Leader of the Official Opposition shared Fox News BS in Parliament. Premature PP blew it.He got tricked by far-right Fox News propaganda and declared a terrorist incident when a spectacularly bad driver caused an explosion at the US border.#cdnpoli https://t.co/SU7xb3GKe1 — Saskboy from Saskatchewan (@saskboy) November 23, 2023 " the
Continue readingTag: tv
Scripturient: Smith, Rock, and the Trivialization of Western Culture
If Neil Postman were alive today, sitting in a bar or café with Chris Hedges, I wonder which one would say “I told you so!” first after seeing social media this past week? The story that clogged the social media pipes this week was the slap one actor gave another
Continue readingScripturient: Is Bigger Better? In TVs, Maybe Not.
I read on several websites that for a distance of about 3.6 m (12 ft) from the screen to the viewer, the optimum size of a television should be 85 inches (220 cm, measured on the diagonal). That’s also the distance between someone sitting on our couch and our current
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 26
Cancer changes everything — and nothing at all. Rabbi Skillman That’s a profound comment, coming from a TV character. The “rabbi” in question is a fictional patient in hospital, played by George Wyner in the TV series, New Amsterdam (Season 1 Episode 8). He is talking to the hospital’s medical
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Psychology and Therapeutic Benefits of D&D
Or, Why D&D Kicks Butt There is a mounting body of evidence and experience that shows that D&D, the original role playing strategy game (like chess, but with improv theatre, and no great powers of concentration required), has very positive psychological and therapeutic effects on children, youth and adults. The
Continue readingScripturient: Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
We recently watched the Darmok episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, my third time seeing it, and I was struck again at how brilliant and quirky it was. Possibly the best of all the ST:NG’s 178 episodes. And, apparently, a lot of other fans agree with my assessment. Wikipedia
Continue readingScripturient: Still Watching the Three Stooges
There’s a bittersweet pleasure in watching the Three Stooges these days, knowing about them, their careers, their lives. What seems like zany comedy on screen was, like so many celebrity stories, much more complex, contentious, and even tragic at times. But there’s also an insuppressible joy in their work that
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Renaissance & Rebirth, or Decline & Decay?
And the demonic take-over continues…. Or so it would seem. Evil rules the political realm, the economic, and increasingly, the cultural as well. An awakening of humanity continues to unfold. But the war on compassion is only getting hotter and more intense. Cynicism drips from everything, like blood off rotting
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Good TV?!
Favourite tv shows, anyone? Post your favourites below. I do hate tv, but I love documentaries and history shows, and I make an exception for certain things, like Star Trek, hockey playoffs, world cup soccer, the Olympics… In no particular order, I’d say my favourite tv shows (originals only; most
Continue readingScripturient: Big G and Me
One of my fondest childhood memories is sitting between my parents on a warm summer night, on the front seat of the family car, watching a movie through the windshield, above the dashboard. A single, metal-wrapped speaker hung from the glass of the half-opened window on the driver’s side. A
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: If Money Buys Things and Minds
You can find no shortage of angry Conservatives who are absolutely livid with the Prime Minister or Rachel Notley for not yet expanding a pipeline to the BC coast from Alberta. Why did they get so mad, and who paid for them to think this way? There’s a BC “researcher”
Continue readingScripturient: Dictionary vs Dictionary.com
Did you know that doxastic is a philosophical adjective relating to an individual’s beliefs? Or that doxorubicin was an antibiotic used in treating leukemia? Or that doxy is a 16th century word for mistress and prostitute? That drack is Australian slang for unattractive or dreary? Drabble means to make wet
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: A Little Humour Too Much For The White House Press
The WHCD has always included a roast, so long as I can remember back to the W Bush years. Colbert’s roast of Bush is among my most favourite moments in history. Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to
Continue readingScripturient: The magic of reading
Can you make sense of those lines in the image to the right? Of course not. They’re deconstructed from the letters of a simple, one-syllable word and randomly re-arranged. It’s just four letters, but their component parts are not arranged in the proper order, so they seem like meaningless lines
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 readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Why Is CBC Opinions So Bad?
I’m kinda surprised they haven’t asked me to write for them. We need CBC, but we don’t need CBC to promote the status-quo, we need it to tell stories from all over Canada that won’t be heard without the public broadcaster putting the spotlight on people who are helping others.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Nazis Ruling News Cycle In USA
The “loons” on the right wing really stuck their foot in their mouths this week, so better balance things out so they don’t seem so violent and crazy by bringing up some possibly comparable event from years ago on the left wing. Main stream media continually proves it’s unwilling to
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Let’s At Least Do What The Premier Wants/Wanted
.@cathmckenna announces system to bring @PremierBradWall into line carbon pricing, pic.twitter.com/ybzoqjULjP — David Akin (@davidakin) May 18, 2017 “Saskatchewan will choose what we call a tech fund approach, where we have levies for those who emit, but the levies stay in our province, and again companies can apply to that
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: 2017 Tobacco Company Ad-buy For YouTube
I would take the plain packaging ad circulating more seriously, if it wasn't funded by Japan Tobacco International. #canpoli — Lucas Kuffner (@lucaskuffner) February 27, 2017 My YouTube viewing on TV was interrupted by an ad. I uncharacteristically watched it because it seemed political. It was an astroturf ad by what
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Trudeau’s Broken Reform Promise
At the Parliamentary Committee I spoke at, I told Nathan Cullen I was disappointed he wasn’t running for the NDP leadership. Listening to NDP MP Nathan Cullen rip Trudeau over electoral reform promise breaking, the PM must be relieved he's not running for leader. — Don Martin (@DonMartinCTV) February 1,
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