The photo this week is one I took a couple of years ago with my Fujifilm X-S10. I used Silkpix RAW File Converter to switch the film simulation from Velvia to Acros + G Filter, boost the contrast, and crop. I thought this one worked better in black and white than the original colour exposure.
Fujifilm X-S10 with Fujinon 27mm/F2.8 WR at F8, 1/450 second, ISO 320, Acros + R Filter film simulation
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| Tree roots in black and white |
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| Tree roots in colour |
Sadly, the great jazz saxophonist, Sonny Rollins, died recently. I never got to see him perform but have listened to and enjoyed many of his albums. For this week's musical treat, here are three concert videos of his performances, starting with a BBC recoding of a 1974 gig at Ronnie Scott's famous London club.
Next up, the Sonny Rollins Quintet Live at Jazz Festival Bern, Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland - 1985.
Finally, here's the Sonny Rollins Sextet live in Munich in 1992.
The possibility of Alberta separating from Canada and becoming an independent state has suddenly become a major news item in Canada. I've posted about this quite frequently in the last year, including links to several articles discussing US interference in our politics.
Now there will be a referendum in Alberta in October with one of the questions being: ""Should Alberta remain a province of Canada, or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?"
Distrust of the federal government and resentment about Alberta's place in the Canadian federation has long been a part of politics in Alberta. I lived in Grande Prairie for five years in the early 1980s and it was certainly evident then but there was no serious discussion of separating on the part of the Alberta government. That has changed with the rise of the UCP and Premier Danielle Smith.
The best article about the subject that I have seen so far is Alberta: the jilted lover of Confederation, by Jared Wesley, who is a professor of political science at the University of Alberta. The article is the text of a speech that he delivered to the Rideau Club Roundtable in Ottawa, on June 3, 2026.
The talk is divided into these sections:
The overall message should be simple: Alberta is not a problem to be managed. Alberta is not a spoiled child to be disciplined or dismissed. Alberta is not an alien province to be decoded from afar. Alberta is a respected, heard, and valued partner in Confederation.
That is the message Canadians need to send. And it is the message Albertans need to hear from one another. Because the choice before Alberta this fall is not simply whether to remain in Canada. It is whether we can imagine a version of Alberta big enough to include all of us. And whether Canada can imagine a version of itself that has room for Alberta not at the margins, not alone at the centre, but in a leadership role in creating a better country.
It is a long article but you won't find a better analysis of the current situation in any of the major news outlets.
The internet is a dangerous place these days and there's always one more new thing to watch out for. Right now, it's fake CAPTCHAs.
A real CAPTCHA (which stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart,” by the way — just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?) runs in your browser. It might ask you to click a box, identify images, or wait for a quick verification. What it shouldn’t do is ask you to send a text message, open your phone’s SMS app, tell you to press a strange combination of keys, or ask you to copy and paste anything into your computer.
Take a couple of minutes to read the article. It may save you a lot of grief later.
The winners of the 2026 Locus Awards have been announced. The awards are voted on by subscribers and readers of Locus, the long-running newsmagazine of the science fiction and fantasy field.
Short reviews of movies and TV shows I watched in May. Now that we're watching the Blue Jays, there won't be as much here.
Movies
