Elaine Calder
@calderbennett.bsky.social
Retired. Used to manage arts organizations: orchestras, theatres and an opera company, in both Canada and the US. Working on my Italian, in part by visiting Venice once or twice a year and studying at the Leonardo da Vinci Centre in Victoria, BC.
I will always remember Pete's explanation of why no one gets a third term abortion unless something is terribly wrong. "They've chosen the name, painted the baby's room, bought the diapers......." He speaks in terms that we can all understand and respond to.
Pete Buttigieg would be a good DNC spokesperson.
He would do a GREAT job of going around the country, being on TV all the time, and putting out Dem messaging on EVERY issue.
He would be an excellent counter-Leavitt. And we NEED one. He should be holding regular press conferences and putting
He would do a GREAT job of going around the country, being on TV all the time, and putting out Dem messaging on EVERY issue.
He would be an excellent counter-Leavitt. And we NEED one. He should be holding regular press conferences and putting
November 23, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I will always remember Pete's explanation of why no one gets a third term abortion unless something is terribly wrong. "They've chosen the name, painted the baby's room, bought the diapers......." He speaks in terms that we can all understand and respond to.
It was a bit of a surprise to go to the opera in Montréal and be introduced to a PQ member of Québec's National Assembly. We chatted briefly about the party's plans for another referendum and a new currency in 10 years time. And now, JENUFA!
November 23, 2025 at 12:29 AM
It was a bit of a surprise to go to the opera in Montréal and be introduced to a PQ member of Québec's National Assembly. We chatted briefly about the party's plans for another referendum and a new currency in 10 years time. And now, JENUFA!
In 2003, when Donald Rumsfeld famously said "Stuff happens" he was talking about widespread looting in Baghdad and the inevitable, untidy cost of freedom. Today, when Donald Trump said "Things happen" he was talking about the murder and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist.
November 19, 2025 at 3:02 AM
In 2003, when Donald Rumsfeld famously said "Stuff happens" he was talking about widespread looting in Baghdad and the inevitable, untidy cost of freedom. Today, when Donald Trump said "Things happen" he was talking about the murder and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist.
"Things happen."
In case folks forgot what happened, Khashoggi entered a Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get a document so he could get married while his fiancée waited outside. He never left because he was murdered and dismembered with a bone saw inside the building. The US intel community said MBS ordered it.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 19, 2025 at 2:32 AM
"Things happen."
Who needs Christmas? The West Wing returns to Netflix on December 9th: seven seasons of sanity, integrity and public service in the Oval Office.
November 18, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Who needs Christmas? The West Wing returns to Netflix on December 9th: seven seasons of sanity, integrity and public service in the Oval Office.
Years ago when I switched from my blackberry to an android phone, I used to talk about learning to type on glass. Now I'm back in Montreal during several days of very early snow, learning to walk on ice again.
November 12, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Years ago when I switched from my blackberry to an android phone, I used to talk about learning to type on glass. Now I'm back in Montreal during several days of very early snow, learning to walk on ice again.
I'm sure we've all received texts from these scammers, but until I read this article I had no idea of the scale of the enterprise - or the cruelty.
‘Most scammers have themselves been scammed. The tens of thousands of Chinese, Ethiopians, Ugandans, Filipinos, Pakistanis and others who carry out the grunt work have been tricked, kidnapped and enslaved.’
@alexclapp.bsky.social on industrial-scale scamming.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@alexclapp.bsky.social on industrial-scale scamming.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Alexander Clapp · Pig Butchering: Scam Gangs
If it were a national economy, cybercrime would be the third largest in the world, behind only the United States and...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I'm sure we've all received texts from these scammers, but until I read this article I had no idea of the scale of the enterprise - or the cruelty.
Ugh. I turned on MSNBC and there was Gordon Sondland trashing Zohran Mamdani. Sondland gave DJT $1 million and got himself appointed ambassador to the E.U., and then spent more than half a million of taxpayers' money lavishly renovating the ambassador's residence in Brussels. (But no ballroom.)
November 4, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Ugh. I turned on MSNBC and there was Gordon Sondland trashing Zohran Mamdani. Sondland gave DJT $1 million and got himself appointed ambassador to the E.U., and then spent more than half a million of taxpayers' money lavishly renovating the ambassador's residence in Brussels. (But no ballroom.)
If I lived in NY I'd really want to believe he can deliver on his many promises. He can't. Not all of them are within his authority to do so. But I'd vote for him anyway, hoping he can bring at least some improvement to the lives of many people in the city.
أنا اسمي زهران ممدان وعم رشّح حالي لأكون العمدة الجديد في مدينة نيويورك
November 1, 2025 at 10:24 PM
If I lived in NY I'd really want to believe he can deliver on his many promises. He can't. Not all of them are within his authority to do so. But I'd vote for him anyway, hoping he can bring at least some improvement to the lives of many people in the city.
I'm in Montréal for the month and my essentially transactional French is working fine. But it's been decades since I lived here and it doesn't come as instinctively as Italian does now, so I'm using far too many "permesso"s and "grazie"s. I remain in awe of people who speak many languages fluently.
November 1, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I'm in Montréal for the month and my essentially transactional French is working fine. But it's been decades since I lived here and it doesn't come as instinctively as Italian does now, so I'm using far too many "permesso"s and "grazie"s. I remain in awe of people who speak many languages fluently.
What everyday items can't you find in Italy? Well, I always bring a small bottle of Canadian maple syrup to Venice for @monicacesarato.bsky.social.......
What are some of the surprising everyday items that you can’t find in Italy? What are the things you only learn after moving here? And what’s going on with the customs rule holding up shipping between the US and Europe? Find out in our latest Americans in Italy newsletter.
Americans in Italy: What you learn after moving and surprising things to bring from the US
What are some of the surprising everyday items that you can’t find in Italy? What are the things you only learn after moving here? And what’s going on with the customs rule holding up shipping between the US and Europe? Find out in our latest Americans in Italy newsletter.
www.thelocal.it
October 22, 2025 at 4:20 PM
What everyday items can't you find in Italy? Well, I always bring a small bottle of Canadian maple syrup to Venice for @monicacesarato.bsky.social.......
My friend Greg Ewer playing the theme from Schindler's List outside the ICE offices in definitely-not-war-torn Portland, Oregon. www.instagram.com/reel/DPfpUZl...
blazakr on Instagram: "The Theme from Schindler’s List #resist #ShowMeYourHellhole #portlandoregon #portlandoregon #ICE #AntifascismView all 153 comments"
The Theme from Schindler’s List #resist #ShowMeYourHellhole #portlandoregon #portlandoregon #ICE #Antifascism
www.instagram.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:09 AM
My friend Greg Ewer playing the theme from Schindler's List outside the ICE offices in definitely-not-war-torn Portland, Oregon. www.instagram.com/reel/DPfpUZl...
Sometimes you go out to hear an internationally regarded pianist play Beethoven 109, 110 and 111 and you spend the evening desperate to get home and listen to Steven Osborne. www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beeth....
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas Opp 109-111 (Steven Osborne)
I was much looking forward to getting...
www.gramophone.co.uk
October 8, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Sometimes you go out to hear an internationally regarded pianist play Beethoven 109, 110 and 111 and you spend the evening desperate to get home and listen to Steven Osborne. www.gramophone.co.uk/review/beeth....
It's too bad that after the many years of often inspired and always intelligent leadership of Fortunato Ortombina,that things at Teatro La Fenice have become more than a bit operatic of late:
lhttps://lespresso.it/c/cultura/2025/9/26/beatrice-venezi-teatro-fenice-venezia-protesta-orchestra/57196
lhttps://lespresso.it/c/cultura/2025/9/26/beatrice-venezi-teatro-fenice-venezia-protesta-orchestra/57196
L’orchestra della Fenice contro la nomina di Beatrice Venezi: “Non ha il curriculum, chiediamo la revoca”
Il comunicato degli orchestrali attacca il sovrintendente Colabianchi: “Modalità irricevibili. Venezi non all’altezza della storia della Fenice”. Nel frattempo
lespresso.it
September 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
It's too bad that after the many years of often inspired and always intelligent leadership of Fortunato Ortombina,that things at Teatro La Fenice have become more than a bit operatic of late:
lhttps://lespresso.it/c/cultura/2025/9/26/beatrice-venezi-teatro-fenice-venezia-protesta-orchestra/57196
lhttps://lespresso.it/c/cultura/2025/9/26/beatrice-venezi-teatro-fenice-venezia-protesta-orchestra/57196
When a friend is over the moon twice and you can't share his news yet, but you know what you'll be doing, and where, in the month after your 80th birthday, well, sometimes there's hope and happiness in this increasingly depressing world.
September 26, 2025 at 12:53 AM
When a friend is over the moon twice and you can't share his news yet, but you know what you'll be doing, and where, in the month after your 80th birthday, well, sometimes there's hope and happiness in this increasingly depressing world.
My nephew said this afternoon that he's worried that Charlie Kirk's murder may have the same impact as the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. While this is an alarming thought, it's reassuring to have a nephew who has studied and remembers history.
September 21, 2025 at 9:36 PM
My nephew said this afternoon that he's worried that Charlie Kirk's murder may have the same impact as the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. While this is an alarming thought, it's reassuring to have a nephew who has studied and remembers history.
Reposted by Elaine Calder
Cruise ships Anthem of the Seas & Norwegian Joy are here to administer a 29 hour dose of toxic emissions — equivalent to 99,789 semi-trucks idling in Victoria — today alone. It would be against the law if my neighbor had 1 truck idling in front of my house, never mind thousands. #yyj #climatecrisis
September 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Cruise ships Anthem of the Seas & Norwegian Joy are here to administer a 29 hour dose of toxic emissions — equivalent to 99,789 semi-trucks idling in Victoria — today alone. It would be against the law if my neighbor had 1 truck idling in front of my house, never mind thousands. #yyj #climatecrisis
The 4 room hotel I've found in Cannaregio has several advantages besides supporting a Venetian: no bridges to cross to the Ca' d'Oro stop; close to Boccadoro, Bacanera, Il Sbarfelo and Bepi Antico; and no gondoliers singing O Sole Mio beneath my windows. It's on a quiet alley near Santi Apostoli.
September 12, 2025 at 1:07 AM
The 4 room hotel I've found in Cannaregio has several advantages besides supporting a Venetian: no bridges to cross to the Ca' d'Oro stop; close to Boccadoro, Bacanera, Il Sbarfelo and Bepi Antico; and no gondoliers singing O Sole Mio beneath my windows. It's on a quiet alley near Santi Apostoli.
@caroline-venezia.bsky.social There's also "Live by the sword, die by the sword."
I just saw a comment that said "I don't support what happened to Charlie, but Charlie supported what happened to Charlie."
THAT ... that's what I've been trying to put into words.
THAT ... that's what I've been trying to put into words.
September 12, 2025 at 12:24 AM
@caroline-venezia.bsky.social There's also "Live by the sword, die by the sword."
The victims were an American Orthodox Jewish couple and the perpetrators, who shouted "Free Palestine" as they attacked, appear to be of North African origin. There are always armed guards in the Ghetto Nuovo, where the Holocaust memorial is located, but this took place on the busy Strada Nova.
Three people have been arrested after an attack on two tourists in Venice this week, local police said on Thursday as Italian politicians condemned the incident.
Three arrested after attack on Jewish tourists in Venice
Three people have been arrested after an attack on two tourists in Venice this week, local police said on Thursday as Italian politicians condemned the incident.
www.thelocal.it
September 11, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The victims were an American Orthodox Jewish couple and the perpetrators, who shouted "Free Palestine" as they attacked, appear to be of North African origin. There are always armed guards in the Ghetto Nuovo, where the Holocaust memorial is located, but this took place on the busy Strada Nova.
I read this news and cancelled the apartment I had booked for two weeks next March. Instead I found a small, 4 room hotel in Cannaregio that seems to be owned and managed by Venetians. I'm not virtue signaling, but it's good to know you can find affordable hotel rooms, at least in March.
As you may know, the population of Venice has been decreasing for years, but now, for the first time, the population in the historic center of Venice has fallen below 48,000
#photography #venice #travel #landscape #italy
#photography #venice #travel #landscape #italy
September 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
I read this news and cancelled the apartment I had booked for two weeks next March. Instead I found a small, 4 room hotel in Cannaregio that seems to be owned and managed by Venetians. I'm not virtue signaling, but it's good to know you can find affordable hotel rooms, at least in March.
And Toni Servillo in the black tie won the Volpi award for best actor for his role in Paolo Sorrentino's LA GRAZIA.
The 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival concluded on Saturday with its awards ceremony. Here are the winners from the 21 films in the main competition.
Winners of the 82nd Venice Film Festival
The 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival concluded on Saturday with its awards ceremony. Here are the winners from the 21 films in the main competition.
www.thelocal.it
September 7, 2025 at 4:25 PM
And Toni Servillo in the black tie won the Volpi award for best actor for his role in Paolo Sorrentino's LA GRAZIA.
Toni Servillo. A great theatre and now film artist, wins Best Actor Volpi award at the Venezia Film Festival. I can't wait to see this film - in Italy in March if it hasn't been released in N. America by then. www.vanityfair.it/article/toni...
Toni Servillo vince la Coppa Volpi al Festival di Venezia 2025: «Ammiro chi si è messo in mare per raggiungere la Palestina e portare un segno di umanità»
Con La Grazia di Paolo Sorrentino, l’attore conquista il premio per la migliore interpretazione maschile. Sul palco della Sala Grande il suo ringraziamento diventa un appello politico e umano
www.vanityfair.it
September 7, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Toni Servillo. A great theatre and now film artist, wins Best Actor Volpi award at the Venezia Film Festival. I can't wait to see this film - in Italy in March if it hasn't been released in N. America by then. www.vanityfair.it/article/toni...
Sometimes amid the clutter you think I'm really glad I saved this photo.
September 2, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Sometimes amid the clutter you think I'm really glad I saved this photo.
I have to see this film, which received a lengthy ovation at the Venice Film Festival and is getting great reviews:
August 29, 2025 at 6:45 PM
I have to see this film, which received a lengthy ovation at the Venice Film Festival and is getting great reviews: