Category: People
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Birthing an Opus, One Stone at a Time
I love this article from The New York Times on Clark Sanders, a former veterinarian and longtime builder in the Catskills of New York. He builds gorgeous strawbale homes and buildings and hand-built his personal residence, which resembles a fairy-tale cottage, stone by stone from materials found on his land. I challenge you not to… Read more
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The Rising Tide of Inequality
Check out Armine Yalnizyan’s summary on the Conference Board of Canada’s report on rising economic inequality in Canada. Yalnizyan, a Senior Economist with the left-of-centre Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, emphasizes the significance of the report being funded by heavy hitters within the business community vs. the usual suspects of academics, journalists and social think… Read more
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Companies We Keep: Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and Place
In terms of time invested and ease of creation, this has been the most difficult entry I’ve written to date. I’ve wracked my brains to figure out why and concluded early this morning that it’s because a number of ideas in John Abrams’ book Companies We Keep simply scare the pants off me. I find… Read more
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Making Room(s) for Autism
Although I’m not there yet, I’m told it’s incredibly difficult to watch your kids grow up and move away from home for the first time. But for families of adult children with special needs, independent living is not a standard milestone. I came across this article from The Portland Press Herald that tells the story… Read more
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El Sicario: The Autobiography of a Mexican Assassin
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I… Read more
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The Secret Life of Houses and Other Buildings
Don’t know why exactly it has taken so many years for me to finally attend the Doors Open Ottawa event. Whatever the reason I suspect it would also explain my lack of participation to date in the glorious Jane’s Walk events, too. Seems the dates never make it onto my calendar and then poof! they… Read more
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I Smell Summer
Today was, without a doubt, a great day verging on perfect. It was hot, the blue skies were deep and I bore witness to the indubitable arrival of summer. The grass was trim, my twelve ‘Madame Lemoine’ lilacs saturated the air of the formal fragrance garden, the peonies and iris waited with bated breath… Read more
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Living in the Shelter of Robots
It’s kind of like a mirror we hold up to ourselves. Whatever robots turn out to be, will largely be a function of us and the decisions we make. – Mark Rowlands, D.Phil. Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami from Honda’s Living With Robots Part of the fascination of robots is just that. It’s just… Read more
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We Are What We Sit On
Between birthday party pickups, Husband and I popped into our favourite used bookstore this weekend, walking out with full arms and empty wallets. The store is literally crammed floor to ceiling and floor to floor with untamed stacks of fascinating, and often very unique, books. I fantasize about one day walking in and asking Mr.… Read more
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The Season of ‘And’
I love living in a place with distinct seasons. Theoretically, it means putting aside certain activities every few months in favour of fresh, new-sounding ones. In Ottawa we have three distinct seasons – summer, fall and winter. Spring jams its foot in the door, churning out a last ditch attempt at snow immediately followed by… Read more