Dreamlike solo show tackles complex ideas

Charming Toronto writer/actor delves deep in autobiographical drama

At this point in our culture, the words “I see dead people” may lead you to assume you’re in for a scary ride.

What’s fascinating about Samson Bonkeabantu Brown’s autobiographical solo play 11:11 is how un-scary it is. For the average theatregoer, certainly it is a work that may take you out of your comfort zone. But it does this in a delightful way, like a strange dream that feels like its own adventure.

That’s not a coincidence. Brown has plumbed his own dreamlife in telling his story, about a child visited by ancestors and pushed toward an understanding of a vague future purpose: “You are a child who will bridge the gap.”

The journey continues into an unsettled adolescence, in which Brown comes to terms with a sexual preference towards women, and yet refuses the label of lesbian: Born with the body of a girl, he knows he is a man.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The new moon is in Scorpio.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This might be one of the best days of the year to go through paperwork you’ve been avoiding; especially relating to financial matters related to inheritances, taxes, debt and insurance matters. Brace yourself and dig in.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Province declares state of emergency

The Manitoba government has declared a provincewide state of emergency to reduce the spread of COVID-19, giving legal force to social-distancing directives by provincial health authorities.

Effective 4 p.m. Friday, the province limited the size of indoor and outdoor public gatherings to no more than 50 people for a period of 30 days.

The order includes faith-based gatherings and family events, such as weddings and funerals. It does not apply to hospitals or areas where social services are provided.

What were once guidelines have now become orders, with those defying them susceptible to fines and possible jail sentences.

Closing book on weather-damaged harvest

Farmers trying to close the book on this year’s harvest are left with a few loose ends that already promise to make next year’s story interesting.

Fighting weeds, insects and disease goes with the territory when growing annual crops. But unpredictable growing conditions and weather combined with new players joining the crop-threat team make the plot line twisty.

It was uncommonly common to see fields this past summer where it was hard to tell what crop was growing beneath the weeds, if there was a crop on that field at all.

The cold weather, heavy rains and flooding early in the growing season made it impossible for farmers in many areas to follow their usual approach to seeding and weed control. Fields in the most heavily deluged areas remained unworkable until late summer, if farmers could even reach them due to washed-out roads and bridges.

Independent Scotland — rich or poor?

IN THE debate over whether Scotland should be independent, each side has for years lobbed economic grenades at the other. The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) broke into mainstream politics in the 1970s with the slogan, "It's Scotland's Oil." Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister and SNP leader, calls it "larceny" that revenues from oil and gas production, most of which comes from Scottish waters, have stuffed London's coffers for 40 years. George Osborne, Britain's chancellor, retorts that Scotland would be the poorer for secession.

So would an independent Scotland be an impoverished backwater or a land flowing with oil and money? A precise answer is impossible, since Whitehall does not count all of Britain's revenue and spending streams by geography. But a close reading of the figures suggests an answer, which is less dramatic than either staunch nationalists or unionists might hope.

Scotland's accounts of revenue and expenditure, based on Treasury data, show that it is not a ward of the state, grossly subsidized from Westminster. In fact, it performs better than all regions outside the southeast of England and has done particularly well in the past decade. In 2010-11, Scotland's GDP was $225 billion including a geographical share of North Sea oil and gas, around 10 per cent of Britain's, with 8.4 per cent of the population.

A real Christmas present — no gifts

The holidays are supposed to be a time of eat, drink and be merry. So why do they often feel like a time to eat, cry, and be stressed?

There’s a lot of expectation around this time of year, especially when it comes to gift-giving. Whether you’re working as a secret Santa or actual Santa, there’s real pressure to give the perfect gift — and get into credit card debt doing it. And for those who can’t put a pile of presents under a twinkling tree, the pressure is even more painful.

And then there’s the matter of waste. The endless Amazon packages that are then wrapped up in shiny, unrecyclable paper. The appreciated but unwanted knick-knacks and tchotchkes that end up in closets. The plastic toys that are eschewed by toddlers for the boxes they came in.

The whole process can end up being a joy-suck, which is why many people are rethinking their approach to gift-giving — or opting out of it entirely.