Culture
Some weeks writing a column is fun and some weeks it’s even funner. This week I got to talk with Canadian comedian Ron James, live from his Toronto condo. He’s coming to Ottawa for a show at the Meridian next week (buy tickets!) and what better opportunity to
Urbanism
Not to show my age or my dirty mind or anything, but when I hear the word sponge I immediately think of Elaine in episode #119 of Seinfeld. But today I am interested in even better sponges than that — the ones that turn urban parks into extraordinarily useful green infrastructure
Gerald Butts is a very smart man, a clear writer and a fine thinker. So when he writes something eloquent about a subject on which I know a lot, I pay attention. But I also want to offer a slightly less panicky take on all the things. By way of
Urbanism
There are weeks when it seems there are no limits to the number of zany ideas people come up with, including (in no particular order), digging a tunnel under the 401 in Toronto to add lanes of traffic because there’s no way the existing 20 or so are enough,
Français
This one is just in French, because the platform to which I am referring is 100% in that language. It is a new initiative by the Assotiation des auteur.e.s de l’Ontario français to promote the work of its members, francophone literature in Ontario as well as help
Urbanism
[English follows French, be patient.] Il y a des affaires qui sont tellement nounounes que mon vieux fonds franco-québécois revient au galop et s’accapare la place qui lui revient pour les démantibuler sans merci. La patente à gosse du maire nocturne d’Ottawa me casse les pieds quelque chose
Urbanism
One of the coolest parts of my work is to get advanced copies of books I’m dying to read and tell you what I think of them. Carolyn Whitzman’s excellent Home Truths in one you won’t want to miss when it becomes available in a couple of
Urbanism
There’s a lot of talk in Ottawa these days about whether our transit system is going to hell super fast or is entirely fucked already. On a good day it barely works — if by “works” one means getting people to where they’re going in a reliable manner that
Politics
Like her or not, Kamala Harris is a woman who knows who she is and works hard to do what she thinks is best and if there is anything that sets toxic men’s teeth on edge it’s a woman who doesn't need their approval for, well,
Parenting
One of the best aspects of homeschooling, other than freedom and flexibility to explore what interests your kids and the opportunity to take breaks when it’s nice outside or go on trips with your kids and a better sense of how they are progressing and plenty of other cool
Urbanism
Not to boast, but I’ve spent the last year and a half heroically navigating, on my trusty and very dependable comfort bike, the living hell that is the area around where the new central library is being built. The part where Scott turns into Albert, specifically. First the old
Urbanism
Because I travel lots and never not have a camera with me, I decided to start collecting great examples of people-friendly places and tell their stories. I opted to make it a different website because a) it’s more narrowly focused than this one and b) my hope is to