Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec...

15 June, 2013

Consider taking in the annual l'Arche Cape Breton Springfest at the World Trade and Convention Center, Membertou. It's an evening of stories and songs  by the l'Arche troupe, together with delicious desserts and an auction featuring arts and crafts by l'Arche folks, and goods donated by l'Arche supporters. L’Arche Cape Breton will share their gift of music and storytelling, while illustrating their incredible zest for life. An evening to remember for just $15. Tickets at Wentworth Perk and the Cape Breton Curiosity Shop. If you aren't familiar with l'Arche, here's a wee introduction: Director and videographer: Naomi Cousins; Producer: Mary MacDougall; Artist: Anil Kumar;...

06 June, 2013

The Canadian Automobile Association says so in a survey published today. The Kempt Head Road comes in at No. 5 (actually No. 6, since two roads tied for third). Ironically, the gravel portion of the road is in pretty good shape after a couple of post-winter gradings. But the paved portion? Oh, the paved portion! It's hard to depict in a photo, but this is pretty much how it looks from end to end: For the curious, the Kempt Head Road begins at Exit 13W on the TransCanada Highway 105, near the Seal Island Bridge (officially the Great Bras d'Or Crossing). It...

05 June, 2013

It's 6,000 miles long and 120 miles wide (185 x 9,000 km.). It stretches from the ice-bound Kama River in Russia's Tartaristan Province to Limpopo Province at the northern border of South Africa. It's an unusually long stretch of unbroken land, given that water covers 70 percent of the Earth's surface. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite, soon to be renamed Landsat 8, captured the image from an altitude of 438 miles (705 km.) by assembling 56 photographs taken over a 20-minute period on April 19 into a seamless unit. ThE 15-minute video below traverses its entire length. Be sure to view it...

20 May, 2013

Jon Stone writes: Thanks for sharing that wonderful video. It is inspiring to see what creative minds can do when faced with a challenge. There have been some astonishinglynegativecomments posted on various web sites with respect to the recent generosity of the Fountain family in creating the endowment for Dalhousie's performing arts program. The gist of much of the derogatory discussion was that there is no value in training people in performance skills. Well, here is one excellent example of the value of performers to society. I won't be surprised if this goes viral and breaks all records for fundraising for the Janeway. [Update]...

16 May, 2013

The late Janet Moore, the founder of l'Arche Cape Breton who was profiled here on her death in 2010, was a huge fan of Rita MacNeil. Janet's friend Mary MacDougall arranged for the two to meet at Rita's Tea Room on her 60th birthday, in 2007. Jenn Power, Atlantic Regional Co-ordinator for l'Arche (and my daughter-in-law) described the event on her blog. Those of us who love Janet were more than a little apprehensive as we prepared for the celebration. Janet is getting old, and showing her age. As with so many people with Down Syndrome, dementia is slowly creeping in and stealing...

17 April, 2013

New Brunswick can have its Magnetic Hill, but for my money, when it comes to gravity defiance, nothing beats Uphill Brook at Marshy Hope in Pictou County. Motorists travelling the TransCanada 104 between New Glasgow and Antigonish take note that the next few weeks, when melting snow fills Nova Scotia's streams but foliage has not yet sprouted on our perennial shrubs, mark the best season for observing this physics-defying natural phenomenon. Sir Isaac Newton, the inventor of gravity, went to his grave without offering any explanation for it. From the turn at the bottom of the valley that is Marshy Hope, Uphill Brook...

14 April, 2013

National Geographic has been publishing gorgeous photographs for 125 years, so starting a Tumblr feed seems a natural step for the dowdy journal. One of the first entries features Mabel Gardiner Hubbard Bell [See update below] inside a tetrahedral kite frame, while her husband, Alexander Graham Bell, leans in for a kiss. Doesn't it just make you wish you had known these two? Dated October 10 16, 1903, this photo surely must have been taken at Beinn Bhreagh. Click on the image to see the full-sized version. *UPDATE: It appears there is controversy about whether the woman in this photo is Mabel...

29 March, 2013

In response to yesterday's post about Merriam-Webster's vocabulary quiz, on which 60-year-olds leave younger word-users in their dust, Contrarian readers of various vintage have shared their scores. In alphabetical order: Andy Weissman (70+) 3420 Andrew Bourke (40-something) 3700 Anna Daniels (20-something): 3660 Blair MacKenzie (30-something): 3720 Charlie Phillips (50-something) 3660 Contrarian (sexagenarian): 3660 David Rodenhiser (5040-something) 3960* Elaine Fournier (40-something) 3700 Greg Lukeman (30-something) 3900** Jeffrey Shallit (50-something) 3900 John Denault (70+) 3720 Mike Targett (30-something) 3760 Peter Spurway (50-something): 3860 Shelley Porter (40-something): 3140*** Stan Jones (70+) 3800 Steve Manley (30-something): 3480 Suzanne MacNeil (20-somthing): 3400**** * Current raw score leader, verified by screenshot. ** Current leader on an age-adjusted basis. *** Ms. Porter has filed a protest...

17 March, 2013

In Merriam-Webster's online vocabulary quiz, sixty-somethings blow the competition away: Take that, whippersnappers!...

16 March, 2013
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