RodEdwards.ca » Culture

Democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

Rod Edwards — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:25:47 +0000

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” — Isaac Asimov

via Reddit.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Rod Edwards — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:25:10 +0000

In the late 1950s, psychologist Milton Rokeach was gripped by an eccentric plan. He gathered three psychiatric patients, each with the delusion that they were Jesus Christ, to live together for two years in Ypsilanti State Hospital to see if their beliefs would change.

Read on at Salon – “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. (found on Reddit)

Paul Chambers: My tweet was silly, but the police reaction was absurd

Rod Edwards — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:53:05 +0000

Don’t speak your mind: the British are listening. And they will arrest you, charge you, and make a mockery of “justice” in the name of “security.”

The reason for the arrest was a tweet I had posted on the social network Twitter, which was deemed to constitute a bomb threat against Robin Hood airport in Doncaster: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!” You may say, and I certainly realise now, it was ill-advised. But it was clearly frustration, caused by heavy snowfall grounding flights and potentially scuppering my own flight a week later. Like having a bad day at work and stating that you could murder your boss, I didn't even think about whether it would be taken seriously.

via My tweet was silly, but the police reaction was absurd | Paul Chambers | Comment is free | The Guardian.

Best Selling 17 year old Author Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism

Rod Edwards — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:11:01 +0000

What do you think of remix culture? Is the concept of plagiarism outdated? Should it be outdated?

Ms. Hegemann finds herself in the middle of a collision — if not road kill exactly — between the staid, literary establishment in a country that venerates writers from Goethe to Mann to Grass, and the Berlin youth culture of D.J.’s and artists that sample freely and thereby breathe creativity into old forms. Or as one character, Edmond, puts it in the book, “Berlin is here to mix everything with everything.”

via Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism – NYTimes.com.

I’m all for remixing, mashups, and creative plagiarism – provided its done with proper credit and attribution, and respectfully of other artist’s rights where applicable. Hegemann erred in presenting the work as exclusively her own, not the literary remix that it apparently is.

Natives Maintaining their Racial Purity

Rod Edwards — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:11:00 +0000

…by evicting non-natives from the Quebec reserve of Kahnawake. Specifically, they appear to be evicting 25 boyfriends & girlfriends of band members, who according to the community of 7,500, are a threat to their culture. 25 out of 7,500 – that’s a third of a percent – 0.33%.

Question 1: Is the Mohawk culture that vulnerable? Question 2: Is evicting other races really the best way to protect it? Question 3: Is there more story to what looks like a simply bizarre move?

Picture credit: Ericcson’s Blog