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I haven't been doing very well on my New York exploring . I've decided I'm going to visit one place on my NYC To-Do list each week (weather permitting). Starting today. We're spending the day with a teenage niece, and I'm planning on finally seeing the inside of the Merchant House Museum . I've been walking past it for more than 20 years, but its odd hours never coincided with my desire to take a peek.

Loyal reader Nick pointed this out: The deadly Asian earthquake may have permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation, shortening days by a fraction of a second and caused the planet to wobble on its axis, U.S. scientists said Tuesday. and says Jesus Fucking Christ! An earthquake can change the planet on a global scale? ... Kind of reminds you we all share this big lump of rock hurtling through space doesn't it. I find this earthquake/tsunami event absolutely stunning. Many progressive bloggers are complaining about the media coverage, but I find nothing exceptional. CNN reporting that "celebrity vacations were shattered" was surreal, though predictable. But mostly it's been a lot of individual stories, which illustrate the vast numbers and make them real, which in turn motivates viewers to donate. There are the usual local angles (people killed from one's own country), the science info, the "could it happen here" scare stories. Carping about the f...

There was good news on the hawk front this morning. About 45 minutes after the scaffolding was removed from the cradle that will - we hope - support their new home, both Pale Male and Lola arrived. They flew over and around the site for about 10 minutes. Observers said it was clear the birds were checking out the new design. Everyone is hopeful that they will roost. pale male inspects the renovation

There's a lot of misinformation out there about Canadian immigration. (Why would this be the exception?) Based on current law: 1. Americans who emigrate to Canada do not lose their Social Security benefits. Assuming George W Bush doesn't lose all our savings in the stock market, if you emigrate, you will be entitled to the same benefits had you not left the country. At retirement age, you will also collect the Canadian version of Social Security. Canada will subtract the amount of your US Social Security from your Canadian cheque. 2. Similarly, under current laws, American 401(k)s and IRAs will be accessible upon reaching retirement age. 3. Taxes are paid based on residency and where the work is performed. As a Permanent Resident of Canada, I will not pay US taxes. Canada and the US have tax-agreement laws that generally prevent double taxation. There are exceptions, but they are rare. 4. Canada has not announced that it will refuse refuge to American draft resistors if a draf...

Excellent letter in today's New York Times : To the Editor: "2004: The Year in Pictures" (Dec. 27) includes a picture of flag-draped coffins of soldiers in a cargo plane, captioned, "Pentagon restricts images of troops killed in action returning to the United States." Of all the deceitful actions taken by the Bush administration with this war, this is perhaps the most shameful - that the men and women who died, obeying the headstrong plans of their leaders, are hidden from the public eye to avoid any more criticism of the war. How cowardly can you get? But then what do you expect from leaders who, when they were young, went to every effort to avoid service to their country? Thomas Crowley Chapel Hill, N.C. Dec. 27, 2004 * * * R.I.P. Jerry Orbach. As an avowed "Law & Order" addict, I will miss the wise-cracking, never bigoted, recovered alcoholic, grieving father, and tough old softie Lennie. Orbach had a terr...

Today the death toll from the tsunamis is put at 70,000. I'm trying to imagine what a crowd of 70,000 people looks like. While I'm exercising my imagination, I'll envision the United States sending a contingent of its under-used military to South Asia for disaster relief and rebuilding. If the US wasn't wasting so much money and people-power to make the world safe for Halliburton, think of what could be accomplished.

It's weird, isn't it, to be blogging about our own little lives, while at this very moment, people are suffering on an almost imaginable scale? Of course, people were suffering yesterday, in Darfur, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in... take your pick. Any of our neighbors or friends, or we ourselves, might be enduring a personal tragedy that eclipses all else. But when a disaster occurs on this scale, the numbers so huge, too numbing to truly take in, how do we process it? What does it mean to say more than 40,000 humans are dead, millions more at risk for disease, millions homeless? We'll write checks, shake our heads, some of us will shed tears. Is there more? * * * * R.I.P. Susan Sontag . A great thinker and writer is gone.

Winter is finally here. Ah, I love the cold weather! So bracing, energizing. Snow becomes inconvenient, living in an apartment with dogs - every walk is a production, before and after. But the cold is great. Snow makes me miss Gypsy. That dog loved winter. She had an amazingly thick double coat, like a wolf's, and she positively blossomed in the cold. Her black eyes would sparkle and her coat seemed to get even thicker and fluffier. Even when she was old and slowing down, when her paws would touch snow, she'd buck and prance around like a puppy.

Courtesy of Redsock : After being criticized for pledging only $15 million for Asian earthquake relief, the US upped that total to about $35 million. That is also roughly what will be spent on Bush's inauguration next month (though private donations will cover most of that cost). Compare that $35 million to the $226 million being wasted every single day in Iraq (650 days and a cost of at least $147,000,000,000) -- or 1/5 of 1% of the total cost of the invasion.

The horrific destruction in South Asia is an extremely personal ordeal for thousands of New Yorkers. I always notice how whenever there is a disaster, be it earthquake or civil war, anywhere on the planet, a community in New York is painfully waiting for news. New York is the global village. Looking at the Star and Globe and Mail this morning, I see it is the same in the Toronto area. I also see Canada is no stranger to the petty local angle. This seems to be universal. "Ten thousand killed in Sri Lanka - two Americans missing!!"

I had dinner with an old friend recently, someone I hadn't seen in nearly 20 years. He considers himself liberal, and he referred to the Democrats as "we". Discussing what "our" strategy for the next election, he focused on getting people as ruthless and politically brilliant as Karl Rove & Co. I didn't say much. (Yes, it happens!) I'm all for axing McAuliffe, that stupid wimp, and Mary-Beth Cahill could have done a better job, though I don't lay a lot of blame at her feet. But talk about re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic! With a Republican-controlled media and key elements of the election system rigged, the Dems can get all the Karl Roves they want, it ain't gonna make any difference. If you believe, as I do, that the 2004 election was fraudulent, and you see how questions about its legitimacy were handled, it's really hard to care who the Democrats hire in '08. You know how hard I worked to help defeat W, so you'll never ...

Several people have written with questions about the Canadian immigration application process. I'm wondering if the application itself might have changed, or if different processing centers use slightly different forms. For example, my new friend Nick from Colorado is waiting for his fingerprints to come back from the FBI. My application, however, instructed residents of the US and Hong Kong to not send anything to the FBI until instructed to do so - that is, if your application makes it that far, they'll tell you its time to run the FBI check. A man from the Bay Area asked about state-issued identity cards. My application called for passports and birth certificates (and marriage certificates, if applicable) but said nothing about identity cards. If you're filling out the forms yourself - which you can do, you do not need an attorney - be sure to read the instructions very, very carefully. Don't rush to get a spot in the queue. The wait is very long anyway - filing a ...

Yesterday in Tribeca, we saw a car with this graffiti on its back window: 927 Fifth Ave Sucks . If you don't recognize the address, it's the ultra-luxury co-op that royally pissed off an entire city by evicting two red-tailed hawks from its eaves. I won't try to recreate the story here; goodness knows there are plenty of places to read about it. The hawks have their own website , there's been at least one book written about them, the story has garnered international attention , as well as the focus of gossip columnists who helped unmask the people behind the selfish decision. Thanks to organized protest , general public outcry, and the intervention of both the Audubon Society and the NYC Parks Department, Pale Male and Lola can again roost in peace. And some of the wealthiest people in Manhattan won't live in dread of an errant twig falling on their heads. As of today, the birds haven't come home, but they've been seen in Central Park, and everyone seem...

We never made it to the movies, but we had a lovely New York day, and today I'm filled with the goodbye-New-York blues more than ever. First, excellent dim sum at HSF in Chinatown, which was packed with both Chinese families and (apparently) Jewish families. All I can say is thank goodness there's a huge Chinese population in Toronto. After dim sum, we wandered around the part of Chinatown that used to be Little Italy. Little Italy these days is really just a few restaurants hanging on as the area grows increasingly Asian, mostly (I think) Vietnamese. It's cool to see the transition. I love the shops in Chinatown, the big jars of ginseng and dried fish, the tea shops and bakeries. Though the best Asian food in NYC is now in Queens, the city's original Chinatown is still thriving. I had heard of a hotel bar and lounge that was supposed to be a knock-out - we love hotel bars - so wandered over to Tribeca to check out the Tribeca Grand Hotel (click on Tribeca, then Church...

One last traditional New York Jewish Christmas: Chinese food and a movie. I'm really getting the leaving-New-York blues. Those of you who celebrate this holiday, I hope you have a wonderful day. Lately I've been seeing desk-pounding pieces by right-wingers up in arms because most people now say "Happy Holidays," to be more inclusive, as opposed to "Merry Christmas," which assumes everyone is Christian. Clearly the end of civilization as we know it. Next thing you know, the women will wear pants and the darkies will go to school with our children! One guy called it revisionist history. Actually, it's just the opposite. It's progress.

"Sooner or later," Heng said, and I was reminded of Captain Trouin speaking in the opium house, "one has to take sides. If one is to remain human. from The Quiet American , by Graham Greene

I don't usually post about things like this, but I've just gotten a terrific tip, and I want to share it with as many people as possible. I've mentioned that our Buster is on various medications, some of which are very expensive. Our behaviorist (Buster's shrink) told me about a mail-order pharmacy based in Florida that has the lowest prices in the country. It's called Barrier Island Pharmacy: 800.711.3090 . They have the ugliest website in creation, which makes them look like some fly-by-night operation, but don't be put off. They're completely legit. I spoke to a pharmacist there yesterday. First, he actually answered the phone. A live person, answering the phone! Next, he patiently quoted me prices for each drug I named. The prices were so much lower than what I was paying at Drugstore.com, that I thought I had heard wrong. One medication for which we were paying $40 for 30 tablets was $40 for 100 tablets. Not every price difference was that significan...

Have I mentioned recently that I LOVE my iPAQ?? In case you want to gaze upon her lovely face, here she be . I'd better cut this out or this blog is going to get reeeeally boring. No Canada news yet. Just waiting, waiting, waiting. Dreaming of a townhouse on the Lakeshore line, wondering what it will be like not to celebrate Christmas there (as compared to not celebrating it in NYC). Later . To elaborate, what I'm referring to is the profound sense of alienation I feel this time of year. To be an atheist and a Jew (and not a conspicuous consumer) at Christmastime in the US is truly to be a stranger in a strange land. Even in New York City, with the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, and a very sizeable Muslim population, I am still on the outside, looking in. Since the Toronto area is so wonderfully diverse, and since many people's original cultures don't celebrate Christmas, I'm wondering to what degree Christmas dominates the psychic landsc...

I just (re) started Lolita In Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Once again I am reminded that, especially for women, geography is destiny. Not that I need reminding, it's something I think about all the time. There but for an accident of birth go I. And, since right now all roads lead to iPAQ, I'm thinking of getting the book in ebook form, too. I would leave the paper book at home, where it would stay clean and undamaged, and not add weight to my backpack, and read the digital version on the subway. This means, of course, that I'll want to get a spare battery, which Alan The Handheld Evangelist has advised me to do all along. The lesson here is always listen to evangelists. Not really.

One of the things I value most about being a writer is being able to tell people's stories. I've interviewed a few well known people - Chuck Close , Chamique Holdsclaw and Jean Driscoll come to mind - but usually I write about so-called "ordinary" people, who are well known only to those whose lives they've touched. I've sat across the table or on the phone with dozens of survivors of rape and relationship violence, young women recovering from eating disorders, athletes with disabilities, adopted people, people with disabilities doing interesting and surprising things. Then I've tried to represent their stories to the world, fairly, sensitively, in a way that will educate and not exploit. And, with any luck, in a way that will make people want to read about them. Recently it was my good fortune to meet Brooke Ellison , a brilliant woman who is a high-level quadriplegic. Christopher Reeve, who had the same injury level as Ellison, made a movie about Elli...

Here's how you can.

It figures Blogger.com would have an excellent, simple solution to my mobile blogging issue. It also figures that someone reading my blog would direct me to that solution. I am happy again!

Now why did I think I couldn't try this until I had a wireless connection for my iPAQ? Duh. I'm at work, emailing from my home email account via webmail. Let's see how this works...

Ack! I can't blog on my iPAQ! For some reason, Blogger.com doesn't communicate with Pocket Explorer, the browser on the iPAQ. This means I can't sit in Starbucks with my lovely iPAQ and my T-Mobile Wireless account and blog. I would have to compose a post in Pocket Word, then post it when I'm home and can sync with my desktop. I'm annoyed. Apparently once upon a time there was something called Pocket Blogger, but I don't know if it still exists. I'm investigating. Meanwhile, enjoy this from the Simpsons, courtesy of Uggabugga. (Scroll down a bit.) This is what I thought Redsock would post, but I don't think he ever saw the comment.

Kyle, loyal reader from Ottawa, has a new blog . Check it out!

I'm intrigued by these perceived differences in the provinces. (Read the comments.) Also in these US/Canadian correlations . Any thoughts?

She has arrived! And I am in love. Alan The Handheld Evangelist came by last night to help me set it up. I'm pretty sure he would have ditched our dinner plans with our respective partners in order to spend the whole evening focused on The Thing. But we got a few things done, and we'll do more tonight. He's almost as excited as I am about it, which is really saying something. I'm not, however, blogging from it right now. I'm home, and it's 7:30 a.m., and it's still much easier to type on my full-sized keyboard. But I'll soon be blogging from Starbucks (free T-Mobile Hotspot) and wherever else. I'll try to keep the gushing over the iPAQ to a minimum, but no promises.

A reader sent me this great story.

Those of you who don't read the comments are missing lots of interesting Canada Facts, such as population densities, TV shows, correlations between Canadian and US cities, and unhealthy but tasty food, often brought to you by the helpful and friendly Kyle from Ottawa, along with political commentary and random profanity by Redsock, a/k/a Allan. Kyle, as it turns out, is the only other person I know to mention Political Compass . I've sent the site to many people, but few seem to have heard of it. I'll let Kyle explain: It redefines "left-right" as a two dimensional "communist-capitalist/totalitarian-libertarian" spectrum. It placed me as "left-libertarian" which I think is fairly accurate of my political views. They also show current political leaders. Bush scored in the upper right hand corner of the "right-totalitarian" quadrant. From the site itself: There's abundant evidence for the need of it. The old one-dimensional categori...

Who would leave a World Series Championship team to play for the Losers of Loserville? And why would anyone , least of all Pedro Martinez, want to play for the Mets???

From 1987 to 1998, we were a family of four: Laura, Allan, Gypsy and Clyde. We adopted Gypsy from the ASPCA death row. She looked like a concentration camp victim with bits of fur attached. She turned out to be a magnificent Shepherd-Husky mix, gorgeous, and so smart it was scary. She was a dog whose beauty turned heads, and whose manner commanded great respect. Her love for us was very intense - and so was her will. She was a challenge, that's for sure! She was my best friend. We had Gypsy not quite two years when we found another little dog on the street, sweet and cheerful and completely housetrained, despite being covered in mange and infections. By the time she was healthy enough to give away, the two dogs were in love. More importantly, Allan was in love! His little Clyde. We think Clyde was a Jack Russell Terrier-Fox Terrier mix. She was one-third of Gypsy's size and the boss of the house. "The Girls" were inseparable. And that was our family. Gypsy died in No...

December 14, 1999. On this cold, rainy, December night, I was walking Cody. I had been out that night, so it was a little later than usual. Right in front of my building, I saw him: a dog, alone, walking slowly down the sidewalk, his head down. I watched him for a while, to make sure he wasn't with anyone. Then I ran back to the building and called Allan on the intercom. "Get your shoes on! There's a dog down here!" Allan, surprised, hesitated. "Get your shoes on! Get down here!" Back on the sidewalk, I didn’t see the dog. For a moment I thought I lost him, but then he appeared, coming out of an alley onto the sidewalk, maybe 20 feet ahead of me. I knelt down and opened my arms wide, breathed deeply to calm myself. I waited with my arms open – and he came right to me. By the time Allan got downstairs, the dog was in my arms. When we got him upstairs, we saw he was ravaged. He had almost no fur, and his exposed skin was gray (a healthy dog's skin is pin...

Except New York. I'm not emotionally ready to leave the City. I don't know if I ever will be. I still get choked up and teary when I think about it . I'm ready to live someplace different. But I'm not ready to leave. It doesn't make much sense, but the two feelings coexist. New York City is an island. It's an island literally, and now more than ever, it's an island metaphorically. During the Bush years, we New Yorkers have bonded even more closely in our outsider identity. Where we might have fooled ourselves into feeling more mainstream in the 90's, now we harbor no illusions. We are misfit Americans and proudly so. I know my politics and world view are more mainstream in Canada, and that will be a relief, and a comfort. But also, in some crazy way, it will be a loss.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone who is no rush to see me go. It's not that I want to get away from anyone. If you'll miss me, you can be sure I will miss you, too. But I am ready . I am emotionally, mentally, psychologically ready to make the move. Our recent trip to look at apartments further gelled this state of mind. I feel myself emotionally detaching from life here. I don't feel my usual fervor to work for change. Maybe this is partly a lingering post-election hangover of extreme disappointment. But much of it is a wish to no longer be part of this system. The war in Iraq, the war on women, on gay people, on children, on diversity, on personal freedom, the zeal to privatize and commercialize absofuckinglutely everything... It's like a huge mudslide, and our efforts to fix this legislation here or that cabinet appointment there is like tackling the mudslide with a spoon. Not that we can or should do otherwise. Any spoonful saved is a victory. But I have no ene...

We've just returned from an extremely productive trip to Toronto and surrounding suburbs. We saw a lot of places, probably disappointed quite a few landlords, and made some excellent decisions on where we hope to live. Let's see what we learned. - We're definitely not going to rent in a high-rise building. It will be too difficult with our dogs, adding a level of stress and possible complications that we just don't need. - We can afford to rent a beautiful townhouse in Mississauga. They are spacious, full of wonderful amenities like a fireplace, an extra bathroom, nice new kitchen, a tiny backyard, etc. We'll be able to get a three-bedroom, so we'll each have our own office. Yay! - Public transportation to and from Mississauga is an issue. We didn't realize that most GO trains run only Monday through Friday, only during rush hours, and then only in the standard rush-hour directions. This is tough for people who work non-traditional hours as we do (and ver...

Tomorrow morning we are off to check out apartments in Mississauga. Can't wait! See you all on Friday.

More email from right wingnuts. This guy says he was depressed when Clinton won in 1992 and 96, but he didn't go into therapy or "threaten" to leave the country. (Psst ... this is not a threat, repeat, this is not a threat, this is an actual emergency...) What's amazing here is that someone thinks Clinton is to the left what Bush is to the right. Karl Marx himself would have to run for president to get the equivalent of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Ashcroft. Clinton was barely a Democrat. Or maybe he was exactly a Democrat - and why so many progressives stopped voting Dem in those days. And no, the neocons didn't go into therapy over Clinton. They just set out to systematically destroy him. While briefly checking out this guy's blog, I noticed he derides dismay over torture at the Guantanamo Bay prisons. Apparently concern for human rights is not a moral value; conservatives support torture. I can only hope this attitude sickens many conservatives out there, if only ...

Once again, Mr Zinn nails it. While I'm still in the US - and after I leave - I pledge to do everything in my power to stop this insane war. What could be more important?

Great site !! Having worked at corporate law firms for the past 15 years, I can easily imagine the cease-and-desist letters zipping to the webmasters right now. More power to them!

A reader asked if I saw The Daily Show after W's visit to Halifax. Well, I just watched the re-run. As much as I hate to find anything W says amusing, credit is due to a speechwriter, as Bush thanked the people of Halifax "who came out to wave - with all five fingers". Cute! Stephen King was also on, plugging his book Faithful , a chronicle of the Boston Red Sox's 2004 season. For the same thing, only better, check out The Joy of Sox . It's free, better written, plus you'll learn a lot about government lies and media whores. Baseball and left-wing politics - what more can you ask for in a blog?

A loyal reader from Ottawa intrigued me with his comment about Alberta . What's it like there?

Today's poll in the Toronto Globe And Mail: Do you feel that Canada should participate in the U.S. ballistic missile defence program? Yes 5306 votes (20%) No 21347 votes (80%) No matter that it's an unscientific survey. If you can show me a poll in any mainstream American media that shows 80% of respondents against any thing military, I'll stay.

What does anyone make of this column by Barbara Ehrenreich? I a huge fan of Ehrenreich's, always have been. (She's also a fellow union member.) I'm confused about what she's saying here. Is she sarcastically deriding the idea of leaving the US because we find ourselves at such odds with the mainstream? She compares staying in the country of one's birth to staying in a bad marriage, and I can hardly imagine Barbara Ehrenreich advocating that. However, this: Of course, some of your friends and family may choose to remain behind. There are people who take a somewhat inflexible view of "patriotism," just as there are people who never give up on their first, childish, seventh-grade object of infatuation. Perversely, these diehards think it's their RESPONSIBILITY to remain in their country of origin just as it becomes an international source of terror and a mockery of democratic governance. Whether out of masochism or misdirected altruism, they feel OBLIGE...

HIV hasn't gone away. Honor those we have lost by working for change .