Always amazed that women in Christmas movies & holiday films have so many coats. I have several coats, but I live in Calgary where it snows for ½ the year. These women show up, on vacation after a long haul flight from NYC with 5 different wool coats that won't fit in their single hardside suitcase.

I understand that the Jane Austen purists don't care for Canadian Patricia Rozema's adaptation of "Mansfield Park (1999)", but I enjoy it, particularly for the accomplished cast. Thanks KSPS @pbs.org for airing it. www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mans...

This amazing episode of CBC's The Nature of Things that features @widowweb.bsky.social and her ecology research just happens to be playing on TV right now! ---- www.cbc.ca/documentarie...

Opinion: Alberta's new gender rules sink one woman's participation in swim club calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

This piece in the Globe and Mail by Christina Sharpe gave me shivers. I can’t cry, so my physical reaction to something so true, clear, and frightening (to me as visible and vocal Black woman) is from my nervous system. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/47bbb5b... 1/

The arts are not immune to the desperate need for cultural change.

I'm finally old enough, mature enough, and sufficiently socially aware to watch "Ordinary People" (1980). Wow. Incredible film. archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes....

Whitney Houston. At aquacise, our instructor used Whitney singing "Joy to the World" in our cardio sets and it was everything for me not to sink under water and scream in disappointment at the death of her talent, her physical being, and what could have been. youtu.be/l1zHFT4zsa8?...

Ford: Alone at Christmas, but wrapped in the generosity and kindness of others calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

Quote: "...life can be abundant and rich and beautiful in the simplest of moments when all we have to do is just sit there and receive it."

ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/221....

Merry second day of Christmas! Happy Boxing Day! 1. Jamaican sorrel recipe (not the one I use, that's secret): www.seriouseats.com/jamaican-sor... 2. Boxing Day explanation: www.britannica.com/topic/Boxing... 3. The Feast of St. Stephen: www.britannica.com/topic/St-Ste...

All of this. After breast conserving surgery for breast cancer (i.e.: not a total mastectomy but tumours are removed with margins - the area surrounding the tumours) I was left with 1½ breasts. Rather than implants, I opted for an innovative breast reconstruction surgical procedure. 1/

Quote: "We need to first of all understand that people who become musicians don't all have the same background. And that's very important because we need new experiences." 🎶🎹 www.tatler.com/article/cyri...

Wordle 1,651 3/6 ⬛️🟩🟩⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Boxing Day fun, Wordle in 3!

Why we find comfort in rituals wherever we are ft.trib.al/gb4HnCO | opinion

News In Photo:

Okay King's Speech sorted, I need to get a hustle on. Calls to make, things to drink, things to eat... www.cbc.ca/news/world/k...

Dear Britain: things are bad, but America will recover from Donald Trump. Just give us three years | Jimmy Kimmel

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Stay warm, celebrate in the way that makes sense to you, find the light, and remember that love was born at Christmas. 🎄🎅🏾🕯 Sending extra love & virtual hugs to those: who are suffering, who will experience death or loss today, and who are struggling. ❤️

There is exactly one (1) Black person in the entire film, "White Christmas (1954)". It's the bartender on the train, played by the late Nick Stewart. There was a lot more that was racist about "Holiday Inn" & "White Christmas" than just their popular songs, thanks @npr.org for the history lesson.

Wordle 1,650 6/6 ⬛️🟨⬛️🟨⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Really do not care for words like this...

"Here’s a playlist to bring you a few peaceful moments today. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas" lnk.to/RelaxingSeasonal

Listening to the "no room at the inn" bits of the Christmas story. Those who know will remember that "Inn From the Cold" in Calgary was founded & conceived at St. Stephen's Anglican on Christmas Eve. The rector gave a sermon about the person sleeping under the front steps of the church, that night.

Quote: "Meanwhile, Alberta’s United Conservative government has put forward Bill 13 in an effort to ban mandatory EDI training and prevent employees from being disciplined for bigotry or discriminatory acts they commit off the job."

In my youth midnight mass on Christmas Eve started somewhere between 10:30 pm - 11:00 pm, so that it would conclude after midnight on Christmas Day. These days, the service time has increasingly crept around the clock to be earlier each year. Tonight, 'midnight mass' is at 7:30 pm. Sigh. 🎄

'Last Christmas' by Wham! is best enjoyed while watching the original video, in all of its feathered-hair, 1980s ski trip glory. youtu.be/E8gmARGvPlI?... 🎄

This is disgusting, depraved behaviour... and apparently business as usual in Alberta politics.

"It’s so great of you to inform us that our stay has been canceled two days before check-in. Do you want to tell my heavily pregnant wife she’ll be giving birth in the street, or shall I?" buff.ly/J79v4Fy

God bless Alan Kerr. 🎄🙏🏾 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

It's December 24, and we're in it already on Christmas Eve day.. Tread lightly, enjoy gracefully, and celebrate with a full heart. If it is your thing, do Christmas up proper. 🎄 www.tatler.com/article/the-...

Wordle 1,649 5/6 🟨🟩⬛️⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛️ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Words like this drive me bonkers.

This is what will break me. Christ on a bike. Swansea, whose logo is a black swan, had been my team for years. ⚽️ Now Snoop and Martha are putting down their tainted dollars for the Swans? Ugh. Gross.

As a teenager I was in a world-renowned marching band in Ontario. It means that I've marched in just about every Santa Claus and Christmas parade there is in southern Ontario. My favourite parade was always Niagara Falls, ON. The weather was always mild & the parade route was epic. 1/

This is *the* Christmas gown. The entire Advent calendar was a ruse to discuss this gown. It is the entire box of fancy bonbons. I don’t get the beaded head scarf, either, but costume designers shall do their thing, as they are paid so to do. (Could have been a capelet with a fur-lined hood...)

Politics in Alberta seems to take its operational tone from the mafia.

The world needs this woman, her life story, her family, and her kindness. She's an absolute blessing. 🎄⭐️

How is it that Andrew Davies hasn't yet been honoured with a knighthood? Perhaps I've just been watching too many Jane Austen adaptations (it would have been her 250th birthday last week), the best of which are by Mr. Davies.

I still think it should have been Nadia Theodore. Not the first time a super (over) qualified Black woman is passed over for a middle-aged white dude club member who resigned from his gig after shagging his workmate. Won't be the last time. Club: BlackRock. AIMCo. CPPIB. But *merit*, right?

You know, "merit".

Let’s go back in time, five years, to be specific. This article in the @calgaryherald.com was published on October 23, 2020. I was appointed a commissioner with the Calgary Police Commission just four days later, on October 27, 2020. 1/ calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

For those that receive my Christmas letter, here are a few more details on reindeer and caribou for your edification. 🦌

‘Soup’ was a slang term for drugs that were injected into a horse to make it run faster. A racehorse that was on PEDs was said to be ‘souped up.’ We now use the term to refer to anything that is enhanced.

Was 2025 the year that business retreated from net zero?

www.bbc.com/news/article... Quote: ""This isn't just about having women being the driving force and building the technology, but this is about building technology that benefits everybody," [Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon] said."

Just in case you missed this little report... CBSA for the first time in their history finally has the expectation of civilian oversight & a public complaints process, but hasn't gotten around to doing all the things yet. They've had an entire year. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Quote: "Canada has been boycotting American spirits since March in retaliation for President Trump’s ongoing trade war and U.S. whiskey sales to that country are down by more than 60% through October." Boycotts are still effective. ✊🏾

Interesting. A Katherine Hepburn worn costume features twice on the Christmas Movie Dress Advent Calendar. Kind of like having two salted caramel chocolates in the 24 day run. Nice.