the canoe family: reconciliation retreat
I’m in the middle of two amazing opportunities, one through my work, and one through my union. The work thing is complex — and important. Decolonizing the library: walking in…
history
what i’m reading: god’s bits of wood + labour book club update
My BCGEU Vancouver Island Labour Book Club is happening! 25 people expressed interest, 18 people registered, and about 5-7 people have been attending. A few other folks are following the…
what i’m reading: bread & roses: mills, migrants, and the struggle for the american dream
I’d be willing to bet my paycheque that Bruce Watson, author of Bread & Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream, did not want his book to…
Mammoth Ideas For Past, Present, and Future – Sweetish Meatballs
Bread, beef and milk will be artificially produced pic.twitter.com/4AYs2kHe3N — Paul Fairie (@paulisci) March 27, 2023 Not now, meatball created from long exti wait what? pic.twitter.com/gXbcHg4aGU — tern (@1goodtern) March…
what i’m reading: my notorious life by kate manning (madame restell, fictional version, nonfiction to follow)
I read this book last year, and have been recommending it nonstop, so it’s about time to commit it to wmtc. My Notorious Life was an obvious book for me…
what i’m reading: empire of pain, the secret history of the sackler family
Buried on page 364 of the hardcover edition of Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty — almost two-thirds into the book — is one sentence that,…
A Hidden History
Ideally, history teaches us about the past so that we can gain perspective on what came before and learn some lessons so that we don’t make the same mistakes made…
Pompeii Powered by Polymer Panels
Historic sites that attract a lot of tourists know that if they loose their historical look that the tourists will stop coming, so how do you locally produce renewable energy…
what i’m reading: nine nasty words by john mcwhorter
If you enjoy language, and history, and humour, you will probably enjoy Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter. A slim book…
what i’m reading: krakatoa: the day the world exploded: august 27, 1883 by simon winchester
The 1883 volcanic eruption known as Krakatoa was the largest, loudest, and most destructive natural event in human history. The explosions (there were many) were heard almost 3,000 miles away.…
worlds collide: more notes on "gods of the upper air"
Gods of the Upper Air, by Charles King, which I recently wrote about, highlights several books that were highly influential in their time, for good and for ill. In The…
what i’m reading: gods of the upper air, outstanding nonfiction by charles king
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century by Charles King is a compelling, fascinating, impeccably researched, and…
Advanced education minister’s video features porkies about premiers, prime ministers and petroleum
Why did Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides choose or approve a nano-clip of prime minister Pierre Trudeau saying “just watch me” to illustrate a cringeworthy social media video justifying Premier…
what i’m reading: the night watchman by louise erdrich
I read Louise Erdrich long ago, in the 1980s and ’90s, devouring several titles, including Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and my favourite, Tracks. Erdrich remained on my radar, but…
"they thought they were doing the right thing at the time": a harmful denialism that we must challenge
They thought they were doing the right thing. They thought they were helping children. Now we know better. I recently heard this from a library customer. They were referring to…
what i’m reading: killers of the flower moon: the osage murders and the birth of the fbi
I’m sure many of you have read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. It’s an award-winning bestseller that garnered…
Conservatives should search for a better analytical lens
As an Ideology, Conservatism tends to use already developed ideas. Conservatives tend to go back into the past and look for the best ideas to lead us in this time.…
rotd: the actual status of the poorest woman is the possible status of every woman
Revolutionary thought of the day: “The actual status of the poorest and most unfortunate woman in society determines the possible status of every woman.” From the mission statement of the…
The Marionette and the Mediocrity
Councillors Mariane McLeod and Yvonne Hamlin have both filed their papers to run for the mayor of Collingwood after a mere single term serving in the least effective, most inept…
what i’m reading: animal, vegetable, junk: a history of food, from sustainable to suicidal, by mark bittman
Mark Bittman’s Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal is a fascinating, readable, and wide-ranging nonfiction. With clear and simple language, Bittman unpacks the many threads…