Enduring

Spider ballooning blows my mind.

100 years ago on Christmas Eve, Winnie the Pooh appeared for the first time in print. I was named for the boy in the story.

Watching Algeria v Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations on Christmas Eve. One of the things that makes the tournament so interesting to me is learning about the teams and players and what they give to be able to play. In the case of Sudan, their national team is largely made up of players from the two big clubs of Al Hilal and Al Merreikh who have played their past two seasons in exile, joining the domestic leagues in Mauritania and Rwanda. Algeria was never going to lose the opener, and indeed they beat 10 men Sudan 3-0. But watching Sudan play their hearts out and especially their keeper Elneel, who stood on his head in the match, you see what it means for them to play and give hope and distraction to the people of Sudan.

Farewell to the bandicoots, farewell to the shrew. Farewell to the Slender-billed curlew. These are just some of the species officially declared extinct this year.

The Ontario government wants elected local officials to secretly waive archeological studies for development proposals. This year I visited Pompeii. Imagined if the local officials had just allowed a canal to be built through the ruins? Indigenous history interacted differently by people in Canada who believe that only European history and archeology is valid. There is a word for this blatant disregard of one person’s history over another’s simply because you don’t believe their story matters as much.