u/ipini

Admittedly this restaurant was in a complete backwater town in British Columbia, but how is it that chicken and fish are often considered vegetables?

So I was reading this excellent article by Crystia Freeland, former minister in the Canadian federal government:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/opinion/canada-trump-tariffs-south-park.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1FA.2neJ.ekWRUb8RLb6t&smid=url-share

The opinion piece is entitled: "You aren't going to like what comes after America"

At the end she mentions that her title comes from a Leonard Cohen poem called "What is coming"

I looked it up. He wrote it in 2003. And, wow. Just entirely prescient. Here it is:

what is coming
ten million people
in the street
cannot stop
what is coming
the American Armed Forces
cannot control
the President
of the United States
and his counselors
cannot conceive
initiate
command
or direct
everything
you do
or refrain from doing
will bring us
to the same place
the place we don't know

your anger against the war
your horror of death
your calm strategies
your bold plans
to rearrange
the middle east
to overthrow the dollar
to establish
the 4th Reich
to live forever
to silence the Jews
to order the cosmos
to tidy up your life
to improve religion
they count for nothing
you have no understanding
of the consequences
of what you do
oh and one more thing
you aren't going to like
what comes after
America

Here's a link to the text: https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-what-is-coming-21603-annotated

Anyone with any information about it looks cool. If it works when I put a battery in, I’ll get a band and wear it. I’d love to know when it was made, and what the original band may have looked like. Thanks.

I figure I’ll complete the course in two or three months. Then I plan to go back and “legendary” everything in Sections 7 and 8, which might take another several months.

Am I “fluent” now? No, but…

Can I function pretty well in French? Yes! I know that I still sound like a young kid when I speak, but I can communicate. I can read novels intended for adults. I read a lot of my news in French media (La Presse, Journal de Montréal, Radio Canada). I listen to Radio Canada and understand most of it. I can watch movies and shows, but French subtitles still help when they get talking too fast and/or colloquially. And I write emails to Québécois colleagues, using a grammar checker. But most of the time my grammar is 95% correct anyhow.

Have I only used Duolingo? No, but it is a regular part of every day and it has been helpful. I also (as per above) use various forms of comprehensible input. I have taken a university course. And I have a weekly session with a tutor. And I’ve traveled to Québec several times for business and pleasure.

Is Duo useful? Yes. And more so if you use the paid version. But the key — Duo or otherwise — is consistent, daily effort. Duo + input + tutoring sessions mean that I’m immersed in French about two or even three hours a day in average.

Where do I see myself in a year or two at this pace? Probably pretty close to what most people would consider fluent. I.e. fully competent and comfortable in a French-only setting.

Just enjoying a beautiful afternoon with one of my best furry friends and my LX1.

I opened Duo to a message that lessons had shuffled. When I too a closer look it turns out it only goes to 128 now, as opposed to 130 previously.

Are there still as many lessons despite the drop in units? Is this some preparation for C1 material (please!)?

The non-auto transportation modes consist of walking, cycling, public transit, motorcycle, and taxi/rideshare

Our Ioniq5 meets a new Ioniq6 friend.

…two days later. 2024 AWD long range.

(But the grammar has sure ramped up!)