Saturday Photo: Dancing Grass

Just because it's another nice weekend...

Required Reading for the Election Campaign: The Best Laid Plans by Terri Fallis

In my other life I lead book discussion groups in Montreal-area libraries, and, knowing that a federal election was coming up, I put Terry Fallis's The Best Laid Plans on the reading list for October.  At the time I didn't appreciate just how funny or how prescient the book is.  Now I think every political junkie should read it as this long, long campaign grinds on.

The book was published in 2008, well before the Orange Wave, the Great Recession, even before the flirt with coalition government that occurred in December of that year.  It  starts off with a Liberal political wonk who is trying to get out of the game and who agrees as a swan song to find a candidate in a staunchly Conservative riding in eastern Ontario.  The candidate, a U of Ottawa engineering prof,  agrees only because he's promised he won't win.  But he does, for hilarious reasons .  (Hint: a sex scandal involving his opponent, leather and nipple rings are involved, which actually isn't much worse than the peeing-in-a-coffee cup video that scotched the chances of a Conservative candidate this time around.)

Fallis portrays  the vagaries of public opinion as well as the inner workings of political campaign extremely, but entertainingly well.  (Hint: there's quite a bit about lawn signs, telephone canvassing and door to door.)  I know just how hard that is to do.  In another life I spent far too much time organizing political campaigns and tried in one of my first novels (Endangered Species) to give a taste of the rush a political junkie gets from filling out phone canvass forms. My editor that time around made me cut a lot of the details. Fallis either was smarter than I or had a good editor too, because this novel is mostly fun. 

The accidental MP Angus McClintock turns out embodying all that is good in our political system, and makes a tremendous difference.  Would that all candidates out there were as principled.   Should also add that this is a very Canadian book: I can't imagine what Fallis would do with Donald Trump.

Saturday Photo: Cosmos, the End of Summer, Climate Change

I've always loved these sun-loving flowers.  Cosmos are the stars of many gardens around here at this point in the cycle of the seasons.  I suspect they won't be so gorgeous in a week when the temperatures are supposed to drop, but they are a pleasure now.

So is the lovely temperatures which have made September 2015 perhaps the hottest on record here.  Coming after an uncommonly cool and wet July and August, it has been a treat to have warm and dry days this month.

Of course, all this "unusual weather" is likely the result of climate change.  As someone who grew up in California, I get nervous when it doesn't rain here for a week or so since water shortages were always looming the background then.  To live in the current four-year drought must be awful.  

Saturday Photo: End of Summer and the Spiders are Busy

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Anyone who's read Charlotte's Web or gone walking early on a September morning knows that spiders are especially busy this time of year.

This web was glowing in the early sunlight a few days ago.  I don't know how long it lasted, but the spider seemed to be sure of a good meal or two.  

The beastie won't survive for long, even with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having.  The way of the world is that spiders must die and new spiders be born.

A lesson there?

Perhaps.

Saturday Photo: Runners and Rainbows

The last long weekend of the summer, and the weather is wonderful here.  No rain in sight, but I did find this rainbow when out walking this morning.

The runners obviously were enjoying the sun and mild temperatures too.  A good way to start a holiday.

Saturday Photo: Back to School

This week Jeanne started kindergarten--hard to believe that she's now five.  Like millions of children in North America, she's said good by to summer, and gone skippingly into a new place to meet new friends and learn new things.

At the same time, teachers and parents in Quebec are protesting budget cuts everywhere.  What short-sightedness!  Our kids need good, public schools where everyone can get a chance to grow and learn. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

The New Normal: How Social Networks Make "Migrating" Possible

Last year a photo of African migrants holding cell phones up in Djibouti won the World Press Photo prize.  The men were trying to pick up a good signal in order to communicate back home.  Beautiful photo illustrating something that seemed exotic.

But that's not really the case, it appears.  Having a good smart phone is essential to trying to get out of war zones these days, according to The New York Times.   The price traffickers are charging has dropped, in fact, because of competition from what might be called "self-guided" migration.  Facebook pages also have helped people live through crises: one FB group told of safe water outlets in Aleppo when water mains were broken through during fighting.

Fascinating, and also testimony to the degree of sophistication and education of these displaced people from unstable regions.  They could be you or me, were we unlucky enough to live in one of the hotspots.

Saturday Photo: Tomatoes and the Hundred MIle Diet

August is a month of many pleasures, not the least being the arrival in markets of real tomatoes.  Most of the years I don't buy them because they don't taste like anything.  But now the choice is almost overwhelming and the possible uses for the lovely golden or red fruit/vegetables are legion.

Now, I can't be sure that these beauties were all picked within a hundred miles of the Jean Talon Market in the centre of Montreal where I found them.  But certainly they are from much closer than the tomato-shaped objects usually on sale around here in other seasons.  Worth waiting for...

Saturday Photo: The Electric Cool Aid Acid Test--Or What the Rich Drive

Not that I'm going to make fun of the environmental  concerns of these folks who are shown powering up their two electric cars, but I mean, don't low gas-guzzlers and public transport have more effect on green house gas emissions and all that tra la la?

The house and cars are a couple of blocks over from us, on a street where the houses are single family, very large, and extremely well-kept.  (They were repointing all the brick work when the photo was taken: a good $10,000 or more right there.)

The vehicles also are really classy, and I'm sure the people are cool too.  But I really can't think that these early-adapters represent the wave of the future.  Progress on the environmental front is frequently far more low-tech.

Saturday Photo: Proof the Bees Were out

We may end up with more pears this year than the squirrels can eat!  Last year we had perhaps a half dozen but this year there are lots.  I've started picking the ones that look ripe-ish, trying to keep ahead of our bushy-tailed scavengers.

I had feared that last year's dismal crop was due to an absence of bees to pollinate the  pear blossoms, a very sad thought.  The alternate hypothesis centers on the fact that the week the trees were in bloom coincided with a sudden cold snap.  Perhaps teh bees were dissuaded from flying around by the weather, I thought hopefully.

But this year the weather was fine when the trees bloomed, and the fruit set was good.  Now the only thing is to hope that I can pick faster than the squirrels can eat.

Saturday Photo: Orange Wave...

This is from a photo I took of a clementine back in 2011, just after the amazing sweep of Quebec by the New Democratic Party.  Election night was amazing--nobody believed what was happening really, old stalwarts were crying, the young were ecstatic.

Of course, I was glad and amazed at the Orange Wave, but I also was worried because the election ended with Stephen Harper and his Conservatives with a majority government. They were going to have a blank cheque to do whatever they wanted to do.  No matter how effective an opposition the NDP was--and it has proved to be very good--the Harper program was bound to be approved.

The Canadian Federal election called today, six weeks earlier than necessary, will be decided by people who are fed up with Harper and his gang.  It could be that the NDP will win a complete majority--I hope so--but even if the Liberals split the vote, the chances are good that the Conservatives will bite the dust.  I certainly hope so, because, while the NDP has moved to the centre more than I'd like, Thomas Mulcair is a better leader than Justin Trudeau, and the Canadian people need a Prime Minister who cares about issues that matter.

The Only Reason for an Early Election Call Is in Order to Spend More on Advertising

Don't get me wrong: there have been times in my life when I just loved political campaigns.  Hard to explain, but the kind of rush a political junkie gets after the writs are dropped and the canvassing begins is amazing.

This time, though, I'm simply angry that Stephen Harper will start the 2015 Canadian Federal election campaign next week, six weeks earlier than necessary.  The only reason for him to do this is because his Conservatives have a lot more money than any other party, and will be able to spend it on lots and lots of advertising.  To counter that is going to take a lot of work on the part of people who are fed up with Harper and his agenda to make Canada a different country from the one that has been admired around the world.

I won't mince words: polls now suggest that Thomas Mulcair and the New Democratic Party have an excellent chance of winning,  but they don't have the  same war chest that the Conservatives do, particularly in Quebec.  You probably saw the news reports last week about the difficulties many riding associations are having coming up with enough money to run a decent local campaign. The July 23 story in The Globe and Mail puts it bluntly: "vulnerable Quebec New Democrats are at risk of being outspent by opponents."

So consider this an appeal for contributions--to your local campaign, the federal Canada-wide one, and other ones that are going to need help from outside. There  are several campaigns that I think deserve extra help: here are five of them.

First of all,  those of two young women who were among the surprise NDP victors in 2011, and who have done great jobs in Ottawa: Ruth-Ellen Brosseau (Berthier-Maskinogé, Deputy critic for agriculture) and Laurin Liu (Rivière de Mille isles, Deputy critic for science and technology ). 

Then there are three campaigns outside of Montreal where the NDP incumbent is not running again: those of Danielle Landreville (Joliette), Brigitte Sansoucy (Saint Hyacinthe-Bagot) and Hans Marotte (St. Jean)

Federal election laws allow each citizen and permanent resident to give $1,500 a year to a Federal political party and $1,500 to local riding associations.  These contributions are eligible for a sizeable tax credit. For example a $100 donation works out to only $25 after the credit.  Were you to give $50 to each of the five campaigns mentioned above plus your local campaign,  your  total cost would be $75.  Were you to give an additional $100 to the federal campaign, your total cost for all the contributions would be $100.

The easiest way to contribute to  local campaigns in Quebec is on-line at http://qc.npd.ca/faites-un-don

For a donation to the country-wide Federal campaign, see https://action.ndp.ca/page/contribute/2014-gendon-en#!step1

Or if you like, write a cheque: if you live in Montreal, I'll come and pick it up.  Please feel free to call me at 514 276-9257, or write me at msoder@aei.ca.


To find out more about these candidates:

Ruth Ellen Brosseau,  Berthier-Maskinogé, Deputy critic for agriculture
http://ruthellenbrosseau.ndp.ca/


Laurin Liu, Rivière de Mille isles, Deputy critic for science and technology
http://laurinliu.ndp.ca/


Running to replace current NDP MPs.

Brigitte Sansoucy: Saint Hyacinthe-Bagot
http://journalmobiles.com/politique/ottawa/npd-brigitte-sansoucy-revient


Danielle Landreville: Joliette
http://www.laction.com/Actualites/Politique/2015-04-26/article-4125333/Danielle-Landreville,-nouvelle-candidate-pour-le-NPD-dans-Joliette/1

Hans Marotte:St-Jean
http://www.lapresse.ca/debats/chroniques/patrick-lagace/201409/15/01-4800259-monsieur-marotte-reve-a-ottawa.php

Saturday Photo: Resilience and that Other Goldilocks Planet

There's been a lot in the news this week about the discovery of a planet that might be hospitable to life as we know it.  The scientists have amused themselves, calling it a Goldilocks planet since it is not too close to its sun, nor too far away.

Others have also joked that at least now there's an exit door if things get too bad down here.  No matter that Keplar 452b is about 1500 light years away, some may find the idea of another place to mess up comforting.  Of course, given the fact that it appears to be about a 1.5 billion years older than us, the chances are that, had life evolved the way it has here, there's not much left.

But when things get really depressing I like to remember Dylan Thomas's line about "the force that through the green fuse drives the flower." Life on this planet is amazingly resilient, as this treeling demonstrates.  I like this photo particularly because of the bus passing in the background.  A shift from individualistic, carbon-fuel dependent modes of living will be the key to making sure that this planet remains habitable for a while longer.

Saturday Photo: Street Furniture, or Living Outdoors

Didn't have my camera with me the other night, but Thom, his mother, Grandpa and I made an after-supper visit to a local artisanal ice cream place.  It was a lovely summer evening and the lines of parents, kids and grandkids were long.  Our choices were mostly chocolate: good thing Thom was wearing a brown tee shirt because it was covered in drips before the treat was eaten.  Grandpa's white beard also was decorated with chocolate as he ate a cone with TWO scoops!

We sat on one of the benches in the photo, enjoying the ice cream and the outing.  Putting just a few out as street furniture enhances the dynamics of urban life.  Periodic emptying of trash cans is necessary, but the folks at the ice cream parlor seem to be on the case.  A great addition to the neighborhood!

Saturday Photo: Cemetery Gates over Time

The gate on the north side of Mount Royal Cemetery are just about finished.  The stonework was completed before the snow fell last winter, but it's been some time for the extent of the repairs to become evident.

I suppose that's not too surprising. A cemetery, after all, is a place where time stands still, except in the rolling onward of the season.  Here are a few other photos of the gates, shortly after the original construction in 1862, as it was before reconstruction began in 2010 and during the reconstruction process.   Must add that before the work this time, the gate was completely covered with climbing hydrangea--absolutely beautiful.  Do hope it will be replanted.

Night Hawks in the Night

Not to make too much about it, but when I woke up about 4 a.m. to open the windows after a thunderstorm I lay in bed listening to nighthawks flying in the night.  Obviously they aren't nesting near us, and the scouts were probably checking out a wider range, following the rain, but I was so pleased to know that the birds still nest in the city.

Earlier in the evening we had gone to see Le Sel de la terre, a very fine movie about the Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado.  He gained his reputation with tough photos from the conflict and famine regions of the world, but in the last decade has turned to taking pictures of the glory of the planet.  This desire to make the world a better place has found concrete expression in the refurbishing of the land his family own in the central region of Brazil.

The film includes an interview with Salgado's father who says that he educated his seven children on the proceeds of wood which once covered the land.  At the time he spoke, the hills were denuded and erosion was rampant.  But since then Salgado and his family have reforested it, a demonstration that at least some of the destruction we've wrought can be reversed.

So there's some hope for this summer day.

Saturday Photo: Where are the Nighthawks and the Ducks?

This photo was taken a couple of years ago at a pond in Parc Beaubien, a rather civilized neighborhood park near us.  For several years ducks had been nesting at this pond or in another a short flight away, and one of our summer pleasures was to watch the ducklings.

However, this year the only ducks to show up were three males.  Don't know what happened to the females, but it looks like the guys were checking out the place where they were born. Unfortunately work on the ponds-which originally were natural but which have been tamed--emptied them in early spring this year and last, so there was no place for nests.

Similarly, for the three decades that we've lived in this house, one of the delightful summer sounds was that of nighthawks hunting in the early evening and morning.  I'd heard from friends a few years ago that nighthawk numbers were crashing, but until now the plague hadn't hit here.  No sounds of the hunters this spring and summer, although the swallows have been swooping around a bit.

Yes, here were are at the Sixth Extinction.

Goodreads Results and a Nice Review

In the flurry of activity around here, I forgot to post the Goodreads Giveaway results.  The lucky three are:

Barry Kazimer of Campbell River, BC, Kelley Burrow of Morenc, MI and Caitlin Wardle of Adelaide, SA.   The books will be in the mail in a couple of days. 

And the latest on the review front:

Ian McGillis writes about River Music  in The Gazette. "Swept up by River Music: Mary Soderstrom's new novel charts course of pioneering pianist.:

Saturday Photo: Yellow Flowers, Like the Sun

Think I probably posted a similar photo in the past, but at the moment I can't find it, nor can I remember the name of this marvelously invasive flower that is in bloom in our front yard right now.  In a garden of perennials, it does wonders since it provides a splash of yellow for a couple of weeks right after the tulips, daffodils and violets of spring have past.

Bees like the flowers too, and so there's constant coming and going of the beasties.  Good to see them at a time when there is so much bad news about how bees in general are doing.  When you look at the particular, though, some things are doing all right, such as beehives in urban areas.  Not being doused with pesticides makes a big difference.

Just Hours Left in the River Music Giveaway

Don't forget to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for River Music.  Three copies are available.  Enter here.