Laurie Grassi

A screenshot of a Facebook post where a person named Andy ask the Well now “What the hell is transgender?” The Royal Canadian Air Force account response with “That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way, Andy. ‘Transgender’ putting describes someone whose gender – who they know themselves to be – doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. It’s not new, and it’s certainly not a fad. People have lived this experience for as long as people have existed; we’re just finally talking about it openly. You don’t have to fully understand it right away, most learning takes time, but we can always start from a place of respect. That’s how decent folks handle things they’re still getting used to.”

Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…

One day in 1982, Michael Tomczyk, who had led the project to develop the Commodore 64, found himself sitting in Jack Tramiel’s office. Tomcyzk had just returned from a trade show in Hanover, Germany. During the course of their conversation, Tomczyk mentioned how impressed he’d been with the Autobahn highway network on the way there. "I built that road," Tramiel told him matter-of-factly. “Jack went on to explain that during World War II as a teenager he had been selected to work on the road gangs,” Tomczyk remembered. “He said that it was one way to survive, because they had to feed the people that did that kind of hard labor, or they wouldn't work. ‘We built good roads,’ he said.” Tramiel had never hidden the horrors in his past. He was proud that he had helped build a better future through Commodore and Atari. However, the longer he lived, the more concerned he became that people would forget what that future had cost. And that which is forgotten can be repeated. "You know," Tramiel said once, "it's hard to believe it really happened. But it can happen again. In America. Americans like to make rules, and that scares me. If you have too many rules you get locked in a system. It's the system that says this one dies and that one doesn't, not the people. That's why I don't hate the German people. Individuals, yes. Rules, yes. But not all Germans.

The latest in my history of home computers is live. Covers the era of Commodore, Atari and Jack Tramiel.

He was a brutal manager. But also an Auschwitz survivor, and that shaped him, and his legit drive to build a better world.

This warning from him hit home, right now.

every.to/the-crazy-on...

Toronto community rallies to protect beloved Lawrence Plaza from redevelopment plans: ‘They become like your family’ Plans for Lawrence Plaza’s demolition and redevelopment were unveiled last year. “We recognize the plaza’s significance, and community engagement remains a priority,” the developer says.

Toronto's planning culture is so broken. Every argument here is backwards. www.thestar.com/news/gta/law...

Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”

Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.

All cats are weird. Each cat is weird in its own cute little way.

Same.

If you’re eating a balanced diet and drinking enough water, you should be fine without, no? Unless, of course, you’re suffering from some undiagnosed problem…

Chiharu Shiota Returns to New York With Innovative Web-Like Sculptures This artist’s work is hypnotic, guiding its viewers through its dream-like atmosphere and into a space in which our minds may wander, transform, and gain new insight.

These installations are beautiful. mymodernmet.com/chiharu-shio...

Is he still president?

Reporter Julie Brown who has been covering the Epstein story for years responds to @stephenasmith’s performative outrage about why Dems (and some Republicans) have made releasing the files an issue

Drimonis: Language issues? Let's ask the guy who speaks more than 20 Steve Kaufmann, a linguist and podcaster, says he's impressed by the level of bilingualism among anglos when he visits his native Montreal.

Love this quote: “Acquiring another language is eminently doable. You’ll only get better. You can’t get worse.” montrealgazette.com/opinion/colu...

Two pages apart in the @thestar.com : 9 year old killed by driver of SUV jumping curb, and Ontario bans speed cameras. Yes they are related, because Doug Ford inculcates a culture that the world is made for drivers, but kids and cyclists? Too bad.

What a great day for finding out that a lot of things people thought were conspiracies are actually backed up by emails that are like hey pedo, let us pedo together in pedoland on the second day of the pedo month

This article is utterly damning for the New York Times and also for Vanity Fair and ABC, whose editorial teams were apparently intimidated into silence by a mix of legal and violent threats. Virginia Giuffre did not stand a chance against all this.

Cover of Jessica Au’s novel Cold Enough for Snow.

Now reading.

He is so uncultured that he truly has no understanding of what she meant.

Alert: I will soon be buying a panettone.
Just thought you all should know that.

Or don’t use AI.

Blood does remember blood—and causes untold damage—in ways we don’t always understand. Here’s a story for you to read in the lead-up to this Remembrance Day.

Great idea!

This is the best!
As is this quote from his mother: “Life without art is not life.”

You can do it! PS Love your reviews.

Rebels Post Videos of Mass Killings in Darfur as the World Watches After the fall of El Fasher to the R.S.F., observers fear for the next target in the war.

It’s hard to overstate the scale of death in Darfur. “These are people being shot in the back and shot while they’re trying to escape. It’s as bad as it could possibly get,” a former Africa analyst for the C.I.A. said. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/g4dHaA

We’re on a roll! What should we go after next?

Life is too short to drink crappy tea.

Doug Ford quietly kills Toronto’s green roof bylaw Since the bylaw came into force in 2009, more than 1,200 green roofs have been installed across the city.

The Province kills Toronto's Green Roof Bylaw and is threatening the Toronto Green Standards. Removing cities' powers to set requirements above the building code is ridiculous... Ontario is huge and you shouldn't have the same requirements in Toronto and Kenora.

The kitten distribution system at work! You are now the proud mother of cats! 😊

Reposting for the morning crowd.

If there’s one thing you need to do this weekend, this is it.

More marble, less food.

I never heard of Farrell and her story before, and it’s brilliant. Also: Toronto!