We live in a world where people think happiness is a condition, but it’s not; it’s a sensation. It’s momentary. So do I have little moments of happiness? Yes. Is that my general condition? No. Is that anyone’s general condition? I can’t believe that’s the case. Are there people that are generally more buoyant than […]
Category Archives: serious stuff
shame
Friday, January 4, 2019
ASK POLLY: I’m Broke and Mostly Friendless and I’ve Wasted My Whole Life Learn to treat yourself the way a loving older parent would. Tell yourself: This reckoning serves a purpose. Your traveling served a purpose. Your moving served a purpose. You’re sitting on a pile of gold that you earned through your own hard […]
Atwood on #metoo
Monday, January 15, 2018
Am I a bad feminist? My fundamental position is that women are human beings, with the full range of saintly and demonic behaviours this entails, including criminal ones. They’re not angels, incapable of wrongdoing. If they were, we wouldn’t need a legal system. Nor do I believe that women are children, incapable of agency or […]
Programming language stuff
Thursday, January 4, 2018
A Review of Perl 6 The market for new programming languages, as I write this in 2017, is competitive but not impenetrable — but like a freshly minted Ph.D., no one seems to be sure of Perl 6’s market prospects, and like a just-turned-in dissertation, no one seems to know whether the fruit of many […]
a reason for not doing a Ph.D.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
The Career Move That Dare Not Speak Its Name Imagine if we all just stopped believing that the only way to be an academic is to be constantly employed by a university. There—wouldn’t that make people’s lives a lot better? Let’s just do that. [Editorial note: Josh Parsons died on April 11, 2017.]
Žižek
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
How to Read Žižek These contradictions don’t show that ideology is “irrational” — the problem is exactly the opposite, that there are too many reasons supporting their views. Žižek argues that these piled-up rationalizations demonstrate that something else is going on. Have been a Slavoj Žižek fan follower for a while. Maybe i should read […]
The Vampire Castle
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Exiting the Vampire Castle The problem that the Vampires’ Castle was set up to solve is this: how do you hold immense wealth and power while also appearing as a victim, marginal and oppositional? The solution was already there – in the Christian Church. (the comments are brutal, even by low internet standards)
“Canada Bread did not comment.”
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Loblaw admits to bread price-fixing scheme spanning more than 14 years And Loblaw says it will start offering $25 gift cards on Jan. 8 to customers who declare they bought certain (as yet unnamed) breads at some of its (as yet unnamed) chains before March 1, 2015 – a gesture that the company says could […]
Dan Harmon on depression
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Girl Asks Rick And Morty’s Co-Author How To Cope With Depression, Does Not Expect His Response Dark thoughts will echo off the walls of your skull, they will distort and magnify. When you open your mouth (or an anonymous journal or blog or sketchpad), these thoughts go out. They’ll be back but you gotta get […]
Marlene Bird
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Marlene Bird, dead at 50, survived vicious assault that led to loss of her legs “I liked that apology,” she told media. “It feels good. I don’t have to have bad dreams, I hope.”
