“And it arose not because of mystical ‘ghosts from the past’ but as the result of specific actions of people who disliked their existing democracies. They disliked them because they were too weak or too imitative, too indecisive or too individualistic – or because they personally were not advancing fast enough within them.” — Anne Applebaum, Twilight of… Read More »
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Louise Penny, The Madness of Crowds (2021) “A future that might bring about our end does not negate the majesty of the journey we are still taking.” –… Read More »
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” Ernest Hemingway Life I sprung up from somewhere in circumstances right or wrong without my consent. I would have liked it but conditions were less than ideal. There were lots of struggles… Read More »
There it is looking high and mighty, the mountain of hope for the poorest and neglected people of the country. Its beauty lies underneath. The early morning start of garbage trucks dumping the thrashes of the well-off is sweet music and not an irritant for those eking a living for the non-stop pile-ups. It means there is work… Read More »
“Rome! Stick to Rome, my dear fellow, and live in the limelight!” – Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero has just finished his early morning mental and physical exercises when he summons Tiro to bring in his first client of the day. “Master,” Tiro announces, “I bring you Sthenius of Thermae.” Right away Cicero smells a victim of corruption. “Sthenius,… Read More »
The Angry Man “I’d never before seen anything that gave, all at once, so many signals of anger and the wish to destroy.” – Kazoo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun (2021) Our neighbourhood is the quietest street in our community, whether during the day or night. Weekend parties are rare so most of the noises are coming from… Read More »
“Tackling climate change presents a big challenge and an even greater opportunity for Canada, one that will impact all of our lives, and those of generations to come. Our nation’s plan to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions down to ‘net-zero’ by 2050 requires the largest change to our economy in our lifetime, and one that RBC is fully… Read More »
“I didn’t think that humans could choose loneliness. That there were sometimes forces more powerful than the wish to avoid loneliness.” Kazoo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun Laughter rang loud in the house whenever I was at home. My three young daughters liked to do that just to piss me in a playful way. Marla, the eldest at… Read More »
“For where is the justice in a country in which an individual has the freedom to be totally fulfilled, but where inequality denies him the means? And how can we call a society just unless it is organized in such a way as to give each his due, regardless of his state of birth, his means, or his… Read More »
“He had mastered the art of rendering himself insignificant, invisible.” – Elie Wiesel, Night (1972, 1985) “We are all made of nouns, live by verbs, enlarge and entertain ourselves with adjectives and adverbs.” – Anna Quindlen, Write For Your Life (2022) I am an obscure writer… a writer of no consequence. I have been at it most of… Read More »