This mural by Emily Kewageshig has brought new life to the concrete brutalism of the Donald Summerville Outdoor Pool complex in Toronto. Perhaps the original architect would be unimpressed, but my kids and I love it and think it brings a much needed vibrancy to this structure.

I managed to escape the heat to visit the @mcmichaelgallery.bsky.social yesterday with my daughter. She loved the artwork and we managed to get a quick picture here, where the painting and the view out the window are strangely synchronous.

The book was gifted in 1937 by one Julian S. Duncan, who received his PhD at @columbiauniversity.bsky.social and later become the chair of the Dept of Economics at @unm.edu. Professor Clark saved the letter sent to him by Julian in the book and noted that the "acknowledged" the gift.

The book was a gift to noted economist John Maurice Clark (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ma...) who was on the Faculty of Economics at @columbiauniversity.bsky.social ial at the time of the gift.

I'm always amazed at the amazing items my kids and I find at used book sales. I particularly love the ephemera that often accompany old books, like this Thomas Mann volume picked up at the victoriacollege.bsky.social book sale at @utoronto.ca last year. #booksky

St Francis and the Birds, Sir Stanley Spencer (1935)

I found this footnote in a recent thesis by Maria Rocca ("Diritti collettivi e diritti di giurisdizione: L'utilizzo delle risorse nei feudi imperiali liguri fra antico regime e restaurazione, con particolare riferimento ai feudi Spinola"), on p. 42.

Late medieval Latin word of the day: intrans, intrantis (participle), "entering into, penetrating", generally used in the spatial sense, but here (for the first time I've seen) in a temporal sense, where it represents the temporal concept of "entering into" to month of January. #medievalsky

RIP Dr Sacks, whose essential work "The Widening Gate" (1991) was an important influence on my own studies on the economic and commercial history of the early Atlantic world. #earlymodern #medievalsky

Here's my favourite view, from Centre Island (my daughter in the picture)... the backdrop almost looks fake!

Thinking about finishing the third book of the Deptford Trilogy this summer! I've read Fifth Business twice, The Manticore once, but have yet to read World of Wonders. #booksky

Remembering Eric Dolphy, a genius of modern music, and listening yet again to this masterpiece. Eric was born on this day in 1928 and died, tragically young, in the summer of 1964.

Fifteenth-century Genoese nobles really wanted their social status documented in contracts... in this case, the heir of Battista Cicala ensuring that the notary included "spectabilis miltis et egregrii" before his name after the first draft was made! #medievalsky #earlymodern

Celeste read the epic poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. She said: "This is an amazing poem and my edition had beautiful illustrations... I picked this up because of my love for Anne of Green Gables, and loved this poem as much as Anne did. I would highly recommend it!"

The first book of my 2026 reading challenge with my daughter Celeste (I'm very far behind in posting!), "The Blaze of Obscurity" by Clive James, the last volume of his memoirs in which our hero leverages, somewhat unexpectedly, his work revieing TV for the Observer to becoming a TV star. #booksky

On this day, 90 years ago, historian Marc Bloch was murdered by Nazis. #medievalsky

And a few more...

Happy Bloomsday 2026 to all who celebrate! Here are some Joyce murals from an alleyway in my Toronto neighbourhood.

A supplement to my earlier post about reorientation of historical maps. This striking map from McCormick's "Origins of the European Economy", illustrates the centrality of the Caspian and Black Seas, and their estuaries, in connecting Northern Europe with Baghdad and the Middle East. #medievalsky

Fifteenth-century Latin placename of the day: "Sancto Duihio", indicating Sandwich (in Kent, England), as seen in the excerpt below: insurance for a merchant voyage from Genoa to Sandwich, with stops in Cadiz, Southampton, and unspecified ports in Aragon and Granada. #medievalsky #earlymodern

This was a favourite of many in the rural towns of northern Ontario where I grew up, but I always found it revolting!

Another beautiful evening in Toronto for our neighbourhood stroll...

A beautiful day for an after-school walk with my daughter! (as usual, Kew Gardens)

The Kew Williams House, a regular waymark on our evening walks. I find it quite interesting that it housed the park caretaker and his family into the 1990s.

Historians like Sergej Karpov (and others) have often marveled at the precision of Genoese notaries when indicating time and place of enactment compared to notaries from other cities... this contract is a perfect example! Source: ASGe, NA 653, series II, nr. 40, dated 1441-02-22 #medievalsky

While sitting on the front porch, I noticed someone spying on me...

I'm glad to see that spring finally arrived in our garden during our four-day sojourn to Kalamazoo.

My daughter and her cat...