Tonight, a short respite from politics

I must say, I am feeling discouraged tonight:

– Poilievre went on Joe Rogan and Canadian media just ate it up. Then Poilievre gave a tone-deaf statement about what a great time he had in the United States! Christ, what an asshole!
– on Thursday we found out that Ayla Lucas, a seven-year-old autistic Canadian girl, is trapped, with her mother at the ICE Gestapo facility called Ursula- the Rio Grande Valley Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas, where she is “wrapped in a mylar space blanket, sleeping on a floor mat, subjected to 24-hour lights, noise, overcrowding” No word on what Canada might be doing to get her out.
– Danielle Smith is trying to turn MAID into Alberta’s next anti-Ottawa controversy.
– Carney posted a joint statement today from Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan about “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait”, so I am worried now about whether Trump and Israel and the Gulf states are going to drag us all into their damned Iran War. On Thursday evening’s The Rest Of the World post, Martinez says

…Seven nations signed Thursday. None committed forces. The joint statement is being presented in Washington as progress. Internationally, it is being read as the strongest form of “not yet” that diplomatic language allows…

So its time to take a little breather:

We don’t appreciate trees enough.

– The Culturist

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Old London Bridge was the longest inhabited bridge in Europe, considered a wonder of the world. It had 138 shops and houses, even a church built on it. It was demolished in 1831.

You cannot help but marvel at the old world sometimes. Bring back living bridges.

– Beauty Matters

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The most beautiful library in the world

– James Lucas

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The Inconspicuous Consumption substack, by Paul Lukas reminds me of Reddit’s Mildly Interesting page. It is deeply goofy but surprisingly fascinating:

When it comes to one-pound boxes of salted and unsalted butter sticks, salted sticks usually come in a blue wrappers and unsalted in red wrappers. Many brands match those colors on their box designs, which seems intuitive and sensible (see first photo), while other brands do the opposite, pairing red box graphics with blue wrappers and vice-versa, which seems confusing and counterintuitive (second photo).

How did blue and red become the default wrapper colors for salted and unsalted butter? Why would a brand choose not to match the box colors to the wrapper colors? And why are there a few brands that use a completely different color system?

I recently undertook an epic investigation into those questions. It features dozens of butter packaging photos, several painstakingly assembled tables/charts, and insight from industry experts. An obsessive’s delight!

https://www.inconspicuous.info/p/a-very-dairy-mystery-the-colors-of

– Paul Lukas

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I was today year’s old when I discovered the Depths of Wikipedia account on Bluesky:

just two monks and a dream

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— depths of wikipedia (@depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social) February 9, 2026 at 2:19 PM

“prohibition in the united states” has this time lapse map that switches from folksy banjo music to ominous industrial sci-fi for the 15 seconds when alcohol was illegal nationwide

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— depths of wikipedia (@depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 6:13 PM

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— depths of wikipedia (@depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social) February 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM

And do you know what makes this a great work of art?

…While critics and historians often guide us toward certain works, aesthetic judgment ultimately depends on direct experience. Philosophers have long argued that hearing others describe beauty cannot replace seeing it yourself. Immanuel Kant observed that even if many people praise a work, the viewer must still confront the object directly in order to judge its beauty. This insight explains why two people can stand before the same painting and react differently. The judgment arises from perception rather than instruction.
The method described here is not meant to replace deeper study of art history or symbolism. Instead, it offers a quick way to recognize whether a painting deserves closer attention. By noticing composition, light, emotion, and narrative, the viewer begins to see patterns that connect artworks across centuries. Renaissance painters perfected balance and perspective. Baroque masters explored dramatic illumination. Romantic artists emphasized emotional intensity and storytelling….

One of the interesting substacks I follow is Hansard Files, which finds and highlights events in Canadian history. Here’s a fascinating post about the Canadian Museum of Human Rights:

Behind the Tyndall stone walls of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, history stepped forward in January 2025.

The exhibition Love in a Dangerous Time opened, documenting Canada’s LGBT Purge. From the 1950s into the 1990s, federal policy erased more than 9,000 careers in the Armed Forces, RCMP, and public service. Investigators spent millions yet found no credible threat to national security.

More than 12,000 visitors walked the gallery in the first two months. A pop-up version began touring the country in August 2024, from Nanaimo to Toronto.

Nearby, the Witness Blanket, legally recognized as a living entity, returned to display in September 2024 after restoration. For a year, Camp Marcedes stood on the museum grounds until the remains of murdered Indigenous women Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris were recovered in March 2025.

Ten years after opening, with 2.25 million onsite visitors recorded, the museum’s report shows buried chapters now fuel public reckoning.

This work ensures every citizen inherits a clearer record of where rights were lost, and how they can still be protected.

– Hansard Files

Read on Substack

Back to the wars tomorrow….

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