This year, at least in Canada, Yom Kippur almost coincides with Thanksgiving. In English, Yom Kippur is referred to as the Day of Atonement and involves repentance for sins committed in the previous year.
Category: Spleen
The category, Spleen, is for posts that make us angry.
Mixing Religion and Politics
With federal elections running both north and south of the 49th parallel, it’s interesting to note differences in these two democratic processes. And never have the differences been so stark.
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…
Shortbus “Removed” from Bloomington Library
Brothers and Sisters, the Lord has called me to embark upon a quest. It is a quest to uncover the workings of the evangelical fundamentalist Christian mind. I expect it will be a short journey. Brevity notwithstanding, I expect my quest to be fraught with perils.
Preston Manning is a Scientist
The Harper Conservatives have appointed Preston Manning to the Council of Canadian Academies, a federal science advisory panel whose mandate is to offer an “independent, expert assessment of the science underlying pressing issues and matters of public interest.”
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?
Expelled: No Intelligence Required
Here’s something lame: the theatrical release of a documentary (narrated by Ben Stein) about the tribulations of Intelligent Design proponents.
Highway of Heroes
Today, we hear from the Toronto area that a new idea is being floated. With a provincial election coming in October, Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty, is seriously considering the proposal that we rename the 172 kilometre stretch of Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto. We should call it Highway of Heroes.
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.
Republicans, church-goers, Reject Evolution
If you had any doubt before, recent Gallup Polls conducted in the U.S. provide ample evidence that knowledge has nothing to do with knowing and an awful lot to do with politics.
Talking to Cardboard (Ann Coulter)
In my previous post I touched on a question of propriety in writing: is it acceptable for an author of fiction to allow her work to be influenced by politics? In this post I want to turn the question on its head and ask: is it acceptable for an author of politics to allow her work to be influenced by fiction?
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.
Cho Seung-Hui: A Lone Deranged Gunman
As all of America mourns the deaths which occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, bloggers are drawing comparisons to the body count that issues daily from Iraq.