If your answer is “some woke invention designed to make me feel like a bad person,” this may not be the post for you. Otherwise, let’s try this out: The dictionary says that ableism is discrimination against people on the basis of dis/ability (much like sexism is discrimination against women on the basis of sex),Continue reading “Let’s Talk About Ableism, or, Ableism: What The Fuck Is It?”
Category Archives: Big Picture
truth & reconciliation
I have been reflecting on my childhood experiences for decades, and if there has one thing I have learned, it’s that everyone wants to skip over the truth and get right to the reconciliation. No acknowledgement. No real apology. No genuine forgiveness. Just jump over everything potentially uncomfortable and land where the perpetrator wants toContinue reading “truth & reconciliation”
Review: … and along came Alexis
ARC received from the publisher in exchange for this review: I have learned, over the course of Echo’s life, that I can count on one of two reactions when I talk about our family: pity, or indifference. If I talk about how difficult it can be, emotionally and logistically, we get pity: people feel badlyContinue reading “Review: … and along came Alexis”
Political
Thank God the election is almost over(-ish). I mean, it’s barely begun; it’s been a short election and despite the best efforts of the media, I don’t know too many people who have been paying much attention to it. People’s worry banks are full of other things, like “will schools stay open this year” andContinue reading “Political”
separation
Here’s a thought experiment, or a mental exercise, I often try when out hiking. It doesn’t have to be strictly for hikes, of course, or even outside. If there is a living thing nearby, it will apply—even a spider in the corner of the ceiling, or a moth that got in and is circling theContinue reading “separation”
Happy Old Year’s End
New Year’s Eve has a whole other flavour this year, doesn’t it? Less “Hurray! Let’s celebrate the start of another year!” and more “Is it dead yet? Are we sure? Should we set the corpse on fire to be on the safe side?” I’m drafting this in November–already looking forward, yes, but also anticipating thatContinue reading “Happy Old Year’s End”
organizational culture is toxic
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”
(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”
Zoopolis 