July 5, 2020

Hit and Miss #148: Halfway through 2020

Well, here we are. Just over halfway through 2020.

I’m trying to relax, so maybe just a few links.

• The philanthropy-driven not-for-profit sector allows (usually white) funders to impose their views of what “good” community support looks like.
• The economy isn’t truly reopened until schools are (safely!) reopened.
• Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats used to be so, so different, as this high-res aerial photo shows.
• A Star Trek joke about masks? Yes, please! (Sidenote: I rewatched Star Trek VI: An Undiscovered Country on Friday, and am left wondering… did the General Chang character always love Shakespeare, or was that a rewrite after they cast Christopher Plummer for the role?)

Evidently the little time I spent reading online this week was on Twitter… So it goes. But that’s partly because this was a week of reading on paper!

• I finished Susan Orlean’s The Library Book. I enjoyed the history of the library the most—the attempt to relitigate the accused arsonist’s case wasn’t very gripping. I was distracted by how Orlean repeatedly mentioned her discomfort with people who were less financially stable than she (e.g., people experiencing homelessness).
• I’m diving into Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac. The brief chapter on the oak tree in February was assigned for a course I once took on environmental history; I’d wanted to read the rest ever since. So far, a nice intellectual ramble.
• On the table to start are N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season and Christopher Skaife’s The Ravenmaster. The former was recommended by colleagues. The latter was offered by a family friend. Looking forward to both!

That’s all from me for today. All the best for the week ahead!

Lucas