Blog # 184...November, 2026

There's lots to be edgy about, seems to be business as usual.  and I have something economic to say before moving on to some of the positive, creative elements that comfort and refresh our lives.

 

While Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk

Make money from dawn until dusk

The world’s hunger and pain,

The  droughts and the rain

Are as sharp as an elephant’s tusk.

                                                                                                    

The Ontario College of Art and Design is beginning year of  celebrating 150- years of gifting us with artist. Many of its graduates have gone on  successful careers in the arts in Canada and internationally. The work of designers is less obvious, but in fact affects us more directly. It's in the convenience of an office layout, or the ease, or not, of filling in a form or reading a label.  And the creations of artist in all their work is to bring a fresh and joyful breeze to our troubled waters.\Even when the subjects are harsh and painful,  their presentation can help us understand and develop some comfort sharing part of life.                                                                                                           

Toronto has a new and wonderful landmark in the expanding waterfront. Kent Monkman brings his Cree artistry and whimsy to The Colony, a rollicking gang of beavers collected in and around their open condo. Set against the skyline of tall buildings, many of them also condos the installation references the role beavers played in the natural and indigenous history of Turtle Island. It's important nd interesting to know how involved  beavers were to colonization and the fur trade, but the piece can  can be enjoyed purely visually. There's a good view here https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fX6sjRIEoR, but better yet, go and see it in person if you're near enough.

The Toronto world of dance is welcoming  Jennifer Archibald back to her home town for a a program of her work at the Betty OliphantTtheatre...it finishes November 1st so the news is a bit late but it's interesting to meet Jennifer for future reference. Her career as a choreographer began as a student at Etobicoke School of the Arts and continued on to stages in New York and many other US cities. Blending contemporary dance with classical ballet creates a refreshing new way to tell stories through movement.  It may offend some purists in the dance world but I find new ways of presenting a form interesting and  so I'm curious to watch for her work.  

Ever since Dale Carnegie kick started the  craze with How to Win Friends and Influence People, self help books have been heavy on book stores shelves. Although I think most of them are a magazine article expanded into a money make, I appreciate that many people find them comforting, maybe  even helpful. I know that sometimes a particular phrase or sentence can cause a burst of understanding and being understood...an epiphany maybe.   Peer support groups, AA was one of the first, are there too to help people navigate their feelings and their world. Some of them, like The Secret Handshake use art forms to bring people together, Death Cafes promote conversations about difficult subjects. What a lot of ammunition we need to survive in this challenging world!

 I've discovered the pleasure of the second time around. I recently saw Anne Tait's brilliant film Iron Road again...the first time was right after its release about 10 years ago. The story of the workers being recruited in China in the 1880's's and brought here to build the railway to the west coast of Canada is compelling, made even more so at the screening by the presence in the audience of some descendants of the original workers. And my attention was caught by details of the production and the characters  that I may have missed in the first viewing..

Sometimes mention a word or phrase in another language that catch my attention and I like to pass it on. I came across, attache ta tuque, while listening to people talk before the election in Quebec this month. Another French expression I like is, un chat dans la gorge,  which we call a frog in the throat...both expressions are weird. 

Happy Halloween see you as we're thinking about the holidays...and how long it is until Spring.

 Blog# 182...October, 2026 

Probably my favorite time of the week is getting back into bed with my breakfast  pretending to have room service in a fancy Swiss spa/ As I begin this blog, it's September 13 and I've just enjoyed a delicious 2 hours listening to 7 remarkable Canadians on CBC's Sunday Magazine...I know radio has become a quaint artifact in some circles, but I cling to it like a life raft in a stormy sea.

First up was Bob Rae, our former Ambassador to the UN with an insider's glimpse at our relationship with the US.  We are so incredibly lucky to have Bob, and others presenting our face to the world. Jumping ahead to Mark Carney's speech to the EU, while he promised that an alliance between Canada and Europe  would have many benefits for both sides, he added that it wouldn't result in a third big power, "with better manners"" His whole talk,  straightforward and lyrical  is worth a listen on good old YouTube  ,

Randy Boyagoda is a proponent of civil speech and lectures on literature atthe University of Toronto. If anyone could excite students about sidestepping AI to do the work of reading, he's the one to do it.  And students are rising to the challenge. Randy's  origins are in Sri Lanka

Veteran journalists Adam Radwanski, Nojoud Al Mallees and Rob Russ sketched a picture of our financial position and activists Naomi Klein and Astrid Taylor caught us up on their concerns. It was an incredibly rich couple of hour, full of ideas, opinions and connections to our world's current reality.

Thanksgiving  is approaching and, as the old joke goes, all the shit means there must be a pony somewhere. Here are some things I'm thankful for...the Ochs-Sulzberger family's control of The New York Times, maintaining at least some journalistic independence from the millionaire tyrants. I'm also grateful to have had Gloria Steinem to shape our thoughts about feminism w with grace, wisdom and a sense of humour for all those years, And a couple of guys make me grateful, Tom who got me swimming and to John who got me blogging., as well as to all of you who read the blog and encourage me with your comments

The film festival, TIFF. came along  in September bringing the usual feast. The standout for me is Barbara Koppel's Union Town, about the bad treatment of the people who deliver goods for Amazon, UPS and the myriad bicyclists who dart about with food.

Who knows what joys and horrors await us in the coming month, but we will keep calm and carry on as the saying goes...and how about that talk in Britain of reversing Brexit and getting back in the EU?  

November is the cruelest month, but we'll be back with Blog # 183 to brighten it.

 Blog # 181...September, 2026

I wrote a while ago about what makes a home, and was struck by a message posted by Dr. Andrew Boozary who conceived Dunn House in Toronto and has been its guiding hand and heart since its opening about a year ago. It's eloquent, touching and I'm quoting it in its entirety

"Today, a tenant at Dunn House told me that one of the most meaningful parts of finally having a home is being able to store his collection of books.   It was a simple reflection, but a powerful one.   A home is more than shelter. It is a place to protect the things that carry our memories, shape our identities and bring meaning to our lives. It is always an extraordinary honour to be invited into a tenant’s home. Today was also a reminder of the vital role that literature, art and the humanities can play in health, healing and human dignity."

Dunn House provides affordable, permanent housing for individuals  who made frequent visits to  Emergency  at Toronto Western Hospital. St Mike's is on board with housing too. Those of us lucky enough to have a home know how important it is, I'm glad the health care community does too.

My house is full of books and even though I now read with my ears rather than my eyes , I still love having them wrapped around me. And when I get fed up with how technology has contributed  to changing our world from a rules based society to an uneasy battleground with many losers, I recognize and appreciate some of the ways our lives have been improved.

Here in Canada, much of our attention is fixed on economic issues and trade in particular with, as our PM  says "We can't control the storm blowing in from Washington." Mark Carney uses language with enormous skill and imagination... rather than echoing the many comments made frequently about the de US duplicity in breachng agreements, he said,  they "signed contracts with a pencil.: I'm anxious about what's too come, dismayed by some of the behavior south of the border, but  proud of us and our leaders..  

I've always loved the image of phoenix rising from the ashes and recently visited St Ann's Anglican Church in Toronto, the   site of a terrible fire a couple of years ago.  The exterior walls of the historic building remain standing, surrounding an open area in which  curator Rul Piintent invites visitors to pause and consider how places carry memories.  A dozen artists from the local community have contributed piece, each s in their medium to interpret their vision of the show's title When Walls Meet Sky. 

So many people loved my mention of Nat King Cole singing  Autumn Leaves that I played it just now, if you'd like a listed as September approaches, here's a link    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnp58oepHUQ

See you next month.

 Blog # 180...August, 2026

Thanks to all of you who told me that a NORC is a naturally occurring retirement community. I did come across it in Lena Dunham's book Famesick when she describes moving into her first apartment in NYC and discovered herself surrounded by oldsters. I really appreciate hearing from you, it adds immensely to the pleasure I get from thinking about and writing the blog. I'm starting this around the middle of July and have 10,000 views from around 30 countries so far. Many of them are probably AI trolls for language of course, but maybe some are  actual humans, so I appreciate your interest too, out there wherever you are.

July has brought incredible heat, wild fires, the World Cup and the Toronto Fringe Festival. The Fringe has grown and its audience has expanded since it emerged 30 years ago, amd I went back this year for the first time since the pandemic.  I saw  The Improper Identity with the very talented Japanese performer Miho Suzuki who tackles the issue of accents with energy and humour. As English speakers, many of us struggle to understand the many people we meet with accents. The play is a refreshing look at the other side, what it's like to be struggling to be understood. I'll be watching for Miho, she's amazing.

The very next day, I went to see a musical parody of Heated Rivalry, written, produced and directed  by Canadian Alan Khiffe. He brought it to Toronto from a successful run Off Broadway, on its way to the Edinburgh Festival. My friend Rhona and I were probably the only people there who hadn't seen the TV series. The whole audience laughed uproariously at every line...us not so much. However, I rejoice in Alan's  creation and it was great hearing all the laughter.  

We've spent may happy summer times in Nova Scotia in the past, and one of the highlights was always a shopping trip to the various locations of Frenchy's.  These stores are legendary in the Maritimes for good reason. They're unique pioneers in the burgeoning world of thrifting, and the subject of a musical playing at The Ship's Company in Parrsboro. It'll have a run in Dartmouth in the Fall, how  I would love to see it here!

Seeking solace in the arts has never been more important for all of us, but especially for people with mental illness. My heart warms when I think of the two peer support groups working quietly to make art forms accessible to folks wo may find mainstream events difficult. I've mentioned The Secret Handshake, which feature literary events and art shows in their gallery near Kensington Market. Another, The Friendly Spike Theatre Band, held a reading this week of a new play, The 7th Floor, by Henrik Kartna. The group members identify themselves as psychiatric survivor, but they're much more than that, they're helping make the world a better place for all of us.

I'm a late entrantt into podcasts, but I found The Ex Files a couple of months ago and now follow it regularly. I think I mentioned it a while ago, but it's worth a wider pitch. Christiane  Amanpour, who lives in London, is a veteran journalist, a foreign correspondent since the early days of CNN with Ted Turner.  Jamie Rubin, formerly a foreign affairs expert in several Democratic administrations lives in New York. She's Iranian, he's American. She's ebullient and expressive, he's calm and a bit scholarly. In conversation about current affairs around the world, they often agree but for different reasons. She brings her cultural and professional background to discussions of the current war. He brings an historical perspective from backstage in US politics. They were married for 20 years and divorced 7 years ago. The point they make is that differing views and opinions  can be brought forward in a civil discussion. Take a look, you might like it as much as I do.

And I just discovered another reason to admire Costa Rica...as well as their lack of an army and their environmental responsibility, students must pass an exam in civility in order to graduate from highh school.

On that hopeful note, it's goodbye from Toronto to 35,797 viewers around the world, we'll be back in September, when, as Nat King Cole promises, the falling leaves will drift by my window.

on

 

Blog # 179...July 2026

 The art of survival is occupying all of us these days and pulling away from despair is taking effort and creative thinking. Following the NY Knicks first NBA championship since 1973, David Remnick's editorial inThe New Yorker shared the joy enveloping the Cityfelt, finishing with, "Joy, remember that?" " 

I now choose what to read from what's available on the many forms of audio books at the Library.. It means I sometimes can't find what I think I want, but discover an unexpected treasure instead. I've loved Ann Patchette's writing ever since Bel Canto, so I reserved  Story of a Happy Marriage expecting a novel. Instead I found myself engrossed in a collection of personal essays, a memoir of sorts. As well as stories of her childhood and growing up, she shares how  her years as a journalist informed her fiction writing and her thoughts on the craft of writing. Her piece on the creation of Truth and Beauty, which she wrote after the death of Lucy Grealy is an exquisite and loving tribute to friendship. The story of opening  Parnassus, a Nashville bookstore gives her a chance to champion both reading and independent bookstores. As you may have guessed by now, I liked this book.  

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And Scotland keeps attracting my attention.  Douglas Stewart has a new book, he won the Booker prize with his first, Shuggie Ban, written after many years as a successful fashion designer.  In a delicious interview with Oprah Winfrey, he introduced his latest ,John on John, set on the remote island of Harris, where the famous  tweed is woven. The meeting of her voluptuous exuberance with his restrained humour makes for something both funny and sweet. YouTube has it.

I was so happy to be back in Quebec recently, having let too much time pass since my last visit. This time we were in the Eastern townships, in and around Sherbrooke. The town centre has been largely shifted to the outskirts, but its history has been preserved in a series of mammoth murals,on large expansive walls of buildings scattered throughout the town. Here's a link so you can look at them

all if you're so inclined, they're quite fabulous.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sherbrooke+murals+photos&oq=sherbrooke+murals+photos&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRifBdIBCTE3MDcxajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lpg=cid:CgIgAQ%3D%3D,ik:CAoSFkNJSE0wb2dLRUlDQWdJQ2h6XzZkZVE%3D

Wow, that's the longest link eve,! hope it works

I've always had a somewhat proprietary feeling towards the Toronto General 

hospital, having been born there, delivered my daughter Julia there and worked on the front line in inpatient psychiatry from 1984 to 2001.

I winced when they gobbled up theToronto Western and then most of University Avenue as the University Health Network., but I rejoiced when they established Dunn Avenue for 41 vulnerable people who lived on the streets and were frequently in Emerg. They're now entering another area of social concern,supporting members of our aging population to stay in their hom.

It's called NORT, no idea what that represents in our world of acronyms and lol's, but I think there's plans for one in my neighbourhood, which is quaintly called Seaton Village. .I'll see if I can get to the bottom of it, in the interest of the art of survival and report back.

So, as Bugs Bunny would say,That's all folks! I hope you found some joy as you read this and will spread it around, and keep cheering for Team Canada, in all its forms on July 1st.

Back in August.

 Blog # 178...June 2026

There are many wonderful things to see and do in Glasgow. The presence of architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh is everywhere, and great pubs and  restaurants. It's a cool place now but remembers and retains with pride its working class pas., The  People's Palace shows how ordinary people lived, worked and played in the city's evolution. There's also a plaque in City Hall marking a visit from Nelson Mandela in1993 to accept the Freedom of the City, awarded to him in 1981 while he was in prison. Then there's the Glasgow Women's Library, a beautiful building, dedicated to women writers and readers.  As well as shelves of books and a welcoming atmosphere, they host  authors sharing their work as well as frequent open lectures and workshops on topics of particular interest to women. Every few months, I get their newsletter with the latest menu. A recent  appearance by Donna Moore previewed her new book Knit One, Heist Two. If you liked, as I did, The Thursday Murder Club, you might want to check this one out. 

Scotland seems to be on my mind right now, I've been using my great grandmother's tea set brought over on a ship in the late 1800's, and thinking of her and what that journey and her arrival here must have been like. As well as being the land of my forebearers, Scotland was the centre of psychiatric innovation in the 1970's with RD Laing,  and Maxwell Jones, among others. 

Still in that mood, last week saw the most moving film I've seen in a while. Called I Swear, it's set in Cailean Shields, a small town about a hundred miles north of Edinburgh. John Davidson is a  promising young football goalie, expecting a visit from a professional scout. Much to everyone's horror, he develops physical tics and begins  shouting obscenities...yup, it's Tourette's Syndrome. It's not recognized or understood though and his life becomes a misery of ridicule and persecution. Playing John Davidson won the best actor BAFTA (the British OscarT) for Robert Aramayo who makes the role and the film unforgettable.

I'm often thinking of Iran these days too, I just heard some bits from writers who appeared at Blue Metropolis, the great Montreal literary festival,  Azar Nafisi was much in the news in 2003 when we were all  fascinated by Reading Lolita in Tehran where she revealed how she  encouraged her students to remove their hijabs and read forbidden literature as secret acts of rebellion against their restrictive regime.  A quarter of a century later, she's still at it, in the relative safety of the US, and has just published Reading Dangerously. She spoke of the tragedy in her country, but also of the insidious erosion of freedom where she lives now, for women as well as other vulnerable groups.

Two other Iranian women living in the diaspora are in my thoughts. Christiane Amanpour has a public platform with her daily appearance, with her former husband, Jamie Rubin, called The EX Files. Available daily, on YouTube, its subtle message is that two people who can't agree to stay married can still discuss topics in a reasonable and respectful way.  They take on the global news, frequently bringing Christiane's personal knowledge and experience of Iran into the conversation.

Some years ago, I met a recently arrived Iranian woman in a conversation group, set up to give people learning English an opportnity to chat and discover the language casually. I was in touch with her recently and learned that, although her immediate family members are safe here, her husband's family is in Iran, with nos possible point of contact. The courage of these three women, along with millions of others in many different situations is sobering, and cause for gratitude for our basic freedoms here.

Designs coming from the Haida culture are unique and have become easily recognized and two Iindigenous artists are bringing these designs into prominence. Doorothy Grant, a fashion designer who has just been awarded the first prize for IndigenousFfashion Design, using the motifs on common objects like jewellery and iclothing. Briain Jungendoes the opposite, taking apart Air Jordan sneakers, arranging them to create Haida patterns. He says cutting up the sneakers reminds him of gutting a salmon. Brian's sense of whimsy extends to a life size dinosaur skeleton created with wite plastic lawn chairs.

I'm determined to create this issue without mentioning the place where I live, which usually dominates and I'm going to try and be more outwardly directed in future. Any suggestions from your neck of the woods would be welcome,you know where to find me. Back in July. 

 Blog # 177...May 2026

Despite having a pretty low tech household, there seem to be a number of disembodied voices that keep me company. My bluetooth speaker murmurs softly when I turn my computer off, I can't quite make out what it says, maybe, have a good sleep, or, you should really do something about those cuticles. It's taken me some time to realize that voices approaching me from behind on the street are likely from a person having a phone conversation and not responding to imaginary voices. I listened to one of the latter this morning and decided that if I had to live on the street, I'd probably be yelling  obscenities too.

The CBC brings welcome voices int my life, I start weekdays with The Current and end with Ideas, Saturday morning I catch up on political shenanigans with The House. On Sundays, I eat breakfast with Sunday Magazine and lunch with Bookends.  Most of my blog features are gathered from those sources...just so you know.                                                                                                                    Other regular voices are accompanied by faces, Jon Stewart breezes in with a weekly breath of fresh air from the US and Christiane Amanpour, safe in the UK, brings her perspective on what's going on in her homeland of Iran.  Occasionally Bill Nighy pops in with Ill Advised, and most days Rebecca and Richard fromThe Daily Mail distract me for a few minutes with Palace Confidential. What a houseful!

Speaking of disembodiment, there seems to be a moving away from dating apps to in person meretings.  These  meetups sprung up in NYC in the nervous atmosphere after the attack on the World Trade Centre...9/11. I mentioned a few blogs ago going to a Death Cafe where the urge to talk about death seemed sondary to wanting to gather in a group. Lots of ways to come together  are emerging to meet our human instinct to be with each other.  It's a healthy sign, all that anonymous swiping would make me nuts if I were in the dating game.  

A Michael Fliess photo

On our way to see the David Blackwood show at the AGO recently, my eye was caught by this piece by Allison Katz. She's captured something interesting and amusing that speaks to me of many things - our relationship to art, our feelings as women and life itself.  She's new to me  and I'll start watching for her work. I could have stayed looking at her collection all afternoon but my friends reminded me that we had  come to see David Blackwood so I tore myself away.

It was totally worth it. David Blackwood is new to me too. Descending from  generations of sea captains in Newfoundland, the North Atlantic is in his bloo and his paintings.  They capture its beauty and power as well as the the flora and fauna of the surrounding land, I could almost feel the salt spray. He's also known for the unique print technique he developed called intaglio  that produced beautiful etchings.  What a treat it was to discover both of these woderful Canadian artists.

 There's joy in discovering a new writer too. Early in the days of the self help and improvement titles that now crowd the shelves of bookstores, Harriet Lerner captured our attention with Dance of Anger. She cotinued to dance with Fear, Intimacy, Connection and Deception. Her son Ben has inherited the writing gene  and uses his talent for both novels and poetry, winning Canada's Griffin Prize in 2019. I've just finished his second novel,  10:04,  (the title refers to the time appearing on a clock in a film) in which the protagonist has Marfan's Syndrome, a condition that, although not very noticeable or fatal, affects a life. Ben share's his mother's interest in physicality and its link to behaviour and explores how the character's situation plays ot. Blending personal details with fiction,which Ben does, unsettles a lot of people but for me it's usually engaging and I don't mind a bit of challenge and uncertainty.

I posted about music in Powell River a while ago and they're in the news again. The town was founded on Indigenous land, its People displaced and the town was named after an early white settler. It was an era of cultural assimilation, and now in more sensitive times, the original inhabitants are asking for the original name to be restored. It raises the sticky matter of name replacement. On one hand, the rights should be respected but on the other hand, could retaining the imposed name offer an opportunity to talk about the wrongs that were done... Sometimes though, there is no other hand and as with much of life, it's complicated.  Namesake, a documentary appearing at this year's HotDocs festival in Toronto explores this, watch for it on a screen near you. 

It's raining very hard as I'm writing this, many places are flooding, hopefully not my basement!  I think and worry about water and love listening to The Great Lakes Suite, just put out by The  Rheostatics, celebrating the five expanses of it that define so much of our border with the US.  The music and narrative are a meditation, with the poignant voices of Tanya Tagaq and the late Gord Downie warming my heart. A more chilling view from Louise Penny's latest Gamache novel, The Black Wolf looks at a plot south of the border to take our water, wishing I could unread this!  

I think April is World Poetry Month, and if it isn't, it should be. My friends know how I love limericks, and I thought of writing one for you, but decided to share one of my favourites from Dorothy Parker, a forerunner of Hip Hop. not technically a limerick, but close enough.

"Oh life is a gay and glorious song,
A medley of extemporanea.
And love is a thing that can never go wrong,
And I am Marie of Roumania.”

There are scads of birthdays in May, if yours is one of them, count your blessings and have a happy day.

 See you in June and don't forget what arrives tomorrow.