As Elvis leaves the building, so do we all
No one gets out of here alive. We all die. And with us go into the dustbin the dreams, the values, the ideals, the culture we grew up with, we…
Culture
Book collecting: snobbery or reading passion?
The book has always been a sign of status and refinement; a declaration of self-worth – even for those who hate to read. That’s the lead into a recent piece…
When Old White Guys Discover Memes
Ms Soapbox recently received a series of memes from an old white guy justifying his support of Trump’s anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, anti-refugee, anti-everything policies. She’s been seething ever since. Not because…
The athletes’ revolt
Photo by Brook Ward By the time San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to take a stand against oppression by taking a knee during the national anthem, it will…
Cultural Replicant Fade #nlpoli
The people of Gambo held their first mummers’ parade the December before last. The Gander Beacon, the weekly newspaper that covers events in Gambo, featured some pictures of the parade…
Cultural Replicant Fade #nlpoli
The people of Gambo held their first mummers’ parade the December before last. The Gander Beacon, the weekly newspaper that covers events in Gambo, featured some pictures of the parade…
Auden, Trump and poetry
There’s a poem by W. H. Auden (1907-73) going the internet rounds these days with suggestions of Auden’s prescience towards the latest American president and contemporary politics. It’s a powerful…
It’s Not a Wonderful Life
I’m convinced many Americans – Donald Trump among them – think Frank Capra’s famous film, It’s a Wonderful Life, was a documentary, not entertainment. It has all the elements of…
The vulgar crowd
Profanum vulgus. The vulgar crowd. Not, however, as you might suspect, an apt description of the remaining few supporters of The Block that rules Collingwood Council. While perhaps appropriately described,…
The Popular Front: An “Alternative Year in Review” of 2016 Pop Culture
Photo by Geoffrey Gallaway 2016 was quite the year. As the calendar winds down, some people are talking about 2016 as one of the worst years in human history, or…
Eheu fugaces, Postume…
Alas, Postumus, the swift years slip away. Those words are one translation of the opening line of the 14th Ode in the second book of Horace’s carminas, or songs: Eheu…
No, Brian: Elvis isn’t in the CBSP
At the Nov. 28 Council meeting (seen here on Rogers TV), Deputy Mayor Brian Saunderson blathered on in cliché-rich, lawerly manner (starting 1:14:05) about how much the Elvis Festival means…
The subtle art of Mark Manson
I have a healthy skepticism towards anything labelled a “self-help” book – especially those that aim at making your life happier or more fulfilled through some fad, superstition or pseudoscience.…
Does anyone still read books?
I came across an early version of this infographic on Facebook and it shook me to my core. You can see it here. The updated and corrected infographic is shown…
Clear the Way for the Prophets of Rage
When a friend first told me that members of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill were joining forces to “Make America Rage Again” with a musical “super…
Tough Times for Print Media
It’s not like the halcyon days when I first started writing for newspapers, back in late 1969. Today, print media is struggling to survive in a world dominated by digital…
Leonard Cohen deserves the Nobel Prize, too
News that songwriter Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature shook the literati worldwide. Here was a pop icon sitting in the august company of Alice Munro, Mario Vargas…