Peter Coffman

Ottawans describe ‘scary night’ in Puerto Vallarta resort amid cartel violence There is a shelter in place order in Puerto Vallarta after violence erupted between the Mexican army and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Ottawa residents Carolyn Percy-Searle and Craig Searle are i...

Among those locked down in Puerto Vallarta are @craigsearle.bsky.social and his wife Carolyn. be safe, friends!
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

I find this encouraging, for resaons I outline here:
carleton.ca/aah/2026/ai-...

AI in the University Classroom - Art and Architectural History Today’s university students have to ask themselves a stark question: do they merely want to get a degree, or do they also want to get an education? By

We’re heading into the home stretch of the academic year, and my thoughts – reluctantly but unavoidably – turn to AI. In this post, I think out loud. Feedback and suggestions are very welcome.

#EduSky

carleton.ca/aah/2026/ai-...

These pics are of my conversation with the Google AI app on this search. My part will be marked with a "Q:" for question, and its will be an "A:" for answer. Q: what comedy show used the recurring line "Bong! start again!" as a gag? A: The recurring line "Bong! Start again!" was a signature gag in the British comedy series The Benny Hill Show. The line was typically used by Benny Hill himself to interrupt a sketch that was "going wrong" or becoming too absurd, often while playing a flamboyant or incompetent director or interviewer. After the loud "Bong!" sound effect and the command to restart, the scene would immediately reset to the beginning with the actors attempting to play it "straight" again, only for the same or a new comedic mistake to occur. Are you looking for a specific sketch where this was used, or would you like to see other famous catchphrases from the show?

I'm like most of us: grappling to understand this "AI" thing and just what it is and isn't…

Today I had this enlightening encounter that really helped in this. I'm going to capture it here as my own record, but also for others who may learn from it too.

I was trying to trace a joke punch line… /1

A steep, wooded hill with a winding, picturesque staircase is partially lit by warm, evening sunlight and viewed from across a calm body of water. Text reads: “My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth’s loveliness i Michelangelo”.

View across Paddy’s Lake from Wintergreen Studios, near Westport, Ontario.
#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

I’ve toyed with the idea of compiling some of them as a book. Working title “A Portrait of Canada in Ten Buildings.”

I’d include far more than 10 buildings, but each of the ten would be the starting point for the exploration of a theme with wider implications.

The spirit and culture of every nation can express itself in many ways. Film, media, sport, music, broadcast, literature, history, politics, religion, ethics, social norms, consumerism, art, language, dialect, and yes very much architecture. Viva Canada! One of the richest in spirit and culture.

Thanks Marta!

Hello Friendoes. Happy Friday. I released song 8 of 10 from my album “Geographics” today - it’s called “Atlantic Ocean Love Explosion” and it’s based on my heart being magnetized to Nova Scotia and PEI when things get heavy. 💚Hope ya dig! Listen/Preorder: graven.bandcamp.com/album/geogra...

Sure is! And kudos for getting there – it takes some effort and commitment, but it’s well worthwhile.

Dawson City's Enclave of Power - Art and Architectural History Dawson City, Yukon. By Peter Coffman If I say “Dawson City”, you may think “Gold Rush! Canada’s wild west! The land of Sam McGee and Dan McGrew!” That’s

carleton.ca/aah/2024/daw...

Bridging the Gulf of Incomprehension - Art and Architectural History Dawson City and the Yukon River. By Peter Coffman During his one and only Klondike winter, writer Jack London (of Call of the Wild fame) contracted

carleton.ca/aah/2024/bri...

Dredging for Dollars - Art and Architectural History By Peter Coffman Imagine a stream cascading down a mountain, winding through a lush forest of evergreen and deciduous trees, full of moose, elk, caribou,

carleton.ca/aah/2024/dre...

‘Possession’, ‘Ownership’, and Tr'ochëk National Historic Site - Art and Architectural History The Tr’ondek Hwech’in fishing camp of Tr'ochëk once stood on the flat land in the left middle-ground, where the Yukon and Klondike Rivers converge. By

carleton.ca/aah/2024/pos...

Vacation in Canada, eh? 2: Haines Junction, Yukon - Art and Architectural History Haines Junction, Yukon We have good reasons to choose Canadian vacation destinations these days. And we have great destinations to visit – especially if

In honour of #YukonHeritageDay, I’ll post some links to blogs I’ve written in the past about Yukon architecture.

Strange things done, indeed….
carleton.ca/aah/2025/vac...

There are strange things done, in the midnight sun.... Here, an architectural tale. 🐺 😀

A modern wooden building front echoing the silhouette of a traditional long house, with an open entrance bay in the centre. Two large medallions with indigenous painting adorn either side of the entrance.

A long, low, flat motel sits in the foreground with snow-covered mountains forming the backdrop.

An ambitious but decrepit Classical building with a four-bay facade is boarded up. Formerly bright yellow paint flakes off of the ornate Classical surfaces and ornament, which is made of pressed tin.

A disused mining dredge sits in the background, behind the ‘tailings stacker’ (the conveyer that spits tailings out after the dredging process) which thrusts into the foreground.

Happy #YukonHeritageDay!

And such a rich heritage it is.

👇 Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre (Whitehorse), Lucky Dragon Motel (Haines Junction), Bank of Commerce (where Robert Service worked, in Dawson), Dredge #4 (Near Dawson). Every building, every place has scores of stories to tell.

The Remains of Holyrood Abbey
Edinburgh, Scotland
May 2025
#ScapeDay
#Landscape
#TravelPhotography
#UrbanLandscape
#Nature #Photography
#Outdoor #Art
#OutdoorPhotography
#LandscapePhotography
#PhotographersOfBlueSky
#EastCoastKin

Homes: How Canada got built New book traces evolution of Canadian architecture from early colonial log cabins to major urban centres

"'Canada has never had a comprehensive national guide for architectural styles,' Mikel explains"

Well, except for "A Guide to Canadian Architectural Styles” by Shannon Ricketts, Leslie Maitland & Jacqueline Hucker. And the Parks Canada Architectural Styles Series.🤷‍♂️
ottawacitizen.com/life/homes-h...

Homes: How Canada got built ottawacitizen.com/life/homes-h...

Sounds like they want to demolish the building and still be able to claim that they didn’t demolish it. The double-think required corners them into coming up with phrases like “improved activation”.

A new murder mystery is born….

True. Problem is, it wasn’t meant to be.

See Trump’s Latest White House East Wing Designs The plans submitted by the White House include more windows, a new garden and an asymmetrical pathway.

I’ll tell you what the latest design shows: it shows that no one involved has even a rudimentary understanding of the principles of Classical design. To them, it's not about harmony and proportion; it's just bling carved in stone.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

To (slightly) paraphrase Oscar Wilde:

“To lose one caucus member, Mr. Poilievre, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness.”

And:

“He’s heard some 'nightmare stories' about kids going out and 'buying fancy watches...'”

Which means he thinks that:

a) ‘Kids’ still wear watches, and

b) They actually think they’re status symbols, rather than what you use if you’re old or can’t afford a phone.

‘Man of the people’ indeed.

Ford tells students to not pick 'basket-weaving courses' in wake of OSAP cuts | CBC News Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over cuts to OSAP grants Tuesday, telling them to "not pick basket-weaving courses" and to invest in education that gives students i...

I teach ‘idea-weaving’. It’s not on Ford’s approved list, but it’s the most practical skill a human being can have.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

View through a six-pane window of a broad wharf, surrounded by several wooden industrial buildings and silhouetted equipment. On the left is a riverbank, and behind is trees and mountains. Everything glistens with water and fog shrouds the distant mountains.

#WindowsOnWednesday

North Pacific Cannery, near Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

Ford tells students to not pick 'basket-weaving courses' in wake of OSAP cuts | CBC News Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over cuts to OSAP grants Tuesday, telling them to "not pick basket-weaving courses" and to invest in education that gives students i...

I teach ‘idea-weaving’. It’s not on Ford’s approved list, but it’s the most practical skill a human being can have.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Ford tells students to not pick 'basket-weaving courses' in wake of OSAP cuts | CBC News Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over cuts to OSAP grants Tuesday, telling them to "not pick basket-weaving courses" and to invest in education that gives students i...

Irony is in 10 years there’ll likely be more jobs teaching traditional crafts to seniors—occupational therapy—than coding jobs or most careers parents urge their kids into. The best advice you can give a kid today is “The job you’re going to have probably doesn’t exist yet so study what you love.”