Saturday Sounds - Blackie And The Rodeo Kings at Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022

I've posted here before about Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a Canadian roots music supergroup whose members include Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson. They started as a project to record a tribute album to the late Willie P. Bennett and ended up becoming a hugely successful group.  

I've seen them perform a couple of times, most recently last night at an outdoor concert promoted by Music by the Bay Live in Uxbridge at their "Blues Holler" site. Both performances were outstanding and among the best I've seen in the last decade. Last night's concert was about as perfect an evening of music as one could hope for: perfect weather, excellent sound, great music, and a beautiful outdoor setting.

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

The Blues Holler

So this week's musical treat is Blackie and the Rodeo Kings' performance at the  Shrewsbury Folk Festival in the UK in 2022. (Setlist here). It's an official recording from the festival, who put many of their concerts up on YouTube and features first-rate sound and pro-shot video. And of course the music is wonderful.

Unfortunately, YouTube has blocked playback on other sites, so I can't embed it here. You'll have to click this link. Trust me, it's worth it.

Movie and TV Reviews - June 2025

Movies and TV shows that Nancy and I watched in May. I do these posts mainly so I can keep track of what we've been watching, so the reviews are cursory. Now that baseball season has started, there will probably be fewer items here.

Movies

• Titanic: The Digital Restoration. A National Geographic documentary about the creation of a digital replica of the Titanic. I found it absolutely fascinating and it's remarkable what it revealed about the sinking. (Disney+)
• Predator: Killer of Killers. Three warriors from three different eras fight the Predators. Animated (and quite nicely done) but not for kids (extreme violence, natch). (Disney+)
• The Accountant: Autism as a superpower. Entertaining enough, but not very plausible. (Amazon Prime)
• The Accountant 2: This one veered into more standard action flick territory. Not as good as the first one. (Amazon Prime)

TV Shows

• The Last of US (season 2): I'm not sure it's quite as good as the first season, but it's equally grim. We can't handle more than one episode a night. (Crave/HBO)
• Injustice. A twisty and well-acted crime drama featuring a couple of lawyers and a rather unpleasant detective determined to get at the truth no matter what the cost. (Acorn TV)
• Hinterland (seasons 1-3), Another British police procedural, set in Wales. As we expected, it's on the grim side, but with good acting and well-written, twisty plots. It does go a bit too far with the troubled detective trope though,. (Acorn TV)

Happy Canada Day

It's Canada Day up here in the Great Green North. The flowers in our backyard are loving the warm weather though I suspect they would like a bit more rain. The garden is happy and with any luck we might get some tomatoes this year. 

So a BBQ, beer, and fireworks today as we celebrate all things Canadian. 

Here's some colourful natural fireworks from our backyard.

Backyard flowers

Featured Links - June 30, 2025

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

This week's post is shorter than usual. We have a kitchen reno coming up in a week and I'm pretty busy right now. And there's a yard and garden to take care of. So posts here are going to be shorter and/or sparser than usual for a while.

Birds in the hydro marsh

• Are these the world’s oldest rocks? Fresh data confirm contested claim. "Scientists debate age of ancient Canadian crust as Inuit leaders work to preserve the location."
• Photographer Captures the Terrifying Things Humans Have Done to the Planet.  "Photographer Edward Burtynsky has dedicated his life’s work to documenting the impact humans have on the planet, producing stunning photographs that evoke both awe and concern. This week has marked the start of a career-spanning exhibit of Burtynsky’s work at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York." I have seen several exhibitions of Burtynsky's photographs and if you can get to see this show in person, do so, as they have much more impact in a gallery setting.
• Could the Semicolon Die Out? Recent Analysis Finds a Decline in Its Usage in British Literature and Confusion Among U.K. Students. "Not only are semicolons evidently becoming more rare, but young people are less aware of how to use them, according to a survey."
• Why We Need Horror Authors in the Fight For the Freedom to Read. "Please note: this speech was directed at Horror authors, but I hope all of my readers use it as a template to speak to their community members about the importance of speaking out for the freedom to read and use the "how-to" component in the speech to give them the tools they need to take action."
• The Concorde-and-Caviar Era of Condé Nast, When Magazines Ruled the Earth. "Opulent days are over at Vogue, Vanity Fair and other once-powerful glossies. Anna Wintour is giving up (some) control. Now that everyone’s a gatekeeper, why do we keep recreating their status-obsessed world?"

Photo of the Week - June 29, 2025

Nancy and I walked down to the lakefront Friday evening and there were a couple of swans in the marina lagoon. I managed to get a picture of one flapping it's wings  before it ducked underwater in search of food. Taken with my Pixel 8 Pro. 

A swan flapping its wings preparing to dive

Saturday Sounds - Tyreek McDole - Open Up Your Senses

This week's musical treat is a new album from a young performer who is new to me, Tyreek McDole. I was listening to SiriusXM and heard what I first thought was Pharoah Sanders' "The Creator Has a Master Plan", but it wasn't Pharoah's version, a piece of music I've been listening to for more than 50 years. Instead, it was a track from McDole's debut album, Open Up Your Senses. 

From the label's press release announcing the album:

At just 25 years old, the Haitian-American, New York-based baritone has already earned significant acclaim, including winning the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2023 — one of only two male vocalists to achieve this honor in the competition’s 12-year history. Jazz scholar Will Friedwald, who also contributes liner notes to the project, referred to McDole as “the leading jazz voice of his generation” and acclaimed DJ Gilles Peterson said “it is refreshing to hear a new voice that is so clearly connected to the tradition but also pushing it forward with such strong energy. This is a brilliant opening statement from someone I reckon will be around for some time.”

Open Up Your Senses is a bold statement from a young artist who masterfully blends tradition with innovation. Featuring standout performances by pianist and arranger Caelan Cardello and saxophonist Dylan Band, McDole’s debut evokes the legacy of jazz greats while forging his own distinctive path.

The album’s repertoire highlights McDole’s penchant for spiritually resonant and philosophically rich material. His stirring rendition of Leon Thomas’ “The Creator Has a Master Plan” features a powerful solo from Tomoki Sanders, progeny of saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders. Meanwhile, his interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s “Ugly Beauty” (with lyrics by Mike Ferro) is enhanced by a special guest appearance from legendary pianist Kenny Barron.

I'm not usually a big fan of jazz singers, but I like this album a lot. The tracks feature a talented group of musicians playing in a variety of styles and McDole is a compelling singer. Enjoy. 

The USA versus Canada 8

The relationship between Canada and the US is and contin
uing to change. It's clear that Prime Minister Mark Carney is determined to reduce Canadian dependence on the US and he seems to have the support of most Canadians and Parliament. Here are some articles covering what's happened over the last month. 

Request: I am curious to know how much of this is being reported in US media. I'd appreciate comments with links if you can provide them. 

Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor

Nation-Building in the North from science fiction author and futurist, Karl Schroeder. "Canada is reconfiguring itself as a strategic global power. How does that work?" I hope that people in Carney's administration are reading Schroeder. (As an aside, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois reads Robert J. Sawyer.)

Republicans say tax retaliation proposal could be cut from Trump bill if international deal can be reached. "The provision would impose a progressive tax burden of up to 20 per cent on foreign investors’ U.S. income, raising concerns on Wall Street about the attractiveness of U.S. investments." If dividend income from US stocks held by Canadian investors starts getting taxed, there is going to be a big sell-off here. 

Trump's 'revenge tax' on other countries could hit U.S. "Tax that could hit Canadians comes with risk to U.S. revenue, investments."

American Climate Scientists Have a New Canadian Hero. "How McGill professor Juan Serpa created SUSAN, the online forum helping U.S. researchers protect their data from Trump."

Last Year's Move to Toronto And This Year's Politics (video and commentary) from historian and author, Timothy Snyder, one of the many academics who have moved from the US to Canada. 

The US Badly Needs Rare Minerals and Fresh Water. Guess Who Has Them? "As China tightens its grip on critical resources, Trump eyes Canada’s riches."

Canada Torches the Trump Umbilical Cord: Bill C-5 Passed, EU Trade/Security Partnership Signed, and Our Democratic Break From America Begins. "A Historic Pact with the EU Signals Canada’s Rise as a Sovereign Power—and a Sharp Rejection of Trump’s Tariff Bullying and War-First Chaos." Blundell can be a bit hyperbolic (a friend described him as 'shouty') but if you are interested in this subject, he's worth following. 

Fact Checking "Cosplay Kristi" Noem's Latest Canada Smear. "No, Governor Noem—Canada Isn't a Narco-State, Trudeau Never Worked With You, and Fentanyl Isn’t Flowing North."

2025 Locus Awards Winners

The winners of the 2025 Locus Awards Winners have been announced. The awards are voted by subscribers and readers of Locus Magazine, the SFF field's long-running newsmagazine.

These are the winners of the fiction awards.

Science Fiction Novel: The Man Who Saw Seconds, Alexander Boldizar 

Fantasy Novel: A Sorceress Comes to Call, T. Kingfisher

Horror Novel: Bury Your Gays, Chuck Tingle 

Young Adult Novel: Moonstorm, Yoon Ha Lee 

First Novel: Someone You Can Build a Nest In, John Wiswell 

Novella: What Feasts at Night, T. Kingfisher

Novelette: “By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars“, Premee Mohamed 

Short Story: “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole“, Isabel J. Kim

Someone You Can Build a Nest in won the 2024 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Back in April, I said that I would be disappointed if “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole“ didn't win the Short Story Hugo Award. It may yet and I'm not at all surprised that it has won a Nebula Award and now a Locus Award. It's a remarkable story that works on many levels.