Author Archives: Dave Pollard

How to Respond to Impending Collapse (Guest Post by Paul Heft)

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Dave Pollard

My friend Paul Heft has written a synopsis of the ‘advice’ that a score of writers have recently given on how to respond to accelerating climate collapse. You probably know that I no longer offer advice on what to do, since … Continue reading →

Posted in Preparing for Civilization's End | Leave a comment

This Creature

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Dave Pollard

cartoon by the late Charles Barsotti I am looking in the mirror. I no longer see myself; I have come to appreciate that this creature, this character, this strange water-filled bag of organs called a ‘human’, is not ‘me’, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

If You Wanted to Sabotage the Canada/US Elections…

Posted on September 14, 2019 by Dave Pollard

(In case it isn’t obvious, this article is meant as satire.) image from The Daily Show Canadians go to the polls for a federal election this fall; Americans do so next fall. There is already evidence of large-scale election meddling … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 3 Comments

Links of the Quarter: September 2019

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Dave Pollard

cartoon by Lars Kenseth in the New Yorker What have we to do But stand with empty hands and palms turned upwards In an age which advances progressively backwards?    (TS Eliot) Hiraeth (heer-eye-th) (Welsh) A word with no direct English … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 2 Comments

Why Economic Collapse Will Precede Climate Collapse

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Dave Pollard

It’s encouraging to see that the terms “climate crisis” and even “climate collapse”, which even five years ago were ridiculed as doomerism, are now considered perfectly reasonable descriptions of our current state. That doesn’t mean there is any consensus on how to … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Preparing for Civilization's End | 23 Comments

Dogs in the Stands

Posted on August 18, 2019 by Dave Pollard

cartoon by hugh macleod OK, so now what’s holding you back? You know that nothing you do makes any enduring difference, to the state of the world or civilization, or in fact to anything, since there is no ‘you’ to … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Works | 2 Comments

What Underlies Oppression

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Dave Pollard

Pride Vancouver Festival image from Daily Hive attributed to Public Disco/Facebook This past week was Pride Week in Vancouver. It’s a great parade and festival, and a celebration of the growing and hard-fought freedom of non-straight (LGBTQ+) folks to be open … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 3 Comments

Kompa: World Music 101

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Dave Pollard

What if you could take the best parts of a good song and amplify, loop, remix and riff off them? Would you end up with a better song? And whose song would it be then? This is an issue that … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment

Shortz Subject

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Dave Pollard

If you’ve ever done crosswords, you probably enjoy the wordplay (and new knowledge) in some of the clues (often denoted by an appended “?”) as much as solving the puzzle. So, for some recent examples from NYT/New Yorker puzzles: • … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | Comments Off on Shortz Subject

Aphorisms

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Dave Pollard

photo by Allen Ishibashi, from Twitter In this week’s New Yorker, Adam Gopnik muses on the value, appeal and history of aphorisms. He differentiates the aphorism (wise) from its cousin, the epigram (witty). He touches on Twitter, the latest vehicle … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 1 Comment