Elaine Calder
@calderbennett.bsky.social
Retired. Used to manage arts organizations: orchestras, theatres and an opera company, in both Canada and the US. Working on my Italian, in part by visiting Venice once or twice a year.
I love that this tiny - actually not so tiny - 19th century house has been preserved in Montréal. It's on Drummond St, south of Sherbrooke West, behind the Ritz Carlton.
September 25, 2026 at 2:59 AM
I love that this tiny - actually not so tiny - 19th century house has been preserved in Montréal. It's on Drummond St, south of Sherbrooke West, behind the Ritz Carlton.
And I'm back! My very non-student apartment in the McGill student ghetto, a block from where I lived in the late 60s. I'm here for a month to see friends, go to concerts, plays and galleries, and walk! Fall in Montréal is gorgeous, and right now the weather is perfect.
September 21, 2026 at 11:31 PM
And I'm back! My very non-student apartment in the McGill student ghetto, a block from where I lived in the late 60s. I'm here for a month to see friends, go to concerts, plays and galleries, and walk! Fall in Montréal is gorgeous, and right now the weather is perfect.
Reposted by Elaine Calder
There needs to be Consumer Protection laws in Canada as well. AI chatbots for Customer Care for phone and internet are a nightmare. Hours are spent just trying to get past a bot. @telussupport.bsky.social @mark-carney.bsky.social @wadegrant.bsky.social
September 21, 2026 at 11:10 PM
There needs to be Consumer Protection laws in Canada as well. AI chatbots for Customer Care for phone and internet are a nightmare. Hours are spent just trying to get past a bot. @telussupport.bsky.social @mark-carney.bsky.social @wadegrant.bsky.social
Mark Carney speaks of the oak tree at Ettersberg that Goethe loved, and how just over a hundred years later, the Buchenwald concentration camp was built around it. This makes me wonder if he has read Jeremy Eichler's TIME'S ECHO. The Prelude of this great book is titled "In the Shade of the Oak."
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
September 17, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Mark Carney speaks of the oak tree at Ettersberg that Goethe loved, and how just over a hundred years later, the Buchenwald concentration camp was built around it. This makes me wonder if he has read Jeremy Eichler's TIME'S ECHO. The Prelude of this great book is titled "In the Shade of the Oak."
@pgjonesvenice.bsky.social, do you know how many people are waiting for a picture of you and Mimi snuggled up on the sofa?
September 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM
@pgjonesvenice.bsky.social, do you know how many people are waiting for a picture of you and Mimi snuggled up on the sofa?
I just asked Google how much I should expect to pay for single tickets over the subscription rates at Teatro La Fenice, and got a detailed, logical reply - the first time I've found AI to be truly helpful.
September 7, 2026 at 7:39 PM
I just asked Google how much I should expect to pay for single tickets over the subscription rates at Teatro La Fenice, and got a detailed, logical reply - the first time I've found AI to be truly helpful.
Venetian twig broom, photo by Jerry Ubysz, and Vietnamese coconut broom bought by me in Victoria, BC. (No tariff paid....)
September 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Venetian twig broom, photo by Jerry Ubysz, and Vietnamese coconut broom bought by me in Victoria, BC. (No tariff paid....)
I bought this broom to sweep the leaves off my patio. It reminds me of the twig brooms used early in the morning by the street cleaners in Venice, but it's made of coconut and comes from Vietnam. There was a lovely note enclosed, thanking me for supporting their handiwork and their community.
August 29, 2026 at 5:36 AM
I bought this broom to sweep the leaves off my patio. It reminds me of the twig brooms used early in the morning by the street cleaners in Venice, but it's made of coconut and comes from Vietnam. There was a lovely note enclosed, thanking me for supporting their handiwork and their community.
In April 2025 my American son-in-law was in a group that skiied 800 km across the Arctic, from the border of Finland and Russia to the Norwegian coastal town of Narvik. At the end of the trip he wrote about the Finnish concept of sisu: 1/n
August 24, 2026 at 3:34 PM
In April 2025 my American son-in-law was in a group that skiied 800 km across the Arctic, from the border of Finland and Russia to the Norwegian coastal town of Narvik. At the end of the trip he wrote about the Finnish concept of sisu: 1/n
If a time comes when Mark Carney tells us it's in Canada's best interest to buy American wine and liquor, I'll purchase a bottle of bourbon and some Oregon pinot noirs. Until then, I don't care what American products are on the shelf at BC Liquor, because I'm not buying them.
August 20, 2026 at 5:53 PM
If a time comes when Mark Carney tells us it's in Canada's best interest to buy American wine and liquor, I'll purchase a bottle of bourbon and some Oregon pinot noirs. Until then, I don't care what American products are on the shelf at BC Liquor, because I'm not buying them.
@caroline-venezia.bsky.social, you may find this article by David Runciman interesting. I certainly did.
www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...
www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...
A dream of Cambridge
The university’s place in the public imagination is as illusory as Jason Arday’s academic credentials
www.newstatesman.com
August 18, 2026 at 4:58 AM
@caroline-venezia.bsky.social, you may find this article by David Runciman interesting. I certainly did.
www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...
www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...
At YYJ, my home airport, a staff member positions suitcases as they tumble onto the belt so they are really easy to pick up. Amazing customer service!
August 1, 2026 at 8:05 PM
At YYJ, my home airport, a staff member positions suitcases as they tumble onto the belt so they are really easy to pick up. Amazing customer service!
There can't be many people other than me and my friend Keiko, who walk past a display of maple sugar cookies and think of Ricardo Muti.
July 31, 2026 at 6:58 PM
There can't be many people other than me and my friend Keiko, who walk past a display of maple sugar cookies and think of Ricardo Muti.
Another One of Those. But not as bad as yesterday:
Wordle 1,864 4/6*
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Wordle 1,864 4/6*
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July 27, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Another One of Those. But not as bad as yesterday:
Wordle 1,864 4/6*
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Wordle 1,864 4/6*
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If you ever, you know, wonder about Americans, read this and let me know if you think you could identify a similar gathering of people in your native land. I mean, they really are strange, aren't they? Not sure this explains Trump.....https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n11/patricia-lockwood/diary
www.lrb.co.uk
July 23, 2026 at 1:39 AM
If you ever, you know, wonder about Americans, read this and let me know if you think you could identify a similar gathering of people in your native land. I mean, they really are strange, aren't they? Not sure this explains Trump.....https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n11/patricia-lockwood/diary
Tonight I'm watching a performance of Brahms' first piano quartet from the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and as Inon Barnatan follows his part on an iPad I realize that long before the arrival of AI, technology eliminated one job: that of the low or no-paid page turner.
July 22, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Tonight I'm watching a performance of Brahms' first piano quartet from the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and as Inon Barnatan follows his part on an iPad I realize that long before the arrival of AI, technology eliminated one job: that of the low or no-paid page turner.
I watched this at Cedric Smith's house on the Harmony Road between Stratford and Tavistock, with friends from the Canadian Place Theatre, Perth County Conspiracy and the Black Swan coffee house.
I was 16! At a Klondike Days house party in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Everyone glued to the tv
mid-afternoon. Remember July 20, 1969 well.
mid-afternoon. Remember July 20, 1969 well.
Buzz Aldrin is photographed by Neil Armstrong on the moon hours after Apollo 11 landed, 57 years ago tonight, July 20, 1969. 🇺🇸
It is believed 650,000,000 people were watching the landing on television.
Buzz is now 96 years old
It is believed 650,000,000 people were watching the landing on television.
Buzz is now 96 years old
July 21, 2026 at 4:16 PM
I watched this at Cedric Smith's house on the Harmony Road between Stratford and Tavistock, with friends from the Canadian Place Theatre, Perth County Conspiracy and the Black Swan coffee house.
My Italian isn't great but as far as I can tell: a jeweller named Ruggero followed three people who had robbed him out onto the street and shot two of them. He was convicted, tried, found guilty and sentenced. He didn't express remorse or beg for mercy. 1/n
July 18, 2026 at 1:11 AM
My Italian isn't great but as far as I can tell: a jeweller named Ruggero followed three people who had robbed him out onto the street and shot two of them. He was convicted, tried, found guilty and sentenced. He didn't express remorse or beg for mercy. 1/n
Toni Servillo. LA GRAZIA di Paolo Sorrentino. Ed oggi, Presidente Mattarella, "La grazia spetta solo al presidente della Repubblica."
July 17, 2026 at 1:10 AM
Toni Servillo. LA GRAZIA di Paolo Sorrentino. Ed oggi, Presidente Mattarella, "La grazia spetta solo al presidente della Repubblica."
Of course this reminds me of the recent Paolo Sorrentino film LA GRAZIA, with the great Toni Servillo playing a contemporary President of Italy in his final six months of office, considering two pardons. Life imitates art again..... @nickwhithorn.bsky.social, I'm sure you've seen it?
President Mattarella summoned Italian Justice Minister Nordio after right-wing politicians, including Nordio, proposed pardoning a jeweller convicted of shooting two men dead outside his shop after they'd robbed it. Mattarella reminded him the power to pardon lies exclusively with the President.
Mattarella riceve Nordio: “La grazia spetta solo al presidente della Repubblica”
Il capo dello Stato ha incontrato al Quirinale il ministro della Giustizia
www.repubblica.it
July 17, 2026 at 12:50 AM
Of course this reminds me of the recent Paolo Sorrentino film LA GRAZIA, with the great Toni Servillo playing a contemporary President of Italy in his final six months of office, considering two pardons. Life imitates art again..... @nickwhithorn.bsky.social, I'm sure you've seen it?
I'm returning to Venice Mar 19 to Apr 2, and will see JENUFA with the great Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury, and several orchestral concerts at La Fenice including one led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. I knew J-P in the 1990s when I was at the Canadian Opera Company and he was MD at the Toronto Symphony.
July 14, 2026 at 4:33 AM
I'm returning to Venice Mar 19 to Apr 2, and will see JENUFA with the great Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury, and several orchestral concerts at La Fenice including one led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. I knew J-P in the 1990s when I was at the Canadian Opera Company and he was MD at the Toronto Symphony.
I snagged a seat at the bar this evening at Lumache, a tiny hard-to-get-in-to restaurant here in Victoria. The bacalà mantecato is delicious, but it's not transporting me back to Venice. Picky, picky.
July 12, 2026 at 12:42 AM
I snagged a seat at the bar this evening at Lumache, a tiny hard-to-get-in-to restaurant here in Victoria. The bacalà mantecato is delicious, but it's not transporting me back to Venice. Picky, picky.
I'm really hoping England wins on July 19th, in an American stadium during the 250th anniversary celebrations of US Independence.
July 9, 2026 at 11:17 PM
I'm really hoping England wins on July 19th, in an American stadium during the 250th anniversary celebrations of US Independence.
I just bought two copies of this delightful and informative book. It's the perfect gift for friends who are going to Venice soon. Thank you @robinsaikia.bsky.social for sharing such great advice and wonderful facts!
July 5, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I just bought two copies of this delightful and informative book. It's the perfect gift for friends who are going to Venice soon. Thank you @robinsaikia.bsky.social for sharing such great advice and wonderful facts!