Canada post-election

 

Traditional markets in Seoul

 

The Tongin Shijang is a traditional market in central Seoul. Adapting to changing consumer patterns is its biggest challenge.

Market Alive: Tongin Shijang

https://youtu.be/3sPMafkAPX8

Mark Carney

 

Who is Mark Carney? (Part one)

#MarkCarney #cdnpoli #canadianelection2025 

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/K5zIoHki1Kc

New forms of literature?

 

I recently came across a social media post in which a Canadian author (whose publishing house has a logo emblazoned with the Maple Leaf) was waxing enthusiastically about an American hospital drama on Netflix. Several of her followers — also Canadian, and also patriotically utilizing the Maple Leaf in their IDs — were similarly giddy about the Netflix series. Normally, nothing worth paying attention to about this; it’s common practice in anglophone Canada.

But … but … the threat to Canada’s sovereignty has not magically disappeared, even though the aggression of the threats has moderated somewhat. So what does the future hold? Where Canada’s sovereignty is concerned, nothing pleasant if Canadians don’t change — and in a very radical way — their habits of cultural consumption. English speaking Canada is a highly colonized zone. This leads to the bizarre spectacle of Canadians (like the author mentioned above) spending a lot of time online denouncing American neo-imperialism while simultaneously binge watching US pop culture. And there’s no point in going online oneself and pointing out to these people what they’re doing; emotionally, they’re like teenagers who want “freedom” while demanding an allowance.

So, since people don’t like being told they SHOULD watch or read or listen to certain cultural works (for example, Canadian), this means that the producers of Canadian culture need to think in new ways.

A few years ago, I established a micro press called BridgeText. One of its ideas is that we need more novels that are experienced as movie scripts are.

More here: Toward a New Literature

https://youtu.be/TTux0NcjCHc

And here: https://youtu.be/NALcaQ3QCYs?si=76rj7dAePOZRsZZT

*

Je suis récemment tombé sur une publication sur les réseaux sociaux dans laquelle une auteure canadienne (dont la maison d'édition arbore un logo arborant la feuille d'érable) s'extasiait sur une série américaine sur Netflix, mettant en scène un hôpital. Plusieurs de ses abonnés, eux aussi canadiens et utilisant la feuille d'érable par patriotisme, étaient tout aussi enthousiastes à propos de la série Netflix. Normalement, rien d'intéressant à ce sujet ; c'est une pratique courante au Canada anglophone.

Mais… mais… la menace à la souveraineté du Canada n'a pas disparu comme par magie, même si son agressivité s'est quelque peu atténuée. Alors, que nous réserve l'avenir ? En ce qui concerne la souveraineté du Canada, rien de réjouissant si les Canadiens ne changent pas – et de manière très radicale – leurs habitudes de consommation culturelle. Le Canada anglophone est une zone fortement colonisée. Cela donne lieu à l'étrange spectacle de Canadiens (comme l'auteure mentionnée plus haut) passant beaucoup de temps en ligne à dénoncer le néo-impérialisme américain tout en regardant des séries de culture populaire américaine. Et il est inutile d'aller soi-même en ligne et de montrer à ces gens ce qu'ils font ; Émotionnellement, ils sont comme des adolescents qui aspirent à la « liberté » tout en exigeant une allocation.

Ainsi, comme les gens n'aiment pas qu'on leur dise qu'ils DEVRAIENT regarder, lire ou écouter certaines œuvres culturelles (par exemple, canadiennes), cela signifie que les producteurs de culture canadienne doivent réfléchir différemment.

Il y a quelques années, j'ai fondé une micro-édition appelée BridgeText. L'une de ses idées est que nous avons besoin de plus de romans qui se vivent comme des scénarios de films.

Plus ici : Nouveau futur littéraire?

https://youtu.be/9muSm6LScHE

Does Canadian culture have a future?

 

 All these people — each and every one — are self perceived Canadian nationalists. And all of them are giddy over an American Netflix series. Normally, nothing worth paying attention to about this; it’s common practice in anglophone Canada.

But … but … the threat to Canada’s sovereignty has not magically disappeared, even though the aggression of the threats has moderated somewhat. So what does the future hold? Where Canada’s sovereignty is concerned, nothing pleasant if Canadians don’t change — and in a very radical way — their habits of cultural consumption.

However, people don’t like being told they SHOULD watch or read or listen to certain cultural works. It rankles, and seems scolding. That means that the producers of Canadian culture need to think in new ways.

A few years ago, I established a micro press called BridgeText. One of its ideas is that we need more novels that are experienced as movie scripts are.

More here: https://youtu.be/NALcaQ3QCYs?si=76rj7dAePOZRsZZT

And here: https://youtu.be/g40XxM8phDI?si=U690nbROcWeqZHth

Tous ces gens – chacun sans exception – se perçoivent comme des nationalistes canadiens. Et tous sont enthousiasmés par une série américaine sur Netflix. Normalement, rien d'intéressant à ce sujet ; c'est une pratique courante au Canada anglophone.

Mais… mais… la menace à la souveraineté du Canada n'a pas disparu comme par magie, même si son agressivité s'est quelque peu atténuée. Alors, que nous réserve l'avenir ? En ce qui concerne la souveraineté du Canada, rien de réjouissant si les Canadiens ne changent pas – et de manière très radicale – leurs habitudes de consommation culturelle.

Cependant, les gens n'aiment pas qu'on leur dise qu'ils DEVRAIENT regarder, lire ou écouter certaines œuvres culturelles. C'est critiquable et semble réprimandant. Cela signifie que les producteurs de culture canadienne doivent repenser leurs façons de penser.

Il y a quelques années, j'ai fondé une micro-édition appelée BridgeText. L'une de ses idées est que nous avons besoin de plus de romans qui se vivent comme des scénarios de films.

Plus ici : Nouveau futur littéraire?

https://youtu.be/9muSm6LScHE

Spring flowers and micro geographies

 

How the patterns of blooming flowers are affected by micro geographies #ecology #springflowers #진달래

https://youtube.com/shorts/94_akRRuGOM?feature=share

Who is Mark Carney?

 

Who is Mark Carney? (Part one)

https://youtu.be/K5zIoHki1Kc

Job cuts two

 

What will be the effect of massive job cuts in the US federal govt? What will be the repercussions of making large numbers of employees jobless? 

Full video at YouTube: What will be the effect of massive job cuts in the US  govt? Good employees jobless. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/AXHiObm9gZs?feature=share

Job cuts

  

Massive job cuts with govt employees thrown out of work. Economic disaster to follow? #doge #trump

https://youtube.com/shorts/1iBakoN84hQ?feature=share

Mark Carney et al

 

Mark Carney, Mike Myers and what it means to be Canadian #markcarney #cdnpoli #canadianelection

https://youtube.com/shorts/t_yAFPqh99s?feature=share

Noteworthy

 Mourir dans la tempête par Jean Coulombe

Fine dust

 

Air pollution in Korea: How bad is it? #airquality #microscopicfinedust #미세먼지

https://youtube.com/shorts/Tg9UOWcOze8?feature=share

Big temperature fluctuations in Korea

 

Big temperature fluctuations in S. Korea. How about where you live? 

#springweather #temperaturedrop

https://youtube.com/shorts/

Full video at YouTube: MrRgdUc3Wrc?feature=share

Spring flowers and climate

 Spring flowers are blooming earlier these days. Why?

Full video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/wqoTX9JunyM

Development in Seoul

 

The Life Span of Apartments in Seoul. What development patterns tell us about wealth and income distribution.

#seoullife #gangbuk #apartmentlife #seoulhousing

Trump Decimates America’s military industries

 

This is the pattern. Trump’s inability to maintain alliances and his complete obliviousness to what he’s doing raise  questions about his reason.

More: he decimated his own military/industrial complex. He’s alienating entire political spectrum.

YouTube: youtu.be/TYg2I5GKey4

A Tale of Two Wintry Cities

 

A Tale of Two Wintry Cities: Indicators of Climate Change in Toronto and Seoul

#Toronto #seoul #climatechange 

Full video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/FlbbH-qM6Vo

How do you dress for winter?

 

How do you dress for winter? #outerwear #winterclothing #parka #toque #겨울옷 #vetements

https://youtube.com/shorts/GRJEW6RpWXM?feature=share

Qualities of Snow

  

What are the different qualities of snow? 

#snowfall #snowquality #winter #canada #hokkaido #korea

Full video at YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Je0saSbPkSE?feature=share

Winter in Two Cities

 

Winter in two cities: Toronto and Seoul

 #winterweather #canadianwinter #koreanwinter #한국겨울 #캐나다

Full video at YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/SPNPyz1PPBQ?feature=share

Outtakes from The Business Army

 

Pages and artwork from two versions of my historical novel about an attempt to engineer a fascist coup in 1930s America.

The novel comes in two versions: as a conventional text-only manuscript, and as an illustrated screenplay novel with “storyboard roughs” and “stills” based on archival photos. I’ve seen (and, once, produced) a lot of graphic novels in my time. But I’ve never seen an approach like this. Not sure why. It’s an idea that borrows from the brilliance of whoever invented the original screenplay format, yet it avoids one of the biggest pitfalls of movie production: the incredible pressure to make a profit and recover production costs, and therefore make “crowd pleasing” fictions.

The novel itself is based on real people and events, and tells the story of General Smedley Butler — a Marine who became a vocal critic of militarism and American imperialism — and his cat and mouse relationship with Gerald MacGuire, a small time bond salesman all too willing to act as an agent for much more powerful individuals.

If curious, more here: https://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

Here: The Business Army, part one

https://youtu.be/g2stGjrxL1Y

And here: The Business Army- Part One A - sep 10 12

https://youtu.be/7etqXWttH_,

 

Outtakes from Baram Writer

 

 Outtakes from a Baram Writer project 

The word baram is a transliteration of 바람, or wind.

The project started twelve years ago, with a very crude moviepoem rendered in MovieMaker on a wheezy second hand laptop. (If curious: Baram Writer

https://youtu.be/oPHzuqDuAec )

It’s been through several versions since then, the most recent here: Baram Writer (new version)

https://youtu.be/Oc9PS6vXd40 )

I’m trying to capture “fugitive sensations” in the project; the sorts of thoughts and emotions one has while walking with loved one in nature, and experiencing a mix of happiness and anxiety, the latter a recognized of the worlds “objective” — that is, savage — nature.

The photos and settings of this extended project are changing: the one in the foreground is a spot near Lake Ontario that has personal significance after the deaths of my brother, mother in law, father, maternal aunt, and mother. What is the connection between the living and the dead? Memory, obviously. But there seems to be something more too, and the austere seasons of autumn and winter connect rather directly to that something.

*

BARAM WRITER

EXT. SEOUL. WINTER. LATE AFTERNOON.

It’s a greyish day, and Mats feels a mixture of coldness and clammy, wet mildness through his clothing.

Then the temperature starts to drop…

Wind blows through trees, rustles dead leaves, makes branches sway in a creaking, slow dervish.

VO [male]: The wind has its own tone, its own feeling. It’s like … coldness, thinness.

It’s like hunger.

The wind has a body. The wind is someone.

Cat food redux

 

What’s the best cat food? The one they prefer? Or something else? #catfood #catshorts

https://youtube.com/shorts/xnsyFZh1g3s?feature=share

What’s a Canadian?

  

What does it mean to be Canadian? #canadianpolitics #canadian_identity #annexationthreat #canada

https://youtube.com/shorts/QmISYN1ZFz0?feature=share

When is a cat family too big?

 

When is a family of semi-feral cats too big? #cats #feralcats #countrycats #시골고양이

Semi feral cats

 

A family of cats/ 시골 고양이의 가족 #고양이가족 #ruralcats #countrycats #catfamily #semiferalcats #한국시골 #cats

https://youtube.com/shorts/3SkElDoD2fI?feature=share

Trump versus Canada

 

Which Cdn politician has the strength to fight Trump? #threatofannexation #annexation #trumptrudeau

Our parents’ cycles

 

The cycles of our parents’ lives.

#parentalcare #lifecycles

https://youtube.com/shorts/h49P-Gj57po?si=dLg_JtSaSNx84Acx

Quiet in the city

  

Quietness in a big city #quietness #seoul #meditation #도시생활

Urban nature

 

Stills from Instruments of Noise, Instruments of Evolution.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/zW8xfTisUOI?si=gdFAye_gfKf2RtaE

Nature in urban settings is a theme I keep returning to. This is one of the first projects I did on the theme. 

Seoul’s nature

 

Nature reserves in Seoul: Possible despite population  #seoul #tokyo #urbannature #서울공원 #cityparks

https://youtube.com/shorts/A91mqslYXw0?feature=share