TRAINING FOR CELA PATRONS MAY-JUNE 2026

Join us to learn more about CELA and how to access accessible format books on different devices. Join us for our upcoming webinars in May-June 2026:

1.Accessing CELA using a Victor Stratus DAISY Player

Do you own a Humanware Victor Reader Stratus 4M or the new Stratus 2? Were you receiving books on CD and want to continue using the Stratus for CELA content? Are you considering getting the Stratus to access reading materials from CELA? Join us for this hour-long webinar about how this versatile device lets you read CELA’s books and magazines in audio and e-text formats. This webinar is for new Victor Stratus users or those interested in learning new ways of using this player. By attending this webinar, you will learn about:

• General features of the Victor Stratus, and what’s new with the latest model
• Configuring the device for use with CELA
• How to navigate and manage your Direct to Player bookshelf
• Reading a title and playback options
• How to find help in using the Victor Stratus with CELA

To register for the online Zoom webinar please select the link below and fill in the registration form. To attend by phone, please call the Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273.

Tuesday May 12 2:00-3:00pm EDT

2.Getting Started with Accessible Reading Canada: Listen to CELA Audiobooks with Alexa

Join us for a live webinar introducing Accessible Reading Canada, a new way for CELA patrons to enjoy CELA audiobooks using Alexa-enabled smart speakers. This 60-minute session will walk you through how to use voice commands to search, browse, and listen to audiobooks from your CELA Direct to Player Bookshelf using the Accessible Reading Canada Alexa skill.

This webinar will cover:

• What Alexa-enabled smart speakers are and how they work
• How to set up and use the Accessible Reading Canada skill
• How to use voice commands for browsing and reading
• Where to find help guides and additional support

After the presentation, there will be a Q&A session to ask additional questions. This session will be recorded.

To register for the online Zoom webinar please select the link below and fill in the registration form. To attend by phone, please call the Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273.

Mon June 22 3:00-4:00pm EDT

 

To register for a training session, select the link with the webinar date and time. (You will need to adjust the times for your region - all times given on the website are in Eastern Time.)

Once you have registered, you will receive your own individual link to join the webinar, with the option of adding the information to your calendar.

Recorded versions of previous webinars are available on our Webinar recordings page.

For information on upcoming patron webinars, see the Webinars for you page on the CELA website.

We hope you will join us. Please contact CELA if you have any questions.

CELA Member Services
1-855-655-2273, press 2
members@celalibrary.ca  
celalibrary.ca
Follow us on Facebook & X

 

 

 

 

Centre for Equitable Library Access   CELA webinars for patrons Subscribe to the CELA YouTube channel

WHAT LIFTS MY SPIRITS ABOUT SPRING

There are two things that lift my spirits about spring.

The first is the spring peepers. I have to confess I'd never even noticed these little frogs and their parents till a few years ago. I'd heard tree frogs

in late May and early June, but, while I enjoyed them, I'm not sure how much I even cared about hearing this other breed of amphibian.

I first became intentionally conscious of the spring peepers about four years ago after reading the biography of a blind mechanic named Eric Davidson.

Spring peepers and croakers were one of his favourite things. One night in late March I went out to my backyard to take advantage of the comparatively

warmer temperatures after winter. I heard the high-pitched peeping and knew what was making that sound.

Since then, this time of year I make an effort to get out every night to listen for at least a little while.

The second thing that lifts my spirits about spring is getting to wear rubber boots. I guess this hearkens back to being a kid. Rubber boots, and a new

pair at that, always meant springtime, which also meant the end of winter and the soon approach of the summer holidays.

One other possible reason for my fondness for rubber boots is we wear them for a fairly short period of time, between the snow boots of winter and the

shoes that come with the ground drying.

THE PSYCHO WHO ADVISES TRUMP

Say what you will, neocons and Christian lovers of the people of Revelation 2 9 and 3 9, Candace is still putting out good stuff. We should not stigmatize the mentally ill, but nor should they be in the Oval Office. 

MORE PROOF PAULA WHITE IS A COMPLETE IDIOT

This short also proves she is totally unqualified as a Bible teacher. Yes, there are lots of wonderful promises throughout God's Word for people today, but the Scriptures must be read, studied, understood, and applied in context. 

PARODY TIME-THINGS I HAVE TO TELL YOU

THINGS I HAVE TO TELL YOU

Open on a high school cafeteria. A female art teacher stands at the front behind a podium. A few students sit at nearby tables.

Art Teacher: Well welcome to poetry night. I’m quite excited to be the mc of this first-time event. Tonight, we’re going to hear poetry specifically written by our female students. (Looks at list) Our first reader will be Teek. Step up to the mic, Teek.

(Teek approaches the microphone, pulls out a piece of paper and begins to read.)

Teek: This poem is called “Me Saying Stuff.”

I’m saying stuff

Like why conform to what white society wants,

Let’s conform to

What black society wants instead.

Let’s do that

Even though what we think of black culture in this country

Has nothing to do with traditional African culture or values.

Let’s just put ourselves in another box

Make everything about race and oppression,

Not think for ourselves

And be swept along with the tide out to sea instead.

(Teek returns to her seat.)

Art Teacher: Very good. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything so outside of the box. Our next reader will be Marion.

(Marion steps to the mic and reads.)

Marion: This poem is called “I am the Best-looking Woman in the World.”

Man, I really am

The best-looking woman in the world.

I mean, wow!

There really is no woman on this planet

More beautiful than me.

I just had to write this poem

Because if I don’t constantly tell myself

As well as everyone else

How stunning I look

Then who will?

(Marion returns to her seat.)

Art Teacher: Very good, Marion. You’ve no idea how rare and gratifying it is to encounter a girl with your healthy level of self-esteem. Our next reader will be Xiang.

(Xiang steps to the mic and reads.)

Xiang: This poem is called “I May be Female but I’m Just Like a Man.”

I admire all the transgender superheroes

And other characters out there

Because, and I want to make this abundantly clear,

I am not trans at all,

Though I am, was and will always be a female

Till the end of time

And even beyond that

Still I am exactly equal to

And like a man in every way.

I am just like a man

Because I love cars

Or at least I know they exist

Which is exactly the same thing

As being a car guy.

Yet, I still am forced by society

To choose not to walk down certain streets at night,

Not out of fear of rape, robbery or murder

But because I might see a spider.

I am so afraid

Of those bloody things.

My mother has fallen into the female subservience trap.

The other day I asked her why she gave up her dreams

Of being a work-from-home wine critic,

And she had the unmitigated gall to respond

“So I could devote my time to caring for

You, your father and brother,

You ungrateful little brat.”

Well, I’m not going to turn out like her,

The stupid cow.

(Xiang goes back to her table.)

Art Teacher: Very good, Xiang. You truly will help enable womankind to live on Mars someday. Our next reader will be Anna.

(Anna steps to the mic and reads.)

Anna: This poem is called “Will Everyone Stop Obsessing Over Me Already.”

The other day I went to the coffee shop

To get me some java.

The girl behind the counter asked,

“Medium regular?”

Medium regular!

How did that serving wench

Know I was a lesbian?

I could tell just by the way she said that

That she’s totally obsessed

With this fact about me.

I can tell by the way everyone looks at me

And talks to me,

Just like her,

That they are totally obsessed

By my attraction to my own sex.

Well, just stop it already!

My sexual orientation

Is none of your business.

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

(Anna returns to her seat.)

Art Teacher: Very good, Anna. You have an awareness of the way the world sees you that most people even slightly older than you don’t possess. Our final reader will be Jennifer.

(Jennifer steps to the mic and reads.)

Jennifer: This poem is called “Bad Hair Day.”

On the day we broke up

I had a lock of hair slightly out of place.

Thinking it over later

Of course this is the reason you said goodbye.

It couldn’t have been the way I never use deodorant,

Or don’t do anything whatsoever about my zits,

Or don’t practice much else in the way of personal hygiene,

Because those are all personal choices

I make for myself,

Whereas I couldn’t control that stray hair.

Art Teacher: Very good, Jennifer. Now if you could quickly go back to your seat, please, I would appreciate that. Well, audience dismissed. I guess I hope we can do something like this again sometime.

(The teacher and students exit.)

Closing credits.

Based on “Things I Have to Tell You: poems and writing by teenage girls” edited and compiled by Betsy Franco. 

RADIO-RELATED STUFF: AN ANOMALY AND MORE

Farewell, Bob Kevoian.

Red Eye Radio was repeating its first hour in its fourth hour Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

County FM Picton was coming in really well late last night with some good tunes. 

FRANKLIN GRAHAM SAID THIS AT TRUMP'S INAUGURATION

This short is worth watching. Christian Zionists will bring about the antichrist for sure.  

NO MADOC'S OPEN MIC THIS FRIDAY APRIL 17

Dear Friends:

I apologize for the short notice. 

Robert and I have decided to take a break from holding Madoc's Open Mic for the Summer. We may revisit the concept in the Fall.

So there will be no Madoc's Open Mic at the Legion this Friday Night April 17.

I will follow this email with a more personal email to those closest to us - but needed to get this out. NOW I'm off to a doctor's appointment - so this cancellation will be reflected on our FB page etc. in a few hours.

Meanwhile - Torbic is STILL doing his Open Mic at the Gold Rush Brewery every Saturday night! Hope to see you there some time!

Have a wonderful Spring and Summer!! See you around!

Elizabeth and Robert 

HUMOR IN UNIFORM

By Readers Digest Association. New York: Readers Digest Publishing Association, 2008.

A great piecemeal book.

This is a compilation of submissions to the American edition of Readers Digest's "Humor in Uniform" feature, supplemented by cartoons and a few bits and pieces supplied by the magazine itself. 

Though the anecdotes can get repetitive as far as the basic mode of humour, this is still a very good book for picking up and putting down, reading a few selections at a time and thereby getting some chuckles.

Purchase it here.

LAMENTATIONS OF THE FATHER

By Ian Frazier. New York: Picador, 2008.

An immensely humourous collection from a brilliant mind.

This  book consists of a series of essays as well as other different forms of writing, from diary entries to recipes to court documents, touching on a variety of subjects with satirical mirth. Moreover, from slice of life newspaper column pieces to material about politics and history, the variety of types of humour contained herein is remarkable and much appreciated.

As with any tome like it, not everything in "Lamentations of the Father" is funny. Additionally, the more politically-oriented pieces, written in the George W. Bush era, are obviously dated. Neither of these two things, however, should inhibit someone reading this tome that will delight in many ways.

Purchase it here.

NATURE NOTES: SPRING IS HERE

My friend in Peterborough thinks he heard an oriole today.

The spring peepers are back and they sound plentiful.

Heard a loon late Sunday night. Never heard one in April before.

Heard a pack of coyotes when I was out in the backyard a few minutes ago.

Been hearing a lot more birds, including a woodpecker last week. 

PAUL EHRLICH IS DEAD; REGRETABLY, HIS LEGACY ISN'T

Washington Examiner

 

Paul Ehrlich is dead. Regrettably, his legacy isn’t

By David Harsanyi

March 17, 2026 2:00 pm

 

Anti-humanist crank, false prophet, eugenicist, and authoritarian Paul Ehrlich died last week at 93. Considering the celebrity biologist’s view of humans as parasites, it seems unlikely he’d want us to mourn.

 

Ehrlich is survived by the destructive, apocalyptic environmentalism he helped popularize. His progeny include, but certainly isn’t limited to, the likes of former Vice President Al Gore, who called The Population Bomb a “seminal” work and Ehrlich a “visionary” and “pioneer,” Bill Nye, Greta Thunberg, Michael Mann, and millions of other scaremongering Malthusians and little Ehrlichs prodding us to eat plant-based burgers, warning us against having children, gluing themselves to great works of art, demanding we abandon cheap energy, and trying to compel us to surrender the basic conveniences and necessities of modernity.

 

“The battle to feed all of humanity is over,” is the opening line of 1968’s The Population Bomb. The book only gets worse from there. The oceans, he prophesied, would be without life by 1979 and the U.S. population would crater to 23 million by the year 1999 due to pesticides and hunger. “The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years,” he said in 1970. “While you are reading these words,” the cover of the mass paperback version of the book warned, “three children are dying of starvation — and 24 more babies are being born.”

 

The New York Times notes that Ehrlich was godfather for the modern “environmental movement,” though it admits he “faced criticism when his predictions proved premature.” Insisting that Ehrlich’s prophecies were “premature,” that he merely got the timing wrong, speaks to the Left’s inability to grasp the power of capitalistic adaptability, modernity, and technology.

 

And, anyway, his predictions weren’t “wrong,” they were the antithesis of reality.

 

In 1970, around 37% of the global population suffered from hunger. As of 2024, around 8% did. The world uses nearly 70% less land to produce the same number of crops it did 55 years ago. This revolution in efficiency was driven by the Green Revolution, a movement that began in the early 1960s and was ignored by Ehrlich. In 1970, around 60% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Today, around 8% does.

 

Ehrlich was unrepentant when it was obvious he was wrong. Looking back at his earlier work in 2009, the Malthusian regretted that “perhaps the most serious flaw” in The Population Bomb was that it was “much too optimistic.” In 2014, the year Uber Eats was launched, Ehrlich warned we’d “soon be asking: Is it perfectly OK to eat the bodies of your dead because we’re all so hungry?”

 

There were those who had Ehrlich’s number early on. One of them was the late, great Julian Simon, who argued that human innovation would outpace scarcity and made a wager with Ehrlich in 1980. Simon let the biologist pick any five natural resources he believed would experience shortages due to human consumption over the next decade. Ehrlich lost the bet on all counts, as the composite price index for those commodities, copper, nickel, tin, and so on, fell by more than 40%, despite there being 800 million new people on Earth during the span of the bet.

 

If the bet was still active, Simon would still win.

 

It should not be overlooked that Ehrlich was also a raving authoritarian. A fan of the Chinese communist one-child policy, the biologist often floated the idea of mass sterilization campaigns, enforced through pills or public drinking water. Ehrlich thought the state tying aid to infertility was “coercion in a good cause.” The Federal Communications Commission, he argued, “should see to it that large families are always treated in a negative light on television.” And if people didn’t listen, the government should “throw you in jail if you have too many” children.

 

In his 1977 book, Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment, another compendium of unhinged predictions, which he co-authored with his wife, Anne Ehrlich, and future Obama administration “science czar” John Holdren, proposed “population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion.” The trio argued that such requirements could be “sustained under the existing Constitution.”

 

Today, we tend to forget that the popularization of abortion as a leftist rite was also tied to false fears over overpopulation. “Frankly,” noted Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2009, speaking of the early 1970s, “I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

 

Which types of people did we not want to have “too many of” is unclear.

 

The notion of “overpopulation” is still ingrained in our culture, regularly cited by academics and journalists, who quite often live in the densest, yet somehow also the wealthiest, places on earth, as one of the world’s most pressing problems.

 

Ehrlich would never be held accountable for his “premature” forecasts. The media never stopped showering him with attention and respect. In the 1970s, Ehrlich was a guest on The Tonight Show, which drew 10 million viewers every night, over two dozen times, not to mention a slew of other popular programs. But even in 2023, after six decades of being unwaveringly wrong about everything, 60 Minutes featured Ehrlich as an unblemished expert on the environment, warning that the planet was headed for a sixth extinction.

 

“At the age of 90,” Scott Pelley told the audience, “biologist Paul Ehrlich may have lived long enough to see some of his dire prophecies come true.”

 

The 60 Minutes anchor does not inform us which of these predictions came to fruition. Ehrlich was 0-for-30 in extinction predictions in his 60 years as a public intellectual. Indeed, Ehrlich’s biggest mistake was living long enough to be proven wrong dozens of times. Born in 1932, when an average man could expect to live to 61, Dr. Doom died at 93.

 

His legacy, regrettably, will live on for years.

SNORING LINKED TO HALF OF DIVORCES

Daily Mail

 

Revealed: The nighttime habit linked to half of divorces...

By MARC WALKER and DAVID OLASEINDE

Published: 21:08 EDT, 15 March 2026 | Updated: 23:26 EDT, 15 March 2026

 

Often thought of as merely a source of gentle ribbing and marital tiffs, snoring is actually a factor in nearly half of divorces.

 

Some 47 per cent of divorcees said their partner's night-time snorting contributed to their break-up, as did conditions such as sleep apnoea, which stops sufferers breathing temporarily.

 

In a poll of 2,000 recently divorced Britons, three-quarters who were affected by snoring or sleep disorders slept in another room, and 85 per cent of those said it 'directly contributed' to their divorce. 

 

Half said it was a 'deal-breaker' with new lovers.

 

Dr Sonia Szamocki, of the healthcare firms 32Co and Aerox Health, which conducted the poll, said snoring was no joking matter, but was 'undermining the very fabric of relationships'.

 

For many couples, the move to the spare room marks the beginning of a profound emotional disconnect that persists long after the sun comes up.

 

Experts note that the impact of snoring extends far beyond simple exhaustion.

 

When partners are forced into separate bedrooms, they lose the critical 'pillow talk' and spontaneous physical closeness that anchor a relationship.

 

Dr Szamocki emphasised that the tragedy lies in how treatable these issues are.

 

Her work focuses on treating the snoring or apnea (the 'quest for a quiet night's rest') before the relationship damage becomes permanent.

 

She has observed how thousands of couples are ending their relationships due to physiological problems that are often treatable with proper medical care.

 

The doctor has also observed that by the time couples reach the point of divorce, the emotional distance between them has often become impossible to bridge, even though the original problem was simply a basic need for undisturbed sleep.

RADIO AUDIO OF AIR CANADA PLANE CRASH WITH FIRE TRUCK AT LAGUARDIA

Apparently there was only one air traffic controller on duty with all of this happening? Unbelievable!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbm-QJAAzNY 

MOM WHO BREASTFEEDS FOUR YEAR OLD DAUGHTER SPEAKS OUT AFTER CRITICS CALL IT INAPPROPRIATE

PEOPLE

 

Mom Who Breastfeeds 4-Year-Old Daughter Speaks Out After Critics Call It 'Inappropriate' (Exclusive)

By Tereza Shkurtaj  Published on March 22, 2026 05:30AM EDT

 

Shinnai Visser is sparking conversation online for her unapologetic approach to extended breastfeeding and holistic parenting.

 

On Instagram, where she goes by @mindful_mamma_za, the 34-year-old shares an intimate look at her life — from home birthing both of her daughters to homeschooling and nursing well beyond infancy. While many followers praise her openness, others have criticized her choice to continue breastfeeding her 4-year-old.

 

“I’ve heard comments implying that it’s inappropriate, unhealthy or that it creates too much dependence. Some people assume it’s about my needs rather than my child’s, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Visser tells PEOPLE exclusively. “If you have ever breastfed, you will know I am not doing this for me."

 

Visser claims her decision is deeply rooted in research that challenged what she once thought was “normal in Western culture.” She explains that her perspective shifted after learning more about how breastfeeding is approached across different cultures.

 

“When I learned that humans historically breastfed far longer than we do today, it reframed the idea that extended breastfeeding is unusual. It’s not biologically strange — it’s culturally unfamiliar," she insists.

 

That understanding has shaped what breastfeeding looks like in her day-to-day life, which she says varies greatly between her two children. With her 4-year-old, the experience is entirely child-led.

 

“Some days she nurses once, and other times she doesn’t ask for a few days,” Visser says, adding that at this stage, “it’s very minimal and very intentional. It’s brief, calm and led by her.”

 

With her 20-month-old, however, it’s a completely different rhythm. “She feeds countless times throughout the day, honestly, I couldn’t even put a number on it, and she still nurses a few times during the night,” she shares.

 

For Visser, that frequency is expected. “That’s developmentally normal for this age and often serves as comfort and support through teething, growth and big developmental leaps.”

 

Beyond nourishment, Visser emphasizes that breastfeeding at this stage plays a key role in emotional development.

 

“At this age, breastfeeding is less about nutrition and more about co-regulation,” she explains of her older daughter. “A 4-year-old is still developing emotional regulation and impulse control. Breastfeeding offers a familiar, calming sensory experience that helps regulate their nervous system.”

 

Visser describes it as a moment of connection, rather than a habit. “It’s a moment of stillness, connection and safety. The child’s body settles, breathing slows and emotions soften,” she says, comparing it to how adults rely on comfort rituals. “It’s a relational regulation tool, not just a feeding one.”

 

When it comes to the benefits of extended breastfeeding, Visser says she has seen “greater emotional regulation and a deep sense of security” in her 4-year-old. She also points to what she sees as a strong balance between attachment and independence.

 

“Independence grows best from secure attachment, not forced separation,” Visser emphasizes. In her view, meeting emotional needs early allows children to grow more confident over time. “Breastfeeding doesn’t replace independence,” she says. “It supports it by ensuring emotional needs are met, not suppressed.”

 

As for when she plans to stop, Visser is intentionally leaving that decision open-ended and says she will continue as long as it feels “mutually right” for her and her children.

 

“My decision will be guided by my child’s needs, my own capacity and our relationship,” she explains. Rather than setting a strict timeline, she’s allowing the process to unfold naturally. “Weaning doesn’t need to be rushed to be healthy,” she says. “My 4-year-old is naturally weaning herself, and it's magical to witness.”

 

Visser also believes there’s no universal answer when it comes to ending breastfeeding, but rather that it should be an “individual” choice.

 

“For some families it’s earlier, for others later,” she explains, adding that she prefers “a child-led process supported by parental boundaries and intuition, rather than an age-based cutoff imposed by social expectations and society.”

 

Despite the ongoing criticism, the mother of two remains confident in her choices and encourages other mothers to do the same.

 

“Educate yourself, trust your body and remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation for what works for your family,” Visser tells PEOPLE. “Confidence comes from understanding that there is no single ‘right’ way to mother — only informed, intentional choices rooted in love and respect for yourself, and your child.”