politics

“Put down those pens, authors! Put down those brushes, artists! Why not go into the service industry? Or banking?”

April 20, 2009

Apologies to non-Canadian readers, but I need to address our national broadcaster. Dear CBC, Canadians need much more Seán Cullen on CBC radio, and much less Stuart McLean. Why do we have to wait until summer to listen to Simply Seán on the radio?

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Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

March 24, 2009

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Ada Lovelace Day is an international blogging event instituted to draw attention to women who excel in the area of technology. Who is Ada Lovelace? From here:

Ada Lovelace was one of the world’s first computer programmers, and one of the first people to see computers as more than just a machine for doing sums.

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“All American Denim Stripes Afghan.” No joke!

“All American Denim Stripes Afghan.” No joke!

The so-called “afghan blanket” seems to go to Value Village to die. It’s hard to know which is more disturbing: the synthetic nature of the object itself, or the fact that it is still, amazingly, given everything that has happened over the last fifteen or more years, called an “afghan.” A search online to discover the origins of this craft object immediately turned up “The All American Denim Stripes Afghan.” No lie!

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The babies-of-different-races-and-white-soldiers toy genre

February 2, 2009

The babies-of-different-races-and-white-soldiers toy genre

Why does my cringe list contain so many toys or toy-like objects? I like many toys. But not really this one. This toy was in the house for as long as I can remember while my sisters and I were growing up.

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The ladies of 20th century furniture design were offered to pose on fur rugs or ponies, which is why, we suppose, that photo was never to be.

January 20, 2009

The ladies of 20th century furniture design were offered to pose on fur rugs or ponies, which is why, we suppose, that photo was never to be.

Left to Right: George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom

Photo from a 1961 Playboy article on 20th C “masters of design,” who are here dressed either as accountants or architects, it’s hard to tell which, but it’s a lot of zippers.

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The “What’s In, What’s Out for 2009” list thing.

January 4, 2009

The “What’s In, What’s Out for 2009” list thing.

The “What’s In and What’s Out in 2009” lists are starting to appear. Not to be too protestant about it, since environmentalism in its more puritanical moment can make you want to stab yourself in the eye with a fork—a plastic fork—but these lists can get anxiety-provoking.

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Official Montreal ’76 Olympics poster that would never pass a committee now

November 18, 2008

Official Montreal ’76 Olympics poster that would never pass a committee now


Poster by Raymond Bellemare for the Canadian Graphics and Design Directorate (Graphisme et Dessin) of the Organizing Committee of the 1976 Olympic Games, Montreal

Only 32 years have passed since this fantastic official poster for the 1976 Montreal Olympics was produced, but from a 2008 vantage point it’s hard to imagine how a committee ever okayed it.

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