THE PLEASURE OF LIFE...

THE PLEASURE OF LIFE... 
By Bernard Bujold - 
What's left in life if there's no more fun? 
After my Apple store on Sainte-Catherine Street, which erected a giant plywood wall in front of its window; my favourite museum on Sherbrooke Street, which has become difficult to access; my Portuguese restaurant on Peel Street, which has been closed for months; my favourite classical music radio station has disappeared from the airwaves to make way for a kind of pop-disco radio station style Travolta, whose music reminds me of the Joker coming down the stairs in the movie Batman... How far can we see all our happiness disappear from our lives and continue to be happy? 
I loved the classical radio, invented by Jean-Pierre Coallier and taken up by Grégory Charles. 
Closing it is for me as a personal mourning! 
SEE STORY CLOSURE 
SEE STORY JEAN PIERRE COALLIER

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY... 
By Bernard Bujold - 
Today on this Tuesday, June 16, is the birthday of a friend and a great Quebec actress and host, Danielle Ouimet. 
I wish her a very happy birthday 2020 and we offer her, me and Donald (whose birthday was last Sunday June 14th), these seasonal flowers, in all friendship! 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, dear Danielle! 
SEE BIOGRAPHY

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020

THE 2020 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION -
By Bernard Bujold -
The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has two elements playing in his favor for the next Presidential Election on November 3, 2020. 
First is Joe Biden very « shaky » performance as candidate every time he is speaking in public. The Democrats are at lost with such candidate. 
The second advantage for Trump is the silent majority which do not show his opinion but will vote for Donald come November. 

SEE STORY SILENT MAJORITY 

SEE STORY JOE BIDEN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DONALD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DONALD -
By Bernard Bujold -
The President of the United States Donald J. Trump is turning 74 years old today, Sunday, June 14, 2020! 
His close friends still call him DONALD, and that is the way he likes to be called. If his age is 74, he has the energy and the look of a man of 54! 
All the best on your 2020 Birthday, dear Donald, and may next November 3rd be another great victory for you! 
SEE PHOTOS

THE PLEASURE OF LIFE...

THE PLEASURE OF LIFE... 
By Bernard Bujold -
The problem, and it is serious, is that "pleasure" has been eliminated everywhere in our civilization. 
I used to love museums, but I don't know when I'll go back, because it's become so complicated and without pleasure. What about the restaurants that will be opening soon? We don't go to restaurants to eat, but for the pleasure of eating. 
In the few shops that are open (one out of four are open) on St. Catherine Street, in the middle of pin fences and plywood, there are waiting lines of 10 to 20 people on the street in front of each shop and only two or three customers at a time can enter. 
The final question is, "What's left in life if the fun is gone?" 
I don't have an answer... 
SEE LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL

THE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL - FOR SALE

THE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL 
By Bernard Bujold -
Cirque du Soleil's main creditor, THE CATALYST CAPITAL GROUP of Toronto (led by Gabriel de Alba) may well become the new owner by simply converting its debt into shares. 
For another group to buy the Cirque, it will have to spend around 1 billion new money, which would be very risky and above all too expensive in terms of performance. 
QUEBECOR is interested but, as an external group, the transaction is financially outside the limits of an acceptable financial risk. 
To be continued... 
See report LA PRESSE 

RESTAURANTS OF SUMMER 2020

RESTAURANTS OF SUMMER 2020 - 
Par Bernard Bujold - 
I hadn't seen my neighbor and friend, a life-loving Italian, since the confinement of March! I was pleasantly surprised to see him earlier this week, briefly in the entrance of the building, and he had lost at least 100 pounds (a bit like Denis Coderre ...). The cause, my neighbor loves restaurants and everything has been closed since early spring. So he's on a forced diet... He is likely to continue losing weight this summer because, even if restaurants will be legally allowed to open from June 22, many will not open, first because it will be impossible to be profitable financially, and also because of health security measures that will make the pleasure of eating no longer there. Good luck to my neighbor... 

See story LA PRESSE   

See story LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL 

THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY

THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY... - 
By Bernard Bujold - 
Half of the pillars of the society in which I lived became outcasts and the symbol of exception and talent that they represented disappeared as if it had never existed. 
The last to fall is Edgar Fruitier... 
In Edgar's case, I briefly rubbed shoulders with him during his activities as a great connoisseur and collector of classical music records. 
I've been in contact with many of society's symbols, including Gilbert Rozon; Eric Salvail; and Marcel Brisebois, the father of the Musée d'Art contemporain de Montréal. I often tell myself that perhaps it would have been better for me to be alone on the shore of a lake than to be badly surrounded! But how to know? 
If there's a conclusion, it's that the people we meet are not always who we think they are... Fortunately for my peace of mind, I had never met Gabriel Wortman, the millionaire denturist from Nova Scotia, who killed more than twenty people last April (2020). It is said that he was very appreciated by his clients and even that some ladies brought him cakes when they visited him, so much they loved his kindness... 
SEE STORY EDGAR FRUITIER

A LOVE OF SPRING 2020...

A LOVE OF SPRING 2020... -
By Bernard Bujold -
Montrealers' love affair will have lasted only a few days in the spring of 2020. The humpback whale that amused the curious in the Old Port of Montreal was found dead on Monday, June 8 near Varenne. The fun in the Old Port has returned to the quiet and deserted... 
SEE PHOTOS AND STORIES

THE BARRICADES ON THE CITY OF MONTREAL (PART 2)

BARRICADES ON THE CITY OF MONTREAL -
By Bernard Bujold -
It's like the days of New France and the barricades against the Iroquois... Except that the warriors attacking Montreal are rioters who mingle with popular demonstrations. 
With the good weather on the weekend and the demonstration announced for Sunday, June 7 at 11 a.m., the merchants did not want to take any risks and almost the entire Saint Catherine Street was barricaded with plywood planks. Some wealthier merchants, such as Apple, decided to increase their protection and cover their entire shop window. On Friday, Apple had only covered half of its window but on Saturday, they completed up to the roof... 
Personally, I'm not a big fan of demonstrations and I went on Saturday to my favourite bookseller, INDIGO, to plan my Sunday. The book of the hour, which I recommend: STAR TREK PICARD. A science fiction novel that reminds us both of our Coronavirus 2020 crisis and of the destructive manifestations that North America has been experiencing for more than a week. 
Happy Sunday! 
SEE PHOTOS