Personal Reminiscences – Page 19

Skepticism Too Easily Slides Into Cynicism

2014-10-19 2014-10-19 Critical Thinking / Personal Reminiscences / PhilosophyLeave a comment

Years spent in the media, plus decades of independent practice as a writer and social critic honed my native skepticism into a protective psychological barrier against a wide range of social ailments and inappropriate, often dangerous beliefs. It has made me question motives, statements, logic and conclusions, and search for the underlying truths. It motivated me to explore, to examine, to dig deep. To try to understand, not simply deny. It’s an easy slide, however, from a healthy skepticism to a soul-destroying cynicism – using the modern sense of the word. Modern cynicism encourages acceptance of the notion that everything is bad, rotten and ……… click below for more ↓

The mote and the beam

2014-10-16 2014-10-16 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal ReminiscencesLeave a comment

“Hide witch hide, the good folks come to burn thee; Their keen enjoyment hid behind a Gothic mask of duty.” Jefferson Starship: Mau Mau (Blows Against the Empire, 1970) I was thinking about those lines recently. They seemed appropriate given the events in town since last spring. I was also thinking about what Gord Hume wrote in 2011: “Explosive internet columns, blogs, and opinion pieces that do not seem to be overly-burdened with concerns about facts or accuracy are now being added to the traditional media mix, and have further aroused this toxic brew.” Gordon Hume: Take Back Our Cities, ……… click below for more ↓

Cold Mountain Poems

2014-10-16 2017-11-11 Books & Reviews / Culture / Personal Reminiscences / Poetry & LyricsOne Comment

I first became aware of the Tang dynasty poet, Han Shan, in the late 1960s, when I was engrossed in reading the poets of the earlier Beat generation. It was at that time that, through them, I started to discover and explore Western Buddhism – as it was adapted and represented through their experiences and words. I eagerly read everything by Alan Watts and Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg and others from the era. Sometime around then, I discovered a few of Han Shan’s poems. Beat poet Gary Snyder had translated 24 poems for the Evergreen Review in 1958, and later ……… click below for more ↓

Lessons From the Campaign Trail

2014-10-11 2014-10-11 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal ReminiscencesLeave a comment

I always learn something new, something valuable from every municipal election campaign. I learn from talking to people, I learn from community meetings. I learn from comments and emails I receive. I learn from other candidates, too – there are often good ideas proposed that can be developed by council later. Each election campaign has been a bit different, and I’ve tried different approaches each time. In some, I’ve done more door knocking; in others I’ve done more mailing. I’ve tried different signs, different literature. This time, I knocked on a lot of doors. It’s been educational every time. Here are a few of ……… click below for more ↓

The Lobbyist Registry

2014-10-10 2014-10-10 Collingwood / Humour & Satire / Municipal Politics / Politics4 Comments

I was in the local grocery store with Susan, picking over the collection of organic vine-ripened tomatoes, earnestly searching for the best couple of them. A man recognized me as a member of council and approached me, smiling, hand extended.* “Hi, Councillor Chadwick,” he said. We shake. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” “Okay,” I replied and passed what i considered the two best tomatoes to Susan who headed off in search of some fresh Ontario asparagus. “How can I help you?” “Well, I’m Pastor Jones with the local United Way and I wanted to ask…” “Wait a ……… click below for more ↓

The Cold War

2014-10-09 2014-10-09 History & Biography / International politics / Personal Reminiscences / Politics / War & Military / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

I was reminded by an article on Slate that the (to me) iconic film of the Cold War, Fail Safe, was released fifty years ago this week. And as the article records, more people remember the satirical film, Dr. Strangelove than the more chilling drama, Fail Safe. Perhaps they have forgotten it, as they have the Cold War itself. Forgotten too are the tensions and the fears that pervaded that era; the threats of nuclear war. the suspicions and paranoia about Communism, the McCarthy hearings, the accusations and the innuendo. It seems as distance today as the era of Frederick ……… click below for more ↓

My Speech at the All-Candidates’ Meeting

2014-10-03 2014-10-03 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences3 Comments

Here’s the two-minute speech I gave Wednesday night at the Collingwood Legion, plus the wrap-up: In two minutes, I can’t list everything this council and staff have accomplished on your behalf. But here are some highlights: We answered your demand for more ice and water time. Parents no longer have to drive their kids to other towns for meets because we built two beautiful new recreation facilities right here. And we paid for them without going into debt or raising your taxes. In fact, we also paid down the debt by almost $7.5 million while adding $11 million to town ……… click below for more ↓

On the hustings

2014-09-28 2014-09-28 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / Politics / Words & etymologyLeave a comment

I’ve been going door-to-door for the past few weeks in my campaign for re-election. Stumping on the hustings, as it’s called in Canada. Or at least that’s how I’ve always heard it used. Hustings is an odd, old word, an anachronism that survives, seemingly, only in the world of politics. It comes from the days when England was a series of small kingdoms suffering frequent invasions by the Danes and Vikings. A few of the old Germanic and Norse words have managed to survive in our language, reminder of those distant, violent days. The first known use, Wikipedia says, in ……… click below for more ↓

My Rogers’ Cable TV Speech

2014-09-26 2014-09-26 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / PoliticsLeave a comment

Each candidate was given three minutes to speak for a spot on Rogers Cable TV recently. Here is what I said (in about two minutes): Municipal politics is really quite simple. It’s all about people. Caring about the people you live and work with. Caring if seniors can afford their taxes. Caring if the sidewalk in front of your neighbour’s house is in good repair. Caring about parents who had to drive for hours on dark, snowy roads to get their kids to hockey practice in another town because there was no place to play here. Caring whether the garbage ……… click below for more ↓

My BIA ACM Speech

2014-09-26 2014-09-26 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / PoliticsLeave a comment

This is the speech I gave at the BIA-ACO all-candidates’ meeting, Wednesday evening. The question all candidates had to answer was, “What is your vision to ensure that Downtown Collingwood thrives as a vital economic and cultural part of our community?” We had two minutes to respond. Here’s what I said: For our downtown to thrive, it needs people. The town can help bring them here. But it is up to the businesses to draw them in. People come to any downtown for two main reasons: ambiance and experience. Collingwood already has good ambiance. We have a beautiful heritage district ……… click below for more ↓

The Unexamined Life

2014-09-20 2014-09-20 Books & Reviews / Critical Thinking / Personal Reminiscences / Philosophy / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

“The unexamined life,” Socrates declared in his trial, “is not worth living.” His student, Plato, wrote down those words in his account of Socrates’ trial and death, in the book, Apology.* Socrates was speaking for himself and about the value of his life as a thinking person. He was on trial in 399 BCE for impiety – questioning the gods and introducing new gods – and corrupting youth. His real “crime” was his threat to established thought: he made his followers think, to question everything, to examine their beliefs and their knowledge and determine for themselves its validity. He taught them critical thinking ……… click below for more ↓

The Emperor’s Handbook

2014-09-15 2014-09-15 Books & Reviews / Personal Reminiscences / Philosophy / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was considered the last of the “Five Good Emperors” of the Roman Empire. He lived 121-180 CE and died while on campaign in Germany. Like many Roman thinkers of his day, he followed the popular Stoic philosophy and his writing became an important document in the late Stoic phase of classical antiquity. While he ruled, Marcus Aurelius kept notes – written in Greek – about his thoughts and beliefs, as a guide for his own life and behaviour, applying his Stoic beliefs to his everyday life. These thoughts were never intended for public reading or publication such ……… click below for more ↓

A Treasure Trove

2014-09-14 2014-09-14 Books & Reviews / Critical Thinking / Marketing / Personal Reminiscences / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

A recent trip to Toronto to see family and friends – and celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary – also netted me a treasure trove of books, thanks to the proximity of a new/used BMV bookstore to our hotel. And, of course, Susan’s patience while I browsed the shelves. Several times. I managed to find a dozen books (well, to be fair I found many more I wanted, but restrained myself to buying only a dozen). These included: Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, by Tom Mueller (hardcover, Norton & Co., 2012). I actually started reading the ……… click below for more ↓

Abusing quotation marks

2014-09-09 2014-09-10 Humour & Satire / Language & Grammar / Memes; Internet & Social / Style & usageOne Comment

What goes through your mind when you see words in a paragraph or a sentence surrounded by quotation marks? Like that sign in the image on your left? That they are words excerpted from conversations or written content? Or that they are special; peculiar words, or perhaps used ironically, sarcastically or in jest? Take these examples from the “Blog” of Unnecessary Quotation Marks: “Chicken” pot pies $5.99 Please open the door “slowly” “Push” the last channel button. No “Free” refills It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? What is in the pie that isn’t “chicken” but we’ll pretend it is? Try reading ……… click below for more ↓