Co-operatives and Liberation, not necessarily in that order
The AGO currently has an exhibit in its Italian gallery of beams of wood carved away to reveal the heartwood. Literally starting with a building material, the artist is able to reveal the tree inside it – in other words, in something whose form has been neutralized, made identical (one beam is the same as […]
Read More Form inside matterYesterday morning my father, myself, and a few roomates and friends piled into my new one dollar van to drive north of Toronto to see Richard Serra’s early site-specific work, “Shift”. Although I first heard about the piece four years ago in a course on late Heidegger, a lack of private transportation meant this was […]
Read More Serra’s ShiftI’ve always enjoyed the idea of naming things I own, inanimate things. It helps animate them, make them meaningful. Last summer the Taurus had the name “official place of fun”, or something along those lines, due to its involvement in various trips. That, however, is a descriptive and not a proper name. I’ve always been […]
Read More Van Naming ContestBike lanes seem to have some plus points – the city is carving a place on the road for bikes, theoretically making cycling in traffic safer, and faster during traffic jams. However, the reality happens to be the opposite. While bike lanes create the illusion of safety, they tend to produce situations of extreme unsafety […]
Read More Bike lanes, and why cyclists are better off without themReading Jared Diamond’s “Collapse” has got me thinking about how future historians might talk about our age, and to what extent capitalism might be interpreted as a “religion”. While that might sound far-fetched at first – hear me out. For instance, when Diamond talks about the history of Easter Island, and how changing material conditions […]
Read More Values and ReligionsIs this the Vehicle that will take me across Canada? The story began several weeks ago with some couch surfers who needed to sell a Van they had driven from Vancouver to Montreal and Toronto. Unfortunately, they were not able to sell it. Which was lucky for me, because it meant they were willing to […]
Read More An Adventure in the MakingCross Canada Drive – in the Previa, with my brother. Photos: Toronto to Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay to Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan to the Rockies Trip preperation Day 1 Day 2 – Morning Day 2 – Afternoon Day 3 – Morning Day 3 – Afternoon Day 4 – Morning Marathon Ontario Truck Accident we observed Saskatoon West […]
Read More Cross Canada Driving Trip AmalgemationThis weekend Drew Sexsmith’s band came through town, and I put them up at my house. Although I missed their set, I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with fine musicians, and getting to experience a bit of the fun filled comical frenzy that is being on tour. Saturday morning was especially enjoyable. I jammed with Drew, […]
Read More Cabin Feever is a state of mindI noticed after returning from Montreal that I was finding eating much less enjoyable than I did while I was there. Trying to find a reason for this, I went over several possibilities. One is that in Montreal I was free to purchase dairy products to consume at home – I certainly do value soft […]
Read More On Eating Alone, or Engagement and the Social Valuation of Food Consumption
Only a Northern Song 