test blog #10

Tommy Banks, a Liberal Senator from Alberta, has written a strong, cogent, stirring piece about what the 2011 Canadian federal election is about. I re-post it here with one paragraph omitted and one disagreement with Senator Banks. Banks frames the choice in this election as one between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Prime Minister Michael Ignatieff, and essentially dismisses (although he doesn't use that word) the NDP, the Greens and the Bloc Québécois. It is vitally important that Canada has more than two parties, and indeed I wish it had more than five. (I dream of a Conservative break-up.) I've heard some people say that they support the NDP "in principle" but won't vote NDP federally, because the party have no chance of forming a government. This seems to me foolish and short-sighted. All parties in Parliament have an opportunity to shape policy. The existence of a left-of-liberal federal party may be the only thing keeping Canada from becoming the United ...

Whoo-hoo! Another semester down. Eight courses complete, eight to go. Halfway there!

Is there anything sweeter than inter-species love? Check out the penguins in the background! The vid was filmed in South Georgia , which should be in Argentina but is actually part of the United Kingdom. Many thanks to Stephanie for both of these.

I've blogged several times about the American Library Association's Banned Books Week and the Canadian equivalent, Freedom To Read Week . For those of us who care deeply about books and about intellectual freedom, these are important recognitions of the right of authors to publish freely, and the right of readers to encounter and explore ideas, free from fear, punishment or censorship. Books are banned and censored all the time, so when an important book is restored to its original form - including four-letter words and references to gay sex - it's cause for celebration. I've always wanted to read this book; I picked up a used copy somewhere and it's been on our shelf for years. Now I'll wait to get this new digital version. When the classic novel "From Here to Eternity" was published in 1951, a few things were gone that had been in the original manuscript: explicit mentions of gay sex and a number of four-letter words. The author, James Jones, object...

Many many years ago, I was talking with a friend about cooking and food, and she said, "You know what the key to good cooking is? Fresh, quality ingredients." At the time, I didn't know what she meant, but I learned that she was right. Of course there can be techniques and all manner of specialized knowledge involved in cooking, which I know very little about. And there's experimentation and good recipe advice. Cooking is an evolving process and can always be improved. But the key to solid, basic cooking is using fresh, quality ingredients. Start there, pay attention, and you almost can't go wrong. It's the cornerstone of the whole process. Recently I realized that healthy eating has a cornerstone, too, one key concept from which everything flows: advanced planning. You can't eat healthfully without planning in advance. The more you can plan ahead, the more you can control what you eat. The more last-minute and spontaneous your eating, the less healthy it ...

Further to my post here , please enjoy this placard. Thanks to the tweeter who said this and the organizer who put it on a sign!

Further to my essay "why i'm voting liberal even though i don't support michael ignatieff or the liberal party" , Impudent Strumpet explains how strategic voting works and how you can make it work for your riding and for Canada.