Imagine True Religion
It has been a few days since the world witnessed the events of November 13 in Paris. The initial words used to describe the event were naturally filled with emotion: “Paris mourns,” “an act of war,” “World War III,” “Blood-bath,” and “massacre.” Now that a few days have passed, I am in a better…
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An Open Letter to Oil Company CEOs
November 13, 2015 An open letter to oil company executives in Alberta, In recent years, and in fact, in recent days, oil has become a dirty word. Our federal government is gearing up for presentations in Paris at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Our provincial government will experience pressure to reconsider royalty rates and,…
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Artificial Intelligence
“What does it mean to be alive? To think, to feel, to love and to envy? André Alexis explores all of this and more in the extraordinary Fifteen Dogs, an insightful and philosophical meditation on the nature of consciousness. It’s a novel filled with balancing acts: humour juxtaposed with savagery, solitude with the desperate need…
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Lest We Forget
A portion of “Recessional,” a poem by Rudyard Kipling, composed in 1897. God of our fathers, known of old—Lord of our far-flung battle line—Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine—Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget! The tumult and the shouting dies—The Captains and the…
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Darling Lorraine
“Darling Lorraine” is a story-song by Paul Simon that tells of the emotional journey of Lorraine and Frank. By saying “emotional journey,” I mean that Simon is relating the ups and downs, the ecstasies and the miseries in the emotions of their relationship. He could have tracked the logic of the marriage or the history…
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