If Reading is Consumption, then Writing is Excretion
E-ink is a lie. It tries to persuade us that writing is black. While I don't doubt that some of it is black, the very best writing appears in brow
Featured Posts
Ghostbusters – a privatization propaganda film?
Posted on July 27, 2010 by David Barker
On planet Dave, there is a special governmental agency called the Department of Epidemiology and Immigration. I've come to regard these two disciplines as sub-specialties of the same concern. One worries about foreign bodies that are microscopic; the other worries about foreign bodies that are h
If Reading is Consumption, then Writing is Excretion
Posted on July 23, 2010 by David Barker
E-ink is a lie. It tries to persuade us that writing is black. While I don't doubt that some of it is black, the very best writing appears in brown ink. That's because the very best writing is smeared on the page in shit. Romantics say the author writes from the heart. Intellectuals say th
Ireland Park & Toronto Railway Lands
Posted on July 22, 2010 by David Barker
Opened on June 21, 2007, Ireland Park is a small memorial to the 38,000 Irish refugees who fled the potato famine of 1847 and were received in Toronto (which then had a population of 20,000). Imagine today if Toronto opened its arms to almost twice as many refugees as its own population! The par
Ghostbusters – a privatization propaganda film?
On planet Dave, there is a special governmental agency called the Department of Epidemiology and Immigration. I've come to regard these two discipli
Ireland Park & Toronto Railway Lands
Opened on June 21, 2007, Ireland Park is a small memorial to the 38,000 Irish refugees who fled the potato famine of 1847 and were received in Toronto
The Cloud Economy: Computing as a Social Justice Issue
"a writer who doesn't want her work to be read by everyone doesn't deserve to be read by anyone" While the question of cloud computing – is it a
Canadiana Vinyl Asbestos Planks
While searching through memorabilia, I found a magazine the hospital staff gave my mother when I was born (© 1959 by J.S. Hunt Publications Limited).
Bookselling in 1925
My grandfather did his undergraduate degree at Mt. Allison University in Sackville N.B. After his first year, he was seriously short of cash and tho
A Book-Publishing Venture from Dostoevsky
I must be an unwitting member of the slow reading movement -- or at least of the long reading movement. As part of my summer reading list, I've been
Kirk Newman’s Community and the Importance of Context
On Bloor St. E. in Toronto, you'll find a large bronze sculpture of 21 life size figures titled "Community" by Kirk Newman and commissioned by Manulif
Photos from Day of Action for Civil Liberties
Saturday July 10, 2010 - Day of Action for Civil Liberties. People in cities across Canada gathered to show concern for conduct of politicians and t
Poem: Watermelon
This is a poem about copyright law and my fear (the chilling effect) of quoting other authors (eg. Pigeon & Page). There is something perverse a
Graffiti: books
I love this little piece of graffiti I found near the intersection of Nassau St. & Spadina Ave. in Toronto. As graffiti, it's not great. File
G20 Protester Chased at Toronto Pride Parade
Before the Toronto's 30th annual Pride Parade began yesterday, I caught some drama running past. A protester pretending to be police officer in riot g
