Tag Archives: history

Map Monday: Exploring International Francophonie Day and the francophonie in Canada in maps (and words)

I bet most of you didn’t know that March 20 is International Francophonie Day. Or even what it is! Established in 1970, UNESCO describes the Francophonie as a coming together of nations and states that celebrates the cultural and linguistic … Continue reading

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Map Monday: Shifting borders and power structures are nothing new

One of the main targets of our February Decluttering Challenge is our very healthy collection of books. In perusing what books I might convince myself to part with this past week, I came across two little gems that had been … Continue reading

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At this inflection point in history, compassion has to stand its ground

A recent opinion piece by Eileen Chadnick in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper caught my eye: Humanity, connection, and compassion – the keys to bringing staff back to the office successfully.  It reminded the reader of what we already know … Continue reading

Posted in History and Politics, Leadership | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Big city living vs small city living, similarities and differences

I grew up – a very long time ago – 38 miles from New York City.  My Dad and all the others dads left the suburbs by carpool or train every morning and commuted into the “City” to work, every … Continue reading

Posted in History and Politics, Life stories | Tagged , , , , , , | 30 Comments

If I could turn back time – for peace, for love, …, for dinosaurs?

At the beginning of this year I accepted a challenge from fellow blogger John Persico, who writes the thought-provoking blog, Aging Capriciously.  I committed to writing on 3 topics of John’s choosing, and in return he’d write on 3 that … Continue reading

Posted in History and Politics, Just wondering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 57 Comments

Fleeing Ukrainians – why does it never stop?

When we think of paintings by the famous French painter Mark Chagall (actually Russian-French), we typically think of his dreamlike themes and brilliant use of colour.  Always imaginative.  Often free-floating. But he also painted powerful paintings that didn’t dance and … Continue reading

Posted in History and Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 34 Comments

Map Monday: this sovereign nation called Ukraine

As the world watches in horror as a megalomaniacal tyrant re-enacts what our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived through in Europe in the last century, it’s impossible to contemplate writing about anything but the travesty – the evil – that … Continue reading

Posted in History and Politics, Map Monday | Tagged , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Map Monday: Population growth – and shrinkage – over the millenia

We all know – well, most of us know – that the human species has roamed the Earth for a very long time. A fascinating interactive population map at Our World in Data provides us with lots of data to … Continue reading

Posted in Map Monday | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments