We are heading in the wrong direction when it comes to Covid-19, and the political situation in the US is pretty grim. I keep looking for hopeful signs, and while these plants have absolutely not impact on the state of the world, they made me smile this morning, which is not a bad thing.
Saturday, 26 September 2020
Saturday Photo: Golden Rod, One Thing That Shines in These Dark Times
Tuesday, 22 September 2020
Thin Air Festival Featuring Concrete, Believe It or Not
It may sound like an oxymoron, but concrete in North America frequently contains up to 6 per cent
air. Why, is something I talk about in Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future, which will be officially published Oct. 10. But before then there's a chance to learn more about it and my thoughts on the material that built the world as we know it.
Winnipeg's Thin Air Festival is now on, and is featuring two videos I've made about concrete as well as an interview with festival staffer Teresa Horosko. Then on Sunday October 11 I'll be leading a 90 minute interactive workshop on writing non-fiction, called Thanks for the Memory: Writing Non-Fiction in a Time of False News. Check it out at: https://thinairfestival.ca/user/136/
Saturday, 19 September 2020
Saturday Photo: Cosmos, the Flower That Keeps on Giving...
If you wait long enough, that is. Cosmos are wonderful flowers that reseed themselves and change sunny places to corners of cosmic delight.
I've never had much luck with them because our neighboring trees cast too much shade. But I love these flowers that burst into bloom at the end of summer, and dellight the eye when the senses begin to think that summer is over.
Would that the Cosmos were as well regulated...
Saturday, 12 September 2020
Saturday Photo: Good Crop of Umbrellas This Summer
Well, it rained a lot here in August, so obviously these folks were on the case. The umbrella stayed there for a couple of weeks, during the worst of the downpours. This morning it had disappeared. Can't decide if that was because the forecast is for sun, or because someone came along and "harvested" it.
Saturday, 5 September 2020
Saturday Photo: Reclaiming the City...
And then there are the folks who have been at it for a long time like sculptor Glenn Demesurier whose sculptures made from found bits and pieces of old machinery are sometimes whimsical and frequently lovely.
These are three of his now gracing the corner of Bernard and Waverly in Montreal's Mile End district. They make me smile every time I walk past.