ode to a hero: attorney for the damned (with thanks to jill lepore)
Clarence Darrow was one of my earliest heroes. I first encountered Darrow in the guise of Spencer Tracy, who portrayed the lawyer in the 1960 movie “Inherit the Wind”. Darrow…
history
The Liberal Identity
The Liberal Party lost the last election not because they didn’t know what they stood for, but because they stopped looking. After the last election many party officials, pundits and…
Liberal History
Laurier, McKenzie King, Pearson, Trudeau, Chretien all mean nothing to the Liberal Party, to Canada if we as members and as Canadians do nothing. Though each man was great in…
belafonte on obama: "a dagger in our sense of justice"
On a recommendation from a friend, I watched Harry Belafonte interviewed by Charlie Rose in New York City. Belafonte – musician, actor, social-justice activist, radical – is a joy to…
Canadian Pride
Canada has the best government, the best history, and the best culture, but what makes me proudest to be Canadian, is not the democracy, not the tolerance and diversity, not…
the iron lady was an enemy of the people and should not be celebrated as a hero
This week, the movie “The Iron Lady” opens, a big-budget biopic starring Meryl Streep as former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. No technical or directorial skills, nor the inevitable genius…
malalai joya, noam chomsky, afghanistan, and peace
This video of Malalai Joya and Noam Chomsky speaking in Boston is from March of this year, but sadly, is every bit as relevant today. Chomsky’s analysis of the situation…
mayan ruins in georgia are "wild and unsubstantiated guess" that "no archaeologists will defend"
Have you heard that 1,100-year-old Maya ruins have been uncovered in the US state of Georgia? Did it seem a bit hard to believe? There’s a reason for that. If…
old warriors seeing with clear eyes: bill moyers interview with andrew bacevich
I found this in a massive pile of un-read links. It’s a conversation between progressive journalist Bill Moyers and Andrew Bacevich, author of The New American Militarism: How Americans Are…
baseball history meets the information
The best part of James Gleick’s The Information was, for me, his history of communication and information technologies. Here’s a terrific article that applies that lens to baseball: “The History…
what i’m watching: old timey tv and old timey ads
One of my favourite comedies has always been “The Burns and Allen Show,” the old TV vehicle for the comedy team of Gracie Allen and George Burns. The show’s entire…
"you must fearlessly accept the challenge and aggressively spread the idea of war resistance."
Those who think that the danger of war is past are living in a fool’s paradise. We are faced today with militarism more powerful and more dangerous than that which…
worlds collide: the high line meets the information
This photo is used in James Gleick’s The Information, in which I am currently engrossed. The building is Bell Labs, the hottest of hot spots for engineering and technology for…
Lessons from the ancient Greek island of Delos
I had the chance to visit the amazing archeological site that consists of the entire Greek island of Delos. Beyond the aesthetic appeal of such a large, ancient, and naturally…
Molly’sBlog 2011-11-26 18:06:00
LITERATURE: SO THEY NEVER DID LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER: I have recently finished ‘The Collected Fairy Tales Of Hans Christian Anderson, and am about 80% through ‘The Collected Fairy Tales…
Molly’sBlog 2011-11-24 20:11:00
TODAY IN HISTORY: ANNIVERSARY OF ‘THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES’ ********** It was today in 1859 that Charles Darwin published ‘The Origin Of Species’. It can be argued that this has…
November 22, 1963
Yesterday was the anniversary of JFK’s assassination. This short video by acclaimed film maker Errol Morris is at the New York Times’ site as part of their commemoration of the…
who wrote shakespeare? eric idle knows.
A while back, wmtc had a discussion about the supposed controversy of the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, after I read the book Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare, by James Shapiro.…
nyc reflections part 4: know the past, find the future, nypl centennial free book
Roy Blount contemplates the original Winnie-the-PoohI have one last snippet to share from our recent, brief trip to New York City. My friend NN, who writes this blog, surprised me…
fisk: "heaven be thanked that the soldiers cannot return to discover how their sacrifice has been turned into fashion appendage"
It's that time of year again, the week when no one dares show their face on Canadian television, or indeed in any public place in Canada, without a red poppy…