Recreating Eden 2011-08-03 08:26:00
Last week Elin and company spent time in Greater Chicago. She taught at the Viola da Gamba Society of America's annual Conclave, and the rest of the family spent some…
Mary Soderstrom
Connection with the Universe Re-established, the 400 Plus Boxes are Opened…
but the stuff hasn't been put away yet. The house is nearly as big a mess as the state of the world.I'll be back with before- and after pix as…
More Than 400 Boxes: Going to Disconnect in Order to Reconnect
There is not likely to be much here over the next few days. The boxes arrived yesterday--something like 450 of them containing about 5,000 books and the various collections of…
Advice from Paul Krugman That Nycole Turmel and the NDP Should Find Useful
As usual, Paul Krugman today is right on the money. "Republicans have, in effect, taken America hostage," he says. Part of the problem is "the cult of “balance,” the insistence…
WalMart Heiress Funds Big New Art Museum
As a sidebar to the previous posting about WalMart advertising on classical music stations, check out the interesting article in The New Yorker about WalMart heiress Alice Walton and her…
Advertising and Classical Music: If CBC/Radio-Canada Doesn’t Deliver, Private Stations Make Money
We've been listening to the commerical classical music station a lot over the last few months. Partly, it's fatigue--there is so much to do just keeping afloat plus taking care…
Jack Layton: Another Fight for a Man of Courage
Shocked, although maybe not too surprised, to hear that Jack Layton is battling another cancer. Here's a link to a place where you can send a message of encouragement to…
The Intimacy of Facebook and Men Who Cry in Public on It
Just a quick comment on the day the furniture comes back (the boxes including 5000 books arrive Thursday!): the most emotionally over-the-top posts I've seen on my Facebook network have…
Saturday Photo: Hot Day, Light on Leaves
If you ever wondered about the value of street trees, here's an object lesson. The trees across the street from our temporary digs shade the buildings there, which means they…
What Is That Mushroom Cloud Advancing on the City? Just an Amazing Thunderstorm?
This is a link from a friend from the storm we had Thursday night. The view from the terrace here was very similar, and I stood and watched the rising…
A Couple of Laughs on a Hot Day When the Less You Wear the Better (But No Elastic-Breaking, Please)
Got this from a friend this morning. It seems perfect as an antidote for a day that looks blistering:"In April, Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday.…
The True Story of Little Match Girls in Canada: Why Unions and Government Regulation Are Important
"The Little Match Girl" is one of those Hans Christian Andersen stories that wrench the heart: the poor little match seller outside a grand residence dies of cold after slowly…
Claire Messud and the Murdochs: A Novel That Saw What Was Coming
One of the few things I've been able to read lately--too much physical labour, it seems, makes you fall asleep at 9:30 p.m.--was Claire Messud's novel The Emperor's Children from…
Countdown to Moving: Let’s Hope It’s Not Like This
The clothes, rugs, linens and the like come back on Thursday. Monday it's the furniture, Wednesday the boxes (including 5,000 books.) Maybe it will all be over soon!BTW, the plumbers…
The Nicest Weekend of the Year? Or Why Countries Have Holidays This Time of Year
This was taken as the moon rose on Thursday night, Bastille Day or the Fête nationale française. The moon was not quite full, but the evening was lovely after a…
Saturday Photo: A Tangle of Hosta Flowers, and Shooting Star Daylilies
One of the joys of a garden full of perennials is that the plants and the flowers come back, even in yars of neglect. I took these yesterday, when the…
Swimming in the St. Lawrence: Not So Crazy as You Might Think
As I write this, at shortly after 7 a.m., some hardy souls are gathering on a pier in Montreal's Old Port, getting ready for the Grand Splash. For the seventh…
The Plumbers Came and (Almost) Fixed Things
Well, actually the plumbers yesterday came to put the radiators back in place. They'd been removed so the new hardwood floors could be installed. It only took two guys to…
Upon the Roof: The Place on a Summer Evening
The last couple of weeks on the Plateau, as the house near readiness. It is very hot, and the apartment is hotter, but at least we can get up on…