I’m currently reading a book called “Stampede! The Rise of the West and Canada’s New Power Elite” by Gordon Pitts of the Globe & Mail. This book came to my attention after winning a 2009 National Business Book Prize and, as you might expect given its title and author, it’s a fairly pro-business look at […]
Head Tale
Yet Another Librarian's Blog
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Too Many Tabs Tuesday – Oprah’s Final Show
Oprah Winfrey had her last episode at the end of May and though I wasn’t a regular watcher, I did tune in for this historic episode by a woman that’s had major cultural significance for the last twenty-five years – from becoming the world’s first African-American billionaire (as a woman to boot!) to having a […]
“…a gateway to a better and happier and more useful life.”
When it opened in 1971, nearly 100 authors (including one of my faves) sent letters of congratulations to the new Troy, Michigan public library. The Troy public library, ranked as the 10th best library in the entire US for its population category, will be closing its doors in July 2011.
Music Monday – “Some other way/There’s got to be another/Some other way/There’s got to be another/Some other way”
The song, “Vote” by the Submarines, details a real-life break-up that happened between the duo who lead the band, just before Super Tuesday during the 2008 US Election. Except for the fact that the last line is “We all know, our system’s broken, And I, I’ll never vote again“, I thought it would be appropriate […]
Books That Are Most Representative of Various Countries?
AskMF has a great list of novels that capture the essence of various countries around the world. (Unfortunately, why do I suspect that even with the wider selection offered by our province-wide SILS consortium, many of these won’t be available anywhere in Saskatchewan?)
What Are the Main Factors In Being Elected?
With a federal election underway and a provincial election coming up later this year, I’ve been thinking about “what are the main factors involved in getting a candidate elected?” This is what I’ve come up with (ranked roughly in order of importance) but would love to hear things I missed (or mis-ranked). 1. Name Recognition […]
Five Theories on Why Cuba Is Still Embargoed
Why there’s still a US Embargo against Cuba, especially since the Cold War is over and it’s now easier for a US citizen to travel to Moscow than Havana, is a question I’ve pondered in the past but especially since our recent trip. Here are a few theories I’ve come across… 1. After I got […]
Our Man in Havana
I was going to do a list of some of the highlights of our trip (and still might) but I just came across a business card for a taxi while sorting the various papers I accumulated during the trip and so I thought I’d focus instead, on one of the singular highlights of our trip. […]