Bear with this old white dude as he walks you through his discovery that brown people are pointing to the pathway out of all this shit.
Recognizing that falling into the depths of cynicism and despair serves no useful purpose, I’ve been finding distraction — among other things, I’m doing this absolutely ridiculous athletic thing that I might write about in a couple of months, assuming it doesn’t kill me first, and I increasingly find myself following my whimsical and not-very-informed musical tastes down various rabbit holes.
Concerning the latter, a year or so ago I became fascinated by the voice of Frazey Ford. I don’t know that I actually like her voice, but I find it compelling — I gotta keep listening because I’m not sure what’s going on there. It’s like finding a new country and walking around because everything is so unexpected and weird. Ford is a singer in the Vancouver group The Be Good Tanyas, which to cite just one example, put out 2006’s “It’s Not Happening.”
That’s neither here nor there, except that somehow The Be Good Tanyas led me to Po’ Girl, the collaboration between Ford’s bandmate Trish Klein and Allison Russell.
Russell has a life story, and it isn’t pretty, reported Jon Pareles for the New York Times in 2021:
Russell was born in Montreal, the daughter of a teenage, Scottish-Canadian mother and a visiting student from Grenada who had returned home before her mother knew she was pregnant. Allison spent her early years in foster care. But when her mother got married — to a white man who grew up in a segregated, so-called “sundown town” in Indiana, which prohibited Black people staying in town after dark — the couple took custody of the 5-year-old Allison. “They just handed me to them,” she recalled. “He was seen as the savior.”
Instead, Russell said, “It was an awful decade.”
She went on, explaining how the situation appeared to her when she was a child. “It’s someone that you are dependent on, who might appear to be kind and loving. Kids are incredibly good at double-think, to borrow from Orwell — to just separate your brain. And that sort of worked for me until puberty. And then it was like I couldn’t keep the worlds separate anymore, and it was crushing.”
At 15, she ran away from home. Still attending high school, she slept in cemeteries or at friends’ houses, hung out in student lounges at McGill University and at the cathedral, and nursed cups of tea in 24-hour cafes…
After police found other women her adoptive father had assaulted, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges and received a three-year sentence with a chance at earlier parole.
Russell hasn’t let the abuse she suffered define her, but she has used it as source material for some of her songs, including “Part Time Poppa” (the title is self-explanatory) and “Persephone” (about a high school girlfriend who helped her find love in a loveless world).
With the promotional help of Brandi Carlile, Russell’s career has blossomed, most notably with her song “Nightflyer.”
But I’m struck by her older song, “Joyful Motherfuckers,” in which she sings:
Where in the world are the joyful motherfuckers?
The fearless lovers, the rainbow shooters
The wild acceptors, the hopeful sinners
The gentle teachers, the true forgivers
Les courageuses, les amoureuses
Les enfants braves, les grand-mères jeunes, les lumineuses
If you’ve got love in your heart, but it’s way down in the dark
You better let it see the sun, this world is almost done
Grandma always told me love will conquer hate
I don’t know if it’s too late, I don’t know if it’s too late
Hey you, hey you, who you think I’m talking to?
Show ’em what you got in your heart
I happened to have re-listened to ‘Joyful Motherfuckers’ a couple of hours before Sunday’s Super Bowl half-time show by Bad Bunny, which was at its heart a celebration of Puerto Rican history and music culture. As with Russell, all that celebration — the songs, the music, the dancing, the mirroring of history — comes in the face of a terrible backstory — in Puerto Rico’s case, a history of imperialism and exploitation.
He tells us outright: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Quite literally, joy is resistance.
Yeah, but you see, I’m wallowing in the depths of cynicism and despair over here.
I recognize that giving up is its own form of privilege. I’m starting to reevaluate the cynicism that imbues the dominant culture of white middle class dudes like myself, and see it not as the smarter-than-others understanding about the ultimate truth about the world, but rather as the poise needed to justify inaction.
Fact is, a lifetime of that shit leads to a life that doesn’t much remember how to find joy.
A couple of brown people help show us the way out.
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NOTICED
1. Nova Scotia Power fires its president, hires a Sobeys exec
Peter Gregg, president of Nova Scotia Power, speaks to reporters on Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: Jennifer Henderson
This morning, Nova Scotia Power (NSP) announced that it has “transitioned” president Peter Gregg out of the CEO position and into a VP position at NSP’s parent company Emera — such lateral demotions in the corporate world are meant to paper over the actual fact that Gregg has been fired.
All the nice words about Gregg in the press release aside, it’s impossible not to understand that he is, rightly, being held responsible for the multiple failures and breakdowns that led to the cyberattack against the utility and its aftermath, all of which will (hopefully) cost NSP hundreds of millions of dollars in lost profit.
In Gregg’s place, NSP is installing long-time board member Vivek Sood as president. Sood’s day job has been with Sobeys/Empire Group. So, we’ve been liberated from the fold, and the world looks just the same, history ain’t changed.
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2. King’s Transit is now Tidal Transit
The King’s Transit Authority’s first bus, in 1981. Credit: King’s Transit Authority
King’s Transit is no more.
The Annapolis Valley bus service has rebranded. After considering several other new names — Valley Transit, Western Transit, Harvest Moon Transit, Apple Blossom Transit — the name Tidal Transit was chosen.
The name change comes after the international professional services consultant Colliers was contracted to review the transit authority. A cynic might think that this is an unnecessary expenditure of whatever it costs to repaint the buses, get new stationery, and hang a new sign on its headquarters.
In reality, explained transit authority general manager Meg Hodges at a Valley Regional Services board of directors meeting last fall, the name change reflects a change in ownership. The authority had been breaking down for a while; in 2015, West Hants and the town of Windsor backed out of the service, and then last year, the Town of Digby ended its contract with the authority.
In the wake of Digby’s departure, last year a new contract was signed between Kings, Annapolis, and Digby counties, and the towns of Middleton, Berwick, Kentville, and Wolfville. The revamped authority obtained about a million dollars in federal funding.
The winter of 2025 was tough for the bus system, with revenue dropping because buses kept breaking down. But things are looking up, said Hodges — two of the broken-down buses were repaired and five used buses were purchased from Grand River Transit in Waterloo, Ont. There are still staffing issues — some buses don’t run for lack of drivers — but Hodges felt that was resolvable.
The name change became effective as of Jan. 5.
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THE LATEST FROM THE HALIFAX EXAMINER:
1. ‘Remove the walls’: an interfaith event at Halifax mosque welcomed non-Muslims
Copies of Quran on display at the Ummah Masjid’s interfaith event on Feb. 6, 2025. Credit: Madiha Mughees
Madiha Mughees reports:
To celebrate World Interfaith Harmony Week, a Halifax mosque hosted an interfaith event on Friday to foster dialogue and understanding amid growing intolerance among faith communities.
The all-day multicultural and interfaith event, organized by Ummah Masjid and Community Centre, extended an “invitation to learn, experience, and connect across faiths and cultures in a welcoming and open environment.”
The event was attended by Nova Scotians from several faiths and belief systems and began with a brief presentation, followed by trivia, a question-and-answer session, and a cultural meal. Attendees also visited the prayer area to witness the Friday sermon and congregational prayer.
Click or tap here to read “‘Remove the walls’: an interfaith event at Halifax mosque welcomed non-Muslims.”
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2. ‘Wind South’: Potential benefits and pitfalls of sending electricity to New England
Premier Tim Houston and Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey sign a memorandum of understanding on offshore wind at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Feb. 4. Standing behind them are Rebecca Tepper, Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (left), and Mary Louise (Weezie) Nuara, Assistant Secretary for Federal and Regional Energy Affairs. Credit: Province of Nova Scotia
Writes Larry Hughes:
Last week, Energy Minister/Premier Tim Houston signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on the sale of electricity to Massachusetts from “Nova Scotia’s budding offshore wind industry.”
According to the energy minister/premier, Nova Scotia is “on the verge of our first call for bids” for offshore wind projects, something that was expected to have started in 2025.
As the headline suggests, Hughes walks us through what could be a good thing, but also the considerable challenges regarding subsea cables.
Click or tap here to read “‘Wind South’: Potential benefits and pitfalls of sending electricity to New England.”
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3. Halifax transportation standing committee approves report on rural microtransit
Drivers pass the sign marking the boundary of Lucasville on Monday, March 6, 2023. Credit: Zane Woodford
Suzanne Rent reports:
Halifax regional council’s transportation standing committee approved a report on a microtransit service plan that will include a proof of concept project for microtransit in Lucasville.
However, some councillors expressed concern about the cost, while one councillor wanted to add her district to the proof of concept, too.
Click or tap here to read “Halifax transportation standing committee approves report on rural microtransit.”
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Government
City
Tuesday
Halifax Regional Council (Tuesday, 10am, details)
Wednesday
Budget Committee (Wednesday, 9:30am, details)
Province
Health (Tuesday, 1pm, details) — Early years Programs from Public Health; with representatives from Nova Scotia Health
On campus
Dalhousie
Tuesday
Pharmacology seminar (Tuesday, 9:30am, details) — Adam Johnston presents “The contribution of nerve-derived cells to tissue repair and regeneration – from basic biology to clinical translation”
Wednesday
Dalhousie Mini medical School (Wednesday, 7pm, details) — Stewart Whalen presents “Below the Belt: Insights into men’s health”
King’s
Tuesday
No events
Wednesday
Freedom and the Muse (Wednesday, 7:30pm, details) — Dave Peddle will talk, with a live performance of music by the Rev. Dave Trio
Mount Saint Vincent
Tuesday
No events
Wednesday
Hannah Epstein: Plato’s Goon Cave (Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm, MSVU Art Gallery)
NSCAD
Tuesday
No events
Wednesday
Sow to Sew Speaker Series (Wednesday, 12pm, Treaty Space Gallery) — with Megan Samms
In the harbour
Halifax
No arrivals or departures.
Cape Breton
12:00: Alicante, oil tanker, sails from EverWind for sea
13:00: Ulsan Spirit, oil tanker, sails from EverWind for sea
Footnotes
Snow coming, they say.