I think of Payback, Margaret Atwood’s analysis of the mythic grounding of debt as a cultural phenomenon, and I wonder if, in the long run, MJ’s hold on the popular imagination will come to be understood through his extraordinary indebtedness.
Tag: Cultural Criticism
You Can Take That to the Banksy
The Guardian reports that a Banksy Paddington Bear mural worth £5,000 got grey-washed by overzealous Glastonbury council volunteers who were trying to rid the municipality of that dreaded blight — graffiti.
Report To Russia
The other day, in a friendly argument with my father, I took the position that there is a greater cultural divide between him and me than between me and my children. My father is 27 years older than me and I am 27 years older than my son, yet (as I contended) I have a…
Poppies and the Enslaving Rhetoric of Freedom
Last week, 85 year old poppy-selling veteran, Alan Lawrence, was told to leave the premises of The Bay office tower in Toronto. He was selling poppies to raise money for the Poppy Trust Fund which then makes distributions to vets who have suffered from bad retirement planning advice.
Whatever Happened To Feminism
My daughter has always enjoyed sports. Growing up, she’s gone through phases. There was a gymnastics phase which lasted for three or four years. When that phase ended, I breathed a sigh of relief (gymnastics parents are some of the most tightly wound creatures on the planet). Then there was the trampoline phase which lasted for another three or four years. That sport had its ups and downs too.
Google Street View Coming To Canada
Google Street View (launched on May 25, 2007 in the U.S.) continues to expand its reach, providing service in France and Italy on July 02, 2008 and in Australia and Japan on August 4th, 2008. Google has overcome privacy hurdles in the UK and photographing has begun there. While Canada’s Privacy Commissioner voiced concerns nearly…
Curves Would Grey-Wash Graffiti
Curves, the weight-loss people, have had an ad out for a while. I’m referring to the one called Hearts: “Curves works for your heart – and every other part of you.” The ad evinces a philosophy of health that serves the whole person.
Emergency Plans / Disaster Management
When paranoia and fear become extreme, mental health professionals identify these feelings as symptoms of diagnosable mental illness. When paranoia and fear become sanctioned by government-sponsored initiatives, what should we conclude about the mental health of our politicians?
Secularization on the Rise: Survey Says No
There is a popular perception that we (by “we” I unwittingly reveal my North American/Western bias) live in an increasingly secular society which has no room for religious values.
Graduating into the New Economy
Yesterday my daughter graduated from junior high school. There were the usual presentations and the usual boring speeches from grown–ups. The customary shtick—you are our future—you are our hope—utterly forgettable. And then the Honourable Kathleen Wynn, MPP spoke.
Dystopia “R” US
How do we know that what we see is real? This question is old hat for your average philosopher. In early modernity, Descartes posed it in different ways, but one way in particular seems to have captured the Western imagination and has reared its ugly philosophical head in countless sci fi flicks.
Utopian Pedagogy: Radical Experiments against Neoliberal Globalization
Published by the University of Toronto Press, this collection of essays and interviews considers pedagogy in the context of higher learning. The University of Toronto”s official motto is “velut arbor aevo,” a snippet from a poem by Horace which suggests the image of a tree filling out and taking root.
The Popular Science of Weed
My son likes … well, what are some of his interests? Playing table tennis with kids in Japan, & Gears of War on his Xbox (I can’t believe I allowed a Microsoft product into the house), capturing sequences of Halo and making his own movies from them, hunting down the Frag Dolls online.
Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak
This is a collection of pieces by Islamic women living in the United States. Their stories reflect a diversity of experience—from growing up within the tradition-laden strictures of immigrant families, to afro-american women who are children and grandchildren of Nation of Islam founders.
V is for Vasectomy
Not long ago, the topic of vasectomies came up in conversation at a family dinner. I mentioned the dreaded “v” word just to watch my brother’s response—the grimace and the sudden shift in the chair as he drew one leg over the other. My brother and I are, in some ways, vastly different people. And application of the “v” word acts as a kind of litmus test that quickly determines which sort each of us is.