Software updates are flu shots
A nice metaphor for software updates. Flu shots attempt to immunize people from the influenza virus, by exposing their immune systems to small doses of weakened or dead virus molecules.…
history
more roku joy: post your pbs and nfb recommendations here
Roku has added an app for PBS! This means we watch music clips from Austin City Limits, and in the winter we’ll binge on American Experience history documentaries and American…
what i’m reading: clarence darrow, attorney for the damned, by john a. farrell
I last wrote about Clarence Darrow in early 2012, after reading a piece by one of my favourite New Yorker writers, Jill Lepore. Two new biographies of Darrow had been…
The surveillance state is an autoimmune disorder
Autoimmune disorders (Wikipedia prefers autoimmune diseases) occur when the body’s defenses — antibodies — no longer distinguish between healthy tissue and harmful cells. Instead of focusing on the dangerous antigens,…
a people’s history of british columbia, and a chance to preserve it for the future
Here’s a chance to preserve Canadian history – the real history, not the government-approved kind – and to preserve art and creativity and alternative media, all at the same time.…
what i’m reading: two youth novels
There is so much truly excellent youth fiction out these days, and it’s not all vampires and zombies. Here are two wonderful teen novels in two totally different veins. There…
Hungry Aboriginal kids used in nutritional experiments: AFN reacts
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) says the revelation that Canadian officials used malnourished Aboriginal populations in nutritional experiments has “sent a shockwave through First Nations in Canada and should…
In Canada, hungry aboriginal kids, adults used as nutritional experiment subjects
In Canada, hungry aboriginal kids and adults were used as unwitting subjects of nutritional experiments by Canadian government bureaucrats during and after World War II, The Canadian Press reported Tuesday.…
Losing the world, and some sleep, but enjoying it
Brave New World – not the novel of a dystopian future by Aldous Huxley – is the name of the latest add-on for Civilization V, following after Gods &…
Lafleche Centennial, 100 Years of Awesome
June 29, 2013 I’ve been at the Lafleche 100 celebration on Canada Day long weekend. There were few people my age who I knew, and many of the oldest generation…
rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: This war is murder, this conquest is robbery… If this war be called patriotism then blessed be treason. Clarence Darrow, 1898, on the Spanish-American war
dave zirin writes to dan snyder: why the washington nfl team must change its name
Here is the definitive piece on why the NFL team in Washington DC must change its name, written by – who else – Dave Zirin: Enough: An Open Letter to…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mike Fancie offers this year’s definitive response to the the misguided concept of “tax freedom”: The Fraser Institute’s math on income and…
Butch Dykes: A Herstory told in zines
At the recent Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, where another (better) world of incredibly inspiring, provocative and boundary-pushing art and media is on display each year, I stumbled upon Eloisa Aquino and…
Credit, Where Not Due, Accomplishes More
If you don’t care who gets the credit for something, you can accomplish more. That works in both directions. You can pass an idea along without asking for anything in…
thank you, jean stapleton
She was a great actor, a brilliant comedian, and the warm heart of one of the most memorable television shows of all time. “All in the Family” was a pioneering…
cantabria to gernika and bilbao, part 1
I almost forgot to mention, we had some interesting news from home. Everything is fine now, but Essie had her hands full for a while! I warned Essie about the…
cantabria, day two
We’ve had another outstanding day of seeing cave paintings, an entirely different experience that complemented the other two cave tours. We left Santillana del Mar early and drove on back-country…
cantabria and asturias, day one
Today we fulfilled a travel wish we’ve harboured for many, many years. We saw two sets of paleolithic cave paintings. * * * * The day started out a bit…
madrid to segovia to cantabria
Getting out of Madrid was a whole lot easier than getting in. We found our way to the highway easily, and had a short drive to the town of Segovia,…