 I woke up feisty on Wednesday, ready for a rumble. I did good work through to Friday and then took myself out for a minor celebration on Saturday night to Beast, a place where the people know my name and the pizza’s a dream. I sat at the bar and had a house salad for the pickled yellow pepperoncini and the Crust Monsieur — grainy mustard bechamel, Swiss cheese, ham, and chives — Stew Gots can top a pie. The crust is Nathan's masterpiece. *** I want you to play a small game for a whole day this week from when you wake up until you sleep. Count every fifteen people you meet — family, strangers, colleagues, and friends — and then imagine the sixteenth person standing in a food bank line. It might hurt if it’s your mom or best friend. The population of Ontario in 2023 was 15,623,207, and over one million of us used food banks. Is there anyone in this province who doesn’t know someone struggling to have enough to eat? One in sixteen people in Ontario are hungry. Something to think about when you get that $200 cheque from the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. I wish I could believe any government was that brilliant with money. It takes me back to 1991 when Bob Rae was premier and sent us $75. The budget looked like an art gallery catalogue. *** “To live and work online now is to exist in this rolling disaster/gladiatorial arena in which it’s increasingly impossible to tell the difference between amateur 4-Chan style griefing, inept political destabilizing campaigns, and just a bunch of randos who imprinted on being horrible.” Erin Kissane beautifully distills the vitality of community building. “The water was already knee-high on the ground floor of the hotel where Aitana Puchal had taken refuge when she received a text alert from the regional government of Valencia at 8 pm on Oct. 29 warning people to shelter in place from severe flash floods." "Leaders” who choose ignorance and self interest over caring for the people they represent are a global epidemic. Something beautiful on Instagram. *** I love hearing an audience lavish a woman with love, respect, and admiration like Florence and the Machine. The second song has the wavy gravy sound of the sixties, Sgt. Pepper-style. The last song is for the family I ate Portuguese Coconut Ring with this week, and the person who sent me a note with my name in 40 point all caps followed by a lot of exclamation marks, and the person who sent a beautiful card and invitation, and the friends who checked in on Wednesday. 202420221967Comments are closed.
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