Jun 15, 20215 Nonfiction Books to Read this Indigenous History Month…or any month — I’m going to begin with a caveat: I am 1) not Indigenous and 2) not an expert on this topic. However, I was born in Canada and I move freely on the traditional lands of many Indigenous nations. I’m also curious, and that curiosity led me to books, like it…Indigenous5 min read
May 9, 2021Five Things I Learned Last WeekSheikh Jarrah, The FOLD, etc. — It has been a long time since I’ve written one of these. It’s not that I’ve stopped learning. It’s just that between trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to make things happen, and everything feeling very much “the same” all the time, I didn’t really feel like publishing. Peer pressure brought me back. …Palestine4 min read
Dec 14, 2020Children’s Picture Books by Black Canadian WritersAfter returning to writing and delving into publishing this fall, I started looking for community. I realized I didn’t know many Black Canadian writers, or children’s books that dealt with the experience of living in Canada. Since it’s gift-buying season for many people, I thought I’d put together a list…Black Writers9 min read
Dec 12, 2020Five Things I Learned This WeekFrench Caribbean Shattas, Framing Canada, etc. — Before getting into it this week, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who wrote me with interesting new things to explore/learn about/check out. Usually I get to the weekend and I’m squeezing out this writing, slowly and painfully. This week, my cup runneth over, so thank…Caribbean6 min read
Dec 5, 2020Five Things I Learned This WeekOn NOTAmazon, Soy vs. Soya, Poisoned Antilles, Pero de Buen Rollo & Some Guy Named Audubon — Not-Amazon.ca It’s not Amazon, and it’s ingenious. Some brilliant soul created www.not-amazon.ca — a local guide to small businesses in Toronto, Halifax and Calgary. The landing page for the Toronto section says: “Everyone in here is a very important and very dreamy small business in Toronto and the GTA offering…Amazon5 min read
Nov 29, 2020Five Things I Learned this WeekOn Copyright, Black Books, The Big Five, Somali Skincare & Indigenous Art — 1. Copyright is Automatic under Law As I’ve been working towards publishing my first children’s book, I’ve learned a fair bit about what goes into bringing a book to market (I mentioned one of those things in my last Five Things post). One day I’ll write about all the things I’ve learned in one post, but…Publishing5 min read
Nov 20, 2020Five Things I Learned this WeekOn First Nations, French, Diamonds, ISBNs & Roasting — 1. Wasaya Airways: Indigenous owned and operated I returned to Canada from Colombia in July, and in August, I decided that my fall reading would be focused on the First Nations and their (coughcolonialcough) relationship with the Canadian government. The books I’ve read so far are Understanding First Nations by Ed Whitcomb, A Mind Spread Out on…Isbn6 min read
Jun 6, 2020Books for Trying TimesSome years ago, I worked with someone I knew from our days at university together. Truthfully, I didn’t know him very well when he joined the team, but by the time I left, I considered him to be a close friend. Our friendship developed over a series of lunches. We’d…Books4 min read
Jan 26, 2020The Case for CaliAs the world’s travel radar expands to include Colombia, I keep seeing the same cities pop up on these “Where to Go” and “What to See” lists. Many tourists looking for a short trip opt for Cartagena and its beaches up along the Caribbean coast. …Travel4 min read
Oct 1, 2019Diary of a 1 Month VegetarianMy one month vegetarian challenge began like most of my challenges do –with me running off my mouth. I was chatting with a coworker/friend at a work mixer. He was a nose-ring-and-visible-tattoo-having, former-vegan-turned-vegetarian, and the topic was food. We joked that vegans and vegetarians had a look, and he pointed…Vegan5 min read
