Veiled Threats to Women: It’s Not Covering Your Head That’s Important, It’s What’s Inside
What do Nancy Reagan, the Virgin Mary, and the girl in the blue bra have in common? All of them have covered their heads out of respect for custom and/or…
Mary Soderstrom
Christmas Countdown Continues: Got to Get on the Road Today
One of the best things about living where we do is that it’s very easy to get around by foot or public transporation. And since I’ve got a million things…
The Days Grow Short and We Lose Some Giants
Strange how three small countries have lost important figures in their recent history these last few days. The world may be a better place without Kim Jong-Il, although the jury’s…
Saturday Photo: Apples and er, Clementines, Say the Bells of Saint Clemens
This time of year it is the fruit that matured during the long days of summer that bring the sun into our lives. Here are clementines and Cortland apples (the…
Countdown to Christmas…Herring and Trees
An expedition of sorts this morning: Elin and Jeanne accompanied us to the Jean Talon market to buy a Christmas treet and to a fish store to get salt herring…
What Happens When The Right Unites: The Cons Get Away with Murder
This morning La Presse has this excellent drawing by Chapleau, with an even more telling caption: “C-10, Kyoto, Long Gun Registry, I do what I want because I’m MAJORITY” A…
Book Discussion Week: A Classic of African Independence at the Atwater Library
This is book discussion week: tonight Chinua Achebe’s This Fall Apart is on the agenda at the Atwater Library. Here’s a scene from a television series made in Nigeria to…
Harper Government Pulls out of Kyoto: Time to Get Serious about Who Should be the Leader of the Opposition
This morning there is only one question for anyone in the NDP: Who will be the best leader to unite the left and leftish, not just in the party but…
We’ve Got Rhythm (We English Speakers, That Is)
Just an addenda to the previous post about Handel’s Messiah: Listening to the great performance on Sunday and to the way the continuo led the way, I was stuck by…
The Messiah by the Violon du Roy, LePage and Nézet-Séguin at the Met: What Happens When You Put Resources into Culture
An absolutely terrific afternoon yesterday when we heard Handel’s Messiah presented by the Violons du Roy. I have never heard a better performance, with particularly marvelous singing by tenor James…
Saturday Photo: Snow and Rock in the Noontime Light
Brilliant sunshine today, and a little snow. It’s not enough for a white Christmas, but maybe it’s a good sign.
The Future of Canada’s Health Care System: Don’t Forget NDP Outremont’s Forum on Saturday.
Don’t forget:Three panelists of note will participate in a forum on the future of our health care system, organized by the Outremont NDP Riding Association. Mathieu Vick, parliamentary assistant to…
Fox News Attacks the Muppets for Being Dirty, Brainwashing Liberals: Will Attacks On Jesus Be Next?
I really thought this was a send-up when I first saw it: Fox News folks complaining that The Muppets are brainwashing children with an anti-corporate, anti-capitalist message. But it appears…
Demon on Harper’s Back Versus NDP Attack
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives haven’t given much shrift to the international conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa. Nice to see that this negative presence has been matched by demonstrations…
Inequality and Its Perverse Effects from The Help to Rising Birth Rates among Educated Women
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is in the news this morning because of the report it has just published Divided We Stand: Wby Inequality Keeps Rising. The report’s…
Saturday Photo: A Cat’s Eye View of the World
It’s chilly today, although there’s no snow on the ground. The sun at the moment is flooding into our house, and lighting up this cat’s window as well. Actually, now…
Message from One Canadian Steve to Another: Violence Is Actually Decreasing
The New York Times on Tuesday had an interesting interview with Montreal-born psychologist Steven Pinker, whose new book The Better Angels of Our Nature argues that violence has become less…
Saturday Photo: The End of Something, the Begiinning of Something Else
A few leaves left floating in a fountain before the winter snow comes. Got the boots and winter coats out, even wore them earlier this week. But the snow disappeared,…
Who’s Profiting from Those Day Care Centres–Families or Entrepreneurs
Jeanne and her parents are looking for good child care these days. She’s 15 months old, and until now they’ve been able to work their schedules so that one of…
A Year after the Fire: Things Are the Same But Different.
As I write this, it is 1:31 p.m., a year exactlyl after the moment when the first call went in on the fire which put us out of our house…