David Macfarlane

Split City. Thanks old twitter pals, but this place is just too awful. Ciao.

#OTD in 1996, Carl Sagan died: 27 years without Carl «When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me ― it still sometimes happens ― and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don't ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous-not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance. That pure chance could be so generous and so kind. That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time. That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful. The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don't think I'll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful». ― Ann Druyan

@StephenKing Yet another reason to like Stephen King

“I have expanded the protocol of guest preparation to include putting examples of dreadful design away — as away as possible without involving flames.” From the December issue: An essay by @DBMacfarlane on putting things away, especially bad design. reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2023/…

Brilliant 😂

if art critics talked like football pundits

begin your weekend here

Ever the optimist

That Beatles video is really something

POV: your flatmate is a Scottish news reporter

Just when there has never been a greater need for deep reporting, stylish writing and original journalism, the Banff Centre cancels its renowned Literary Journalism program. A serious loss and an idiotic decision. To say nothing of the loss of @charlotte_gill

New record coming Oct 19 on Bandcamp, ‘Bloom.’ Kevin Breit and Don Rooke with David Piltch. dig only

Who knew trucks backed up so much?

Traffic horrible. TTC hopeless. But by foot or by crook get yourself across Toronto to The Master Plan at Crow’s Theatre. Bravi to the whole company and Bravo @healeytypes #TheMasterPlan

@michaelwinter34 Hate to say it, but the best blueberry pie I’ve ever had is a Martha Stewart recipe

would help fund a professional development conference for the blueberry pie industry whose mandate is the eradication of cornstarch thickeners that turn blueberry pie filling into tasteless sweet pudding

The trees are very Blow Up right now

Anyhow, please read for big questions about Power and Democracy or for a small scene in which Mark Saunders awkwardly attends Bangladesh Festival 2023, thank you. thelocal.to/olivia-chow-to…

Robert Gottlieb, publishing giant and longtime editor of biographer Robert Caro, died yesterday. In our Summer issue, Eric Wills writes about a film by Gottlieb’s daughter that portrays Gottlieb, Caro, and the grand old art of editing. theamericanscholar.org/get-me-rewrite…

Breaking. I don’t think that word (Breaking) means what you think it means

One of those great Canadian spring evenings when your beer gets colder as you barbecue