Category Archives: Our Culture / Ourselves

No Accounting

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Dave Pollard

Freedom of the press, 2019, rated from good (deep blue) to very serious (deep red), as self-assessed by members of Reporters Without Borders. From NordNordWest, CC-by-sa-3.0 de, via wikipedia. These are not good times for journalists and independent media. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 8 Comments

Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Selves

Posted on October 6, 2019 by Dave Pollard

Sometimes when I write these articles, trying to figure out why I have come to believe the unpopular and unfathomable message of radical non-duality, I feel a bit like a cat chasing its tail. It’s fun, but it doesn’t seem … Continue reading →

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 5 Comments

Pollard’s Laws and XR

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Dave Pollard

some of the half-million Montréalers who participated in yesterday’s climate march; from Greta’s twitter posts One of the things that intrigues me about XR is that their three demands are simple, measurable and revolutionary: Government must tell the truth by … Continue reading →

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves, Preparing for Civilization's End | 1 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 →

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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

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 →

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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