From the category archives:

culture & society

similar features

I spotted these on the shelves at a local library branch recently and just had to take this shot. Do publishers just think women who purchase chick lit are idiots, or is indicative of supremely lazy art direction? What say you?

{ 1 comment }

Tiger By The Tail: The Un-Making of the Model Black Man

7 December 2009

There are a number of incoherent thoughts about this fake scandal swimming around in my head, but I don’t think I could articulate it any better than this screen shot of the front page of The Daily Beast does:

Continue reading →

How does your city speak to you?

20 May 2009

I was leaving the building on my way to lunch when I came across these brochures: It reminded me of one of the things I like about living here in Vancouver. Even though I might not be able to understand things that are written in other languages, I think that by making materials in other [...]

Continue reading →

Canadian Politics in a Nutshell

12 May 2009

The results of BC’s Provincial Election were no great surprise. The BC Liberals won the right to form majority government, and not only that, my riding of Vancouver-Fairview sent a Liberal to Victoria to represent us. I am disappointed, but a Liberal-controlled provincial government in BC seems as inevitable as death and taxes. Although I’ve [...]

Continue reading →

Online Misogyny Writ Large: The Murder of Asia McGowan

Thumbnail image for Online Misogyny Writ Large: The Murder of Asia McGowan 14 April 2009

I’m shaking as I write this. I was recently on a panel at SXSW about online misogyny and how to combat attacks against feminists online, but I… I suppose I never thought things would ever reach this tragic conclusion. The stories I heard at SXSW were all poignant and troubling, but this story in particular [...]

Continue reading →

My City Was Gone: The Death Spiral of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

14 April 2009

Image via Wikipedia My hometown paper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has released a list of the 74 newsroom staffers who will be released as a result of the paper’s cost-cutting efforts. I haven’t been living under a rock, and I receive almost daily reports of just how bad things were getting in the industry, but it [...]

Continue reading →
Thumbnail image for What Happens On Spring Break…

What Happens On Spring Break…

8 April 2009

Apparently what happens on spring break doesn’t stay at spring break, thanks to TampaBay.com’s Mug Shots database. I’m trying to rouse a sense of moral outrage about taking information that, while part of the public record, increases the amount of exposure given to these crimes and the people who commit them. But what little moral [...]

Continue reading →

Louis CK on Being White

29 March 2009

What’s best about this clip is he zeroes in on the main reason I avoided reading science fiction/fantasy novels for most of my life. Language absolutely, positively NSFW. (via Tiffany)

Continue reading →

What Kind of Tech User Are You?

26 March 2009

Whenever I get the results from surveys like this I usually end up feeling like I have absolutely no life and have spent entirely too much time on line. In case you can’t read the screenshot, the results read: You are an Digital Collaborator If you are a Digital Collaborator, you use information technology to [...]

Continue reading →

See Me Speak at SXSW 2009

11 March 2009

In case you hadn’t heard, I’ll be moderating a panel at SXSW Interactive this year. “That’s Not My Name: Beating Down Online Misogyny” features Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Ann Friedman of Feministing, and Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon, and will discuss the complex and sometimes violent ways women are treated online, especially feminist women who speak about [...]

Continue reading →

My Year in Movies (2008)

3 January 2009

Have you noticed that your taste in movies has changed as you’ve gotten older? What about your willingness to drop $12.00 (the average ticket price here in Vancouver) on a film that you’re not sure you’ll like? What follows is a list of movies I saw in 2008. Those I enjoyed most appear in bold. [...]

Continue reading →

On Witnessing History

9 November 2008

When you ask people what they remember about pivotal moments in history, almost everyone will have something to say. Those who are lucky enough to have a way with words may make statements both wise and insightful, while others who lack that particular gift may fall back on plainly spoken exclamations of joy. At the [...]

Continue reading →