Thanks Barbara Liotscos for the shareThe following information DOES NOT constitute legal advice in either the US or Canada. The message below is “heads up” only. A warning from DIANA BUTLER BASS AUG 07, 2025 There’s a letter making the rounds on social media from my friends in the UCC (United Church of Christ in... Continue Reading →
Adolph Hitler congratulates Albert Speer Albert Speer was Hitler’s architect. His designs embodied Hitler’s racist vision of a perfect and dominant society, efficient, powerful, and white. Speer’s ghost now lurks in the corridors of Trump’s White House, itself built as a mansion for a president and never a palace like Hampton Court or Versailles. Trump’s... Continue Reading →
Bill Cunningham at work (and play) Two photographers, one living, one no longer with us, documenting our world, brilliantly. It has been some time since I have blogged on photography. It has been however one of my priorities since launching takenote.ca. Today however, I return to photography. Two recent news articles highlight the work of... Continue Reading →
UPDATE: No decision yet on some Western Canada concerts including West Kelowna. TYEE article here. Thanks friends from Summerland United Church for the share below. With the support and encouragment of "Christian" churches who should know better, steadily far right ideology is now creeping into Canadian public spaces. Kelowna, BC - Advocacy Canada is expressing... Continue Reading →
Photo composite: KJG Silence in the Face of Gaza’s Starvation is Absolute Betrayal of Holocaust VictimsBy Orit Kamir Shared by Robert Reich Jul 29, 2025 In her childhood, my mother was starved by a dark regime. When the Nazi army occupied Poland and Jews were pushed into ghettos, they were forced to make do with... Continue Reading →
Closed: Trump Admin Officially Shuts Down the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services Source: Trevor News — Jul. 17, 2025 July 17, 2025 – The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has officially terminated the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program. Starting today, contacts who reach... Continue Reading →
Travelling in Nova Scotia last year Kathie and I both enjoyed our visit to Africville, the site of a close‐knit Black community in the north end of Halifax for over 120 years. And I have the T-shirt to prove it. The City demolished Africville in the 1960s, and its residents have been fighting for justice... Continue Reading →
Almost-six-year-old Labradoodle, Juno, is a famed dog blogger. Follow her here for her thoughts on dog park politics and canine pedigree. I was one of eight or so members of a litter of Labradoodles born at a Kamloops area breeder almost six years ago now. MaPaw and PaPaw came up shortly after we were born... Continue Reading →
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, David Brooks gave an answer to a question we are all asking: When will the political chaos in the United States end, and how will that come about? Some place their hope in the 2026 mid-term elections. By that time however congress itself may be so... Continue Reading →
“Imaginative, open-minded and a brilliant musician, the organist and conductor Anna Lapwood is the dream ambassador for classical music.”-- Gramophone The comments range from savour to sour. A recent Facebook post regarding the amazing Anna Lapwood — former director of music at Pembroke College, Cambridge and now resident organist of the Henry Willis organ at... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 