Alberta takes one step forward, two steps back

From Paula Simon’s column, “One step forward, two steps back”, on this week’s introduction of Bill 44 amending the province’s Human Rights Act, in today’s Edmonton Journal:
Under Bill 44, school boards must provide parents and guardians with advance notice any time instructional materials or courses of study that deal explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual [...]

A history of Canada in folksong

Shortly after the Music Festival wrapped up earlier this month, Laura started talking about song choices for next month.  While I was tempted to ask her to change the subject after weeks and months the practicing, rehearsing, and performing, I was happy to see her excited about the festival and interested in finding some new [...]

How to compete with the oil patch

The real value of an Alberta education
Interesting to wonder what happens to attendance when and if the dealership quits donating cars to the school…

Backwards

One of my favorite lines from the terrific independent Canadian movie Wilby Wonderful (2004), which I watched again the other day,
“Well, you can like the backwards way, but the backwards way can’t be better because the backwards way is wrong.”
A beautiful little ensemble piece (not a comedy, as some reviews mention, but incredibly funny and [...]

How to read your way out of a crisis

Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian’s chief arts writer* picks her comfort reads.
* author too of the new Latin Love Lessons: Put a Little Ovid in Your Life

A telescope in every pot

New to me today, via CBC Radio’s “Quirks and Quarks” science show, hosted by Bob McDonald:

The Galileoscope, an International Year of Astronomy 2009 Cornerstone Project, US $15 each plus shipping to just about anywhere in the world.
You can also win a free Galileoscope in the Quirks and Quarks astronomical limerick contest, but I figured what [...]

Penny wise, pound foolish

Today’s news, entirely too close for comfort:
A report for the provincial government says a nuclear power plant could be in uranium-rich Saskatchewan’s future.
Examining the potential of power generation from uranium was among 20 recommendations in a $3-million report on how the province could develop its radioactive resource.
The power plant recommendation was evaluated in what the [...]

Poetry Friday III, or Poetry Saturday I

I had an email from my new friend, poet J. Patrick Lewis asking, with even more kind ruffles and flourishes, if I’d post the following poem he wrote in time for tomorrow, Saturday, April 4, School Librarian Day.  I said certainly, after stopping to wonder which comedian gave the poor school librarians a Saturday instead [...]

Poetry Friday II: More on the case for memorizing

It never fails.  Just as I press “publish” and even add a few quick edits to my Poetry Friday post this morning, I stumble across something new on the same subject.  I was delighted to see in today’s sneak peak of The New York Times Sunday Book Review Jim Holt’s essay on the case for [...]

Poetry Friday: Festival entries

Happy first Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month 2009!
To celebrate the occasion, and also how well the kids did this week at the Music/Speech Arts festival, I have a selection of the poems they recited.  Davy (age eight) recited “Mother Doesn’t Want a Dog” and “The Brook in February” by Canadian poet Charles G.D. Roberts [...]

Happy National Poetry month!

Begin your month of poetry over at GottaBook with Gregory K. and his 30 Poets / 30 Days celebration.  Today’s poet is America’s first children’s laureate Jack Prelutsky with “A Little Poem For Poetry Month“.
Today is also the official kick-off of poet Robert Pinsky’s Poems Out Loud blog.  Unofficially, Mr. Pinsky’s been blogging since Monday.
Updated [...]