Arts & Culture

Canucks oust Vigneault: No one is surprised

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:00:13 +0000

Puck Daddy article: Alain Vigneault fired by Canucks; who takes over the coaching gig in Vancouver?

Look! The Canucks actually made a decision!

Although I am a documented anti-Canuck fan, let's hope this is the first in many moves to ah, do something.

I hope Mike Gillis fires himself, and before doing so actually moves Luongo somewhere where he wants to be.

Inside Out: An interview with festival Program Director Andrew Murphy

Film Festivals in Toronto — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:48:39 +0000

Inside Out is hitting Toronto and it is the largest event of its kind in Canada, showcasing the best and most diverse films by, for and of interest to LGBT communities. Matt Adams speaks to Inside Out Program Director Andrew Murphy about the line up of over 170 films and the changes that festival has undergone over the years.

inside_out_film_festival.mp3

Spartacus Books

Kaitlin McNabb — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:49:38 +0000

Story Publish Date:

May 21, 2013

spartacus_unevicted.jpg

Summary:

Spartacus Books is a nonprofit, volunteer-run bookstore and resource centre located on the edge of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and has recently survived a "renoviction" attempt as well!

Bookstore:

Spartacus Books

top 5 books

#1 Title:

The Anti-Capitalist Resistance Comic Book

#2 Author:

Gord Hill

#2 Title:

Witness to Wilderness

#2 Author:

Howard Breen-Needham, Sandy Frances Duncan and Deborah Ferens

#3 Title:

Why We Write: Conversations with African Canadian Poets and Novelists

#3 Author:

H. Nigel Thomas

#4 Title:

Punk Rules OK

#4 Author:

Chris Walter

#5 Title:

Disability Politics and Theory

#5 Author:

A.J. Withers

# 204 - "The Standards Guy" - Derek Mills

Lynn Thompson — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:41:01 +0000

A few years ago Derek Mills emerged as a compelling voice in the self-improvement public speaking arena. In his younger years he developed a stutter in his speech following the sudden death of his mother, and as a business man with a young family he was personally challenged to grow in his life, on all levels. He is now clearly and boldly demonstrating how the setting of Standards, which is 'now'-based, is more practical and powerful for creating a fulfilling life today, than the familiar (and frustrating) setting of goals which is 'future'-based.

Derek Mills - Living On Purpose

Book Launch: Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:59:06 +0000

May 28, 2013 - 7:00pm

Octopus Books hosts the Ottawa Launch of Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada and to discuss the Rand Formula, and the larger question of union renewal in a time of austerity.

In the face of relentless attacks on organized labour, there is a clear need and desire for both union renewal and for unions to fight back against the anti-worker austerity agenda.

Within this context, a confrontation looms on the horizon as the Conservative government is poised to eliminate the automatic dues check-off (the “Rand Formula”), which has been a cornerstone of union security for decades. As unions gear up in defence of automatic dues-checkoff, some labour activists are questioning their efforts.

They believe that the Rand formula has created bureaucratic unions that are disconnected from their memberships. Losing Rand could in fact contribute to the process of union renewal, they argue.

Location

Octopus Books

116 Third Avenue

Ottawa, ON

Canada

45° 24' 10.836" N, 75° 41' 18.582" W

See map: Google Maps

Hungry for Change: A conversation on Food Justice with Haroon Akram-Lodhi and Paul Slomp

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:52:17 +0000

May 22, 2013 - 7:00pm

Octopus Books will host a conversation on hunger, farming and food sovereignty with author Haroon Akram-Lodhi to launch his new book Hungry for Change: Farmers, Food Justice and the Agrarian Question.

Octopus Books is excited to host a conversation on hunger, farming, and food sovereignty. Author Haroon Akram-Lodhi will be in Ottawa to launch his new book "Hungry for Change: Farmers, Food Justice, and the Agrarian Question." He will be in conversation with Paul Slomp, local cattle-farmer and executive member of the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Location

Octopus Books

116 Third Avenue

Ottawa, ON

Canada

45° 24' 10.836" N, 75° 41' 18.582" W

See map: Google Maps

Book Launch: Wrestling with Democracy by Dennis Pilon

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:25:24 +0000

May 20, 2013 - 7:30pm

The Toronto release party for York University Professor Dennis Pilon's book 'Wrestling with Democracy' about the history of electoral reform in western industrialized nations.

University of Toronto Press Publishing presents the Toronto release for Dennis Pilon's latest book 'Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the 20th Century West'.

Though sharing broadly similar processes of economic and political development from the mid-to-late nineteenth century onward, western countries have diverged greatly in their choice of voting systems: most of Europe shifted to proportional voting around the First World War, while Anglo-American countries have stuck with relative majority or majority voting rules. Using a comparative historical approach, Wrestling with Democracy examines why voting systems have (or have not) changed in western industrialized countries over the past century.

Location

The Tranzac Club, Main Hall
292 Brunswick Street
Toronto, ON
Canada
43° 39' 55.0152" N, 79° 24' 26.5104" W

See map: Google Maps

read more

Excerpt: Historical reformers: Why and how democratic institutions change

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:52:20 +0000

dek:

A timely read about electoral reform and the struggle within and outside the rules of democracy

Story Publish Date:

May 16, 2013

cover.jpg

Book Publishing Information

Book Title:

Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the 20th Century West

Book Author:

Dennis Pilon

Book Publisher:

University of Toronto Press Publishing

Book Published Date:

2013

Book Price:

$37.95

The following is an excerpt from the new book Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the 20th Century West , which examines why voting systems have or have not changed in western industrialized countries over the past century.

summary:

'Wrestling with Democracy' by Dennis Pilon provides a historical and comparative look at electoral reform (or lack thereof) of western industrialized countries over the past century.

# 203 - Dogwood Initiative: No Tankers

Lynn Thompson — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:36:12 +0000

On May 9, 2013 Lynn Thompson had the opportunity to speak by Skype with Emma Gilchrist of Dogwood Initiative. The conversation is framed by ocean and wildlife sounds recorded by the shores of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. In the final two minutes of this podcast you will hear the ad that is currently playing on CKNW in Vancouver leading up to the provincial election on May14th.

LivingOnPurpose - Dogwood Initiative: No Tankers

Review: From hell and back: Searching for self at the crossroads of social change

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:51:38 +0000

dek:

Struggling to find identity, love and redemption in gritty 1970s Toronto

Story Publish Date:

May 9, 2013

night_town_image.jpg

Book Publishing Information

Book Title:

Night Town

Book Author:

Cathi Bond

Book Publisher:

Iguana Books

Book Published Date:

2013

Book Price:

$23.99

One marvels at how far we've progressed and yet how little has changed. In the 1970s in Canada there was still a profound stigma attached to homosexuality. Sound familiar?

We certainly like to think of ourselves as progressive in Canada, but one merely needs to glance at the headlines to see we are a long way off. Who hasn't read a story of a teenager committing suicide because they are bullied about their sexual orientation?

summary:

Night Town by Cathi Bond is a coming-of-age story of a young woman, and a shifting nation, growing up in the rapidly changing social fabric of 1970s Toronto and searching for acceptance and progress.

Arguing for Our Lives: A User's Guide to Constructive Dialogue

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:33:26 +0000

dek:

Reclaiming critical thinking and connecting it with the political and social world

Story Publish Date:

May 2, 2013

arguing_for_our_lives.jpg

Book Publishing Information

Book Title:

Arguing for Our Lives: A User's Guide to Constructive Dialog

Book Author:

Robert Jensen

Book Publisher:

City Lights Publishers

Book Published Date:

2013

Book Price:

$13.95

The following is an adapted excerpt from the new book Arguing for Our Lives: A User's Guide to Constructive Dialogue, published by City Lights Books.

"The universe is an undifferentiated whole. About that we can say nothing more."

This catchy aphorism from political philosopher Bruce Wright may seem nonsensical at first glance, but is worth exploring in the service of deepening our intellectual humility. Facing multiple, cascading ecological crises, we humans need science more than ever and more than ever we need to understand the limits of science.

summary:

The following is adapted from the new book Arguing for Our Lives: A User's Guide to Constructive Dialogue from City Lights Books.

CHIMERAS at Hot Docs spotlights booming China art scene

Film Festivals in Toronto — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:10:04 +0000

"I ended up making more or less the kind of film about China that I was determined in the beginning NOT to make," admits director and cinematographer Mika Mattila of his exquisitely-rendered documentary CHIMERAS.

Mattila, a Finnish cameraman who lived in Beijing from 2005 to 2010, is frank about his first film as a director. He wanted to shatter that rigid idea we have in the West that all films emanating from China are ultimately about East vs. West and a kind of "exotic Orient" that panders to stereotypes.

# 202 - Dreams For Peace

Lynn Thompson — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:43:44 +0000

Dream work is all about waking up.

Richard Hastings, who has been listening to dreams (his own and those of others) for many years, initially met Lynn Thompson on Vancouver Island BC Canada at a group talk he shared about the potential for positive change through the exploration of our dreams. Richard is a prolific writer and passionate proponent of personal and global change through understanding what is being revealed to us in our dreams, to become fully awake!

Richard now lives in Malaysia. He and Lynn conversed on Skype on April 20/21, 2013.

Richard-Hastings-LivingOnPurpose-4-2013

# 201 - Crash the Clown - Ottawa

Lynn Thompson — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:16:14 +0000

Crash the Clown is all about entertainment: presence, magic and uplifting the spirit. Well-known in Ottawa where he was raised, Crash's purposeful path continues to inspire him to reach out to others in positive ways.

Lynn Thompson first met Crash the Clown at the Farmers' Market in Brewer Park in the summer of 2012 while he was creating balloon animals for children. In mid-April 2013 Crash contacted Lynn to follow up on the idea of recording his first appearance on podcast.

Crash the Clown - Living on Purpose

The Great Revenue Robbery: The story of the tax cut scam with Dennis Howlett

radio book lounge — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:53:53 +0000

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper famously once said “I don’t believe any taxes are good taxes” and he proceeded to create a deficit with tax cuts and then turned to gutting services. Now a new book gives another view – The Great Revenue Robbery: How to Stop the Tax Cut Scam and Save Canada, edited by Richard Swift for Canadians for Tax Fairness.

great_revenue_robbery_conversation_with_dennis_howlett_.mp3