Category: History & Heritage
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Tile Me a Story
Once again admiring the intriguing narrative tile work here at Inn at the Forks in Winnipeg. I’m searching for more pieces around the city by local artist Fleur McLauchlan, but work has a way of seriously cutting into my sleuthing time… Read more
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Exit the Television
We haven’t had a television in our house for a very long time. One day I got fed-up trying to place the family room furniture in a conversation-friendly layout that also permitted television viewing. So I called up a friend who drove over and drove away with our set, bound for a Community Living group… Read more
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(Sort of) The Grand Re-Opening of the McKittrick Hotel 2012
A year ago we donned bone-white Venetian masks and registered at the McKittrick Hotel in NYC for an evening of mute revelry and immersive voyeurism. It’s set to be doors wide open again this year. Post the Do Not Disturb sign and prepare to Sleep No More. Read more
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Encyclopedic Knowledge
And the train of thought goes like this: How did I marry someone who has the identical leather-bound, gilt-edged set of Encyclopedia Britannica that I have? Where do encyclopedias go to die? Where did all the door-to-door salesmen go? How come it’s mainly political candidates and religious folks that drop by? Now that I’ve framed in and… Read more
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Now I’m a Licensed Prospector, Too
Some things in life are surprisingly simple. For a fee of $25.50, presentation of photo i.d., and the completion of a form that required little more than my name, address, telephone number and birthdate, I became a licensed prospector in the province of Ontario. I am now permitted to stake mineral claims anywhere in the… Read more
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Part 1: If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home – The Kitchen
One quick Google search of the word kitchen yielded this smart, funny and well-paced BBC series about the history of our homes, as told through four key spaces: the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room. Historian and presenter Dr. Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces. She pretty much gets to time travel,… Read more
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A Carpenter’s Life: As Told By Houses
I was encouraged by my elders to “follow my heart.”…Would not our world be a better place if we all followed what our hearts tell us to do? People with heart won’t fight senseless wars, they won’t strip-mine a beautiful mountain, commit genocide, pollute our land with toxic waste and chemical fertilizers, foul the air… Read more
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Street Art: Things Change
I love when street art and murals bring cities to life. But this is no average mural. It was conceived as an animation, as living storytelling, and not as a static snapshot in time. However, in the end, it is unable to escape its essential form. A three-week painting condensed into a 3 minute animation.… Read more
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CurioCabinet: Lord Dundonald’s Servants and Their Pets (1904)
Ottawa, 1904 Credit: William James Topley / Library and Archives Canada / PA-208448 It IS Canada after all…. Read more
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The Consequences of Living With Animals
I don’t know how to say this delicately so I’m just going to say it: my kid has pinworms. Read more