“Both Ireland and the English Caribbean were settled disproportionately by people of south-west and western England,” Devonish says, adding: “The similarities in vowels and intonation may be a result of that shared origin.” www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ma...

Increasingly, the toughest task for potential host cities is convincing skeptical local residents that the long-term benefits of an Olympic Games outweigh the steep up-front costs. #Olympics #Calgary #WorldSport www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

This is a hugely important story: everyone concerned with learning and truth should read it. Presented with prompts about a lesser-known turn-of-the-last-century composer, an LLM produces a nice, clear readable evaluation of her Symphony No. 1 - which DOESN'T EXIST. Everything is made up. 😵‍💫

Found this great piece on misheard words and phrases while looking up the old “knowledge is power, France is bacon” story (after a Grauniad article today mentioned “times in memorial”). The videos at the end are really worth watching too. thehabit.co/knowledge-is...

I have a difficult and unresolved relationship with Chopin, but it's his birthday today, so. His first Ballade. There's nothing like it on earth. An unforgettable narrative, an adventure really . Cannot even process what it must be like to play. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj06...

Shedding a small Torontonian tear as I walk down the main street of Montreal hearing the unmistakable honk of the truck that signals drivers to move their cars before the plows arrive or risk being towed. That’s how you know Montréal’s superior snow clearing is coming.

After the name of the Tumbler Ridge shooter was made public, ChatGPT discovered the shooter had opened a second account, after the first account was banned last June for violating the company’s violent activities policy.

Please do read the Globe and Mail's Mark MacKinnon's @markmackinnon.bsky.social powerful and absolutely clear-sighted essay on 4 years of war in Ukraine (free link). www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/46e1a3e...

Craig McMorris commented on waking up at 4am for covering snowboarding.. so I knew he was in Toronto.. felt he did a great job.. he was a bit quiet during his brothers run but it was very understandable given the circumstances

My colleague @simonhoupt.bsky.social with a reality check about the CBC's coverage of the closing ceremony...

In the UK: "Cottaging" is a British gay slang term for engaging in, or cruising for, anonymous sexual activity with other men in public toilets (often referred to as "cottages" or "tea-rooms").

"For people in the UK or the US, 'cottage' brings to mind a small country dwelling, but in Canada, the term 'cottage' means 'holiday home' – often a second or rented residence in a rural or lakefront area where Canadians head ... to escape the bustle of urban life." www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

OpenAI had a meeting with the BC govt the day after the Tumbler Ridge killings but didn't reveal that it had suspended the shooter’s account months earlier due to its violent content. The company waited until the next day to reach out to the RCMP. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/c0f8440... gift link

SCOOP: Alberta Health Services destroyed roughly half of the children's medication imported from Turkey, paying $718,000 to dispose of the hazardous waste. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

“He’s there,” she said. “We found him.” Remarkable how museum cross-referenced Robert Capa's photos with US army film records and uncovered footage of the great war photographer in action during the liberation of Paris in 1944. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

here you go

Two men sentenced to prison in fraud in the multimillion-dollar public-private partnership redevelopment of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital. Former chief admin officer Vas Georgiou gets 5 years. John Aquino of Bondfield Construction, gets 7 years. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Est-ce que Terrebonne va décider si le gouvernement libéral de Mark Carney devient majoritaire? Réponse : oui. 168 députés + Matt Jeneroux + 2 circonscriptions sûres de Toronto (démissions de Bill Blair et Chrystia Freeland) = 171. Ça prend 172 élus pour une majorité à Ottawa.

That time a Canadian prime minister wrestled down a protester by grabbing him by the neck. Sunday was the 30th anniversay of Jean Chrétien's Shawinigan Handshake. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMBJ...

Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto per Archi in Sol "La Rustica" - Concerto per la Pace - I virtuosi italiani Associazione Amici Chiesa del Carmine youtu.be/RO7zA1Wqz0E?...

“Why do you hate dates and times??? Did a date or time kill your mother???? Is that why I have to spend my one wild and precious life trying to figure out when 23 weeks ago was????” — Me if I ever meet a UX designer at a party.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/a... Spinning now, his recording of the Chopin Nocturnes.

Evening Dusting. #Toronto #Streetcar #Photography

Ô soir, aimable soir, désiré par celui Dont les bras, sans mentir, peuvent dire: Aujourd'hui Nous avons travaillé! — C'est le soir qui soulage Les esprits que dévore une douleur sauvage, Le savant obstiné dont le front s'alourdit, Et l'ouvrier courbé qui regagne son lit.

I’ve never heard anything like the vigil at Tumbler Ridge tonight: the mayor, Indigenous leaders, BC’s premier and lieutenant governor, the governor general and prime minister of Canada, even the leader of the opposition, speaking from the heart for all of us. No pretense or politics, just love.

The closest the gun licensing process comes to examining any risk posed by other family members is Y/N Q on application form: “Do you know if you have ever been reported to the police or social services for violence, threatened or attempted violence, or other conflict in your home or elsewhere?”

At least seven people were killed in a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge Secondary in northern British Columbia ... The suspected shooter, as well as two other individuals found in a residence connected to the incident, are also dead, bringing the total to 10. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/briti...

1. Remigration: it's in the works. Americans with French-Canadian names are asking for proof of an ancestor in Rimouski's registry, so they can get a passport. Just in January, Rimouski's archivist had 150 demands. It's happening everywhere in Québec. ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/222...

Four years since I made this...and the doomscrolling has only intensified.

Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, after being convicted on national security charges late last year. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

"Some of Noam Chomsky’s communications with Epstein took place after the Miami Herald published a bombshell story in 2018 ...Valeria Chomsky acknowledged the couple had read that story, but said the couple wasn’t aware of the extent of Epstein’s crimes." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Whew, this new ending to the updated story

Catherine O’Hara… she was great. I always liked her attitude. I hadn’t seen this in years and a fan shared it with me. May her memory be a blessing.

French-language version of 'ink-stained wretches'?

Semafor: "Washington Post CEO resigns, leaving no clear strategy." www.semafor.com/article/02/0...

I love how, in this Far Side strip, the faces of the two dogs are drawn in pretty much the same way -- all it takes is a slight variation in the angling of the eyebrows to change completely how we perceive each animal.

Interesting take on Quebec's 'capitale nationale' -- it's certainly a beautiful city. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

If you read only one piece on the revolting world of the elite male weaponised by Epstein, let it be this one. Outstanding by Amelia Gentleman

When police pound on the door to arrest one of their own. “...your mind goes to one place: my son has been killed in the line of duty. As a police wife and the mother of a serving officer, that fear is immediate and visceral.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Mozart for a cold, snowy morning. Piano Sonata No. 1 in C, K.279 - 1. Allegro. Claudio Arrau www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IvG...

Marty Weil is a legend. He was the last reporter remaining from the Watergate era at the Post. Just an phenomenal old-school metro reporter. They axed him too. Please read this story to honor his tenure at the Post. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...

Seven officers from the Toronto Police Service and one retired officer are among 27 people charged as part of a sweeping investigation into organized crime. One officer is alleged to have passed on addresses and info to organized crime. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot. I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.

Numerous police officers including members of the Toronto Police Service have been arrested in a sweeping probe that involved allegations of drug trafficking and auto theft. York Regional Police have scheduled a news conference for Thursday. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

"Those who were laid off include Caroline O’Donovan, the Post’s beat reporter covering Amazon"

Used to be a lot of great foreign reporting in regional outlets like the Chicago Tribune and Knight Ridder chain papers such as the Miami Herald and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Their writing was vivid, unencumbered with the weighty tone that sometimes afflicted dispatches from the New York Times.