At YYJ, my home airport, a staff member positions suitcases as they tumble onto the belt so they are really easy to pick up. Amazing customer service!
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.
There can't be many people other than me and my friend Keiko, who walk past a display of maple sugar cookies and think of Ricardo Muti.
Another One of Those. But not as bad as yesterday: Wordle 1,864 4/6* ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
If you ever, you know, wonder about Americans, read this and let me know if you think you could identify a similar gathering of people in your native land. I mean, they really are strange, aren't they? Not sure this explains Trump.....https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n11/patricia-lockwood/diary
lrb.co.uk
Tonight I'm watching a performance of Brahms' first piano quartet from the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and as Inon Barnatan follows his part on an iPad I realize that long before the arrival of AI, technology eliminated one job: that of the low or no-paid page turner.
I watched this at Cedric Smith's house on the Harmony Road between Stratford and Tavistock, with friends from the Canadian Place Theatre, Perth County Conspiracy and the Black Swan coffee house.
Philomena Hanson@philomenahanson.bsky.social · 2w agoI was 16! At a Klondike Days house party in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Everyone glued to the tv mid-afternoon. Remember July 20, 1969 well.
My Italian isn't great but as far as I can tell: a jeweller named Ruggero followed three people who had robbed him out onto the street and shot two of them. He was convicted, tried, found guilty and sentenced. He didn't express remorse or beg for mercy. 1/n
Toni Servillo. LA GRAZIA di Paolo Sorrentino. Ed oggi, Presidente Mattarella, "La grazia spetta solo al presidente della Repubblica."
Of course this reminds me of the recent Paolo Sorrentino film LA GRAZIA, with the great Toni Servillo playing a contemporary President of Italy in his final six months of office, considering two pardons. Life imitates art again..... @nickwhithorn.bsky.social, I'm sure you've seen it?
Nicholas Whithorn@nickwhithorn.bsky.social · 3w agoPresident Mattarella summoned Italian Justice Minister Nordio after right-wing politicians, including Nordio, proposed pardoning a jeweller convicted of shooting two men dead outside his shop after they'd robbed it. Mattarella reminded him the power to pardon lies exclusively with the President.
I'm returning to Venice Mar 19 to Apr 2, and will see JENUFA with the great Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury, and several orchestral concerts at La Fenice including one led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. I knew J-P in the 1990s when I was at the Canadian Opera Company and he was MD at the Toronto Symphony.
I snagged a seat at the bar this evening at Lumache, a tiny hard-to-get-in-to restaurant here in Victoria. The bacalà mantecato is delicious, but it's not transporting me back to Venice. Picky, picky.
I'm really hoping England wins on July 19th, in an American stadium during the 250th anniversary celebrations of US Independence.
I just bought two copies of this delightful and informative book. It's the perfect gift for friends who are going to Venice soon. Thank you @robinsaikia.bsky.social for sharing such great advice and wonderful facts!
Terrific book. Once you understand that La Serenissima operated on credit, from the Merchants of Venice to the poorest of citizens, while Christians were forbidden to engage in usury, the dependence on the Jewish community - no matter how reluctant - makes complete sense. OK. It took me a while.....
Somewhere there is a photo of me in Venice in 1971, aged 24, wearing a pink Pucci print dress and standing on the staircase of an interior courtyard. Aside from the magic of Venice, what I remember is absence: no credit cards, no Euros, no crowds of tourists, no temperatures higher than 30C+.
A friend in London found a book for me to add to my Venice collection.
I'm seeing op-eds saying Andy Burnham is a nice guy and a great politician, but the UK needs a lot more than that to solve its problems, starting with the impact of Brexit. Is it time for a technocrat? A Mark Carney or Mario Draghi, willing to make tough decisions because they're not chasing votes?
This is a really sobering fact check. It was 25C in Victoria today and HOT. I've been in Rome in 31C and it was REALLY HOT. I cannot imagine being anywhere - humid, dry, whatever - at 41C and not wanting to curl up under a wet blanket and wait for the temperature to drop. A lot.
Abbey@abbeyarletto.bsky.social · last mo.When reality surpasses fiction! Top: fictional forecast for August 2050, broadcast by French TV in 2014 to warn about the consequences of global warming. Bottom: Real French forecast for yesterday, June 22, 2026.
My daughter and son-in-law were at the US vs Australia game today, while I watched on FOX. (Didn't spot them in the nosebleeds, though.)
Manuel Veth@manuelveth.bsky.social · 2mo agoCanada yesterday with their historic win over Qatar, the US today against Australia. These results are massive for the sport on this continent. I had my doubts about this World Cup. But I think the hype is finally here.
My friend John Allison is the editor of OPERA magazine, and in the August edition he writes about opera and AI under the title "Artistic Intelligence." I particularly like his concluding sentences: 1/n
Pasta, olive oil, grated pecorino Romano and ground black pepper. Can there possibly be an easier, tastier pasta recipe? Supper in minutes!
And in March 2015 the great violinist James Ehnes premiered the violin Concerto written for him by JNH.
Dan Sheehan@dansheehan.memyon.org · 2mo ago🧵 Happy 75th birthday to rock musician, arranger and film score composer James Newton Howard. From Elton John to Barbra Streisand. PRETTY WOMAN to THE HUNGER GAMES His career has been both long and noteworthy. A versatile, gifted composer and musician. 1/9 #filmsky #moviesky #musicsky #BOTD 👇
I'm very much looking forward to reading Philip's latest Venetian mystery. Thank you @pgjonesvenice.bsky.social for not abandoning Nathan!
Looks like Georgia Meloni has learned to accompany President Mattarella in these expressions of support and sympathy - although I'm not sure who the gents are in the photo. tg24.sky.it/politica/202...
Auto su folla a Modena, Mattarella e Meloni in visita. Le reazioni
Leggi su Sky TG24 l'articolo Modena, la Lega attacca. Piantedosi: “Disagio psichiatrico”. Mattarella e Meloni in visita
tg24.sky.it
Of course, in 2024 the EU just filed his massive report and recommendations on a shelf to gather dust.....
Elaine Calder@calderbennett.bsky.social · 3mo agoDraghi speaks out again: www.politico.eu/article/mari...
Draghi speaks out again: www.politico.eu/article/mari...
Draghi: Europe is ‘truly alone together’ in the age of Trump
The continent needs to change rapidly in a world where the U.S. has become “more adversarial and unpredictable” and “may no longer guarantee our security,” says European gra…
politico.eu
"Not the work but the timing" is something I've heard a couple of times now as planned productions of plays and operas meet with protest. Symphonic and chamber music performances get off scot free.
London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 3mo ago‘It was refreshing to speak with a group of 𝘒𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 protesters who had actually listened to the work and read the libretto: the opera wasn’t bad, they said; the timing was.’ @oliviagiovetti.bsky.social on Luca Guadagnino’s new staging in Florence. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ma...