Gary, Lilja and I are together for the first time since 1995 (in the same place at the same time), and lilja brought me a wonderful leg of icelandic lamb, and we needed help eatinging. Thanks for Elizabeth, Danny, and Yuka, we were able to accomplish the task, almost. A wonderful dinner. More pictures, including yuka with mr pants (if you’re my flickr friend) at Flickr: Photostream
These two jokers are running the show now… what bothers me is that I feel good about it. Don’t remember that feeling since P.E.T. days.
As I got up this morning and looked at the dawn skyline over Toronto, I thought of the sun far to the south coming from somewhere over the US, and I wondered… is this the day when they finally turn from their dark and evil ways of militaristic fear and consumerist religiosity?
We’ve not been together since 1995 when we were beer drinking graduate students at OISE/UT. We had lunch at “Waterfalls Indian Tapas” in Kensongton (waterfallsrestaurant.ca) and had a surprisingly wonderful brunch.
I clicked these from the streetcar on the way home on halloween. It was a crazy ride.
What do you expect then the demon moon rises over the pumpkin patch?
the mark of ashen wings - Happy Nov 1
And the rest of you, check out the new issue of The Harrow; fiction editor Michael Colangelo has set up an issue of the strange and disturbing for you this month. “Nourishment for the Dead” is the first of a short series of stories we’ll be running about the horrible goings-on in the small Canadian town of Cobston-Aldwych; “Mirror of Venus” is a curiously timeless fantasy of dangerous love, reprinted from Caitlín R. Kiernan’s zine Sirenia; “Phlegethon” tells the tale of a mountain-pass shortcut to Cathay that spells doom for the hapless men taking it; and “Figures in Chalcedony” is an understated description of a book whose story warns against digging too deeply into the semiotics of the occult.
YouTube - Election Duel! Obama V. McCain - Who Get’s Pwned?
Comedian Rich Kuras infiltrates the World of Warcraft to poll players on the 2008 Presidential Election. We broke down the results per race and Class. What we found may…and please excuse the pun…WOW you.
Now that’s some politicalisticity that I can sink my teeth into.
Slashdot | 10th Year of the International Nethack Tournament. Nethack was probably the only game I ever got into in any meaningful manner beyond Crystal Caves Adventure. So cool to know it is still around.
Today is All Saints’ Day, which for millions of American, or Americanised, kids is the day of the Great Candy Hangover after Halloween. Halloween, moreover, is the night of ghoulies and ghosties, of witches and Wiccas, and of pretending that evil is harmless.
As a slight corrective, I thought I’d post a few bits on the Day itself; 1) what it’s about; 2) where to find a more detailed history; 3) a really beautiful hymn we used to sing in school chapel.
In my French village, as in Sweden (see picture), All Saints and All Souls (properly the day after, 2 November) are conflated. ‘La Toussaint’ as the French call it is the day of cemeteries, of chrysanthemums and asters, of elderly people walking stiffly through the churchyard (which here is a place full of stone and gravel, glum to one bred in England) to put flowers on the graves of their husbands, wives, parents, and sometimes (sadly) children. It’s a quiet day, when people get together as families or friends.
This feast that we know as All Saint’s Day originated as a feast of All Martyrs, sometime in the 4th century. At first it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. It came to be observed on May 13 when Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615) restored and rebuilt for use as a Christian church an ancient Roman temple which pagan Rome had dedicated to “all gods”, the Pan-theon. The pope re-buried the bones of many martyrs there, and dedicated this Church to the Mother of God and all the Holy Martyrs on May 13, 610.
Now consider this:
Halloween spooks school board
The TDSB’s Halloween policy is outlined in its 2008 Teaching Resource for Dealing with Controversial and Sensitive Issues in Toronto District School Board Classrooms. This document, dripping with spine-tingling bureaucratese, outlines six reasons why Halloween isn’t as fun as you might think. For instance:
1. “Halloween is a religious day of significance for Wiccans and therefore should be treated respectfully.”
So, it is a Christian or Wiccan holiday? I bet Christians think it is wiccan too. 
I love religion.
M as streetcar, again.
CBC’s Ideas radio program is rebroadcasting the series The Dark End of the Spectrum (which you can listen to from this link):
For parents of autistic children, the realization often comes slowly. A worry, a pang, a sinking feeling when trying to play with the new baby, who seems - uninterested, even unreachable.
What could be wrong? If it is, in fact, autism, it is not the end, but the beginning of a journey.
First seen as a medical oddity, the story of autism is both fascinating and troubling. Autism was first described and named in the 1940s, in the heyday of psychoanalysis. Brilliant and charismatic doctors concluded the disorder was caused by nurture – not nature. In short, it was the parents’ fault. They were branded with the heartless label: “refrigerator mothers.”
Bernice Landry explores how our understanding of autism has taken an about-face in recent years. Scientists and an army of activist parents are beginning to make up for lost time, to shine new light on the darkest secrets of our genes.
In episode 2 we hear the story of Darius McCollum, a serial impersonator whose obsession with trains has lead him to spend much of his life in jail. Darius has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, a version of autism.
Also see: Ontario failing adults with autism spectrum disorders: report from the CBC website, that was posted just this month.
David Goldstein: Melamine-Spiking “Widespread” In China; Human Food Broadly Contaminated is an article from 2007 about Melamine. Last month it was baby food. And just today
I just heard that my presentation “Scope for the imagination: Locating Constructionism in Science Simulations” has been accepted for the Reggio inspired Childcare and Education Conference in Winnipeg, May 6th to 9th, 2009. This will be my first presentation to a primarily (and primary) education audience, and a chance to hang out with my old buddy Gary in Winnipeg. Can’t wait!
This is a neat video of the Early Learning Centre at Ryerson, with a lot of the children I work with playing in the great campus outdoors.
Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we are of assistance to people of nations who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.
We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. But with technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered.
Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to stronger scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency can provide. Wikileaks provides a forum for the entire global community to relentlessly examine any document for its credibility, plausibility, veracity and validity. Communities can interpret leaked documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community and diaspora can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context….
In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that “only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.” We agree.
We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see.
Wikileaks makes me suspicious because of the notions of the null curriculum. The openness and transparency always makes you question what is not being brought to the table. What issues got ‘missed’. When someone says that they’re an open book and their cards are on the table, it is usually because they’ve got something else hidden. Regardless, I enjoy access to the info, so I’ll ride with it.
There was less than a minute this morning to catch the sun before it became just another grey day. I was just doing the settings when I snapped this, so it is behind a window. By the time I got outside, it was too late.
Zooillogix : Piglet Squid
This funny looking squid is about the size of a small avocado and can be found most commonly in the deepwater (greater than 100 m or 320 ft) of virtually all oceans. Its habit of filling up with water and the funny location of its siphone with a wild-looking ‘tuft’ of eight arms and two tentacles had prompted scientists to name it the piglet squid.
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