I had never heard of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo prior to the assault on it’s staff. From what I have come to understand it produces cartoons that normally would be considered quite offensive to anyone associated with whatever it is currently satirizing. That’s what satirists do, they mock
Continue readingTag: Community
PostArctica: Ice Storm 2015
Nothing like ’98 but still there are people without power, treacherous walking and driving conditions. Nature at it’s finest, cold, brutal, beautiful. The nets on the balconies to prevent pigeons from roosting take a beating in an ice storm
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Imagine, Re-Imagine the Strawberries
i’m imagining it again tonight the mosaic tiles in strawberry fields in my ether in the intersection of idealist moonbeams and #BlackLivesMatter marchers swirling under the Manhatten hum [or is it a pulse?] feeling the tranquility of the mosaic despite being just steps from the Dakota. i didn’t know then
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Do You Want To Be A Better Mentor?
Probably. But maybe you don’t actually know that you are a mentor now. You probably are, but if you are more mindful of relationships with your informal apprenticeships, you will realize all the people who are getting wisdom from you. Maybe you think you’re too young, or too busy, or
Continue readingThings Are Good: Painting Neighbourhoods
Artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn create community art by painting entire neighborhoods, and involving those who live there — from the favelas of Rio to the streets of North Philadelphia. What’s made their projects succeed? In this funny and inspiring talk, the artists explain their art-first approach — and
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: How Selfish Are Old People?
It’s not so cut and arid. It’s not like old people didn’t create EarthShip. But this graphic, that’s not the only study that shows how younger people aren’t so yuppie, so individualist, so consumerist, so selfish. If you don’t have enough under-40s in your life, work on it. The fall
Continue readingPostArctica: 9 Years.
Yep, been 9 years since I started this blog today! Had no idea where it was going when it started but I did get to participate in the largest ongoing “single issue” protest movement in the history of the city. We didn’t win but it’s really difficult to look back
Continue readingPostArctica: Turcot Roundhouse Found?
Received these pictures from an urban explorer friend who says she may have found the foundations of the old Turcot Roundhouse which was demolished in 1961. I wonder if the Ministry of Transport (MTQ) has any idea of what they have dug up? If you look at the proximity of
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Entitlements? What About Understanding UNentitlements?
Punishing irony. OK, I’m fine admitting it. I focus on entitlements a lot. I’m often trying to encourage people to examine our unexamined entitlements: race, age, economic class, gender, sexuality, etc. But one way to understand entitlements is to understand how unentitlements work. I’m guilty of overlooking this. Until today.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Ferguson?
If there’s anything you can learn from Ferguson this morning, it’s that we need to check our race- and class-based social, political and economic entitlements. It’s the least we can do this morning. "If racism is something you're sick of hearing about, imagine how exhausting it must be living it
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Canada: The Eternal Rebuilding Project
Personal relationships enrich us, work makes us feel useful, and goals give us purpose via Lecture 1 – Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio. Adrienne Clarkson speaks in this Massey Lecture about belonging. The first peoples were here first. They established a sense
Continue readingPostArctica: Coastal Tar Sands – Journey To Deleted Islands
What happens when a major corporation wants to build an oil pipeline over land to the west coast where it will be loaded on to supertankers that have to navigate some very narrow inlets to pick up their loads? They put out publicity pictures and graphic videos that magically remove
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Are Your White Male Entitlements Maiming Your Vote this Month?
I’m not going to argue that using an Intersectionality lens in the municipal election in 2 weeks will make your voting choices perfectly easy. But I will say that your white male entitlements have likely contributed to worse choices in the past. Including not voting. When you read this entire
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Join Ricochet: A new take on independent media.
Have you joined yet? No? So, you’re good with corporate media spinning things for you, against your personal, community, national and ecological interests? Oh. Ok. 🙂 Ricochet is an audacious response to a difficult context. Independent and in the public interest, Ricochet will provide a space dedicated to investigative journalism
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: If You Read But One Thing About Universal Childcare This Week
Line them up here. In this one section of universal childcare analysis by one of the smartest people in the country, Michal Rozworski, we see a number of significant policy issues addressed: affordable childcare. universality. feminism. including mothers in the workforce more effectively. a better shot a living wage for
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: I’m Damir Wallener, and I am Running for Mayor of North Cowichan.
Damir Wallener A thriving municipality is built on three pillars – accountability, community, and healthy economic development. Accountability ultimately comes from voters, so they must be given tools to make the job easy. Open door access to the Mayor and to Councillors as well as citizen oversight of budgeting, procurement
Continue readingPostArctica: Old Bowling Alley – View Blown
The old bowling alley on De l’Eglise was turned into condos a few years ago and these people appear to have really nice big galdrys (balconies) and while the view is only of a small dull part of Galt avenue, they do have tons of space in front of them
Continue readingPostArctica: Disgraceful Street Work In Verdun
For many, many years one of the most common pedestrian complaints on Wellington street has been the less than ideal condition of the granite tiles that run up the center of the sidewalks. People have tripped and fallen from getting a foot stuck on an uprooted tile or one that
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: King & University: a traffic problem?
Taxi drivers are saying that they are risking their lives to pick up and drop off passengers outside the new high rises on King Street north of University Ave. The problem is that the buildings have no pull-in area so cabs have to stop on busy King Street. I have
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