Stephen Maher

Stephen Maher

@stephenmaher.bsky.social

Journalist, novelist. Nova Scotian.

8.9K followers284 following369 posts

Stephen Maher reposted

Be Giant
@be-giant.bsky.social

In the words of one attendee, it was the start of an era of “Canada unleashed.” From a mega tax break to steps to privatizing airports to making new friends in Europe, 8 of the ideas that won the day at the Canada Investment Summit. @stephenmaher.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

begiant.caEight ways Canada can turbocharge growthAt the Canada Investment Summit, investors and policymakers plotted a path forward that includes airports, mines and the military

Stephen Maher reposted

Be Giant
@be-giant.bsky.social

The Canada Investment Summit – a two-day pitch fest at Toronto's luxurious Four Seasons Hotel – is a crucial step in Mark Carney’s plan to unlock a trillion dollars of new investment in Canada. Here’s how it came together. @stephenmaher.bsky.social: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

begiant.caInside the making of Canada’s biggest investment summitThe pivotal two-day pitch fest was assembled across continents and industries – and is likely to return next year
Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

I saw this on Bruce's Facebook page and thought more people should read it. I'm grateful that he gave me permission to share it.

Stephen Maher@stephenmaher.bsky.social

We need to stand together A message from a decorated Canadian veteran stephenjmaher.substack.com/p/we-need-to...

Stephen Maher reposted

James McLeod
@jamespmcleod.ca

Replying to @jamespmcleod.ca

The basic notion that we can cede our ability to regulate American big tech, in exchange for lower (but not zero!) steel and aluminum tariffs, is just a basic misiread of what parts of the economy are most important and valuable.

Stephen Maher reposted

Justin Ling
@justinling.ca

We're still waiting for details about Canada's trade deal with Trump — specifically, what concessions America has extorted out of us. Sources tell me Carney may be sacrificing yet another pillar of Canada's Big Tech regulations. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

thestar.comJustin Ling: Mark Carney will have to sacrifice to get a deal. But this concession would be too muchChatter that the Online News Act is on the table in Canada-U.S. trade talks are an ominous warning sign that Mark Carney is giving up too much.

Stephen Maher reposted

Ohio Capital Journal
@ohiocapitaljournal.com

Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio are being required to wear ankle monitors and turn their passports over to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/08/14/h...

ohiocapitaljournal.comHaitians in Springfield are required to report to Ohio's ICE offices and wear ankle monitors • Ohio Capital JournalHaitians living in Springfield, Ohio are being required to wear ankle monitors and turn their passports over to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

Fifty years ago, when I was a child, my uncle delighted me by telling me how Odysseus used wordplay to escape from the cave of a one-eyed giant who wanted to eat him. After thinking about the movie for a few weeks, I decided I wanted to write something about it.

Stephen Maher reposted

James McLeod
@jamespmcleod.ca

BikeShareTO is arguably the single greatest Canadian public services success of the 21st century, and I really can't think of another obvious contender that comes even close.

Matt Armstrong@matta7.bsky.social

Recently had to explain to a professional from outside Toronto, that the vast majority of downtown Toronto workers commute by bike, walking, or transit. Some drive, but they are the minority. Perhaps I should show them these bike share stations…

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

People say this to me sometimes and I feel the same way. Get in there and read all the books! It's free and amazing!

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social

Someone said to me, "I'm sorry but I got your book from a library." Nobody should ever apologise for that. You read my book! That's brilliant! I grew up hanging out in libraries and the idea of a world without them fills me with dread. Without libraries, authors, like readers, will only suffer.

Stephen Maher reposted

Timothy Burke
@bubbaprog.xyz

Buglarian correspondent Ivo Ivanov, who happens to live in Lawrence, reveals his favorite moment of the World Cup to Bulgarian TV viewers. Watch this if you need a reminder about what, or actually who, really constitutes the United States of America. (auto-transcribed & translated as usual)

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Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

Anyway, so it's a great movie, and inevitably a commercial product designed for a market that needs a relatable hero, and that's fine, and people will still be reading the poem long after the movie is forgotten.

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Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

And the sex, with Circe and Calypso, is it elided because Damon is basically playing a 21st century American dad? I guess so. Viewers wouldn't like him if he was the scheming, ruthless pirate who cheats on his wife without a care while she waits for him.

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

What I like about the Odyssey, the poem, so much, is that you never really get a handle on Odysseus. He is relatable at times and repellent at other times, and it's interesting to think about how the audiences at the time felt about him.

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Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

It would not be responsible, I don't think, to film the hanging of the maids. And also by not including it, you do not represent the bloodthirsty quality of the poem, which remains perplexing and horrible and brilliant 3,000 years later.

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Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

It's not that it is bad, but it is very 21st century. A lot of what I like about reading Homer is trying to understand the people who lived thousands of years ago and were very like us and also utterly different in their values.

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

Nolan could not have made a $250 million movie and lured the most desirable actors in the world to participate if the goal was to unsettle us with the very strange (to us) world view of ancient Greeks.

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Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

2. All of the people who complained pre-emptively about the casting, warned that it was woke, including the man who owns this web site, should delete their accounts, and we should do our best to ignore their inane critiques. They resemble the suitors.

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

3. I'm not sure I really like what Nolan has done with the poem, which is kind of an obsession for me, something I keep returning to, studying in an amateur way, ie, without knowing how to read ancient Greek.

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

(Spoiler alerts) 1. It is a great Hollywood movie, likely the best, most impressive piece of film-making in some time. Anyone who likes movies should go see it, in IMAX if possible. By the end, you know you have experienced something special.

Stephen Maher
@stephenmaher.bsky.social

Here's a mental exercise for people who think we can "manage" fire risk in the boreal forest. If you drive from Goose Bay to Churchill Falls, and you stop your car and walk into the woods on the north side of the road, you can walk all the way to Russia before you hit a town.

Stephen Maher reposted

Michelle Cyca
@michellecyca.com

most striking thing for me in this article is the apparently enormous discrepancy in reading habits between Canada and the U.S. in 2025, 79% of Canadians reported reading at least one book. www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-lei...

booknetcanada.caCanadian Leisure and Reading Study 2025 — BookNet Canada
Esther Schindler@estherschindler.bsky.social

“Fewer than half of all adults reported having read a book of any kind in 2022. Only 38 percent read a novel or short story."

theatlantic.comThe End of Reading Is Here - The AtlanticOptimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history.

Stephen Maher reposted

Aaron Wherry
@aaronwherry.bsky.social

Same could be said about the Trudeau government's changes to government advertising (which the Carney government has rolled back).

Adam Radwanski@aradwanski.bsky.social

The (at least partial) reversal of Trudeau's approach to the Senate strikes me as a good example of a fairly common phenomenon, in which politicians make governance reforms which prove to have little political benefit, because we're reluctant to give politicians credit for that kind of thing.

Stephen Maher reposted

Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

There’s never been anyone whose involvement more completely and immediately poisons vibes and destroys joy. No good thing survives contact.

Stephen Maher reposted

Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com

Well the score wasn’t what I wanted but the rest of this definitely panned out

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com

I am from LA and my grandma was Mexican so of course I am rooting for Mexico but going solely by the real-time reactions online I am also sort of rooting for the game to continue to be as chaotic and unhinged as possible