The home of the film provocateur has expelled one of their own for crossing the only impermissible line. Or, Lars von Trier, the provocative Danish filmmaker, has been kicked out of the Cannes Film Festival for saying “I understand Hitler. I sympathize with him a bit,” and “I’m a Nazi.” The interview (which cuts off … Read more →
It’s election season in Canada, which means it’s time to decide which distant oligarch is slightly less distasteful to us in the charade that many believe to be democracy. When Winston Churchill described democracy as “the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried,” I hear him differently than most, … Read more →
Because smoking is almost universally denigrated and I am a hopeless contrarian, I will extol the virtues of smoking tobacco. Long footnoted qualifications aside, I want to draw some attention to a few virtues of smoking to contrast with its obvious vices. The first virtue is that it gives one the regular opportunity to stop … Read more →
Picture it: a creative-type person named Alice pulls out her (paper) notebook to jot down an idea or make a quick sketch. She stopped in mid-conversation, saying “Just a minute Bob, I have a thought I need to save for later.” This move would be easy, short, and unobtrusive, taking place while Bob takes another … Read more →
The Surprising Reason Why Americans Are So Lonely, and Why Future Prosperity Means Socializing with Your Neighbors Community may suffer from overuse more sorely than any word in the dictionary. Politicians left and right sprinkle it through their remarks the way a bad Chinese restaurant uses MSG, to mask the lack of wholesome ingredients. But … Read more →
Today I remember all those who have met senseless and violent ends at the hands of those who signed up for honour and esteem in the eyes of their countrymen. Today I remember all those who have been murdered for the crime of being born on the wrong side of arbitrarily drawn lines on maps. … Read more →