On UW’s Mental Health Recommendations
After another suicide on the campus of the University of Waterloo, the university compiled 36 recommendations to try to alleviate the mental health crisis and held (and taped) a forum…
Marie Snyder
On Hari’s Lost Connections
“There’s violence to knowing the world isn’t what you thought. . . . Sometimes the world doesn’t make a lot of sense, but how we get through it is, we…
Swimming Lessons
“As for our bodies, there comes a time when no one wants to come near them.” ~ Mr. Perlman speaking one of the saddest line from the lovely film Call…
On Free Meds and Mental Health Care
Perfect timing. My son just finished telling me about his trip to our family doctor in which he tried but failed to get a form filled out that will enable…
On Conflict
We’re raised to understand conflict from the perspective of good guys and bad guys. But it’s rarely so clear. The battle for land and resources can be utterly nonsensical, particularly…
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…
On School Holidays
If we can’t move or shorten the “winter break” because, let’s face it. we’re running on a Christian calendar with lengthy holidays around Christmas and Easter and no time off…
The Long Wait – A Bandaid for the Emergency Room Crisis
This is just an off-the-cuff comment, but enduring a long wait in a crowded, infection-ridden emergency room just once should be enough to spur people into action – or at…
Oxygen Depletion in the Oceans
This can’t be good: “The oxygen content of the open ocean and coastal waters has been declining for at least the past half-century, largely because of human activities that have…
War is a Terrible Back-Up Plan
Noam Chomsky is certain that the only two things we should be worried about right now are climate change and nuclear war. Adam Ellick and Jonah Kessel’s article in the…
On Fostering Illusions and the Qualitative Leap
What do you do when well-meaning people dear to you advise you to ignore your doctors? (And what if the doctors are wrong?) I generally rally against non-scientifically verifiable medical…
On Shame, Honour, and Vulnerability
I was forwarded this 47 minute podcast with Brené Brown on 1A, and some of the ideas she has are remarkably similar to Timothy Snyder’s views in On Tyranny (e.g.…
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
I finally got to this pocket-sized book, which is full of lessons passed down from my folks that I’ve been saying for decades, and many others that I’m hearing over…
Some Implications of Boycotting Art
And another thing… Here are two more issues I have with implication surrounding how we’re treating the sexual harassment and assault cases further to my concerns previously discussed and further…
So NOW What? On Power and Sexual Abuse and the Culture of Celebrity
A little over year ago, when I first heard about Louis CK’s abuse of power, I was going to write a post suggesting he might actually be the guy able…
On Aronofsky and Climate Change
An article that mixes philosophy, film, and climate change – three of my favourite topics of discussion! Nolan Gear writes about Aronofky’s film mother! “What could it mean for this…
On Anxiety
I just finished John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, which I read because he claimed it was his way of trying to put words around what it’s like to…
On Betsy DeVos in Ontario
Betsy DeVos is coming to talk to the Minister of Education, apparently to learn about our schools. Let’s hope the meeting just goes in that direction. When she was first…
Action is the One Miracle-Working Faculty of Man
This piece by Wen Stephenson is a beautifully written comparison between Hannah Arendt’s Nazi analysis and the pivotal issues of our time. I’m also afraid, not so much about what…
Out of the Wreckage Teaser
Monbiot’s new book looks to be most similar to his Manifesto, which came out just over a decade ago. I love when he gets all revolutionary and inspirational. Here’s an…