  UNDERSTANDING OUR CULTURE AND OURSELVES– Writing Better . Conversation, Language, Narrative & Story-Telling – The Arts – Science & Health . Our Culture . Being Human (Psychology etc.) – Miscellany updated Jan. 1, 2007 Writing Better On Writing: The 39 Steps (February, 2003) Frederick Barthelme’s brilliant and hilarious advice for writers Writing Better (March, 2003) eight tips for clearer, more concise non-fiction writing Advice on Writing (June, 2003) Barthelme on writing realistic dialogue, and on good editing The Social Life of Paper (July, 2003) TS Eliot edited by Pound, and why it needed paper Journalism 101 (August, 2003) ten rules for good essay writing Writing Funny (September, 2003) what makes something humorous Speech, Speech (September, 2003) seven elements of a great speech Elmore Leonard’s Karen Sisco (October, 2003) hints on writing, and a great new show Poetic Prose (October, 2003) superb writing samples from Fred Barthelme and Paul Robison Orwell on Writing (November, 2003) a labour of less than love The Most Important Books of 2003 (December, 2003) nine worldview-changing works The Poetry of Ice & Snow (February, 2004) six great poets in the blogosphere The Writings of T. Coraghessan Boyle (February, 2004) Publishing Your Own Book (March, 2004) the ins and outs and options of self-publishing Bird by Bird (August, 2004) Anne Lamott’s wise advice for writers Dogs of Babel and Elroy Nights (October, 2004) wonderful new fiction from Carolyn Parkhurst and Fred Barthelme The Writer-Reader Contract (October, 2004) what each side expects and what each side provides The Romance Novel: Literature of Liberation? (February, 2005) an industry where women help other women to succeed, personally and in business, on their own terms Man, Bytes, Dog, by James Gorman (April 29, 2005) #1127 – a 20 year old spoof on technology is still hugely funny On Writing and Teaching Better, and the Colonization of Language (May 9, 2005) #1139 – Derrick Jensen says don’t be boring and teach on-to-one The Essential Oscar Wilde (May 28, 2005) #1161 – A score of brilliant quotes from Wilde Encouraging the Young (Jan. 9, 2006) #1400 – Margaret Atwood’s new collection of essays on writing, growing up and life The Greatest Passage Ever Written (March 1, 2006) #1452 – My favourite passages, and lots more from readers Just Lovely Writing (April 1, 2006) #1484 – Three remarkable examples of poetry and prose A Scientific Romance (April 12, 2006) #1495 – Ronald Wright’s time travel novel is really about global warming Thinking About Poetry (April 18, 2006) #1500 – Jack Gilbert’s poetry, dissecting TS Eliot, and the advice of ee cummings For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn. (Oct. 27, 2006) #1687 – A 6-word story contest Conversation, Language, Narrative & Story-Telling Beware: Stories are Subversive (May, 2003) how carefully crafted stories achieve subliminal behaviour change Is the Internet Making Us Anti-Social? (June, 2003) when we start scanning people like we do URLs The Truth About Stories and Our Story (December, 2003) Thomas King explains that stories are all we are, the essence of our culture, and what that means Why Are Our Stories Always About Struggle (April, 2004) no adversity, no story? A Story is Like a Gift (April, 2004) the 5 qualities of a good story, and what they impart to the audience That’s Not What I Meant (April, 2004) truths about conversations, and how little we really communicate Comma, Period (May, 2004) what our punctuation rules tell us about our language and culture, and punctuation’s dubious future The Knowledge Consultant as Story-Gatherer (July, 2004) Dave Snowden explains that good business stories are discovered, not invented, and shows how to tell them The Power and Danger of Metaphor (September, 2004) how rhetoric obfuscates the truth The Truth About Frames and Drug Costs (October, 2004) stories are the best way to reframe discussions and solve major problems Stories Left & Right (November, 2004) scripts and frames for stories of various genres, liberal vs conservative The Elements of a Good Story (November, 2004) the key components, and a ramble on the author’s struggle with his novel Telling a Story – With PowerPoint? (March, 2005) a new book suggests trading in bullet points for engaging narrative I Don’t Think You Get My Point: The 5 Hurdles to Effective Communication (June 20, 2005) #1185 – “The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred.” Polite Conversation (June 24, 2005) #1190 – An unintended lack of politeness and courtesy seems to characterize most conversations Powerful Presentations (July 4, 2005) #1200 – Tips for great speeches, stories and presentations Ten Steps to a Great Interview (July 5, 2005) #1201 10 Steps to Better Story-Telling (Oct. 6, 2005) #1295 – Practice, honesty and suitability lead the list Language and the ‘Otherness’ of the Environment (Oct. 26, 2005) #1319 – To get around the limitations of language, use demonstration, the arts and creative linguistics to spread the message How to Unconference (May 2, 2006) #1514 – Seven steps to a self-managed event built around conversation with whom you want about what you want Re-Learning to Listen (June 8, 2006) #1551 – Ten ways to practice listening skills As Long As You Believe It (June 18, 2006) #1562 – Know your stuff, focus on what’s really important, really novel or really interesting, and only speak on subjects you care about to audiences you care about What Words Once Meant (July 7, 2006) #1581 – The original etymology of words tells us a lot about our culture and our language Ten Steps to Great Conversations (Sept. 7, 2006) #1636 – And ten reasons people converse “Your Graphic Caught My Attention” (Sept. 18, 2006) #1647 – How visualizations get people’s attention; how else could we do this? The Power, and Weakness, of Stories (Nov. 5, 2006) #1693 – They’re remarkably effective, but they run the risk that the information will be lost in the entertainment Effective Presentations — More Than One Way to Impress an Audience (Nov. 15, 2006) #1697 – Ten techniques for those who are not natural presenters |
The Arts But Is It Art? (March, 2003) what is and isn’t art, and why it’s important Five Radical Design Principles (May, 2003) most design is incremental; this is definitely not Why is there No Good Porn? (June, 2003) three reasons, mostly cultural Ten Strange & Wonderful Films (July, 2003) romantic and quirky Stand Still & Look Until You Really See (October, 2003) drawing on the right side of the brain And I’m Left to Conclude There’s No Human Answer Near (November, 2003) the music of Bruce Cockburn and the art of Alex Colville Gaping Void (November, 2003) the words & pictures of Hugh MacLeod Favourite Photoblogs (November, 2003) the online artistry of eight photographers Artists Extraordinaire (February, 2004) the work of Chris Ware & Bruno Bozzetto Just for Fun (March, 2004) the art of Mok E-Den & Davezilla, and great classical music online The Great Canadian Song Contest 76 nominees (March, 2004) and the best 15 (May, 2004) four judges vote for the Best Canadian Song of all time (it has to refer at least peripherally to Canada) Favourite Online Radio Stations (May, 2004) Internet Radio has come a long way The Scrapbooking Phenomenon (June, 2004) the photo journal as art form The Aesthetics of Music (September, 2004) trying to understand why animals don’t respond to it, and why humans do The Technology in ‘The Incredibles’ (November, 2004) it raises the possibility of everyone being able to make their own movies How the ‘Free’ Market Ruins the Entertainment Industry (February, 2005) a lesson in how a bad economic system breeds mediocrity House MD (April, 2005) the best-written television series since Sports Night The Philosophy of Loren Eiseley, in Verse (Dec. 16, 2005) #1375 – My conversion of some of his most moving passages to poetic form Music to My Ears: Melody, Memory and Mathematics (April 21, 2006) #1503 – How software tries to predict what music we’ll like, and why it usually fails Romances: More Than Meets the Eye (June 5, 2006)#1548 – Mysogyny in the film industry, and why men don’t appreciate stories about small, intimate accomplishments Miniature Truths and the Embracing and Rejection of Complexity (July 14, 2006) #1589 – Art as miniature truth, and while children are born artists, as adults in this terrible world we have to abandon the truth to preserve our sanity and order Comfort Music (July 24, 2006) #1597 – Four kinds of music for dealing with stress, and some examples of each Conflicting Pleasures: Intense vs Sustained, Distilled vs Contextualized (August 24, 2006) #1621 – Wow vs mmmm moments in film, and some of cinema’s finest scenes |
Science & Health Demon in the Freezer (February, 2003) precis of the startling book on the history of viruses, bacteria and prions Too Good to be True, Yet (April 2003) hydrogen fuel cells Is SARS Darwinian? (April 2003) can we expect more plagues as a result of human overpopulation? Science Shorts (February 2004) animal communication, learning from nature, and erasable paper Winter World (February, 2004) how animals instinctively survive the winter, per Bernd Heinrich New, Deadly, Easily Spread: the Avian Flu (February, 2005) history of a disease, and the futility of fighting it without reforming human behaviour and reducing population The Geese of Beaver Bog (March, 2005) lessons from Bernd Heinrich’s latest book Dave Gets Stoned (April 28, 2005) #1126 – we can’t expect people living in daily anguish to help us save the world The Wisdom of Patients (and the Right to Self-Treatment) (May 6, 2005) #1136 – Healthcare needs to let patients manage their own health, and share info with other patients ‘Skeptical Environmentalists’ and the Passion for Junk Science (May 29, 2005) #1162 – How the ‘science’ behind ‘skeptical environmentalists’ denial of global warming can be traced to a typo, the rantings of an architect, and the conspiracy theories of Lyndon Larouche Making ‘Sense’ of Health Care Costs and Other Complex Challenges (May 31, 2005) #1164 – When does the pursuit of ‘best practices’ make sense, and when do we need to apply less precise but more effective approaches instead? Increased Bird Aggressiveness: Is There Something Ominous Going On? (June 17, 2005) #1182 The Purpose of Life (July 3, 2005) #1199 – The task of regulating Earth’s temperature is such a massive and constantly-challenging job that it takes all of us, working together, to succeed at it Hygiene Hysteria (July 29, 2005) #1225 – Some common sense approaches to staying well Consumer Reports’ Best Medical Info Website List (August 5, 2005) #1234 Reforming Health Care (Sept. 11, 2005) #1270 – Paying people to be healthy won’t work; innovation in prevention, self-treatment and self-diagnosis, addiction therapy and exercise could Making Healthcare Work: Principles, Rules, Actions (Oct. 14, 2005) #1303 – Canadian Mike Rachlis proposes specific, practical, innovative improvements to deal with eight critical health stress-points Preparing for the Flu Pandemic (Oct. 23, 2005) #1316 – What governments and individuals should be doing Health, Education, and Learned Helplessness (Feb. 17, 2006) #1440 – Our utter reliance on others for our education and our health is unwarranted, dangerous, and expensive The Elephant in the Hospital Room (and the Courtroom) (March 3, 2006) #1454 – When will we acknowledge the fact that most illness is neither genetic nor microbial, but caused by man-made poisons? Patient-Centred, Patient-Controlled Health Care: How the System Should Work (Sept. 17, 2006) #1646 – It’s time to admit that when it comes to our health, the ‘market’ doesn’t work Self-Experimentation: What the Numbers Say (Sept. 25, 2006) #1654 – My correlations to date suggest what produces well-being in a UC sufferer, and what makes no difference at all Dave’s Unconventional Theories (Oct. 6, 2006) #1666 – Why heat makes us creative, fatigues feels good, we eat bad food, smart people procrastinate, teen pregnancy’s dropping, tar sands make us sick, and some AIDS victims don’t have HIV Talking To Children About Death (Oct. 11, 2006) #1671 – Not easy, but these 10 ideas can help Our Culture On Dreams, Pain & Sex: Darwin Wins Again (May, 2003) all three phenomena advance survival of the species When is Suicide ‘Justified’? (May, 2003) a rant against preaching, projecting and generalizing on this subject Evolution, Cognition & Ideology (May, 2003) some contemporary thinking on these three subjects Ten Things That Don’t Make Sense (June, 2003) things that haven’t worked for a long time, but which haven’t been fixed It’s What I Do (August, 2003) what we do for a living defines who we are Seven Deadly Sins (August, 2003) things we can and can’t forgive in ourselves and in others Questions the Internet Doesn’t Answer (October, 2003) the cause of cruelty and megalomania, and other unanswered questions about human nature Organized Religion, Organized Crime (October, 2003) the scourge of ‘big religion’ Are You a Closet Canadian? (December, 2003) a survey of diverging cultures – Canada vs US Metamorphosis (December, 2003) The importance of integrity, and how it starts with personal responsibility The End of Work (January, 2004) How a guaranteed annual income could make everyone’s life better Malcolm Gladwell on SUVs and Learned Helplessness (January, 2004) how we learn to fear small dangers we cannot control and ignore big ones we can Your Place at the Table (February 2004) how table shape & seating affects social interaction and reflects social position We Are Each Our Own Culture (February, 2004) how we are each much more unique and alone than we might imagine Living Outside Ourselves (February, 2004) remembering who we were until our culture made us like everyone else Why Are Our Stories Always About Struggle (April, 2004) no adversity, no story? Your Law (April, 2004) some of the brightest minds of our time pen some ‘laws’ for today What Men Really Want (June, 2004) free sex, playing games, making stuff, and moving fast, just like our animal counterparts Pecking Orders, Social Distance, Education & Personality (July, 2004) Keith Johnstone’s Improv covers all the bases What Are You Telling Me (July, 2004) Body Language 101 We Did That: The Instinct to Collaborate (October, 2004) why we’ve lost it, and how to get it back Why You Can’t Jam the Culture (November, 2004) a new book Rebel Sell suggests people are incorrigible, and culture doesn’t change, and Thomas de Zengotita suggests in Culture as Anaesthetic it’s worse – we’re addicted to novelty and consumption Amusing Ourselves to Death? Maybe Not (January, 2005) Neil Postman’s 1984 analysis of the decline of public discourse in the media age explains why we don’t know what to do about things that matter A Self-Test on Values (January, 2005) what matters to you, and what underlies these values Universal Values (January, 2005) some values that all humans should accept, regardless of frame The Right to Privacy (January, 2005) private property leads to social complexity and the need for privacy, while also producing technology that makes privacy impossible The Power of Ideas (February, 2005) ideas frame our understanding of the world, inform our beliefs, and hence drive our behaviour Three Beauties (April, 2005) beauty of place, physical beauty, beauty of community, and how their manufactured scarcity damages our psyches Sympathy, Compassion, Humility (May 1, 2005) #1130 – An exploration of what these three concepts mean, and what we may and may not be capable of feeling for others The End of Heroes (May 13, 2005) #1144 – The reason why, in 2005, anti-heroes are in and heroes are out. On Dress Codes and Uniforms (May 24, 2005) #1157 – There is only one function for dress codes: to make us more alike Learning About Dying (May 26, 2005) #1159 – Governments and organized religion exploit our ignorance and fear of death, to everyone’s disadvantage Violence: Are the Media Just Giving Us What We Really Want? (August 3, 2005) #1230 – Attention deficit and lack of self-esteem play right into violence-mongers’ hands Three Prison Stories (Sept. 9, 2005) #1268 – What does it take before we revolt against suffocating restrictions on our freedom? Needs, Wants, Nice to Haves (Oct. 8, 2005) #1296 – Marketers try to cater to them, but sometimes we don’t know what we want or need ourselves; turning off the noise in our lives could help us find out Hurricane Stan, Darfur, Niger and the Forgotten Victims of Disaster (Oct. 21, 2005) #1313 – The six factors that unfairly determine which disasters we learn about and respond to Spin, the Three P’s and the Politics of Learned Helplessness and Learned Optimism (Oct. 31, 2005) #1325 – We may be afraid of the wrong things, but we’re not stupid Are Artists the ‘Canaries in the Mineshaft’ of our Civilization? (Nov. 7, 2005) #1332 – They seem to be telling us something is amiss; we should be paying attention Imaginative Poverty (Nov. 27, 2005) #1353 – We can’t hope to bring about change if we can’t imagine other possibilities Horror Story (Dec. 8, 2005) #1366 – A simple tale of a visit to a county fair tells a chilling story about human nature Our Bonobo Forebears Tell Us Why We Want To Have So Much Sex (Dec. 19, 2005) #1379 – It’s a way of keeping us away from each others’ throats in a world of constant stress Blinded by Science: What’s Your Dangerous Idea? (Jan. 4, 2006) #1395 – A review of Edge magazine’s annual question responses, and some much more dangerous ideas Three Things to Teach Your Children (Feb. 15, 2006) #1438 – Your worst mistakes, critical life skills, and advice on what’s important “That’s Not What I Meant” (Feb.16, 2006) #1439 – Communication relies more on body language, facial expression, pheromones and tone of voice, so it’s no wonder e-mails are so often misconstrued Could We Handle Real Reality on TV? (Feb. 19, 2006) #1442 – The answer is no, but would it rise us from our complacency, or instead drive us to use the channel changer to flee the horror it revealed? If Your Whole Life Was Filmed, Would You Watch the Re-Runs? (Feb. 27, 2006) #1450 – Now we have the technology to show us the ‘rushes’ and out-takes of our lives each day, can we afford the time to press ‘re-wind’ and take a closer, sober look at what we have done, what we are doing? Are Humans Violent By Nature? (Feb. 28, 2006) #1451 – Hobbes argued we are are, though out bonobo cousins are not, and all this stress and crowding sure brings it out in us If Our Job Is Work, and Marriage is Work, And Recreation is Work, When Do We Have Fun? (March 2, 2006) #1453 – Watch animals and kids, relearn to imagine, and then how to really play: that’s the way Men Offer Appreciation; Women Offer Attention (March 26, 2006) #1478 – We seem to have evolved to meet these deep human needs this Mars/Venus way What Do We Do When We Can’t Get Along? The Pros and Cons of Homomemeity (March 31, 2006) #1483 – What to do when your neighbour finds your way of life so culturally unacceptable he is willing to kill you The Place You Love is Gone (May 3, 2006) #1515 – Melissa Pierson’s book explains the importance, and consequences of loss, of place What Our Dysfunctional and Evolving ‘Information Behaviours’ and Information Skills Mean for Our Future (May 4, 2006) #1516 – The Millennium Generation is slightly different in important ways from the ones that preceded it Examining My Prejudices (May 7, 2006) #1519 – Our gender preferences for art and ideas reflect our frames and our chemistry, more than rationality or aesthetics Is Idealism Good for Society? (May 18, 2006) #1530 – We are beholden to three masters: our bodies, our culture, and Gaia, and idealists who ignore that reality to try to make us what we’re not, just make the situation worse Colombians are Happy, Americans are Ill With Stress: The Wealth-Wellness Gap (August 3, 2006) #1604 – Happiness is all about perspective The Way of Ignorance (Nov. 20, 2006) #1701 – Wendell Berry explains the types of human ignorance and knowledge, and the value of humility Unfamiliarity Breeds Contempt (Nov. 27, 2006) #1709 – We fear and distrust different cultures, but the conservative dream of one single global culture is the world of the Borg — with zero diversity comes zero tolerance Being Human (Psychologyetc.) How We Can Get Through This (February, 2003) learning is the answer, per The Once & Future King Why You Never Get Anything Done (March, 2003) how urgent things prevent important things from getting done Facing the Dragons (April, 2003) the danger of procrastination and denial A Celebration of Smells (April, 2003) the connection between odours, memory and emotion Is Depression Natural? (May, 2003) how depression reinforces itself, with the help of 21st century reality Relationships & Compromise (May, 2003) the debate whether compromise helps or hurts relationships If We Could Live Our Lives Over: No Regrets (May, 2003) why we regret, and why we shouldn’t Closure (June, 2003) getting closure about what actually happened in one’s past, and recognizing the impossibility of what might have been Help Yourself (June, 2003) the importance of self-confidence and self-esteem Humility (August, 2003) we, as a species, need to learn it Depression Therapies (October, 2003) eating right, getting light, music and other ways to get you through the night Personality Change (April, 2004) Meyers-Briggs personality profiles seem to change as you age Payback (May, 2004) the psychology of revenge, and how The Rogues had a better answer Dealing With Grief (June, 2004) anger is no answer – it merely slows down the healing process Addicted to Love (June, 2004) how love is an evolutionary addiction, and why there’s nothing wrong with that Why We’re So Taken with Images (June, 2004) nature makes us care about what touches our senses directly, more than abstract descriptions Change Your Mind (July, 2004) how we decide quickly and tentatively, but changing our mind after that is tough Critical Thinking (July, 2004) we all think logically, but we can be fooled; the process of critical thinking Trying to Understand Each Other (July, 2004) Lakoff explains why we can’t really hope to Courage (October, 2004) if you love enough, care enough, you’ll have it Temper, Temper (October, 2004) how, and why, to keep it under control Things That Make You Go ‘Huh?’ (October, 2004) ten things the author doesn’t understand or appreciate What is Happiness? (October, 2004) Mark Kingwell’s book Better Living questions why we pursue useless knowledge that merely makes us unhappy Surviving Trauma (November, 2004) Malcolm Gladwell shows research that implies we are more resilient than we might think, and I speculate why we believe vehemently that trauma is life-scarring Seven Steps to Handling Any Situation Effectively (December, 2004) Sense, self-control, understand, question, imagine, offer, collaborate Write Your Own Story (December, 2004) how writing your own ideal future story can help make it happen Authentic Misery (December, 2004) a rather unsuccessful satire of positive thinking, and some serious answers on how to be happy Schadenfreude: Our Perverse Pleasure in Others’ Misfortune (December, 2004) our strange love of gossip about others’ losses Implausibile Deniability (January, 2005) how and why we deny what we don’t want to hear I’m Still Sitting Here (April, 2005) the paralyzing (personally and societally) effect of procrastination Is Emotional Neediness Destroying Our World? (April, 2005) abuse or neglect a child and he’ll grow up to wreak havoc on the world The Ten Greatest Impediments to Personal Change (April, 2005) the things that stop us from being and doing we could and some ‘cures’ What Would You Do If You Had More ‘Free’ Time?: A Quiz With No Wrong Answers (April 27, 2005) #1125 – why you’ll never get the important done until you say ‘no’ to the ‘urgent unimportant’ The Whisper Campaign: Psst, You’re Amazing (Pass It On) (May 5, 2005) #1135 – Derrick Jensen’s Walking on Water says always be complimentary, positive and honest I Guess That Means I’m Home (May 10, 2005) #1140 – In a world of terrible sameness, it is no wonder we always ache to travel somewhere else Attachment (July 1, 2005) #1197 – Is love, at heart, attachment + projection? Learning to Pay Attention (July 11, 2005) #1207 – Why is it that we have have to teach adults to do something that every child knows how to do from birth? The Nine Reasons We Don’t Do What We Should (August 7, 2005) #1236 – Legitimate fear, unwarranted lack of self-confidence and lack of knowledge top the list Why We Don’t Give Up Hope (August 9, 2005) #1238 – “Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice but to carry on” Just Start (August 10, 2005) #1239 – A procrastinator talks to himself Coping, Insensitively (August 14, 2005) #1243 – The hormones that help our body cope with this world’s shocks also desensitize us Prisoners of Our Thoughts (August 19, 2005) #1248 – Alex Pattakos’ book’s 7 principles for getting out of self-imposed limitations, learned from death camp survivor Viktor Frankl Open Thread: Resilience (Sept. 4, 2005) #1264 – Readers explain how they keep resilient in the face of pressures and anxiety It’s Far Too Late and Things are Far Too Bad for Pessimism (Sept. 20, 2005) #1279 – Five reasonable ways of reacting to bad news Watch and You Will Know (Nov. 11, 2005) #1336 – Most people are just looking for attention and appreciation, something few of us seem willing or able to give It’s Easy to Be Brave From a Distance (Nov. 14, 2005) #1339 – It is human nature (a) to only change when we have to, and (b) to avoid risk until and unless the current pain is high enough What Was the Most Important Lesson You Learned in 2005? (Dec. 7, 2005) #1365 – My 25 most significant learnings of the year Figments of Reality and the Theatre of the Mind: Part One and Part Two (Dec. 29-30, 2005) #1389-90 – A review of Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen’s book Figments of Reality about how our minds, our language and our culture have co-evolved as representations of each other What to Do When You’re Stuck (Jan. 10, 2006) #1402 – Put it aside, and learn something useful and interesting Who We Are (Feb. 14, 2006) #1437 – We are more alone than we dare imagine, and more driven by what evolution and our addictions that we might like to believe Why We ‘Hit & Run’, and How to Prevent It (March 15, 2006) #1466 – The psychology of fear and the law work at cross purposes, but the obvious answer would be an affront to law & order types Try Not To (Try Not To (Try Too Hard)) (March 23, 2006) #1475 – Advice from e.e. cummings, and from me, on how to be authentically nobody-but-yourself Ten Things to Do When You’re Blue (April 9, 2006) #1492 – #1 is to learn something new The Politics of Suicide (May 8, 2006) #1520 – The decision to commit suicide is an expression of personal anguish, and the state has, and should have, nothing to say about it A Long Way Down: What’s Holding You Back? (May 21, 2006) #1533 – Nick Hornby’s new dark novel forces us to ask ourselves three questions: If we have no choice, how can we best stop fighting the inevitable; What’s holding us back; and Imagine if we suddenly lost our lifeline? Insecurity and Status-Seeking (May 22, 2006) #1534 – Does low self-esteem drive status-seeking, and what other behaviour does it drive? it’s never a good time (June 7, 2006) #1550 – why we do what we must, then we do what’s easy, then we do what’s fun How to Change Hearts, Minds & Behaviours (June 11, 2006) #1554 – …and how you mostly can’t, other than your own Stumbling on Happiness: Why You’re Less Likely to Be Happy in the Future Than You Think (June 12, 2006) #1555 – Daniel Gilbert’s book explains why we’re irrationally optimistic Reality TV: Insulating Ourselves Against Sadness (June 13, 2006) #1556 – Are the young steeling themselves for hard times ahead with this humiliating stuff? What I Regret Most (June 20, 2006) #1564 – Ten things, five of which are things I have not (yet) done Damaged (June 28, 2006) #1572 – I am (and perhaps we all are) damaged, figments of my (our) own reality, acting in a fictional movie, self-authored, and totally disconnected from what’s real and important and natural Necessary Courage (August 7, 2006) #1607 – Is courage nothing more (or less) than doing what we must, every day? The Process of Imagining (Sept. 28, 2006) #1658 – Steps for preparing, practicing, and putting the practice into action Do Bloggers Really Care About Their Readers?: A Speculation on the Nature of Relationships (Oct. 2, 2006) #1662 – Symmetric vs asymmetric relationships, and why the latter are harder to end and deal with The Media: Numbing Ourselves to Pain And Others’ Suffering (Oct. 3, 2006) #1663 – There’s no other explanation for its and our obsession with violence and misery Dave’s Unconventional Theories (Oct. 6, 2006) #1666 – Why heat makes us creative, fatigues feels good, we eat bad food, smart people procrastinate, teen pregnancy’s dropping, tar sands make us sick, and some AIDS victims don’t have HIV Talking To Children About Death (Oct. 11, 2006) #1671 – Not easy, but these 10 ideas can help How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (Oct. 15, 2006) #1675 – Half the couples I know are disbanding Need, Want, Love (Oct. 26, 2006) #1686 – What we call ‘love’ can be based on dependency, desire, respect, admiration and/or gratefulness Getting to Know You (Dec.1, 2006) #1713 – What is this strange process we use to get to know strangers? A World of Uncertainty (Dec.21, 2006) #1733 – We are paralyzed into inaction by the bewildering complexity of our lives, but even more by the lack of certainty; our animal cousins deal with both effortlessly |
Miscellany The Perfect Dutch Indonesian Dinner (May, 2003) full menu plus nasi goreng recipe The Best Cities in the World to Live (June, 2003) trading quality of life against cost of living Nederland (July, 2003) why the country simply makes sense Sweet Difference (September, 2003) the popular candy/chocolate bars in Canada and the US are very different Personal History (October, 2003) Dave Pollard’s ancestors in Canada What’s in a Name (October, 2003) The Kabalarians tell you what your given name means Ten Things (November, 2003) The things I love about Americans, and hate about Bush In Hockey You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For (December, 2003) salary & performance don’t always correlate Eleven Seconds (January, 2004) the anatomy and science of an accident The Best Game in the World (February, 2004) my top 10 favourite pastimes For the Birds (April, 2004) top sites for birders to bookmark The Most Beautiful Places on Earth (September, 2004) PBS finds a few remaining Edens The Problem of Agency (November, 2004) James Surowiecki shows why agency is an inherent conflict of interest, and an invitation to fraud Tsunami – My Story (February, 2005) Marie-France’s first hand account of the disaster Shades of Seabiscuit: The Heroic Story of Afleet Alex (May 23, 2005) #1156 – an astonishing underdog story The Ten Best Games for Friday Night Poker (May 30, 2005) #1163 – Ten interesting variants for your neighbourhood poker get-togethers The Environmentalist’s Travel Guide (July 6, 2005) #1202 – 10 travel tips to reduce your journey’s impact on the Earth We Don’t Want to Know: A Hurricane Wilma Story (Dec. 28, 2005) #1388 – Brad Mills’ story of surviving a hurricane, and of being prepared when others were not Night walk, Light walk (August 25, 2006) #1622 – An insomniac’s rhapsody on the nature of light Grouse (Sept. 10, 2006) #1639 and PucPuc (Sept. 25, 2006) #1655 – Dave introduces his remarkable animal friend Hockey Salary Caps and Performance (Nov. 22, 2006) #1704) – Salary and performance still don’tcorrelate The Best Business Books of 2006? (Dec. 12, 2006) #1723) – They’re not really about business, but businesspeople should read them anyway |
