iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 4h

Sigh. Price label at local No Frills says these tomatoes are “Product of Canada.” Sticker says USA. (p.s. Did not buy.)

Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Ticket sales for “Run Terry Run” so far are…underwhelming. C’mon, Canada, let’s give thanks this weekend by turning out for this celebration of a genuine Canadian hero.

Seat map of Cineplex screening this evening of the Terry Fox documentary “Run Terry Run” shows only a handful of tickets sold.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Cellucci is quoted as saying, at the book’s launch in Ottawa, “This journal, this diary, will be there to remind our sons and daughters and future generations that, when we were in need, Canada was there for us…And we will be eternally grateful to the people of Canada.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

When “A Diary Between Friends” came out in December, 2001, PM Jean Chrétien asked Cellucci to give a copy to US President George W. Bush, who (as an A1 story about the book noted) had “created a minor flap…thanking countries for their support but failed to mention Canada.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

And of course the following month, our troops shipped out to join the Allies in Afghanistan, including three Canadian warships that steamed out of Halifax on Oct. 17, 2001.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Individuals and communities turned up for Americans in a thousand different ways, from impromptu fundraisers to workers who streamed across the border and into NYC to volunteer for the recovery efforts - like firefighters from Brampton and iron workers from Kahnawake.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

And it recalls the outpouring of sympathy - and, yes, love from Canadians for Americans. Canada declared a national day of mourning on Sept. 14, 2001 that was observed in ceremonies across the country. The US Ambassador, Paul Cellucci, was effusive in his praise for Canada.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

But it also notes how other cities across Canada - Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary etc - took in planes and people that may have otherwise been doomed. (You have to remember that, within minutes of the attacks, all airborne planes were deemed potential threats.)

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A Diary Between Friends” of course tells the story of the friendly folks of Gander (with a map of the East Coast that had been put up on the wall at Gander International Airport, with hand drawn arrows indicating NYC, Washington, and a helpful “You are here! (in Canada)” pointing to Newfoundland).

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

So, I was a reporter based in NYC for The Globe and Mail on Sept. 11, and I thought some folks might appreciate a look at what now feels like a wild historical document. Three months after the attacks, McClelland & Stewart published a coffee table book about the friendship between Canada and the US.

Cover of coffee table book “A Diary Between Friends,” showing a US and a Canadian flag in front of a crowd of people.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

It’s because one of the Spanish players hugged Carney and not him, isn’t it?

Screenshot of NYT headline which reads “Trump to Impose 50% Tariff on Many Canadian Goods.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Google AI: Yesterday’s Canada v. South Africa match drew 19M viewers. Me: Interesting! Hey, Google, please tell me which news outlet reported yesterday’s match drew 19M viewers. Google AI: Idiot That number is from a completely different match. Ratings aren’t in yet! Me: [stifles scream]

Screenshot of a Google search showing that yesterday’s Canada v South Africa match drew 19M viewers across all platforms.

Screenshot of Google search for follow-up query asking which outlet reported 19M viewers, indicating ratings aren’t actually in yet.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Seriously, Google, are you okay?

Screenshot of Google Toronto weather forecast shows a steady temperature of (a very moderate!) 17C, and a label underneath that reads “Excessive Heat: Toronto, ON, Canada”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Google’s AI Overview has decided Vancouver’s BC Place is going to host “the highly anticipated Bronze Final” of the World Cup on July 18, instead of Miami. I guess there is something more powerful than FIFA, after all!

Screenshot of Google Search AI Overview result incorrectly shows Vancouver’s BC Place stadium is going to host the World Cup bronze medal match on July 18. (It is, in fact, being held in Miami.)

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Kind of classy! TTC welcomes fans of Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal (and all other Francophones).

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

What would I like to draft with Copilot, you ask? A program that eliminates all of these goddamned AI-promoting prompts I’ve suddenly been getting from every piece of software.

Photo of a computer screen showing MS Word with a message at the top of a new document that reads: “Describe what you’d like to draft with Copilot”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

CBC announces 8.7-million Canadians watched the winning OT goal for the men’s gold medal hockey game yesterday. But in a change from longstanding practice, it doesn’t release average-minute-audience figures for the Milan Cortina broadcasts - only snapshots for the 10 “most-watched moments.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

13 tix sold across four screenings today at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre. (One of them is probably @hertzbarry.bsky.social, who’s always championing little-seen films.) 723 seats still available.

Screenshot of Cineplex page for Melania “documentary” showing 2 tickets sold so far for today’s 8:45 pm screening at Toronto’s Scotiabank Theatre.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Move fast, break things: A little more than 24 hours after announcing its intention to purchase Warner Bros., Netflix sends out email to subscribers in Canada about the move - and seems entirely unaware that WB’s HBO Max is not, in fact, available in this country.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

So happy One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by the extraordinary Omar El Akkad won last night’s National Book Award for non-fiction (even though, as he said, in his speech, it’s “very difficult to think in celebratory terms about a book that was written in response to a genocide”).

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Can’t help but feel as if Fox is throwing a bit of shade with this reminder of the last time Canadian sports teams won their league championship.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Pretty avant garde choice for the World Series anthem choir, to be honest.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

This was from the last time, for the kids who don’t remember or maybe weren’t even around. (A1 and Sports front of The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star, Wed. Oct. 13, 1993.)

Front page of The Globe and Mail of Oct. 13, 1993, top headline reads “Jays set to defend Series title.” At the bottom of the page, another headline reads: “Palestinians poised for the birth of their nation.”

Front page of Globe and Mail Sports section of Oct. 13, 1993, headline reads: “The eyes have it for Blue Jays.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Yeah it’s weird - the online schedule for City is showing Hudson & Rex (again??), but because I’m old (and also because it’s my job) I have cable, and here’s what’s showing up on Bell Fibe.

Screenshot of the Bell Fibe app showing tonight’s Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays game is on CityTV in Toronto.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Pretty good time to see a movie in Toronto.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Globe and Mail editorial cartoonist David Parkins on the effect of that One Big Beautiful Bill.

A bedraggled Uncle Sam holds envelope addressed “To America’s Poor” and a letter reading: “FINAL DEMAND - YOU OWE AMERICA’S RICH: Your health cover, your food stamps, plus around $5 trillion in debt. Time to pay up!”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Er, “the press” put the mass protests against the war in Iraq on their front pages by the hundreds.

Front page of NYT Feb 16, 2003 features photographs and a lead article about the protests against the looming US invasion of Iraq.

Front page of Toronto Star Feb 16, 2003 features photograph and a lead article - headlined “Mass Appeal” - about the worldwide protests against the looming US invasion of Iraq.

Front page of The Washington Post Feb 16, 2003 features photographs and a lead article - headlined “Millions Worldwide Protest Iraq War” - about the protests against the looming US invasion of Iraq.

Front page of The Mail on Sunday, Feb 16, 2003 features photograph and a lead article - headlined “1,500,000 Say No to War on Iraq” - about the worldwide protests against the looming US invasion of Iraq, noting the demonstration the day before in London was “The biggest march in British history.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

I think I know what might have triggered him.

Cover of current Harvard Business Review, special issue titled Dealing with Difficult People.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Okay, so this is going to sound like an ad, but…while so many grocers seem to be dragging their feet on switching away from U.S. produce (Hi, Loblaws!), I just discovered this fab lettuce grown in Monteregie, Quebec, in what seems to be a smart and sustainable greenhouse operation. Win-win-win!

Label for FOLIA greenhouses’ Crunchy Greens lettuce, grown in Canada - which claims it’s “non GMO, no pesticides, needs 99% less water than field crops”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

This reminds me of that time when I was 5 years old and my mother was out picking up a new puppy for my father’s birthday present. My 3 year-old sister and I were waiting at home with him and we said, Mommy went out to get your birthday present and we can’t tell you what it is but it’s not a dog.

NYT report of a Trump Truth Social post in which he declares the US doesn’t need anything from Canada. “We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber” etc

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Great and gutting illustration of the numbskullery of tariffs which everyone (except, maybe a certain president?) can understand: In trying to “reshore” $5 of manufacturing, the U.S. is torching $20 worth of American economic activity. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/o...

Screen capture of NYT Opinion piece which reads, in part: “When you hear of an American company making a product abroad for $5, it sounds like America is sending money away and just getting a doodad in return. In reality, that $5 buys us a product plus the fuel to power $20 of domestic economic activity. Because the $20 gap between my manufacturing cost and my sale price flows to Americans, American companies and other American entities.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

So apparently we’re all living in George Orwell’s *and* Jay Gatsby’s world now?

Screenshot of NYT home page, with one headline that reads “We Are All Living in George Orwell’s World Now” and another just below it which reads “It’s Gatsby’s World, We Just Live In It.”

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

This feels like the sort of front page published during wartime.

Front page of today’s Globe and Mail carries only five lines of black text on white background, with “STRONG AND FREE” in block letters on top half.

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Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Back page of today's A-section. Nicely done, @theglobeandmail.com

Members of Team Canada stand on the ice gazing up at a Canadian flag as "O Canada" plays, after defeating the U.S. in overtime to win the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night.

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