Weekly Report: January 6th - January 12th 2025
The Week in Summary:
- Monday was the last day of the winter break. I used it as an opportunity to get my mullet refreshed and relax a bit more. That being said, it was difficult to relax with the news of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation dominating the headlines.
- As far as the work week is concerned, it was a fairly calm return to work on Tuesday. On Thursday, however, the science centre had a staff holiday party hosted at the Calgary Zoo. There was a dinner buffet, table wine service, and sweet treats for dessert. Taylor and I stayed with our dear friends (you know - the usual suspects) a bit later than most folks with good conversations and dancing for the evening.
- For the weekend, Taylor and I stayed at home most of the time. We did a bit of a cleaning, played Age of Empires IV, and I listened to Timothy Garton Ash's Homelands: A Personal History of Europe. On Sunday morning, Alexis joined us for a walk to the Elbow River and lunch at Ship & Anchor.
- Also, I bought Elden Ring on the Playstation 5 (Avery, thank you for the PS5) and I have been playing the hell out of that again. It's just that fucking excellent.
- This week has been exhausting with the news inspiring a reinvigorated mission to fervently doomscroll through BlueSky and my news apps. As the threat of "economic force" amplified throughout the week, President-Elect Trump continued sabre-raddling and put into question the very legitimacy of Canadian sovereignty (not to mention the sovereignty of Panama and Greenland). This escalation really kicked off on Monday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing his intention to resign as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (as well as the beginning of a Liberal Party leadership content slated for March 9th). In any case, the threats against Canada has ushered in a bit of a national reflection into who we are as a nation and where our continental future is heading.
- This week has also been focused on the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the wildfires spreading throughout the city. The apocalyptic imagery has been quite alarming and it has set-off my climate anxiety in a big way. Though, I'm proud of the international crews supporting the disaster response, especially our Canadian firefighters.
The Week in Images:
The Week in Links:
Jean Chrétien
"And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow." - Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien
Matthew Green
"By contrast, a new, republican model of democracy sees government as an activity that is continuously exercised by free and equal citizens. Democratic citizens must participate in making the decisions that shape their lives, at home, at work, in public, and in their society — in their cities, provinces, and country. As much as possible, these decisions should be made through public deliberation and mass participation." - Matthew Green MP for Hamilton Centre
Evan Scrimshaw
Stephen Marche
"No strategy is sophisticated enough to protect political and economic elites if ordinary people see “spectacles and violence” as legitimate paths to political change and cheer when an unsuspecting father is murdered on the street. The burning is under way; that much is already clear. As faith in democracy decays, the result is radical unpredictability. Lighting fires is easy. But no one can say how far and how wide they will spread, or whom they will consume, or when." - Stephen Marche
Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, Matt Simon