The electronics age is saddled with many weird contradictions, brought on as layer after layer of gadgetry or software is pasted onto legacy systems in the holy name of upgrade. Eventually, inevitable, the whole conglomeration becomes so unwieldy that it’s thrown out for a fresh start. Or it becomes a permanent ironic footnote, like the Windows trope of having to click the “start” button to stop your computer.
The multi-national corporate agenda has gotten so blatant, so shameless, and so desperate to assert itself in one last dying gasp (now that its anti-human machinations are so apparent to we the people of these supposed democracies), that it has moved firmly onto the caricature stage.
Canada’s prime example of this is the tar sands/Enbridge pipeline fiasco, which our oil-owned “majority” governing Conservative party has openly decided to push through, despite all inconvenient scientific or democratic arguments against it. Continue reading “Mocking the big O”
Posted under Writing, here’s an epistolary rumination between a man and a woman, both of the amorously problematic village of Tofino, BC (a.k.a. Tuff City). Cowritten with British author and former Tofitian Helen Clay. Link to story.
According to a persistent rumour, it’s against the law to play a drum in the District of Tofino. As a hand-drum enthusiast i decided to check this out. Turns out it was easy, because all the bylaws that govern us are on the district’s website, tofino.ca. (Click Residents > Bylaws > Regulatory Bylaws). Continue reading “Up against the wall, drummer boy!”
It took me a long while to get to it. I first looked at a friend’s copy years ago. He recommended it highly, though he hadn’t done the program, just dabbled in it. Same as a lot of other people i talked to over the next few years — people who owned the book, intended (some day) to follow through its 12 weeks, but hadn’t — yet.
I’ve been a blocked, underproducing artist for some years now, sinking slowly into frustration, bitterness and a general rut. My artistic life consisted of mostly attempts to finish up things begun months or years ago, a backlog of seemingly good ideas that i couldn’t let go of and really should finish up so i could move on to the new stuff. It wasn’t crippling — i have managed to throw together a quite a few good poems and pieces — but there’s no doubt the energy and the fun was draining out of my writing, and out of life too. Continue reading “The Artist’s Way”
Greg Blee 