Greetings from snowy Ottawa! The talk went well, I think, and today I have a brunch with a small group of Centre for Inquiry Canada members to discuss free will and related issues. I’m told the brunch will be catered by one of Ottawa’s most famous restaurant owners, and that the fare will be Jewish: brisket, blintzes, and knishes. I’ll take photos.
It’s February 27 (remember, this is a leap year, so there will be February 29), and on this day in 1860, Wikipedia reports that “Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.” I spoke there many years later, was told it was on the same stage where Lincoln spoke. In 1900, the British Labour Party was formed, and on that very same day the Bayern München Football Club was also formed. In 1933, the famous Reichstag Fire occurred, possibly set by the Nazis themselves. Notable births on this day include John Steinbeck (1902), Lawrence Durrell (1912), Joanne Woodward (1930), Elizabeth Taylor (1932), and Ralph Nader (1934). Those who died on this day included Breaker Morant (1902), Ivan Pavlov (1936), Lillian Gish (1993, age exactly 100), William F. Buckley, Jr. (2008), and Leonard Nimoy (last year). Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is birdwatching:
Hili: An intruder barged into my courtyard again!
A: A strange cat?
Hili: No, a strange sparrow.
In Polish:
Hili: Znów jakiś intruz wtargnął na moje podwórko!
Ja: Obcy kot?
Hili: Nie, obcy wróbel.
(Zdjęcie: Sarah Lawson)
Great lecture. Loved it.
Was just talking about Lillian Gish with a friend yesterday. She spoke @ the University of Richmond ca. 1972 and showed one of her old films. Afterward, trying for a condensed question, I asked her if she saw her old films in color. Sadly, she didn’t understand what I was asking and I didn’t have a chance to re-phrase it.
One of today’s notable births, Lawrence Durfel, must be the author of “The Alexandria Quartet” novels, Lawrence Durrell. The internet typo monster strikes again.
A blatant typo. Fixed, thanks.
It was my son’s birthday so I missed the talk but hopefully you make it back to Ottawa someday. Maybe after you publish your next book?
Your lecture was an absolute delight, and thank you once again for your kindness 🙂
Thank you Jerry for an excellent lecture, and cat drawing! Hope they had potato latkes at your brunch, Nate’s always made the best.
I brought my 84 yr old dad – and after we discussed how religious objections to assisted dying are finally being swept aside in Canada (it’s on his mind, and in the news). He found and enjoyed your discussion of it immediately in your book.
Thanks for coming to visit us frozen rationalists up in the North. Here’s hoping come November you don’t have to move here permanently!
It was a pleasure to meet you and chat, and I and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed your talk.
Seems only the hardy come to Ottawa in February.
Thanks for braving our miserable February Ottawa weather to give your talk. It was a real treat. Thanks as well for autographing my copy of FvF. I showed one of my kitties the cat drawing you made – she feigned disinterest. Typical! Best of luck with the rest of your trip.
“and Leonard Nimoy (last year).”
Too soon! :-/
“wróbel.” is onomatopoeic Polish for “sparrow”? Or for any of what (UK twitchers call LBJS – Little Brown Jobs?
Looking forward to the noms pics! Glad to hear how very much appreciated your talk was!