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…
history
"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…
"she is my family" and other revelations of humanity: s. brian willson in toronto
Guest post: Allan reports on "An Evening with S. Brian Willson", a benefit for the War Resisters Support Campaign, Monday, November 7, 2011.(Willson speaking at a church in San Francisco,…
monday in toronto: "my own government labeled me a terrorist and attempted to murder me"
My own government labeled me a terrorist and attempted to murder me. My story is strongly relevant for activists today in this climate of an unending 'war on terror.'S. Brian…
Fracking Linked To Earthquakes In The U.S.
Earthquake.jpg On the heels of yesterday’s report detailing Cuadrilla Resource’s admission that their fracking practices were responsible for small earthquakes in the U.K., new report...
Nation Maker
Richard Gwyn talks about his new book Nation Maker, the second volume about the life and times of Sir. John A. Macdonald covering the period from Confederation until his death…
Tale of the Norden Bombsight
Malcom Gladwell spins a fascinating story about the strange origins and ultimately twisted fate of a fabulously complicated yet practically hapless bomb-sighting device developed at extraordinary expense for the U.S.…
life, by keith richards, canadian content alert
This post - like its subject - is old but still relevant.Over the summer I read Life, Keith Richards' memoirs. When I blogged about it here, I was loving it,…
howard zinn on not predicting the future
There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions,…
next weekend in toronto: conference on war resisters in north america
If you're interested in the issue of war resistance and the history of war resisters in both Canada and the US, you'll want to be at the Steelworkers Hall in…
this just in: racism in the u.s. now less obvious
Landmark Civil Rights Act Made Racism Slightly Less Overt (Season 1: Ep 3 on IFC)
9.11.11: an anti-remembrance
Ten years on. Ten years of Islamophobia, endless war, the open rationalization of torture and massacre. Ten years of surveillance, insidiously creeping police state, witch hunts, shredding of personal freedoms.…