Category: filosofy &c
-
is this the real life?
Some years ago, an anthropologist was doing field work with a tribe in Africa which lived exclusively in the deep jungle. He lived among them for some time, and became a trusted friend. At one point during the sojourn, the anthropologist needed to make a journey to visit another tribe which lived not far away,…
-
am i the worker of the future?
Annacis Island is a heavily industrial enclave in the southern reaches of metropolitan Vancouver. It is not a pedestrian or bike friendly environment; the thoroughfares are broad and businesslike, designed for their primary users: big trucks, and lots of them. They come and go endlessly, everywhere: trucks, trucks, and more trucks. On a recent visit,…
-
just watch this
Image © Warner Bros / Stanley Kubrick In Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange, the ultra-violence-loving young hero Alex is ‘cured’ of his anti-social tendencies by way of an experimental medical intervention. The procedure, vividly depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation, involved plying Alex with powerful nausea-inducing drugs while compelling him to watch films depicting…
-
bloody good
Diner in restaurant: “What can you tell us about the locally raised organic free range chicken?” Waitress: “Well, his name was Jeremy…” … from a radio comedy show – I can’t recall which one A British television host recently posted pictures of her 11 year old daughter blooded after her first successful duck hunt….
-
one morning on the way to melaque
Sometimes life presents poetry unannounced and unadorned. Be open to it. About halfway up Mexico’s west coast is a sleepy little fishing village called Barra de Navidad. A couple of miles north lies Melaque, a larger market town popular with snowbirding Canadians. The two towns are connected by a road, but they also lie at…
-
we were wizards, once
George Lucas, one of the true pioneers of the digital filmmaking era, presciently named his visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic. Perhaps, in his visionary way, he foresaw a future in which the miraculous became mundane, when the work of effects had lost its magic and become just another job to be done. Because…
-
getting an education: priceless
It being graduation season, the air is abuzz with newly released studies evaluating the ROI’s and CBA’s of PhD’s and MSc’s. Each new finding stirs up a fresh flurry of discourse about the ‘worth’ and ‘value’ of a university education. It’s not a new discussion. The debate over whether a university education is ‘worth it’…
-
remembering ray
The third week of April 2013 was, by any measure, a bad one, filled with dark feelings and horrible events. The epicenter was Boston but the aftershocks were felt far and wide, from Vancouver to London and beyond. The Boston Marathon bombings transplanted a new, more foreign form of terrorism onto American soil. It’s a…
-
survey says: don’t ask me
I took a short business trip recently and stayed overnight at a hotel at which I have previously stayed, not once but half a dozen or more times. I love the hotel. It’s great value, great location, and I recommend it to anyone I know who’s heading to that city without hesitation. After this visit,…
-
welcome to the smoke bank
I was in the grocery store recently and witnessed a very troubling scene. The woman at the checkout didn’t have enough money to pay for her purchases. Her groceries consisted of a small roast of pork, some potatoes and broccoli, a quart of milk, a couple of tins of soup, and three packs of cigarettes. …