Because we concern ourselves here with progress, we have to talk about former reality television performer Donald Trump. At the beginning of his first term as president, we found the perfect display for his approach to governing. I stand by this. It has aged well. Though he can’t figure out how to rep his own…
Fifty years ago, Philippe Petit wowed the world by walking a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Anniversaries, like birthdays, can be arbitrary things. Contrived, when we celebrate for the sake of celebrating. This anniversary is different. In a life filled with daring and an appetite to tackle the impossible… because,…
This is not the most pressing matter in the world. It might appear moderately consequential to no one except to the folks directly involved. And yet it is. I’m speaking of a cultural misdeed, an offense that threatens to venture into the realm of a crime. I’m speaking of the glowing reception to the recently…
Trump got shot and didn’t die. Praise the heavens. Had Trump died, it would have been bad for him. End of life, and in all likelihood an eternity in the fires of damnation. It might have been worse for those he left behind. Whatever havoc he sows over his remaining days, the chaos that would…
By now, we’ve all seen ruins. Many of us have had the privilege to stroll through them, the famous ones, in places like Egypt and Manchu Pichu. They have a power to transport us to the past and imagine not only turning points in history, but also the mundane seconds and minutes of lives lived…
In a December 6th column in the NY Times, Nicholos Kristoff called on all of us—regular folks and political and military leaders alike—to value children in Israel and Gaza equally. Kristoff joined the Times as a reporter in 1984 and has spent his career shining a light on health, poverty, and gender issues too often…
In these sad and dangerous times—when if we’re not completely numbed to the tragedies of the world around us, then we’re reflexively reaching for our default (and too often shallow) responses—it’s tough to imagine anyone other than the privileged having the luxury of reading the works of David Hume. Or even about the works of…
The National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens recently hosted a show titled Because We Are Together by the artist Mikhail Karikis. Among his several works featured was Children of the Unquiet, a video installation realized in collaboration with children of former employees in the first geothermic power factory in the world built in 1904…
A quick survey of the feedback to the latest post from Silicon Valley maven Marc Andreessen indicates that, outside of his bubble, most have reacted with laughter. Saying silly things, which he does throughout, will elicit that kind of response. His Techno-Optimist Manifesto does deserve more than chuckles, if for no other reason than the…
It happened again. We wrote about one massacre, oh, way back in 2017. The spikes in thoughts and prayers that follow every suicide and murder materialized again, predictably, but not one of those fervently uttered entreaties did squat for the families and friends of the deceased. And especially nothing for the ones with the bullet…
On April 22, 1970, over 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day. It was a big, proud series of events that precipitated, among other things, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Earth Day was also at least partially a reminder of our inclusion in and our responsibility to nature. I say reminder…
More than 100 people stepped up recently with donations totaling over $700,000 to buy 80 hectares of BC wilderness that will soon be added to the province’s massive Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The land was a homestead settled by Ralph and Ethel Edwards before the park was created in 1938. The funds raised cover the purchase…
The 2020 Oscar nominees are going to be announced on March 15th. I haven’t cared the Oscars since Gandhi beat E.T., but it’s been a tough year so I’m here to give a helping hand. The simple offer: skip the nominations and the ceremony, and go with these, the first ever Darwin’s Gong Show Oscar…
Good news can be hard to come by. Let’s take it where we can get it, shall we? Biden cancels the KeyStoneXL Pipeline – good riddance to this investment in backwardness Biden signs orders to roll back Trump’s environmental idiocy – now begins the great work to fix the best efforts of grifters and the…
A twenty-five year fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, I’ve only recently come to appreciate one of director Stanley Kubrick’s themes: films are a way to enlighten audiences and can be a means to enlightenment. Don’t believe me? Check out the fascinating work that Rob Ager did to uncover the meaning of 2001’s most infamous…
Trump, the gaudy (fill in the blank*) marketer elected out of hate via a system most Americans cannot describe, came into and will leave the White House a (________), (________), (________) man in need of mental healthcare, one who even his supporters of vaguely sound mind will struggle to find a single inspiring quote from,…
I recently read an essay by Namwali Serpell, author of a new and widely acclaimed novel The Old Drift, called The Banality of Empathy. Her main issue: art doesn’t promote empathy. And even if it did, why would that be good? Serpell asks this because to her empathy means to “be” or “inhabit” or “consume”…
I’m a little late to the hit sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem. I’d heard of it years ago, but before I recently started reading the book I didn’t realize Barrack Obama had given it a thumbs up, or that Amazon had planned to spend a fortune to bring what has become a trilogy to the…
This is not about fake news. That’s a separate realm. It’s where truth dies when the size and effort of the lie is enough to give it credence. This isn’t about relativism, though that’s very much alive. It’s thriving in Canada, where the governing party is tying itself in knots talking about my truth, his…
Free Solo is the name of the National Geographic documentary about Alex Honnold’s years long effort to climb El Capitan without any ropes. It’s an ironic name because the endeavor came at a steep emotional cost to both Honnold’s relationships and film crew. And, since El Capitan is 3,000 feet high, Honnold ran the risk…
I don’t know Jeff Bezos. Never met him. Nevertheless, not long after his darling Amazon reached at $1 trillion valuation, I’m nominating one of his remarks for The Stupidest Thing Uttered by a Smart Guy. The list of candidates for this title is both endless and growing. But context helps Jeff’s case. Real earnings are…
I came across, I don’t remember how, an interesting interactive map quite a few months ago. I didn’t fiddle with it much, but its premise has sort of been lingering in the rearward reaches of my consciousness ever since. After recently writing about our “convenient realities“, the map demanded attention. When it comes to Western…
I’ve loved The Doors so long it never occurred to me that some people don’t. I was mesmerized by the opening sounds of The End as it played in Apocalypse Now when I first saw it as a ten-year old. (I was too young to “get” a lot of the movie, but not too young…
I have no clue how typical my Twitter feed is. It pulls in tweets from a swath of viewpoints, some famous and some social-media famous. Last week it filled up with tweets about Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain: mourning their deaths, praising their talents, thanking them for their contributions, praising them for their grace during…
From our present perch a survey of the past might lead us to conclude that life has never been more absurd than it is today. Still, if we muster some discipline, we should admit that more likely than not the human condition remains the same. So, as 60+ years ago, we still prize the Samuel…
Massacres in the U.S. are like the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. They just keep happening. The difference is that unlike Bill Murray, no one seems to be learning anything from re-living the horror over and over and over. (Wait, what’s that familiar definition of insanity, again?) Is anyone getting tired of this yet? Of the…
A snippet from Hans Eijkelboom’s book People of the Twenty-First Century gives compelling evidence that the herd mentality is alive and well, even in this age when each of us is implored to ‘be yourself’. True, the photographs on display are dated, but there’s little reason to doubt the trend toward conformity has changed — and plenty…
It doesn’t come close to being there. But it comes closer to being there any just about any other footage around. In crazy times — no, in all times — it’s worth remembering that what is good in people is precisely whatever it is that compels them to create. And to be moved by what…
Only if you’ve never seen his highlight reel.. Here’s how he deals with criticism: Here’s how he deals with personnel decisions: Here’s how he treats women: Here’s how he treats diplomacy: Here’s how he treats contractors: Here’s how he deals with policy making: Here’s how he treats golf scorecards: …
There’s lots to be said about evolution, faith, and technology. This site is premised on their interaction over time, and especially in these days. Meghan O’Gieblyn, in her piece Ghost in the Cloud, gives a sincere update on all three. As a Christian who lost her faith, her search for salvation in technology — and the people she finds…
There are about 18 billion of them on Earth. Eyes, that is. Peering into them might just save us. Is a scarcity of eye contact crippling modern culture, as performance artist Marina Abramovic believes? Well, it’s certainly not the only thing, but addressing that avoidance could go a long way to curing our modern ills.…
Not sure if MTV or MuchMusic shows music videos anymore, but artists are still making and uploading them. Many go directly to the trash heap and deserve to be forever unseen, or if seen then wiped from memory. And yet a few prove that the art form is still an outlet for a wellspring of creativity.…
Were he still alive, Samuel Beckett would be 111 today. Since his death, the world has become more absurd, perhaps more than even he could have imagined. We’ll have to forge ahead without him. But not without his works, nor without celebrating his great efforts to bring them to us. A toast to him and his everlasting…
Most of the time it’s best to just let the music speak for itself. That’s especially — maybe always — the case with Radiohead. But on rare occasions awe and adoration are on full display along with the music, and you catch/feel a glimpse of beauty. With the band back in arenas, the time for that…
Want to know why some Trump voters still support him, even after he’s vowed to destroy programs that keep them afloat? Want to know why some college students feel they need “safe places” on campus? Want to know why addicts keep going back for more, overdose after overdose? Here’s a clue: start with a little…
Darwin's Gong Show