iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 3h

William Morris on the aims of art, 1886. www.marxists.org/archive/morr...

Now if it be true, as I have asserted, that genuine art is an unmixed blessing to the world, this is a serious matter; for at first sight it seems to show that there will soon be no art at all in the world, which will thus lose an unmixed blessing: it can ill afford to do that, I think.

For art, if it has to die, has worn itself out, and its aim will be a thing forgotten; and its aim was to make work happy and rest fruitful. Is all work to be unhappy, all rest unfruitful, then? Indeed if art is to perish that will be the case, unless something is to take its place; something at present unnamed, undreamed of.

I do not think that anything will take the place of art; not that I doubt the ingenuity of man, which seems to be boundless in the direction of making himself unhappy, but because I believe the springs of art in the human mind to be deathless, and also because it seems to me easy to see the causes of the present obliteration of the arts.

For we civilised people have not given them up consciously, or of our free will; we have been forced to give them up. Perhaps I can illustrate that by the detail of the application of machinery to the production of things in which artistic form of some sort is possible.
Why does a reasonable man use a machine?
Surely to save his labour. There are some

Reposted by Hannah Main

Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This report says we have a “culture of no.” I think our leaders correct. Hear me out! The province and feds push resource extraction, AI, “bolder ambitions,” and so on. We say no to these things because they’re what our leaders want, not what we want. aep-peca.ca/en/final-rep...

aep-peca.ca

Final Report - Atlantic Economic Panel | Panel économique du Canada atlantique

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 23h

Carter Hart is tending goal tonight in the Golden Knights’ opener in Vegas. This is a post about Cornell. 🙃

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yes!! I think this is part of a sinister goal, which is to paint EVs as luxury purchases. As long as embracing green tech is seen as something that only the elites do, it’s easier to push through environmentally-regressive policies— the detractors are just out of touch with regular folk.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I went to the big Mahone Bay book sale this morning and had to get this pre-marked up Sheila Heti volume. I really like Sheila Heti but I fear she is divisive!

Copy of Pure Colour by Sheila Heti, with the word Colour crossed out in Sharpie and the word Bullshit written beside it.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I happened to be in Amherst today and the good people there were talking up their municipal water and dude… I filled up my water bottle there and it’s some of the best water I’ve ever tasted. Has anyone ever done a taste test of the various NS waters? I genuinely think that nothing can beat Amherst.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Off grid update. Working from home this morning. It’s been steadily raining but we are still producing more power than we are using. The batteries are starting to fill up (71% is honestly low for us but we were charging the car yesterday).

A dashboard of an app that shows power usage. There are 421 watts coming in from solar panels and the house is using 154 watts.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Watched The Sheep Detectives last night expecting to see a delightful murder mystery. Instead here I am sobbing over such characters and concepts as “Sebastian the sheep” and “transom lamb”

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Leilani Farha is in Halifax today doing a Massey Lecture on this very topic! In this piece, she notes that the first residential REIT in Canada launched in 1997. There was a world before REITs. I know there will be a world after REITs. thewalrus.ca/the-corporat...

thewalrus.ca

The Corporate Takeover of Canada’s Apartments Is Worse than You Think | The Walrus

Property investors have discovered that getting rid of tenants is very good business

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I was in grade 4. It was show-and-tell that day. I didn’t hear what happened until I got home after school. I remember watching it on our basement TV.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Appreciate this critique of our report. Deny is someone whose opinion I respect because I know he spends a lot of time digging into housing data.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Today we are launching a new report: Who Owns Halifax: A Report on Rental Housing Ownership in the HRM. It is available to read here. I thought I would address common questions about the report below. www.tenantsrightsguide.ca/research#own...

tenantsrightsguide.ca

Housing Research | Learn More, Support Housing Justice — Dalhousie Legal Aid - Tenants' Rights Guide

Explore housing research and tenant rights insights from Dalhousie Legal Aid to promote housing justice and access to legal support in Nova Scotia.

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Reposted by Hannah Main

Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

In today's Morning File, Jennifer Henderson has the latest from the Nova Scotia legislature. And I interviewed Hannah Main, a community legal worker with Dalhousie Legal Aid, which did a study this summer called "Who Owns Halifax." www.halifaxexaminer.ca/morning-file...

halifaxexaminer.ca

'Who owns Halifax?' Dalhousie Legal Aid report finds 20 landlords own 56% of the city's housing units - Halifax Examiner

"I find it pretty egregious when you have a multinational REIT with investors all over Canada or the world who essentially are making their money from renting out low-income apartments."

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

My colleague Mark Culligan was on As It Happens last night chatting about income assistance regulation changes in Nova Scotia. Starts at around 33:26. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

cbc.ca

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I don’t want to brag but: last week had pay day, and I’ve never felt so rich as I did last evening when I was at the burrito place. I asked for guacamole on my brurrito bowl, the worker told me cost extra, and I was like “that’s fine.” 🥑 🤑

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

These are the sorts of data that the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia governments love to ignore as they fast track approvals for new fossil fuel peaker plants.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Having free access to a pool has been keeping me sane this summer. Is this what members of the Waeg feel all the time?

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

My controversial book take of the day: I did not care for Maggie O’Farrell’s Land. I am surprised because I usually enjoy her writing, and the book had all the ingredients of books I love. But I found it humourless, and I guess I don’t have much patience for that these days. Life is so absurd!

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Reposted by Hannah Main

John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This CAEH report on homelessness has, I think, the right basic diagnosis but whatever your preferred mechanism I think people aren't grappling with the magnitude of the affordability problem at the bottom end of the market. caeh.ca/news/homeles...

According to the CMHC, the average annual income for Canadian renters with the lowest incomes was $19,500 in 2023. A rental price that would be reasonably affordable for those renters would be $487.50 per month: nowhere near the asking rents of new rental housing stock, and substantially lower than asking rents even for the lowest-cost units in the private rental market.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I wrote a conference paper on this exact phenomenon (deconsecrated churches turning into private businesses). I wish I knew about this example though!

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I’ve seen two different Baptist churches with the same jokey sign: “Need a lifeguard? Mine walks on water.” I like to imagine that there is some sort of Baptist liturgical book where letter signs correspond to part of the church year, and this the sign for Pentecost.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Wednesday evening, emergency alert goes out about a man with a gun in our area. Later, the alert is called off. The next morning, the guy is still there, still with a gun, in the same area. The news today is that the RCMP officer shot him to death at the scene. This is their messaging yesterday:

RCMP Nova Scotia Facebook post:
“Lunenburg District RCMP responded to a report of a person in possession of a firearm who was linked to an ongoing investigation. During the response, an RCMP officer discharged their service weapon.
On July 9 at approximately 9 a.m., Lunenburg District RCMP responded to a report of a person in possession of a weapon on Hwy. 210 near Chelsea. Officers identified the man as the same person associated to an ongoing investigation about a suspicious person potentially in possession of a weapon from the previous day. He was the subject of an
Alert Ready emergency alert in Lunenburg and Queens counties on July 8.
During the RCMP response, an officer discharged their firearm. The man sustained injuries consistent with a gun shot wound. Officers provided first aid on scene.
No other injuries were reported.
The matter has been referred to the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) as per the Nova Scotia Police Act. SiRT independently investigates all serious incidents which arise from the actions of police in Nova Scotia. There does not have to be an allegation of wrongdoing.”

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Man I do hate capitalism but there is something so comforting about being inside a mall on a rainy day, drinking an iced capp and wandering around Winners.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I’m really discouraged about Rogers taking News 95.7 off the air. They had a diversity of local perspectives and helped the public keep Nova Scotian politicians accountable. It’s a huge loss. Also, where can I listen to baseball games on FM radio now???

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Our local outdoor pool is free for the summer and it’s the best! I live near multiple lakes and the ocean but I grew up going to my hometown public outdoor pool and there’s something so nostalgic about it. Anyway I am thankful for it today! 🏊‍♀️

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Hello, New York? Can you tell us how we can get one of these? (By ‘one of these’ I mean a leader who cares about people and enacts policies that benefit the working class)

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Have started watching Shoresy and am delighted to hear Reach for the Top mentioned. 😅

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

“Houston lives in a rural part of Nova Scotia, but he’s not a rural Nova Scotian. Rural Nova Scotia is a diverse and fascinating place, even though it has its challenges like all parts of Nova Scotia. Houston is just a finance bro who happens to live in the country.”

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Not to be a giant downer but if you spend any time at all among the most vulnerable people in our society— renters, those on income assistance, children in care, unhoused people, newcomers— you realize that the whole system is just set up to be as cruel as possible www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.ca

Halifax woman faced 'demoviction' from apartment while case was before tenancy program | CBC News

Shailagh Benteau watched during the last week as the apartment building in Halifax where she’s lived for seven years has been demolished, work done despite a residential tenancy order stating she didn...

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Reposted by Hannah Main

Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I’m back from an excellent concert at the Little Dutch Church on Brunswick St. This is the second concert of the season, which runs until mid-October. Tonight’s show was with The Rabbit Town String Band, who were amazing! Admission is by donation, and certainly worth it

A trio of musicians play fiddles and guitars on the altar of a small church with people sitting in old wooden benches listening.

A sandwich board sign that says “Little Dutch Church Tiny Church Concerts all welcome” stands on a sidewalk next to the main door of a small church

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

If he is talking about Jerry’s Diner in Bridgewater Nova Scotia, I have to say I agree

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Nightmarish thing that happened today: Found a tick inside. I squished the tick in a bit of toilet paper and threw it in the toilet (but did not flush) Five hours later: I go into the bathroom. The tick is swimming in the toilet.😱

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

The word “continue” is doing a lot of work in this tweet 🧐

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Reposted by Hannah Main

Nora Loreto @nolore.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

"Got the picture of the birds you asked for boss" "Thanks" "Real sexy like you wanted" "Uhh ??"

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

I love to come home after a stressful workweek and unwind by getting stressed recreationally (playoff hockey)

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I think I’d be happy if my last meal was a Sweet Maria Burger + fries and a milkshake from Jonny’s in Berwick.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

The real reason why we can’t import honeybees into Nova Scotia…

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

I was driving at rush hour in Halifax today and I was behind the same car for like 5 minutes and the whole time I could see the driver on his phone just scrolling Instagram

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Finding Lena Dunham’s memoir relatable. Not the parts about being on a first-name basis with Nora Ephron or dating Jack Antonoff. But the parts about chronic illness: “…I wasn't waiting for a cure. I was waiting for the bravery to reframe how I talked about what my body could do…”

Cover of the book Famesick: A Memoir by Lena Dunham

"y've been thinking a lot," 1 stuttered. "This came into our life for a reason, and there's something we have to learn about__-Before I could finish my sentence, she snapped. -I'm not even
or slap me.
dose to being able to go chere." 1 couldn't tell if she wanted to cry It seemed that the agenda that had been decided upon in my absence was that we would doggedly continue marching forward until everyone forgot. But I wasn't going to forget. And until T had sat properly in the humility of this failing, in the silence it brought into my life after the noise died down, 1 knew that I would have nothing to say, nothing to write, and nothing to give.
My body wasn't any more cooperative. Despite the hope that perhaps sobriety would turn over a new leaf, that acknowledging my mental anguish would heal my physical pain, no such thing had happened. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome meant that no matter what changes I made to my medication regimen or to my sense of serenity, there would always be an issue. Sometimes these health crises were dramatic and quixotic—-hives that went as quick as they came, a sudden migraine that could only be resolved via violent barfing. But usually it was mundane, a quotidian backdrop of pain that I fought against, or just tacitly accepted, as I moved through my day. At night, I slept on an ornate network of heating pads plugged into a power strip. When I walked, my hips and knees clicked. At Disney Ranch, despite the practical boots, I rolled an ankle and had to hop around on one foot for the rest of the day. The more I learned, the more I understood I wasn't waiting for a cure. I was waiting for the bravery to reframe how I talked about what my body could do, to use words like "chronic" and "disability." Jack had said I was always in a crisis, pointing to it as one of the many unsustainable conditions of our life. But a crisis only arises if you're expecting a smooth journey. I was still reaching for the idea that some things could just be.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

More dispatches from off-grid. I’m not lying when I say it gets very foggy here. But we’re still producing more watts that we’re using!

Two ground-mounted solar arrays on a misty day.

Solar app showing a total solar panel calcify of 6.96 KW, and 1055 currently coming in. The battery bank is 95% full, and the house is using 67W.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Some traction on the algorithm for this last post of mine, so listen to my friend Thomas’s album! It’s like if John Prine was from Pictou County and studied classics thomasmccallum1.bandcamp.com/album/rose-r...

thomasmccallum1.bandcamp.com

Rose Ravine, by Thomas McCallum

9 track album

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

This photo may not look like much, but it’s very exciting— we are now able to charge our car on our 100% off-grid solar set-up.

A car charger on the wall of a workshop is plugged in to a Hyundai Kona.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Ducks are in the pond. Saw our first red-winged blackbird. Heard our first spring peepers. And the astronauts made it safely home from the longest journey.

A backyard in spring with brownish grass, bird feeders, a pine tree, and mallards under the bird feeders.

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Hannah Main @hannahmain.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

First day of our first spring in our rural, off-grid place and it’s so fun to see everything come back to life. We’re seeing and hearing Canada geese, mallards, owls, and most exciting, the local beaver. It’s gonna be a Mary Oliver spring over here: taking time to notice the wonder of nature

A beaver is on the edge of a creek, surrounded by a winter forest.

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