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Can you talk like a pirate? September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day , a bit of fun invented by two friends in 1995 and spread around the globe via the internet. Typical “pirate-speak” are growly phrases like Arrr Matey , Avast Ye Landlubbers , and the ever-popular Shiver Me Timbers . What does this have to do with the Library, you ask? Good question! Pirate is one of 75 languages you can learn through Mango Languages , an amazing language-learning app. If you subscribed to Mango on your own, it would cost you $8/month for one language, or $18/month for access to all the languages – but it’s free with your library card. There are several language learning programs online, but none compare to Mango Languages. On Mango, each language is taught by a native speaker. Lessons start very simple, and build gradually, so you can immediately see progress and gain confidence. There’s lots of repetition and review built in. There’s even a feature where you can compare your pronunciatio...

Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Because without access to safe, legal abortion, women can never be free. In North America, you can help ensure that women are able to access safe abortions by donating to abortion funds. The National Network of Abortion Funds (N-NAF) can show you how.

Also: Why is Greta Thunberg so triggering for certain men , Jennifer O'Connell, Irish Times Canada's #climatestrike day is Friday, September 27.

It's been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a great time, and it got better as we went along and settled into a routine. The dogs must especially miss her. They loved to hang out in her room, and she adored them. 2. I took union training. I was in Nanaimo this week, participating in some training with my union, the BCGEU. I had three days of courses, plus a full day of travel each way, so I was gone for the whole work week. My workplace has an interesting union model. All the frontline staff are members of CUPE, and the professional staff -- librarians, senior librarians, and library managers -- belong to the BCGEU. This means I'm the only BCGEU member in all five of my libraries. However, there are BCGEU members in many other workplaces in my area. It's a very diverse union that represents social workers, administrative staff, BC Liquor and BC Cannabis workers, correctional officers, ...

If you have internet access at home, you are in for a treat. The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) has several high-quality streaming services. You can listen to audiobooks, watch movies and documentaries, learn skills – and learn about the world – by streaming or downloading on your own devices. And since you access these services through the library, they are all free. Kanopy This is the premiere Canadian streaming service. Kanopy offers an enormous variety of independent films, foreign films, classic movies, and documentaries. It's one of those apps that you can get completely lost in. Kanopy also has educational videos about a wide variety of subjects, including Indigenous Studies, Health Studies, LGBTQ Stories, Photography, Journalism, and much more. Check out the series called The Great Courses. These are classes taught by experts in a field, such as history, philosophy, ancient civilizations, and earth studies – too many topics to possibly list here. Each registered K...

I stopped following this baseball season a while back. The 2019 Red Sox are not very good, and I'm perfectly happy to enjoy my first summer on beautiful Vancouver Island without them. But it's not just the lackluster Red Sox that are keeping me away. I'm disgusted and deeply saddened by the rule changes that MLB instituted in 2017, and even more by those coming in the 2020 season. These changes damage the very foundation of the sport. And, worst of all, they are completely unnecessary. Baseball America says the changes will " fundamentally alter  the way teams construct their rosters , as well as change the roles players may be groomed for in player development". (I've listed most of the changes below, excluding how players are compensated for the All Star Game.) Games are too long! Games are too long! (If we keep repeating it, we will make it so!) Supposedly baseball games are too long. Supposedly baseball games are too slow. "Young people" aren...

By now wmtc readers, at least those who read my "what i'm reading" posts, know that Colson Whitehead is one of my favourite authors. I was so happy that he achieved breakthrough success with The Underground Railroad , winning both the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award. I've been reading him since his debut novel, The Intuitionist , was published in 1999. So when I tell you The Nickel Boys  is his best work so far, trust me, this is high praise. It tells a simple story of one boy's journey into the irrational, omnipresent, terror and violence of Jim Crow. The principal setting is a boys' "reform school" (so-called) in the segregated American South. The conditions and their effects will remind Canadian readers of the residential schools that Indigenous children were forced to endure. It's disturbing to read, as it should be. The violence is not graphic -- most of it happens offstage -- but it's not hidden. It's everyday...

As we enter the last week of my mother's extended visit, we took one last day trip, out to Grant Bay, on the west coast. As I've mentioned, there are no paved roads to the Pacific coast in the North Island. In fact, only two roads on the whole island go to the Pacific coast. In the North, the west coast is only accessible either by backcountry hiking or on logging roads to a few isolated beaches. We've been to San Josef Bay (Sanjo) several times, and I'm sure we'll go again, but we were very curious about Grant Bay. We heard it was a smaller version of Sanjo. This turned out to be true. We also heard that the beach was a five-minute walk from where you park. This turned out to be false. It's quite a bit longer, but not so long as to be prohibitive. So first there's the long, slow, bumpy drive on the logging roads -- about 2.5 hours, a bit closer than Sanjo. Then there's a short hike through a lovely bit of rainforest. Not knowing what we'd find, we ...

I'd love reader feedback on these three questions. I know most people will reply on Facebook, which makes it really difficult to save reader reaction. But there's no stopping that train, so... copy/paste/save. Instapot Yes, I know it's an Instant Pot. I like to call it an Instapot. I think the Instant Pot folks missed an opportunity. I'm late to the Instapot bandwagon, but I'm glad I waited before jumping on. I bought a huge 8-quart Ultra, which is big enough for the batch cooking I prefer, has all the features, and has more safety features than the early models. I love  making steel cut oatmeal in this thing, and also rice. It is so easy, and it comes out perfect  every time. Steel cut oats don't actually take less time in the Instapot than on the stove top. Factoring the time to pressurize and the natural release, it's about the same time on the clock. But using the stove top, you have to stand there and stir. And if you don't pay attention, and someti...

So far, my experience with health care in our small BC town has been excellent. Limited sample size, anecdotal, non-scientific, yes. I'm just reporting on what I've experienced and observed in the past nine months, plus a few facts about funding. Port Hardy Our town of about 4,200 people has a primary health centre and a hospital. It's a regional hub for many tiny communities on the North Island. (There are also two other health units in neighbouring towns.) The health centre is a bright, clean, thoroughly modern facility. The signs are all in English and Kwak'wala, the local Indigenous language. There is a big, affirming, trans-positive sign on the washroom. I haven't been able to get a family doctor yet; all the doctors' rosters are full. However, we are always able to see a doctor, either whoever is on duty that day, or you can request an appointment with a specific doctor. So even though I don't have a family doctor, I make appointments with a doctor tha...