I think many of us have had the experience of being in that “flow state” in which we’re so filled with inspiration, that sparks seem to be flying from our fingertips. We’re doing something we love, something we were meant to do, and minutes and hours lose their normal meaning. We will go without rest,… Read more »
[Goodness! I got so excited by everybody else’s stuff I forgot to upload my own! Thanks to those readers who grabbed the PDF and noted the difference!] Forty-nine issues. An average of 24 pages of articles and content per issue. With about 500 words per page. That’s almost 600,000 words we published last year. 600,000… Read more »
The power of one moment, one word. The moment: Easter Monday, 1978. The moment Margot Van Sluytman’s father was murdered while attempting to stop an armed robbery. The word: sawbonna. A Zulu greeting that translates to “I see you”. To see our shared humanity, the goodness in one another, our fragility. The way Van Sluytman… Read more »
“We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.” — John Archibald Wheeler (1911-2008), American theoretical physicist. Should every university program require mandatory indigenous-content courses? That’s a question I pondered in 2016 after reading Tamra Ross’s article, “Truth and Reconciliation—Will… Read more »
“Ok, listen up! Everyone take off their shoes and put them on the table.” Are we in a post 9/11 airport? Nope, it’s the first day of art class and the student body is being asked as one to draw their own shoe. Inspiration drains away like chlorophyll from autumn leaves with the forced return… Read more »
Stanley Ann Dunham was born on November 29, 1942, in Wichita, Kansas, and died November 7, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dunham was a highly educated woman, who received a BA. MA. and PhD. She was an anthropologist, whose main interest was in women’s roles in the cottage industries in Indonesia as well as blacksmithing in… Read more »
As long as I can remember I’ve been a sucker for blank journals. Of course, back in the day they were a motley collection of simple three-subject coil notebooks or plain-jane, utilitarian books like the old black and white Mead composition books of our youth. They ranged in size from small, pocket or purse sized… Read more »
A few years ago, I found myself walking along an empty beach on a remote stretch of the northern coast of British Columbia. The snow-capped peaks of Alaskan mountains seemed just a pebble’s throw away. To the west was the dim, spectral blue-grey haze of the Haida Gwaii islands. Beyond that, only Japan. But I… Read more »
It is the high season of summer, which is also known as “patio season”. The long days and light evenings beckon people to stay outside as long as possible and invites casual dining al fresco. Patio season is also associated with enjoying an alcoholic beverage or two; perhaps a really cold pint of beer, a… Read more »
