Author’s Note: As this year unlike any other grinds to a bleak close, I offer – in the spirit not of prophecy, but satiric thought-experiment – ‘alternate universe’ visions of the near future. And bear with me, dear reader, as I first appear to lose my mind…   “The extremelyRead More

A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected (via Zoom) with an old friend in Brooklyn, NYC, and in between catching up and sharing gluten-free cinnamon bun recipes, we talked about our respective lives under COVID. She told me that she’d recently gone for drinks in her neighborhood with a smallRead More

Is there something in the water (or more, probably, in the air) in Alberta? What causes people in Calgary, specifically, to stand outside in the hundreds, some actually holding small children in their arms, to protest the various restrictions put in place to protect them and their families from COVID-19?Read More

Millions of people from around the globe have been expressing their well-founded views about the need for substantial changes because they realize in order to survive as a species we have to change what is in our heads. As an example, we collectively know the core scientific factors regarding climateRead More

Briefing Premier Stephen McNeil and Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang announced 10 new cases of COVID-19 today and 142 active cases. No one is currently in hospital. Dr. Strang allowed that he found the case numbers “encouraging” and lower than he’d been expecting, reminding everyoneRead More

Briefing Premier Stephen McNeil announced nine new cases of COVID-19 today in the Central Zone, one of which is a student at Bedford South School. McNeil said the school has been closed for a deep clean and contact testing is underway. Dr. Strang said there were 118 active cases (theRead More

Ahem… Back in May of 2019, I wrote a story with the headline, “This is what a REAL port announcement looks like,” in which I contrasted what was happening at the Port of Québec — which had announced a deal with CN and Hatchet Ports to build and operate theRead More

The first episode of the new season of CBRM Council was three hours long, featured a bunch of new characters and offered up at least one new twist in an old plot. It seems to have been filmed in a black light theater although, sadly, none of the councilors tookRead More

I don’t really know the situation today, but in the 1950s, working for the church especially as a secretary, I got to know those who were referred to as “stemmers.” They were the dedicated few who every so often rang the glebe house doorbell in search of a dollar orRead More

The Spectator heard from Breton Books this week and the news is good: the seventh edition of Cape Breton’s Christmas, publisher Ron Caplan’s annual book of seasonal stories and memories, has appeared this year despite the extenuating circumstances that have constituted pretty much everything related to 2020. Caplan says COVID-19Read More