In case you were unfamiliar. 🙂
Continue readingTag: Culture
Scripturient: Those we lost in 2017
It’s not just because I’m older that I am reading more of the obituaries than ever in my past. At least, I don’t think so. I seldom read local newspaper obituaries (in part because the delivery here is too sporadic to make it a habit), and I don’t regularly share
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Role of the Political Journalist
“The journalistic mission remains at its simplest: know your patch and use your knowledge to try to tell readers what’s actually going on.”– Katharine Murphy, Journalism Professor & Guardian Australia’s deputy political editor. Is it right for a political journalist to simply quote a politician’s comments without challenging their veracity
Continue readingScripturient: La Bohème at the Galaxy
Starving bohemian artists living in drafty Paris attics in the mid-19th century, struggling to produce their art, falling in and out of love, sharing and suffering, living and dying, all done while singing. That’s La Bohème in a nutshell. I am embarrassed, even ashamed to admit I’ve never been to
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Missing Shulamith and the Dialectic of #MeToo
Photo by Mihai Surdu I was 24 years old in 1970, when I read Shulamith Firestone’s The Dialectic of Sex, a year younger than she was when she wrote the book. The book catapulted me from the limitations of the Left organization of which I was a member into the
Continue readingScripturient: Reading as a forgotten art
Earlier this month (February, 2018), the Globe & Mail published an essay by author Michael Harris titled, “I have forgotten how to read.” In it, he recounted how he recently tried to read a single chapter of a book, but failed. Frustrated, instead turned to TV: Paragraphs swirled; sentences snapped
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: How Black Panther liberalizes Black resistance for white comfort
Image by Marvel Studios This article contains spoilers. Black Panther didn’t have to be a “political” film. Its trailer didn’t have to feature Gil Scott-Heron’s legendary poem “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” The opening scene didn’t have to take place in an apartment littered with Public Enemy posters, in
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Examining the Contradictions in Trans Activist Ideology
   Ryan T. Anderson discussing what he sees as some of the contradictions in the methodology of Transactivists. Read the full piece here. (Note – Not particularly fond of the source – The Daily Signal (via the Heritage Foundation) in the US – but the arguments presented are worth examining.)
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: 10 Seconds Could Save Many Lives…
I think, perhaps, the American public – so disassociated with what democracy actually is – has already begun the labourious task of wallpapering over the elephant in the room. http://appropriately-inappropriate.tumblr.com/post/170959554865/saphire-dance-my-kid-is-in-middle-school-and Is there a more obvious example of how undemocratic a supposedly democratic national is (hmm..18 years of being at war
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: An Unfathomable Darkness — The Gerald Stanley Verdict
“There is a darkness that exists in this country and I believe we are going to have to feel our way out of it.” — Chris Murphy, lawyer for the Boushie family The verdict that found Gerald Stanley not guilty of any crime, not even manslaughter, in the shooting death
Continue readingScripturient: Honderich’s hypocrisy
In late January, the Toronto Star published a lengthy opinion piece by board chair John Honderich, titled, “We should all be very concerned by the crisis facing quality journalism.” But just in case you thought this was really just about journalism and not a political screed, there’s the telling subhead:
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Truth is Not Hate – How Accusations of Transphobia Silence Female Voices
If there is anything that will enrage men more is women speaking out against their view of the world. The first class citizens get mighty mad when the second class start challenging their assertions and interpretations of the world. This post delves into the war of words that is currently
Continue readingScripturient: Our civic centre the Block forgot
During the January 15 council meeting, there was a lengthy presentation of a strategic planning exercise (a real one, not the bogus one The Block call our “community-based strategic plan,” which was neither community-driven nor strategic) for the Parks, Recreation and Culture department (read more about it here). The presenter
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Why I Won’t Use A Cellphone – Philip Reed
On the level folks, I do use a cellphone – a smart phone even. But I’m not sure I like it. I most certainly enjoy the GPS that comes with it, as finding those schools tucked away in suburban hell can be very tricky, even at the best of times.Â
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: #Metoo?
Can we talk? Many men (and some women) worry that the #metoo movement has morphed into a man-hating witch hunt where innocent men will be publicly humiliated and deprived of their livelihoods by vindictive women spreading unfounded accusations. They point to the fate of three Canadian politicians, Ont PC leader,
Continue readingScripturient: Does poetry make things happen in 2018?
I was thinking about how little poets seem to matter to modern political administrations. Maybe to modern society as a whole. Their light has, it seems, been waning for several decades as our collective attention shifts. I was thinking about what an odd, awkward fit it would be for a
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Notion of “Gender Identity” is Antithetical to Feminist Analysis – Megan Murphy
  Meghan Murphy is one of Canada’s leading Feminists. This quote is from her article – “Thanks to trans activism, 2017 saw a return to old-school, sexist dismissals of women and women’s rights.” Definitely worth your time to go and peruse the entire article. What I would like to focus
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Monbiot’s Out of the Wreckage
The book cover says the book “provides the hope and clarity required to change the world.” Well, he certainly tries. He’s got a plan of action that’s possible, but I didn’t get the requisite hope necessary to be spurred to action. It’s a bit of an overview of many ideas
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: How I Teach Men Not To Talk Over Me – Asserting Your Humanity as Female
How I Teach Men Not To Talk Over Me: from one feminist to another, when basic respect is lagging and conversations are impossible I’ve done this to several men, and they catch on rather quickly. You’ll be able to have a conversation right then and there, and it works long
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Shame, Honour, and Vulnerability
I was forwarded this 47 minute podcast with BrenĂ© Brown on 1A, and some of the ideas she has are remarkably similar to Timothy Snyder’s views in On Tyranny (e.g. connect with others in real life, speak truth to bullshit), so I bought her newest book, Braving the Wilderness. I was sorrily
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