February 2012
20 posts
8 tags
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The primary threat to nature and people today comes from centralising and monopolising power and control. Not until diversity is made the logic of production will there be a chance for sustainability, justice and peace. Cultivating and conserving diversity is no luxury in our times: it is a survival imperative.
Spent this morning at the Coady listening to Vandana Shiva discuss Just Food.
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2 tags
Canada was on the road to becoming an... →
Patti Smith and John Cale tear The Who’s...
Super Bowl XLVI Recap
Not.
Nice one Giants. Here’s Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin hugging Flavor Flav.
Super Bowl XLVI
Despite losing to the New York Giants 24-20 on November 6, the New England Patriots are 3 point favorites. Here’s a recap of the November game.
I don’t expect the Super Bowl to be that close or that low scoring. IMHO, the Giants are inconsistent. The Pats were the only playoff team they beat during the regular season. The Patriots, on the other hand, had the best regular season record...
January 2012
18 posts
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the...”
– Ecclesiastes 9:11
The Contest
CBC Radio is holding a contest. Entrants must write a sentence that breaks as many of Elmore Leonard’s ten rules for writing as possible. The contest ends February 1. Details are here.
My entry:
It must be noted, that despite my parents’ lack of physical charms and refinement, they did honestly love each other, perhaps they expressed it differently from other people, but, hey, it...
“I cannot grasp the contemporary notion that the traditional virtues of style are...”
– Yvor Winters
The Hurt Business
Boxing has a recession every now and then. But as long as you have people that won’t be doctors, as long as you have people that won’t be politicians, as long as you have people that won’t make $500,000 a year, you’ll have boxing. See, boxing will always survive and always be here in America because America has to have a certain balance — that is, the ghetto. The...
“When the endless servitude of woman is finally shattered, when she comes to live...”
– Arthur Rimbaud to Paul Demeny, May 15, 1871
WatchAlain de Botton suggests rebooting atheism - Atheism 2.0 - to redress what he perceives as a lack of fellowship and community offered by a secular worldview. The video is accompanied by an FAQ. Thoughtful criticism of Mr. de Botton’s worldview can be found here and here.
IMHO, it’s intellectually dishonest to usurp a religion’s organizational framework, remove the belief....
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All that’s left here are the remnants of what was.
Cadillac once offered jobs. Now, an abandoned Cadillac factory offers scrap metal to salvage and sell.
Football Recap
Feel the tide, Honey Badger.
- Brent Musburger
The Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers played the University of Alabama Crimson Tide twice this season. The November 5 game, in Tuscaloosa, was a gritty 9-6 win for the #1 Tigers. The Tide failed to convert 4 out 6 field goal attempts. Sports Illustrated opined “an instant classic it was not”. The twitter-verse was near unanimous...
A Random Harvest
My best of 2012 is limited to those books, movies, and music I read, saw, or heard. I’m sure there’s all kinds of great stuff released last year that I missed.
Movies: Cave of Forgotten Dreams was excellent. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was much better than it had any right to be. The rest of this year’s movies I’ve seen: Transformers 3, Super 8, Captain America…...
NFL Playoffs: Divisonal Rounds
Went 3-1 with the wildcards. Tebow and the Broncos once again played the spoilers. I don’t think their luck holds. Winners appear in bold.
Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers
New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
WatchI’ve been an unabashed wrestling fan since my first Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling show in (I believe) 1981. This was rasslin’: a violent dance different in kind from Vincent Kennedy McMahon’s antiseptic yet highly profitable ‘sports entertainment’.
Fake It So Real looks like it captures the passion and glory of those halcyon days.
A nice review of Fake It So Real...
What Hath Jack Wrought? Part 6
Click for parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
On December 4, the nine candidates for the leadership of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada participated in the first of six leadership debates. The debate, the only bilingual debate of the contest, focused on the theme “Building an inclusive economy”. The debate can be viewed here. The next debate, themed “Giving families a break”...
NFL Wildcards
The playoffs begin today. Winners in Bold:
Cincinnati Bengals vs Houston Texans
Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons vs New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Denver Broncos
A Year in Books
At the beginning of 2011, I resolved to read at least one book every two weeks.
I read 52 books between January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. In keeping with a second resolution, only five of these books were purchased. The rest I borrowed from the library. Those interested in what I’ve read can continue after the break. Aside from being divided into Comics, Non-Fiction, and Fiction headings, ...
December 2011
44 posts
Castration Might Bring Us Better Politicians →
The major role of the eunuch in ancient societies was a political one. Eunuchs were the perfect guardians of harems and provided safe companions and secretaries for royal ladies. They could also be entrusted with the very highest offices of state with no fear that they would want to muscle in and start their own dynasties. Less susceptible than other men to corruption and persuasion by...
NFL Picks Week 17
Went 10-6 last week. This is the final week of the regular season.
Games of note include two doozies in the AFC West: Kyle Orton’s chance to stick it to Tebow and Elway, and the Oakland-San Diego game. Seems wrong that a representative from the lousy AFC West gets to play in the post-season.
The other big game is the Giants and the Cowboys battling for the NFC East title MonSunday...
When President Obama opined during his 2011 State... →
Kevin D. Williamson’s National Review piece “Repo Men” is worthwhile essential reading.
*Reflective morning edit. The piece does a good job demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between Washington/Wall Street
The Big Book
“A big book is a big misfortune”
- Callimachus of Cyrene, Fragment 465
Infinite Jest is a big book. Its length, its breadth and its reputation intimidate. Anyone of my generation positioning himself or herself as a writer, hell — even a reader, needs to contend with its presence. I had read and enjoyed short pieces by David Foster Wallace such as his 2005 commencement speech to...
