With Apologies to Susan Buck-Morss

Remember in the late 80s and early 90s when everyone was making a big deal about the flaneur? Article after artice that looked for similarities between the shopping mall and Benjamin’s (even then) nostalgic vision of the Paris arcades? I saw this sign today in the underground city, which is a giant, interconnected web of …

Last Night on the Road . . . for less than a week

Tonight’s my last night on the road until next Tuesday (when I take off again for two weeks). There’s much I’d like to blog about but I’ll just post about a couple things for now: 1. One of the pleasures of being in Washington DC with my family is that I always get a few …

More Taxes, More Travel

Following up on my earlier tax post, here’s a tidbit from the conservatives’ budget, as reported in The Smoking Section. Sound familiar, Americans? Speaking of smoking sections, a guest informed me tonight that one can order smoking cabs in Montreal. So we ordered her a smoking cab. I wonder if the smoking ban will affect …

Ottawa Theory

I’m here in Ottawa while Carrie attends a meeting of the Law Commission of Canada. The plan was to hang out in the hotel room and write, but the reality is that I’m more in sit-somewhere-and-read-and-wander-around mood. And so I have. Yesterday, while waiting to cross the canal on Rideau St., I got stuck in …