Rob Weinert-Kendt November 6, 2026 in America: The Jesuit Review “Apperceptive mass” is a fancy psychological term for the way our prior experience colors our perceptions. I first heard it back in film school as a useful critical concept to explain our evolving relationship with movie stars: the way a Tom Cruise or a Denzel... Continue Reading →
I don't know about you, but I think we all need to listen to our “happy song” even when we are not happy. It could lighten our day. My own happy song, “Gentle on my mind” performed by Molly Tuttle is my goto music. Filmed at the Augusta Heritage Center's Bluegrass Week the center of... Continue Reading →
A Guide to What We’ll Know on Election Night, Hour by Hour By Nate Cohn in the New Work Times daily letter Today, the voters will have the final say on the 2026 election. But as has so often been the case in recent years, we might not learn their verdict on election night. To... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray] When I hear the word Ceilidh memory takes me to three different places. First to the movie Local Hero to the scene where Russian fishermen arrive and a Ceilidh is planned for the town hall. To say that "a good time is had by all" understates the scene. Another experience occurred when Kathie... Continue Reading →
Both authors, Louise Penny and Barbara Kingsolver, are doing the rounds of book festivals and online broadcasts presently. I will say something about Louise Penny later, but for now, my focus is on Barbara Kingsolver whose recent novel, Partita intrigues and delights me. A classically trained pianist herself, Kingsolver opens up the world of aspiring... Continue Reading →
The cello in the image above IS NOT the instrument featured in this the video below. While similar, it is a later instrument housed in Musical Instrument Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts. With apologies, no pre-US Midterm election claptrap today. No Alberta politics. No AI grumbles. Today, something quite different, very much... Continue Reading →
So here’s the good news. Great effort and tremendous expense are not required to create beautiful photographic images. A high school friend has just returned from a majestic trip to Iceland. I would love to follow in his steps but circumstance and funds do not presently allow for such travel. A professional friend from Kamloops... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray - In my never-ending quest to anticipate the needs and interests of my newborn grandson, Jack I was delighted to discover Ms. Rachel (Rachel Accurso) who uses her fame from her educational YouTube videos to be a passionate advocate for children’s rights. Admittedly, for me, two hearings of each episode will likely be... Continue Reading →
Public Sadism -- Trump’s and Hegseth’s barbaric decision to live-stream an execution -- Robert Reich, Substack, Oct 09, 2026 Friends, Cruel enough that the United States is going to put someone to death by firing squad, but only sadists would want it broadcast livestream. Yet that’s what Pete (“High Testosterone”) Hegseth is planning. He confirmed... Continue Reading →
Ansel Adams (1902–1984) was a renowned American artist and one of the most influential landscape photographers of the 20th century. He is best remembered for his stunning, high-contrast black-and-white images of the American West, particularly the wilderness of Yosemite National Park. Adams was a master of technical precision. In 1932, he helped form Group f.64,... Continue Reading →
