Jane Jacobs’ "Eyes on the Street": A Mount Royal Boulevard Example
The Plateau is one of the most densely populated areas in Canada, and Mount Royal Boulevard, just outside our windows, is a river of constant foot, bike, bus and car…
Mary Soderstrom
Green and Healthy Living: The Suburban Illusion
The Globe and Mail has carried two interesting, conflicting stories the last few days. One is a long article in an insert, Backbone Magazine, about Drake's Landing, a "green" community…
Men Behaving Badly: Conquerors of the World Who’re Slaves to Libido?
The recent revelation that former California governor Arnold Schwarzanegger had a love child 10 years ago, coupled with the arrest of IMF head and French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual…
The New Quebec Is Seen in the NDP Delegation to the House of Commmons
Just spent a day making a spread sheet of the new NDP caucus, with emphasis on the 58 (out of 75 possible) people elected from Quebec. What an interesting bunch…
St. Brendan’s Day: Lessons in Mythmaking from the Mists of Time
Today, May 16, is the day when St. Brendan is supposed to have died in 578. He's the guy who is said to have set off from Ireland in a…
Saturday Photo: Last Year’s Lilacs
This morning I'm going to go hack away at the neighbor's lilac bushes. This is what they looked like last year--fragrant and really lovely. But after the fire, the workers…
No Post on Friday: Was Blogger out Bagging Some Rays?
Couldn't post yesterday because gremlins got into Blogger. Things seem to be back to normal now, and it was such a lovely day here, I had the whimsical thought that…
A Film Made the Day that Jeanne Was Born!
St. Henri, the 26th of August is a film made by 17 film makers for the National Film Board of Canada. It was featured last week at the 2011 Hot…
May: The Change is Magic
Within a couple of days of warm weather, leaves burst out on the trees here, changing the whole world for the better.Since this photo was taken, the canopy has become…
Making Religion Green: Quebec Catholic Churches to Use Local Wine for Mass
Don't know whether it's due to climate change or to astute winegrape growing, but vinyards in Quebec have begun producing some not-too-terrible wines. The latest recognition of this comes from…