-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- November 2022
- October 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- April 2021
- February 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- April 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- May 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
Categories
- Activism
- Ancient Peoples
- Art
- Astronomy
- Christmas
- Climate Change
- Code World
- Culture
- Development
- Editing
- Education
- Environmentalism
- Gardening
- Health
- History
- Internet
- Journaling
- Literary Theory
- Literature
- Mars
- Media
- News
- News of the World
- Police
- Politics
- Post-Apocalyptic
- recipes
- Religion
- Self-reliance
- Singularity
- Social Media
- Solar Power
- Solitude
- Supernatural
- Superstition
- Teaching
- The Cabin
- The Land
- Travel
- Uncategorized
- Winnipeg
- Writing
Category Archives: Ancient Peoples
The Myth of Narcissus
Many know the rough outlines of the original myth of Narcissus, the man who was so enamoured with his own image that he drowned while reaching for his reflection in a pool. The original outlines of the myth are more … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, Health, History, Literature
Tagged Myth of Narcissus, selfie
Comments Off on The Myth of Narcissus
Travelling Without Geography
Most people around the world marvel when American television shows feature street geography quizzes and Americans cannot point to a single country on a map. The subsequent discussion usually centres around the failing American education system, the geographical ignorance that … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, Education, Internet, Self-reliance, Travel
Tagged Australian Aborigines, dreamlines, Geography, maps, mound builders, Roadside Assistance, silk road, songline
Comments Off on Travelling Without Geography
Don’t Tell the Archaeologist
My friend was flanked by two Inuit elders as she repeatedly picked up and asked about bones found on the ground. “A walrus rib,” the elder would reply, and then my friend would be off after another object. She knew … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, History
Tagged Archaeology, Dead Dog Café, Indigenous people, Innaanganeq, Kennewick Man, Kwäday Dän Tsʼìnchi, museums, snow knife, Thomas King
Comments Off on Don’t Tell the Archaeologist
Racist Rob and Corrupt Politicians
I’d only been teaching a few years when I had a student who was so racist that I was forced to confront several of his statements in class. As anyone knows who has dealt with such behaviour, this demands a … Continue reading
Posted in Activism, Ancient Peoples, Culture, Education, History, News of the World, Politics, Teaching, Winnipeg
Tagged Air-bus scandal, Brian Mulroney, Canadian Government, Colonialism, financial accountability, Indian Act, pedagogy, racism, Treaties
Comments Off on Racist Rob and Corrupt Politicians
The Winter Solstice and Trying to Explain the Movement of the Sun
Many years ago I found myself trying to explain the movement of the sun during the winter to a class in Victoria, British Columbia, and ever since I have been struck by how cultural knowledge can be allowed or disallowed … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, History, Literature, Teaching
Tagged axial tilt, cultural understanding, Earth's axis, pedagogy, Vinland Sagas
Comments Off on The Winter Solstice and Trying to Explain the Movement of the Sun
Ancient Science at the Planetarium
Whenever we think about our ancestors we are inclined to imagine them as moronic, backward troglodytes, dragging their knuckles through lives as brutal and stunted as themselves. In our rather short-sighted and ungrateful vision, they do not hope to compare … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Art, Astronomy, Culture, History, Supernatural, Superstition
Tagged ancient Greek mythology, Australian Aborigines, Constellations, Cro-Magnon, Freud, giant kangaroo, Glooscap, homo habilis, Lascaux Caves, megafauna, Neanderthal, Piltdown Man, planetarium, Pythagoras, Sunstones, The Dreaming, Theory of Relativity, Thylacoleo, Ursa Major
Comments Off on Ancient Science at the Planetarium
Working on the Birth and Death of Planeville
I have spent the last few months—when I can spare a moment from teaching and marking—working on my novel about the now extinct village of Planeville. In some ways this project has been more difficult than others, perhaps because although … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, History, Writing
Tagged New Brunswick, Planeville, Planeville: The Birth and Death of a Village, Writing
Comments Off on Working on the Birth and Death of Planeville
The Bible is Perfect. No Wait, It’s Not
Many Christians trouble themselves over whether the bible, the book they rely on for so much of their understanding of both the physical and spiritual the world, is perfect and the writing of god, or whether it is flawed and … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, History, Supernatural, Superstition
Tagged Atheism, bible, Christianity, Church in School, Council at Nicaea, fanaticism, Historical Jesus, inconsistencies in the bible, Notastampcollector
Comments Off on The Bible is Perfect. No Wait, It’s Not
The Vast Edifice of Culture
The vast edifice that is culture is as fragile as a butterfly’s wings. It is as beautiful and as tenuous. Over the many centuries of struggle since we first began to bang rocks together we have tried to build something … Continue reading
Posted in Ancient Peoples, Culture, History, Supernatural, Superstition
Tagged Supernatural, Superstition
Comments Off on The Vast Edifice of Culture