This next segment of the novel will probably have to be broken down into several parts, as the exposition is all over the place. But there's a lot going on to make it worthwhile. What’s about to happen here is that Douglas Bland will let the mask slip, and speak for an extended period of … Continue reading 56-Jack & Al have a meeting
49-Or maybe be better?
***Okay, it's been...wow...a long time since my last post, and I'd like to apologize for that. I'm currently on tasking for RST (Reserve Summer Training) here at the 4 Division Training Centre in lovely Meaford and the pace of work here has been...pretty damned intense. I've been a regular fixture at RST for the last … Continue reading 49-Or maybe be better?
Guest Post – The King Byng Affair
An Introduction from your Humble Blog Host... Today I’m going to be doing something a bit different. I’ve been doing this blog for a little more than a year, and while the number of readers I’ve had has fluctuated, the overwhelming majority of the comments here have been by a gentleman named Bill. Bill is … Continue reading Guest Post – The King Byng Affair
Residential Schools & the Sixties Scoop – Some Basic History
A Note Before We Begin: ***I realized a little while back that I was going to have to set down some of the basics about the Residential School System in Canada, and I'm kind of freaked out by the prospect. The issue here is - like I've said many times before - I'm not Indigenous. … Continue reading Residential Schools & the Sixties Scoop – Some Basic History
46-The Grand Chief …
So the next section ends with a call being made from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the office of Alan Onanole[1], the Grand Chief of the First Nations’ Federation (Bland’s stand-in for the real life Assembly of First Nations). It's not especially significant in terms of plot or character, but it's revealing nonetheless: “Could … Continue reading 46-The Grand Chief …
45-Emergency measures
Before we begin: Something I picked up from last post. Col Dobson’s briefing made no mention of Alex Gabriel or any suspicions they may have about an attack out west in Winnipeg. The focus of his briefing is on Quebec. The result of this (in part) is that the focus of the federal government response will … Continue reading 45-Emergency measures
Glossary of Terms – March 2019
Hello everyone! I've been planning this for a while, but the project kept getting bigger and bigger as I went on. It's going to keep growing, but I figured now's as good a time as any to put this out there. So this here's a glossary of terms specific to Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, … Continue reading Glossary of Terms – March 2019
Grip & Grin
The next several parts of Uprising deals with Douglas Bland's views on politicians and how they think/operate. As a lifelong resident of Ottawa, I'm naturally adverse to hearing criticism of the company that keeps my town afloat. This is a government town. Take your fancy high-paying, white collar, non-unionised jobs back to Montreal or Toronto … Continue reading Grip & Grin
41-Alex & Molly have thoughts about Louis…
Now that we’ve established some basic facts about Louis Riel and the ‘Riel Rebellions’ we can take a proper look at how Douglas Bland characterizes this complex man in Uprising. In my last deconstruction post Molly Grace was about to launch into her own mini-dissertation on the subject of Louis Riel. Meanwhile, one chapter earlier, … Continue reading 41-Alex & Molly have thoughts about Louis…
Louis Riel – Textbook Edition
So we're coming up on a part of the novel that's going to deal in some detail with Louis Riel, the Métis Leader, rebel, mystic, and (not paradoxically) Father of Confederation. Since there's people reading this blog from all over the world (hey everyone!) I figured I'd provide a quick, condensed history of Louis Riel … Continue reading Louis Riel – Textbook Edition
Putting Down Uprising 