2/28/2004
More or Less
Was allowing Women or African-Americans the vote a threat to voting? Was allowing women in the military a threat to warfare? You get the drift. Is allowing more marriage a threat to marriage? Or is it that those opposed to gay marriage, just don't like gays and lesbians. I have to admit it's taken years for me to be comfortable seeing a man kiss another man, but I did get over it, like a child get's over seeing mommy and daddy kissing "Ew don't do that, that's gross". Allowing gay marriage doesn't threaten the institution it reinforces it. These gay marriages aren't in place of straight marriages. The fact is that being against gay marriage either means you're against marriage period or you really don't accept that same-sex relationships are as legitimate as straight realationships. That being said society isn't always fair and just, but wouldn't it be nice if it was.
A Good Thing He Only Has Two Feet
Sometimes an apology reveals more about why the original statement that led to it was misguided, offensive or otherwise wrong-headed. Here's an example from Gregg Easterbrook in the New Republic apologizing(?) for his comments on what he believes is Hollywood film executives worship of money above all else. Oh did I mention he particularily questions the Jewish ones?
There is some very weird thinking going on in this man's mind. In fact in the original article he even draws out an implication that Islamic terrorism just might be fueled by exposure to Hollywood violence.
There is some very weird thinking going on in this man's mind. In fact in the original article he even draws out an implication that Islamic terrorism just might be fueled by exposure to Hollywood violence.
2/27/2004
It Looks Like a Dog
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This beast is named Chester. He is a super dog. He will pick up garbage and throw it in the garbage can. He will leap through the air and catch his frisbee. He has no leash and will go through any series of obstacles that you ask him to. He will "talk" on command. He writes poetry.
2/25/2004
K-tel Memories
After a hard day's work there are few things in life finer than sitting back with a cold beer, some wood on the fire (in my case a stick of burning incense) and access to every super fantastic piece of schlock that ever hit the top 40, all thanks to the world of zeros and ones. Ah sweet memories. I feel like I'm 14 again sitting by the water with my transistor radio, The black Sony with the industrial rubber handle/antenna and that little red eye on the dial that lit up when you dialed into frequencies from near and far: Atlanta, Chicago, Montreal, Baltimore, Ottawa, rocking through the static with the sounds of Chilliwack, BTO, Bad Co., Cheap Trick, Styx, Kiss, Trooper, Disco, Abba, Muskrat Love and Kiki Dee and the breeze across the water. Superfine.
Globalism Revisited
So, I finally read (His Excellency) John Ralston Saul's article on Globalism. I see that he is using the term in a narrower sense than what I would have. He refers to a particular economic vision of the world and the fallout of adhereing to it as if it were a religious force. In my days as an anthropologist the term had a broader sense. While it encompassed the economic realm, it also referred to culture transmissions, the movement of people, whether individualy or as populations, to identities.
I had a neo-marxist professor who used the term in the strict economic sense. He would fall into the anti-globalism camp who saw globalism as a kind of imperialism, a nationalism writ large. This was in contrast to the po-mo's and others who understood globalism in a less ideological way, as referring to social processes in general. This included the more frequent encounters of people across national boundaries, fusion in cuisine, music, religion etcetera, that goes along with modern communications and transportation. Globalism in this sense was not singularly about the exchange of goods, resources and currency. There was a lot of ill will bred by using the same word to refer to different (although overlapping) things.
By the way the article is very interesting ands if you get a chance give it a read.
I had a neo-marxist professor who used the term in the strict economic sense. He would fall into the anti-globalism camp who saw globalism as a kind of imperialism, a nationalism writ large. This was in contrast to the po-mo's and others who understood globalism in a less ideological way, as referring to social processes in general. This included the more frequent encounters of people across national boundaries, fusion in cuisine, music, religion etcetera, that goes along with modern communications and transportation. Globalism in this sense was not singularly about the exchange of goods, resources and currency. There was a lot of ill will bred by using the same word to refer to different (although overlapping) things.
By the way the article is very interesting ands if you get a chance give it a read.
The History Ninja Says:
Today in History:
The Good: Happy Birthday Jim Backus Feb 25th 1913.
The Bad: Adolf Hitler granted German citizenship Feb 25th 1932.
and lest we forget
The Ugly: Feb 25th 1751, The first performing monkey exhibited in America (admission 1¢)
2/23/2004
Coming (not a moment too) Soon: Earth II
The US military is actively creating a virtual to scale model of the earth for training purposes. It looks like we're going to need it if this pentagon report has any creedence. Hope you enjoy those Siberian winters Britain.
2/22/2004
2/21/2004
Blossom Dearie
Today moving into tonight has been an indulgence of dredging the net, drinking beer listening to very loud music , playing the old guitar and yearning. Not bad. I found this singer named Blossom Dearie who sings this very sweet sappy song called Surrey With the Fringe on Top.
Little things like that make it all worth while. More than worthwhile. Oh I'm sorry, this will pass. It's a "heart on sleeve" weekend.
Little things like that make it all worth while. More than worthwhile. Oh I'm sorry, this will pass. It's a "heart on sleeve" weekend.
The Earth Has Spun It's Circle Without You
It was a year ago this week Steven left us. Here are some of his doodles from when we were kids.
Heartbreak and All That
One of the few positive things I can manage to dredge out of sorrowful circumstance, is the fact that these are moments that deliniate very clearly what matters in this world. After accumulating enough disappointment, heartbreak and death you find your way through the pain. It' still hurts like hell but you survived last time, you know what to hang on to, when to drift with the current and when to resist it.
It's a gloomy wet day but there is light and music and friends and fond memories. And there is tomorrow, without which I never would have met you all.
It's a gloomy wet day but there is light and music and friends and fond memories. And there is tomorrow, without which I never would have met you all.
Goodbye
I said goodbye to Sophie on Thursday. Friday she took her things back to St. Damien and is driving to Boston today where she will start the next chapter. I wish her all the best and look forward to hearing about her Ivy League adventures although I know Luna and I will miss those evening walks through Parc Lafontaine. Yes I'm sad dammit.
Gettin' the Hits
You would think the best google bait would be something like "Jane_t Jackso_n's Brea_st" or "Cele_brity Nip_ple S_lips" but noooo, John Ralston Saul, The Collapse of Nationalism turns out to be the ticket to a torent of google hits.
2/19/2004
Womble Ponderings
Does anyone remember the Wombles? I barely do from when I lived in Saudi and was exposed to a lot of British pop culture. Who were they exactly?
Bush Science
How would you feel about your credentials if 60 prominent scientests, of which twenty were Nobel Laureates, told you your approach to science was dubious? You'd feel like G W Bush I suppose. This week that's what happened in a public letter that explained how the Bush administration has unprecedently politicized science within the government, to the long-term detrement of the public.
When scientific knowledge has been found to be in conflict with its political goals, the administration has often manipulated the process through which science enters into its decisions. This has been done by placing people who are professionally unqualified or who have clear conflicts of interest in official posts and on scientific advisory committees; by disbanding existing advisory committees; by censoring and suppressing reports by the government’s own scientists; and by simply not seeking independent scientific advice. Other administrations have, on occasion, engaged in such practices, but not so systematically nor on so wide a front. Furthermore, in advocating policies that are not scientifically sound, the administration has sometimes misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies.
2/17/2004
Atkins this
When I recieved a Harper's magazine in the maill today with a full page add on the back cover screaning in bold red letters "Wake up to Atkins" "Look for the Red 'A' " it was the last straw.
So here it is, via the Smoking Gun the Wall Street Journal the medical examiner's report of the deceased Dr. Atkins "shows that the 72-year-old physician had suffered from a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension" which is why he fell and bonked his head which is what did him in.
So here it is, via the Smoking Gun the Wall Street Journal the medical examiner's report of the deceased Dr. Atkins "shows that the 72-year-old physician had suffered from a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension" which is why he fell and bonked his head which is what did him in.
Globalism and Nationalism
I've noticed that there is an article in this month's Harper's by John Ralston Saul titled "The Collapse of Globalism: And the Rebirth of Nationalism." I haven't read it yet but as a student of the subject I was always critical of the notion that "Globalism" was preceding "Nationalism" to create a new paridigm in which the importance of individual states woud whither away. The models of globalism drew largely from what was occurring in those days (mid to late 1990's) in terms of communications and the internationalization of economy and transposing this to state political structures, but if one looked at political events even then, it was clear that nationalism was as strong as at any point in history. With the collapse of the Soviet Union there commenced a great change in Central Asia and Eastern Europe as former satellite states and republics of the USSR redefined themselves. In Africa nationalism was also very much a fact. Indeed the only places where political globalism seemed to be a given was in Western Europe and North America, where we had the European Union in the former and NAFTA in latter presented as signs of the future, in otherwords globalism was a phenomena arising for the most part from the traditional wealthy industrial nations known as "the West".
So "globalism" has always been localized, which makes it a strange kind of globalism to begin with. Globalism didn't diffuse globally, it's force flowed from the West and drew back to the West. In fact globalism probably plays a large role in the kinds of nationalist movements that we see now. Despite the rhetoric of nationalists, the nation is not the natural social/political unit of mankind nor does nationalism exist through much of the history of civiization.
It's a relatively recent phenomena that originates in Western Europe, at least in the form that is the ancestor of contemporary nationalist movements. Nationalism is almost always born in in the face of adversity and thus typically a reactionary movement. The more oppressive the circumstances of the adversity the stronger the nationalism. Nationalist movements rarely survive in conditions of prosperity such as in Quebec, northern Italy or Spain.
All this to say, and this is a simplification of a lot of complexity, is that because globalism was a phenomena whose force originated among the wealthy nations of the world its force was not distributed equally so we have reaction in the form of localism, as the transnational colldies with the village, as the interests of the global players clash with the man and woman in the street or field.
One small example: The emergence of Hindu Nationalists as India becomes an economic and industrialized state (not Indian nationalists but Hindu) and their rejection of all things "foreign" such as Valentines day. There's a myriad of other examples but I'm not really meaning to right a thesis here.
So "globalism" has always been localized, which makes it a strange kind of globalism to begin with. Globalism didn't diffuse globally, it's force flowed from the West and drew back to the West. In fact globalism probably plays a large role in the kinds of nationalist movements that we see now. Despite the rhetoric of nationalists, the nation is not the natural social/political unit of mankind nor does nationalism exist through much of the history of civiization.
It's a relatively recent phenomena that originates in Western Europe, at least in the form that is the ancestor of contemporary nationalist movements. Nationalism is almost always born in in the face of adversity and thus typically a reactionary movement. The more oppressive the circumstances of the adversity the stronger the nationalism. Nationalist movements rarely survive in conditions of prosperity such as in Quebec, northern Italy or Spain.
All this to say, and this is a simplification of a lot of complexity, is that because globalism was a phenomena whose force originated among the wealthy nations of the world its force was not distributed equally so we have reaction in the form of localism, as the transnational colldies with the village, as the interests of the global players clash with the man and woman in the street or field.
One small example: The emergence of Hindu Nationalists as India becomes an economic and industrialized state (not Indian nationalists but Hindu) and their rejection of all things "foreign" such as Valentines day. There's a myriad of other examples but I'm not really meaning to right a thesis here.
2/16/2004
Conan the O'Barbarian
As you may or may not know Conan O'Brien has been taping his nightly comedy/talk-show in Toronto this past week. The other evening they did a segment with the cigar chomping dog puppet, Triumph, whose raison d'etre is to insult people. They sent the feisty one up to check out the Quebec Carnival and it turned into a minor political fiasco.
I saw excerpts from the show and it was both ignorant and funny. Funny in an outrageous way. You can't believe how stupid and naive the producers of the show are about Canadian society.
I only spoke to one Francophone friend about the show. He used to live in the USA and in fact worked for the CIA in the 1980's. So is familiar with a certain kind of existing American mentality. He reacted with a resigned disappointment. "Typical American ignorance. What can you do." he sighed and said that in Canada we've learned how to live together with our differences and to have someone who knows nothing about our country come and throw this shit in the pot was too bad.
The thing that upset him most though was the Toronto audiences enthusiastic response to the denegration of his culture. Yes, we know it's "only a joke. Chill out". Gee thanks being a francophone in North America is a joke. That makes us feel so much better.
I saw excerpts from the show and it was both ignorant and funny. Funny in an outrageous way. You can't believe how stupid and naive the producers of the show are about Canadian society.
I only spoke to one Francophone friend about the show. He used to live in the USA and in fact worked for the CIA in the 1980's. So is familiar with a certain kind of existing American mentality. He reacted with a resigned disappointment. "Typical American ignorance. What can you do." he sighed and said that in Canada we've learned how to live together with our differences and to have someone who knows nothing about our country come and throw this shit in the pot was too bad.
The thing that upset him most though was the Toronto audiences enthusiastic response to the denegration of his culture. Yes, we know it's "only a joke. Chill out". Gee thanks being a francophone in North America is a joke. That makes us feel so much better.
In a Bloggy Mood
After a slow period of blogging I find myself replete with blog topics today. Sophie is moving to Boston next Saturday. For the record I will miss her. Last night we went to meet a prospective room-mate. A man studying neurology at Harvard. He was in Montreal to visit his wife who is a dancer. She was admitted to a Dance program in New Yrk City but was then refused a student visa so she came to Montreal.
We met them both and they were very nice. Sophie has not been to keen on the idea of living in the land of Bush and having to live without French for 18 months, but after last night she was much more enthused. Hector painted a picture of Boston that made her feel much more relaxed about the idea of living there; even excited. I know she's going to have a great time and I look forward to going there to visit. It's really not so far from Montreal and I'm sure is a fine place to be in its own right.
We met them both and they were very nice. Sophie has not been to keen on the idea of living in the land of Bush and having to live without French for 18 months, but after last night she was much more enthused. Hector painted a picture of Boston that made her feel much more relaxed about the idea of living there; even excited. I know she's going to have a great time and I look forward to going there to visit. It's really not so far from Montreal and I'm sure is a fine place to be in its own right.
The Sad Story of the Segway
There's an article in today's Globe and Mail about the new mode of transportation that was going to change the world. There was a lot of hype surrounding the Segway and when it was presented to the public there was a huge deflation. "Oh," I remember thinking, "that's it?" The Segway never caught on and think it has something to do with the fact that it isn't sexy. It isn't cool . In fact it's an electric wheelchair without the chair. On top of it all it doesn't do anything that a bicycle can't do at a lower cost and more efficiently. The Segway is a case of too much applied technology to create something that has already been done more simply.
A bicycle is made of physical parts that can be readily replaced and tuned. A Segway has computer chips and gyroscopes. It has no storage space and isn't convenient to bring up or down stairs. It's no good in a snowy climate like mine and I'm not certain that you can leave it out in the rain. Poor Segway nobody loves you.
A bicycle is made of physical parts that can be readily replaced and tuned. A Segway has computer chips and gyroscopes. It has no storage space and isn't convenient to bring up or down stairs. It's no good in a snowy climate like mine and I'm not certain that you can leave it out in the rain. Poor Segway nobody loves you.
2/15/2004
2/14/2004
A Quick Political Blog
One of the things that I've always detested about the Canadian political system is that we end up with Prime Ministers that the populace didn't vote for. It's based on the idea that a vote goes to a party not an individual. So we had Kim Campbell step into Mulroney's shoes and she was trounced. Now we have Mr. Martin stepping into Chretiens and he is being pummelled. Had Chretien finished his term and called an election with a new Liberal leader I think things would be different. Ther is an inherent resentment for a leader that we feel we didn't choose. It rubs the democratic spirit the wrong way. Martin still may win an election but it's not a sure thing.
Of course the scandal hasn't helped. According to the Globe and Mail the the Liberals are at 39%. 39% of what? They don't say. According to "a poll". What poll? They don't say. Talk about low standards in journalism. Anyhow the Liberals are where the Conservatives were just before the Canadian public disintegrated them. Are the Liberals next? That would be exciting, but what would we get in return? I've said it before here at the Glob, but for the first time in years I will not be voting Liberal.
Jack Layton has problems in that the NDP has almost no presence in Quebec and Ontario still begrudges the Bob Rae days. You aren't going to win a majority without these provinces. It's too bad because I believe that he is a fresh (federally), competent and likeable man. Especially by the standards of politicians.
I don't even think that there is an NDP candidate in my riding. It's Bloc and Liberal. So I can't even vote for the man. Something is wrong with this system.
Of course the scandal hasn't helped. According to the Globe and Mail the the Liberals are at 39%. 39% of what? They don't say. According to "a poll". What poll? They don't say. Talk about low standards in journalism. Anyhow the Liberals are where the Conservatives were just before the Canadian public disintegrated them. Are the Liberals next? That would be exciting, but what would we get in return? I've said it before here at the Glob, but for the first time in years I will not be voting Liberal.
Jack Layton has problems in that the NDP has almost no presence in Quebec and Ontario still begrudges the Bob Rae days. You aren't going to win a majority without these provinces. It's too bad because I believe that he is a fresh (federally), competent and likeable man. Especially by the standards of politicians.
I don't even think that there is an NDP candidate in my riding. It's Bloc and Liberal. So I can't even vote for the man. Something is wrong with this system.
2/13/2004
Strange Wink
I Googled an image called "Winking" this evening looking for someone winking to use in a graphic and to my surprise a picture I took of Sophie winking that I put on the Glob and Wail last August came up ( mind you on the 7th page). She's a famous winker now. it freaked me out a bit; how public this is.
2/11/2004
One More Thing
I always thought that the Liberals had been in power too long. In effect we have been living in what amounts to a one party state. There are good reasons for this given the choices voters have been given over the years. Preston Manning? Alexis McDonough, Doris, I mean Stockwell Day. It turns out in light of the Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's report that the corruption was institutional. It's criminal and those responsible should be in prison. For the money stolen from Canadian citizens every child in Canada could have been immunized against menengitis and a host of other life-threatening diseases that at present are paid for out of an individuals pocket. All I can do is growl. Grrrrrrrr.
2/09/2004
The Inventors of Timekeeping Have a Lot to Answer For.
Not much time for blogging these days. I'm working on the professional side of things with a renewed intensity that is taking up all my time. I figure in March things will have stabilized somewhat.
2/04/2004
Whether it snows...
We had a beautiful snowfall last night. It's been a real winter this year, which is fine by me. I I've lived in climates where there was no snow and cold and I missed it then. Granted it can drag on but in general I love the strong characters of the four seasons we have in Eastern Canada.
In Montreal Spring is a bit of problem. It doesn't come at once (if at all ). Instead we have a day here a day there that you could call spring weather, popping up between the continuing winter days. Then , smack, a heatwave slaps you and you are in the midst of summer. Humidity, sweat and raging waves of heat slither off the tarmack.
But that's not today. today is painted in soft grey tones and the pillows of snow absorb all the ambient noise.
In Montreal Spring is a bit of problem. It doesn't come at once (if at all ). Instead we have a day here a day there that you could call spring weather, popping up between the continuing winter days. Then , smack, a heatwave slaps you and you are in the midst of summer. Humidity, sweat and raging waves of heat slither off the tarmack.
But that's not today. today is painted in soft grey tones and the pillows of snow absorb all the ambient noise.
2/03/2004
Last Night
The woman who lives upstairs is being evicted tomorrow. She hasn't paid her rent since last summer. She hasn't budged yet and tomorrow the bailiff comes. He will put everything she owns on the street. While I feel bad for anyone in this situation, I will not miss her. She has been a bane to everyone in this building. If she repaid us for all of the sleepless nights she has given each of us we could sleep for days.
I won't miss the screaming, the fighting, the tantrums, the parties, or the shady characters that sometimes drop by looking for her. One evening in December a fellow dropped by looking for her. I knew him vaguely as the boyfriend of a woman I sometimes meet in the Park while walking the dog. He is a man of few words. Rather he communicates with small shifts of his eyes in his otherwise expressionless face. His head is shaved and he likes to wear pseudo-military clothing.
When he asked for her I could tell it was not for tea. He had given her money for a room she was renting last October. He had asked for it back when he found out that she wasn't paying the landlord. He didn't say anything more about this and offered me a bottle of beer that he pulled out of the pouch on the front of his camouflaged poncho. He had the demeanor of a man who could kill you with no more emotion than he would tie up a bootlace. He made me nervous.
The woman upstairs stopped staying in her apartment just before Christmas. Her phone was disconnected and the light in the front room was on at all hours. She would return at odd times, perhaps to get fresh clothes and feed the cat. Beyond that all was quiet until last night. The stomping the yelling, the strange sounds returned and for the first time in all the time she has lived there, I heard the rhythmic sawing of the bed upstairs accompanied by squeaky moans. Strange that this should happen the night before the bailiff comes.
I won't miss the screaming, the fighting, the tantrums, the parties, or the shady characters that sometimes drop by looking for her. One evening in December a fellow dropped by looking for her. I knew him vaguely as the boyfriend of a woman I sometimes meet in the Park while walking the dog. He is a man of few words. Rather he communicates with small shifts of his eyes in his otherwise expressionless face. His head is shaved and he likes to wear pseudo-military clothing.
When he asked for her I could tell it was not for tea. He had given her money for a room she was renting last October. He had asked for it back when he found out that she wasn't paying the landlord. He didn't say anything more about this and offered me a bottle of beer that he pulled out of the pouch on the front of his camouflaged poncho. He had the demeanor of a man who could kill you with no more emotion than he would tie up a bootlace. He made me nervous.
The woman upstairs stopped staying in her apartment just before Christmas. Her phone was disconnected and the light in the front room was on at all hours. She would return at odd times, perhaps to get fresh clothes and feed the cat. Beyond that all was quiet until last night. The stomping the yelling, the strange sounds returned and for the first time in all the time she has lived there, I heard the rhythmic sawing of the bed upstairs accompanied by squeaky moans. Strange that this should happen the night before the bailiff comes.
2/01/2004
February
It's February. February is one of the nothing months. Like November it exists in a seasonal limbo. If you were at a party and all the months were there you would want to spend as little time with February as possible. The best thing about February is the fact that is short.
However all that being said, today is a beautiful sunny day and mere very cold rather than a deep freeze. I've only strolled down Mount Royal once since before Christmas as the weather has been so beastly.
Sophie started moving her things back to her parents this weekend in preparation for her move to Boston at the end of the month. She has mixed feelings about leaving, but it's going to a be a great opportunity to work with some of the top scientests in state of the art facilities on her measles vaccine. Measles is I understand the number one cause of death of children globally. (But isn't there already a vaccine for measles? Yes, but you'd have to talk to her about it. In general it will be a more effective, safer and cheaper to produce vaccine).
Which brings me to the growing anti-vaccination trend, among North Amricans who grew up without fear of childhood disease, but I'll save that for next time.
However all that being said, today is a beautiful sunny day and mere very cold rather than a deep freeze. I've only strolled down Mount Royal once since before Christmas as the weather has been so beastly.
Sophie started moving her things back to her parents this weekend in preparation for her move to Boston at the end of the month. She has mixed feelings about leaving, but it's going to a be a great opportunity to work with some of the top scientests in state of the art facilities on her measles vaccine. Measles is I understand the number one cause of death of children globally. (But isn't there already a vaccine for measles? Yes, but you'd have to talk to her about it. In general it will be a more effective, safer and cheaper to produce vaccine).
Which brings me to the growing anti-vaccination trend, among North Amricans who grew up without fear of childhood disease, but I'll save that for next time.