Monthly Archives: September 2022

Creatures at Play

In a foreign land There were creatures at play Running hand in hand Needing nowhere to stay Driven to the mountains high They were sunken in the cities deep Livin’ in my sleep. I feel like goin’ back Back where … Continue reading

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A Future With No Elections

Despite what you may have been led to believe, turnout in most western nations’ elections hasn’t actually changed significantly over the past fifty years. And while young people are less likely to vote, they say that’s about scheduling conflicts with … Continue reading

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Frogs’ Hollow

This is a work of fiction. Canadian soldiers monitor Afghan citizens being questioned in Kandahar, 2008; photo by Allauddin Khan in Canadian Dimension. I saw him pretty often on my trips to Loblaws grocery last year. He looked old and … Continue reading

Posted in Creative Works | 1 Comment

Making Our Measurement Systems a Little Bit Better

map from statista, CC BY-ND 3.0 One of the things I often lament about the massive centralized systems modern humans seem predisposed to develop, is that they grow so large, complicated and cumbersome that they become essentially incapable of being … Continue reading

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A Culture Built on Lovely, Wrong Models

A model of Lafarge Lake Skytrain Station and the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, near where I live, made of 40,000 LEGO blocks.  The model is housed in the building depicted in the centre of the model. It’s a gorgeous … Continue reading

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No Free Will: “Them’s Fightin’ Words!”

This post is a bit of a ramble, but I think there are some important ideas in it. The prison of the self: cartoon by Michael Leunig Some funny/strange things happened when I ceased to believe in the existence of … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 9 Comments

Recuperation, Accommodation, and Resilience

Australian Peter Webb, at work in the Brasilian rainforest; photo from It’s Crow Time. Peter Webb, one of the ‘pioneers of permaculture’ (which would make a cool name for a rock band), mentioned to me, in a recent email exchange … Continue reading

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Links of the Month: September 2022

I find myself these days vacillating between a state of quite blissful equanimity (a very new thing in my life) and a state of almost existential dread. As with most humans, I suspect, this is largely affected by immediate personal … Continue reading

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Understanding Conservatives: How Morality Emerges and Evolves in Community

chemical refinery in Cancer Alley, Louisiana; image from Jim Bowen, flickr, CC BY 2.0 In his book Moral Politics, George Lakoff attempted to articulate the different compasses and worldviews of progressives vs conservatives. At the time, I thought his analysis, which … Continue reading

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How Do We Teach the Critical Skills Needed to Face Collapse?

So civilization, at least as we know it, is going to collapse — political, economic, social, educational, health, transportation, technological systems all will fail, a bit a first, and then more and more. We have no idea when it will … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | 7 Comments