iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 24/08/2026

As my people say, "Yeah, no."

SUMMARY OF KEY U.S. DEMANDS IN 2026 CANADA-U.S. TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

1. VETO OVER STRATEGIC INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS:

2. PREEMPTIVE TRADE RESTRICTIONS ON NON-U.S. NATIONS:

3. JURISDICTIONAL PREEMPTION ON CRITICAL MINERALS:

4. RESCINDING THE DIGITAL SERVICES TAX & ONLINE NEWS ACT:

5. ELIMINATION OF CULTURAL AND LANGUAGE PROTECTIONS:

6. ELIMINATION OF "BUY CANADA" PUBLIC PROCUREMENT RULES:

7. DISMANTLING AGRICULTURAL SAFEGUARDS:

8. UNILATERAL ALTERATION OF AUTO RULES:

9. PHARMACEUTICAL PATENT EXTENSIONS:

10. PRIORITY ALLOCATION OF CANADIAN ENERGY:

11. BINDING MILITARY & ARCTIC MANDATES:

12. LOWERING CUSTOMS & DE MINIMIS RULES:

13. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT CHANGES (EXISTING UNDER REVIEW):

Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 22/08/2026

Lady X, by Molly Fader (pub. July 14). So, SO good, and will stoke plenty of righteous feminist rage. However, I also hated how many people I know where I would have to hesitate to recommend it due to the subject matter. It's dark, unflinching, and satisfying, but the resolution is no fairy tale.

Cover of Lady X by Molly Fader. Back background hot pink to deep orange ombre for the title and graphic. Most of the cover is the X, and inside it is a back silhouette of a woman in 70s clothes, facing a NYC streetscape.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 22/08/2026

A couple more recent and enjoyed reads. Jenny Holiday's Brown Eyed Earl (ARC, pub. Oct. 27) — whole series is a warm hub. There is drama and toxicity, but it's all satisfyingly vanquished. MCs are kind, curious, quirky, and a little wounded, so finding love is extra satisfying.

Bright illustrated cover for Jenny Holiday's Brown Eyed Earl, in yellow, green, and orange, with a couple by a reflecting pool lower front, other people in the garden-y middle, and a noble country house top/background.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 12/08/2026

#4: Jo Piazza: The Parisian Heist pub. July 14) I think I liked The Sicilian Inheritance a bit more, but this had Paris, art, and women getting theirs by any means necessary. Loved the historical story woven in with Van Gogh's SIL Jo, which was based on her actual life.

Cover of Jo Piazza's The Parisian Heist, in blues, showing a woman looking out a window (the D'Orsay clock?) over the Seine, where a boat is passing. Appears to be night.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 12/08/2026

#3: Heather Fawcett: Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter (Pub. Feb. 2026) Charmed the pants off me. AU Montreal in the 20s. Magic is A Thing. A woman just trying to save stray cats, navigate grief, and enjoy pastries. Gets mixed up with pesky (and lethal? and eccentric? and handsome?) magicians.

Cover of Heather Fawcett's Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter. Cover has in browns and blues with Art Demo styling and an assortment of books, cats, and knick knacks.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 12/08/2026

#2: Jenny Holiday: Book Club Boyfriend (Pub. July 14) I most enjoy her work with characters with mileage and who have been through it. This hits that spot. Former starlet/rom com queen and literary rock star who's sophomore slumping. (Plus neighbour sabotage!) Lots to figure out, messiness ensues.

Illustrated cover of Jenny Holiday's Book Club Boyfriend, featuring a large pool with a blonde woman in the foreground with a book, and a man reading in a patio chair in the background. Front corner has the edge of a lemon tree.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 12/08/2026

Haven't done this in a while. Things I've enjoyed reading recently. 📚 #1: Emma Barry: You, Me, & The Conspiracy (ARC - pub. Nov. 10) History nerd adventure — juicy ideas, historical nuggets, bad guys. Twists, turns, danger! Not to mention excellent yearning and a spicy payoff. Ripped through it.

Cover for Emma Barry's You, Me, & the Conspiracy, featuring an illustrated cover with a blue background in a library with a man and woman in the foreground. She holds a map or folio, and he carries a leather satchel. There's a clock face beneath their feet and a couple floating pieces of paper in the air.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 22/03/2026

Canadians (and others in the know), this cake tastes like Coffee Crisp. Photo is the one I made. sallysbakingaddiction.com/espresso-cho...

Photo of an espresso chocolate chip cake with dark chocolate shavings.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 09/02/2026

Women's singles, Lorraine Broughton. There might be men on the ice when my performance started, but there wouldn't be by the time I was done.

Promotional shot of Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde, in dark green (technically black in the movie) overcoat, mini-dress, and thigh-high boots, wearing sunglasses and carrying a silenced pistol.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 09/02/2026

Not wrong, though...

Social post screenshot that says the wedding during Bad Bunny's Super Bowl half-time show was real, along with the comment, "thats so brave of her i would never get married in front of bad bunny just in case there was still a chance tbh"

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 11/01/2026

I have sent this to many first-time dog owners. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Comic from The Oatmeal showing a guy sitting on a grey couch with a potato-shaped brown dog. Title is “How to be a dog”. Step 1 says “Make someone love you”. Step 2 says “Spend your whole life finding creative ways to kill yourself”. Dog’s speech bubble on the second picture says “I think you should know, I ate some batteries earlier.”

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 04/01/2026

My dog is nature’s perfect winter ambush predator. 😂

Photo of some scrubby trees and shrubs with snow on the ground. Among the branches is a 90lb brown brindle and white dog, well camouflaged.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 03/01/2026

The horrors persist, but so do cats.

Screenshot of Bluesky trending topics, showing:

1. Caturday
2. International Relations
3. Keir Starmer
4. US Aggression
5. Venezuela Explosions

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 30/12/2025

Guess we know what their next project will be… #EmberandIce #HeatedRivalry

Graphic from The Onion showing Shane and Ilya from Heated Rivalry in tuxes, heads together, with text, “Q: What is the plot?
A: Two men have a steamy sexual affair despite not being vampires or elf nobility or anything.”

I have scratched out elf nobility since Ember & Ice has dropped.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 25/12/2025

Did I murder her entire family in front of her... or just put her boots on to go outside? Who can say.

A large brown brindle and white dog looks up at the world's most horrible human with big, tragic eyes as she lays on her dog bed that features fabric of wiener dogs in sweaters. The dog has been hideously violated... by having boots put on to go outside.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 24/12/2025

The festive shenanigans will continue until morale improves.

A large brown brindle and white dog gives long-suffering side eye to the human with the camera, while her cozy dog bed is invaded by stuffed gnomes.

A large brown brindle and white dog accepts her fate, resting her head and staring into the middle distance while her cozy dog bed is invaded by stuffed gnomes.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 13/12/2025

Technically, there should be two cardinals. 🙂 #IYKYK

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 29/11/2025

The season is IMMINENT.

WHAMAGEDDON
THE RULES
THE 1ST RULE The objective is to go as long as
possible without hearing WHAM's Christmas classic; "Last
Christmas".
THE 2ND RULE The game starts on December Ist, and ends at midnight on
December 24th.
(Yes, we're European heathens)
THE 3RD RULE
Only the original version applies. Enjoy the fuck out of remixes and
covers.
THE 4TH RULE You're out as soon as you
recognise the song.
BONUS RULE Post on social media with the #whamageddon hashtag when
you get hit.
PUP? While we can't stop you from deliberately sending your friends to Whamhalla, the intention is that this is a survival game. Not a Battle Royale. So don't be a dick,
mkay?

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 27/11/2025

You just died. The 6th picture in your phone gallery is what killed you.

A baker/gingerbread man gnome stuffie, with square-patterned body, red and white-striped arms, white slouchy chef’s hat with nose peeking out, long and wispy white beard, and a sprig of holly on the right temple.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 25/11/2025

This stuff is awesome. Smells amazing and my skin slurps it down like a hen party into margaritas. Can’t remember where I saw the reco, so if it was here, THANK YOU.

946ml/32oz yellow pump bottle of African Diamond Cocoa Butter lotion.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 23/11/2025

You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well, really, what's it to you? There's a blaze of light in every word It doesn't matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah

The pope stands at a microphone, which he’s holding with both hands. He looks like he could be crooning. There is a cardinal in a red zucchetto behind him, and other men in black, etc.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 15/11/2025

They’ve sort of accumulated.

Blue armchair displaying a dozen or so plush gnomes of various sizes, occupations, and countries of origin.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 15/11/2025

HOW DO I NOT ALREADY OWN THIS???

An approximately foot tall plush gnome dressed as a Christmas baker, standing next to a leafy plant and glass candle holder.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 10/11/2025

You expecting a Ukrainian drone strike, bruh?

A Cybertruck in an outdoor parking lot, looking extra dumpstery with noticeably oxidized doors and something like a cope cage attached to the top.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 05/11/2025

I continue to be powerless in the face of Tim’s merch.

A large brown mug with a bemused bear’s face, and he’s holding a Tim’s takeout cup.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 02/11/2025

So much fun. ❤️🖤💜

Newspaper programme for the Rocky Horror performance at Goderich’s Livery Theatre.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 01/11/2025

Breakfast of Champions.

A while speckled coffee mug with an M on it, and a snack-sized Coffee Crisp.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 01/11/2025

Even fictional movie killers have embraced the remote working lifestyle.

A plump Michael Myers in a fuzzy red housecoat and blue Croc, holding a black cat coffee mug, standing beside a possessed doll and a cauldron with a red spotlight, in front of a 12-foot Inferno pumpkin monster named Burnt Reynolds, as Halloween kicks off.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 27/10/2025

Post an AI from the past that was better than the ones we have today.

An original Texas Instruments Speak & Spell in deep orange, with yellow, blue, and orange keyboard and sturdy carrying handle.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 23/10/2025

Where are they taking them?

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 22/10/2025

These come from the same place. I will not be taking questions.

Tom Holland mid-dance in his Rihanna homage Umbrella lip sync performance, in a black bob wig, black halter corset, black patent leather short shorts trimmed in lack, lace wrist cups, black stockings with large weave black fishnets over top, black boots, and brandishing a furled black umbrella.

Alexander Skarsgaard at the Pillion premiere in a white halter top with black leather tie, lace-up black leather pants, and black patent leather boots, standing in front of a shiny clack and silver motorcycle and giving the camera a bit of a smoulder.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 19/10/2025

Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only. (What a twist!)

Very Rococo portrait of Marie Antoinette with elaborate pearl-entwined powdered hairstyle sporting feathers and other baubles, lace-trimmed gown and deep blue velvet cloak with gold fleurs de lys.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 19/10/2025

I was not prepared for this gin to be this good. Made in Ontario! Could easily drink on the rocks or neat.

A delicious bottle of Valley of Mother of God gin sitting on a barbecue.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 16/10/2025

Good light. Good tree. 🍁

A classic Canadian mid-October photo of a residential urban side street. The top of a red brick and blue siding house is visible on far right, as are flower bed with varying amounts of green and brown vegetation. But catching the attention is a lovely 200+-year-old maple tree as golden hour approaching, glowing bright orange against and blue sky with light, fluffy clouds.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 01/10/2025

Statler had that same look. Then I told her we had to go home and get back to work, and it changed to this. 🤷‍♀️

A brown brindle and white dog is shown from the shoulders up. She is standing on grass scattered with crunchy orange and brown oak leaves. She is wearing a red/black Buffalo plaid harness. Her face is a bit grizzled, her eyebrows are drawn, her lower lids are drooping, and she looks like you just broke up with her.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 01/10/2025

My weakness for Tim's merch continues. In my defence, though, I will be using this with my Halloween costume. (And I have never gotten over missing out on the adorable ghost last year.)

A 20oz mug in the shape of a black cat with green eyes who's smizing. It has tiny pointy ears that probably won't stab me in the eyes. Appears to be holding a Tim Hortons beverage with a straw between its front paws. That apparently changes colour when there's a hot beverage in the mug.

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 01/10/2025

Don't you hate it when the algorithm scores a direct hit?

Vintage look dark grey t-shirt with graphics of Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. The text says: "Law offices of Statler and Waldorf, Est. 1975, We're not half bad, we're all bad"

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Melanie Baker @melle.ca · 28/09/2025

I think I’ve found this year’s costume. My fuzzy robe is red, and I’ll pair it with a monster mug and bunny slippers or similar. Stick with the Michael Myers mask, or someone else? My brother has just about everyone. Pennywise might go well with a red robe… 🎈

An adult person in an orange fuzzy robe, standing outside a house and wearing a Michael Myers mask while holding a black coffee mug. There are Halloween decorations on the porch, including black and white vertical trick and treat signs.

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