Hallelujah
This was going to be a Ms-Soapbox-is-stampeding-see-you-next-week-blog…then she remembered something. Ms Soapbox’s sister and brother-in-law popped into town just in time for the Calgary Stampede. We did the fair grounds,…
Culture
Cultural appropriation is the new gluten free
Like food fads, political fads wax and wane as the gnat-like attention span of their followers gets diverted by the Next Big Thing. Political Correctness has of late given birth…
Acting Your Age
Here’s the thing. We live in a society that values youth over experience, wisdom, ability and knowledge. I’m not sure why we do that, but children are more valuable to…
Walking Dead abandons progressive potential of horror
Image by AMC Networks Inc. The Walking Dead, the surprise hit for AMC when it premiered, has just concluded its seventh season. As a long-time horror fan, I was excited…
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…
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.…