The Relativity of Words
Concerning the political power of words and the ramifications both positive and negative…..Doug Saunders in the Globe reveals stats that show that 80% of Americans believe the growing culture of political correctness and its terminology is a real problem nationwide.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-culture-war-has-been-won-so-now-we-fight-about-words/ Stephanie Nolen writes a piece in the Globe about theContinue Reading
Working and Yearning
Amazing pic. The yearning in this photograph is palpable, but what is it? I don’t mean there should be a simple, one-size fits all answer. Nor is this about one thing, like race or class. The article doesn’t do the complex stakes that leap out of the picture justice. BetterContinue Reading
Profound
The Guardian and some old[er] people have their say on the proper way to make coffee.Continue Reading
Celebrated Canadian Author Madeleine Thein defends Steven Galloway
“I believe you have failed everyone involved. I know that if we want a world where women are believed, we must support them to give their evidence without fear or reprisals, in a context in which their identity can be protected and guaranteed by the law, in a system thatContinue Reading
Like War: The Weaponization of Social Media
A new book by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking sheds light on the background and current uses of subversive propaganda via social media. An early example of ‘fake news’ was used during WW2 by Germany via radio broadcast to British citizens featuring a commentator known as Lord Haw-Haw. NPRContinue Reading
The Cultural Shift in Richmond B.C. has Turned the Demographic Tables
Richmond B.C. has the highest percentage of Asian residents, (mostly mainland Chinese) in North America at 70.8%. The disconnect between recent and longtime residents introduces some interesting challenges for the entire community.Continue Reading
The Anomie Machine
“Sitting in front of infinitely interchangeable and accessible screens, each of us stupidly needs to feel special, and will do what it takes.”Continue Reading
Brett Kavanaugh, Hackers and Coders, Info Terrorism and Zombie #MeToo Pushback
Introducing the lose radical think tank that cooks up the highly combustible online conspiracy theories and general mindfuckery for the Right. Continue Reading
Gustave Courbet, Constance Queniaux, L’ Origine du Monde and the Politics of Desire
In 1886 the French painter Gustave Courbet was commissioned by a wealthy collector, who was also an Ottoman diplomat in Paris at the time, to do a painting of one of his mistresses. The model’s name was Constance Queniaux, aged 34, and the single subject of the painting was herContinue Reading
The Decline of the Small Family Farm
The author of a book review at the link below is Verlyn Klinkenborg who is a non fiction writer who has published widely on the subject of farming. He teaches creative writing at Yale and owns a small farm in upstate New York. He reviews four recent books focusing onContinue Reading