I know! Months between posts, and then two in one week. This isn’t a new thought, but it’s one that keeps coming to me, and I’m curious to hear what you think: Organizational culture is toxic. It fosters us-vs-them thinking. The loyalty it creates among members makes it hard to, for instance, speak out againstContinue reading “organizational culture is toxic”
Author Archives: Andrea McDowell
Stitches
First, I’d like to say: I know all of the approved ways of managing stress and anxiety. I know you’re supposed to move, ok? Exercise! I know. I know about healthy eating and getting enough sleep, connecting with loved ones, spending time in nature. As it turns out, when you’re in the middle of aContinue reading “Stitches”
Commanding Hope (review)
(This review written in exchange for a free e-version of the book, provided by NetGalley.) *113th climate book* Climate activists tend to obsess over a small number of theoretical subjects: Is capitalism the devil, or our saviour? Is climate change its own separate issue, or the end result of colonialist patriarchal white supremacy? and DoContinue reading “Commanding Hope (review)”
A beautiful afternoon
In the beginning of 2020, going to the art gallery would have meant finding a Saturday with a couple of free hours and – going. Now it’s a lot more complicated. We’ve wanted to go since it reopened in, I think, July? And kept saying: this week, if you’re feeling up to it; this Saturday,Continue reading “A beautiful afternoon”
a bit about sewing, a bit about not-sewing
This week we got the news officially: those of us working from home will continue to work from until at least January 2021. Which includes me. Which means, at a minimum, I will have no need for tailored work clothes until at least late winter. I’m also not social dancing. Some classes have started upContinue reading “a bit about sewing, a bit about not-sewing”
(Almost) All We Can Save: Review
To begin with: I can’t claim to be unbiased or a disinterested observer (but, no one can). No one reads 108 books about climate change without deep investment, and most of the contributors in this collection I am already familiar with; if not in books, then in newsletters, articles, scientific papers, youtube series, podcasts, documentaries,Continue reading “(Almost) All We Can Save: Review”
reparative reading, Funny Weather and a very hard year
While chronic illness and complex medical conditions have been indisputably good practice for coping with uncertainty and restrictions during a pandemic, they have also had a significant downside, and that is: with medical offices and services shut down to restrict the spread of covid, our own medical conditions have become harder to manage. My diabetesContinue reading “reparative reading, Funny Weather and a very hard year”
love
Would you believe that this is the first thing I’ve embroidered for myself, for my own room, ever? I started it last January or February, and got about 1/3-1/2 of the way done in a year, and then the pandemic hit. Every night I would stitch for an hour, and count little colourful squares toContinue reading “love”
#SolidarityChic, plus #SewcialDistancing
Dear Readers, here is the Prime Minister of Canada during a recent physically distanced question period: Please take note, if you will, of our fearless leader’s very noticeable lack of a recent haircut. You’ve already noticed the lack of recent haircut. Maybe you read an article on his lack of recent haircut. Maybe you sawContinue reading “#SolidarityChic, plus #SewcialDistancing”
Welcome to the Anti-Racism Movement (reblog)
Entire libraries are filled with scholarship and wisdom about anti-black racism. Consulting companies exist to educate white people about anti-black racism. Free online anti-racism training is widely available and easily searchable. Poets, novelists, dancers, composers, film-makers, singers, bands, have devoted their careers to creating art that explores anti-black racism. I have nothing new to add.Continue reading “Welcome to the Anti-Racism Movement (reblog)”
