TW: racism and sexual predators (prison sentencing link)
Last month, the CBC ran this story about a Canadian woman sentenced to three years in prison for committing a unique kind of fraud: by falsifying birth information for her two daughters and claiming they had Indigenous heritage, she was able to access government funds earmarked for Indigenous people.… [Read More]
Category: History, Culture, and Politics
I’ve been meaning to write on the subject of fiction set in Montreal for quite a while. I’ve been trying to read as many books as I can that are set here.… [Read More]
A subtle cultural layer you discover in a new city is the locally-sourced humor, i.e. the local problems that are joked about by the people who live there. Per my post yesterday about the Grand Prix, Dan Ramos Comedy posted the above graphic on Reddit with the headline, “I Fixed the F1 Poster.”… [Read More]
(aka ‘Victoria Day” in the R.O.C.)
(R.O.C. = Rest of Canada, whose federal holidays Québec likes to rename and rebrand as Québec-centric celebrations.)
Victoria Day, which celebrates the birthday of Queen Vicky, isn’t so popular here in Québec due to the many years of oppression of the Québec French by the English ruling class.… [Read More]
“Try not to let moose lick your car.”
–Parks Canada
(…or anyone really, regardless of the season, but that’s just my non-delicious-vehicle-owner opinion).
Happy New Year. We’ll be back in Montréal in May, if all goes according to plan.… [Read More]
Not My Circus….
The word “clown” is the same in English and in French. I had need to look it up because, well….look at the world we live in.
That is all.
P.S. You can also say “farceur” or “pitre” instead of “clown,” but the preferred word in French is “clown” nonetheless.
Those of you who spent time in L.A. during the 80’s-90’s musical heyday of KCRW probably remember Chuck Taggart‘s show “Gumbo,” which was canceled when KCRW went from being a local public-radio station to being the golden goose of NPR.… [Read More]
This blog post is backwards; I’m starting with the ending and detailing how I got home from my visit to the Promenade Masson (“the Heart of Rosemont”).
Why? Because it was my first time on an e-bike!… [Read More]
Canada’s not only putting explicit health-harm warnings on cigarette packages, but printing them on each cigarette’s rolling paper too–in English and in French. I suppose if you’re going to suck in nicotine and tobacco particulates, ya might as well huff that fine, fine, toxic burnt ink residue too.… [Read More]
This past week, I attended an activity with a local intercultural group: learning to kayak. Now, this group is big into canoe camping and white-water kayaking, but they have to entice us newbies into the sport a little more gently.… [Read More]




