On the Sudden Appearance of Reading Week

First of all, congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for their decisive Super Bowl victory this past Sunday. Whether one prefers the CFL to the NFL, or indeed dislikes football all together, it cannot be denied that this victory is a huge one for the city of New Orleans. In many ways the New Orleans Saints represent the collective spirit of a city decimated by Hurricane Katrina some five years ago: determined, optimistic, and hopeful. A feel good story from a city that has known nothing but tragedy for so long; I only wish I could be there to celebrate the early Mardi Gras!

But rather than celebrate Mardi Gras, I will be celebrating reading week which is quickly approaching. I already have a few errands/activities planned: a visit to the dentist on Wednesday, working on a lab, and a conference on local food security. I’m really looking forward to the latter, having attended it last year. It is a two day conference that covers a vast array of topics revolving around food security primarily in Manitoba, but the tenets can be applied virtually anywhere. I plan to attend the following sessions: “what’s happening on the local scene”, “organic crop production research”, and “canola: the many flavours of yellow”. There is also a plenary on potato politics in Manitoba that promises to be interesting. The University’s own Steph McLachlan is giving a talk about food justice on Saturday (entitled Local AND Just!), which I suspect will be engaging and inspiring. The conference takes place February 19th and 20th at the University of Winnipeg, and will run students $35 for one day, or $60 for both. Food security and politics affect us all, so if you have nothing else going on I recommend attending.

Lastly, and of less importance, I have to make mention of the Montreal Canadiens’ victory over the league’s best Washington Capitals last night (primarily because my best friend’s favourite team happens to be the Caps). Halte là! Halte là! les Canadiens sont là! Ole, ole, ole, ole! Hope everyone has a fun and productive reading week!

Later days,

Corey