This Scottish author is celebrated as a minister of religion, lexicographer, philologist, and antiquary. His most significant contribution is the Dictionary of the Scottish Language, offering profound insights into the richness and history of the Scots tongue. His work is marked by meticulous scholarship and a dedication to preserving cultural heritage.
Set in 2050, the story revolves around Pops, a 95-year-old trans activist whose death prompts the exploration of his scrapbook documenting the origins of the Transsexual Baseball League in Toronto during the 1970s. Through this historical lens, the narrative delves into themes of identity, community, and the evolution of trans rights, highlighting the significance of sports as a platform for activism and connection.
Myrya Blackstone, an orphaned aboriginal, is a brilliant mathematical student who arrives at a First Nations Reserve. Beaten up and driven off the reserve, she is rescued by a young construction worker and reluctantly takes a cook's helper job at a nearby pipeline company, hiding her academic background. Myryra's work ethic transforms the construction workers' bigoted attitudes to 'Indians' and she gains support when young men from the reserve continue to attack her. She exacts revenge on her attackers using wasps with comical results. After more attacks on her, she sneaks back to the reserve and uses an improvised explosive and white phosphorous to destroy a car with humourous results. Her revenge escalates to using eggs of Ascaris summ, a pig nematode, to attempt a serious infection of her antagonists. But her best conceived plans show the unpredictable effects of revenge.
Sail- and powerboaters learn how tobecome better navigators and skippers.