach for the Montreal Canadien’s doesn’t speak…
Suburbs, Stress and the Myth of the Good Life: More Evidence from North of Montreal
“Suburban” in North America conjures up visions of single family houses on streets lined with grass, good schools, a good life away from the struggles of the city. But that…
Recreating Eden 2012-01-04 11:42:00
“Suburban” in North America conjures up visions of single family houses on streets lined with grass, good schools, a good life away from the struggles of the city. But that…
Sunny and Cold Day: Time to Think of Adventures in the Mountains
Many, many years ago Lee and I spent a lot of time hiking in the Sierra Nevada of California. Ever since then there is a particular kind of cold, blue…
Taxes Quebeckers Pay Go up, Taxes Companies Pay Go Down
Canada now has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world: 15 per cent as of midnight on Sunday. But are businesses going to use that tax windfall…
Saturday Photo: Happy New Year on the Last Day of a Difficult Year
The year that will end at midnight tonight held some excellent things, but as I noted in our holiday blog, in some cases the only appropriate reaction was “be careful…
Lights Going off in US Cities in Order to Save Money
In this season of long nights and festivals of lights, The New York Times has a story about some municipalities which are turning off streetlights (and in some cases pulling…
Finally Cold–Ice Ferns on the Window This Morning
It finally turned cold last night, adn this morning the windows were covered with frost, even though they are double glazed. Or rather, they are double glazed since Monday. The…
King Stephen: Britain Has a Constitutional Monarchy Where the Queen Only Advises, But Canada Has a King Who Makes the Rules
Manon Corneiller in today’s Le Devoir has a scathing evaluation of the Stephen Harper and his majority government, with a sidelong attack on our parliamentary system. In the US, she…