At the time of writing this piece, I was shocked to hear of the mass-murder and suicide in Margaret River. It lit a fire in my belly. Peter Miles, a man who was ‘supposed’ to love all of his victims shot his wife, his adult daughter, and four grand-children, their ages ranging 8–13. Then he shot […]
Culture
Is Yoga Cultural Appropriation?
On Nov. 20, 2015, the Ottawa Sun reported that a free yoga class for students, organized by the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Students with Disabilities since 2008, had been discontinued due to student concerns about “cultural issues.” The decision to cancel the program — which was taught by a young Caucasian woman named Jennifer Scharfe — is reportedly the subject of […]
You Guys, Feminists Aren’t Supposed to Say ‘You Guys’
But I say it. And a lot of other things Ialways thought the catchphrase “HEY, YOU GUUUYS!” was originally fromThe Goonies. But apparently, it’s a reference to the 1971 PBS children’s program The Electric Company. I was a titch too young to have caught either of these in real time, but like many kids, I grew up with […]
Death by a thousand strokes
Whenever you come into contact with an immerse and impactful piece of work, the towering obelisk, the frescoes on the ceiling, the sculptures, the works of art, the architectural marvel, the music, films and books that draw us in deep into new and exotic locales, it is easy to be so impressed, so moved by […]
It’s Time to Stop Talking About Millennials
The latest generational cohort to emerge is defined by experience not just biology A few weeks ago, a middle-aged friend joked to some office colleagues that he found millennials frustrating to handle — “until you have to convert a PDF file into a word document”. An actual millennial — normally defined as someone born between the early 1980s and 1996 — was […]
Pursuing Instagram: Our Culture and the Vain Pursuit of an Illusion
Something occurred to me during one of my self analytical sessions when I actually take the time to consider who I am, what motivates me and what I want. People are obsessed with popularity, comparison and being “happy”. Most people do not know what any of these actually mean, especially not the happy thing. So […]
Is this the end for real fur?
London Fashion Week recently became the first global fashion week to ban animal fur. Campaigners were euphoric. In the past year, fur has faced significant challenges everywhere, but still – it was quite a moment. Then, a few weeks later, Los Angeles voted to ban the manufacture and sale of fur within city limits, becoming […]
THREE EXHIBITIONS TO SEE IN SPAIN THIS AUTUMN
Spain has developed a rich and dynamic contemporary art scene in the last decades, with artists from around the world exhibiting in many of its iconic museums. As summer gives way to autumn, and outdoor relaxing in the sun turns to a quest for indoor cultural activities, art centres across the country have come up […]
A Religious Leader for the Resisterhood
An Evangelical Texan is now using her pulpit to fight Trumpism. Will her flock follow? It’s a beautiful September morning in Austin, Texas, and Jen Hatmaker is gently heckling the congregants of Austin New Church. Today’s sermon is on the parable of the Prodigal Son, and Hatmaker, delivering the sermon, is just winding up for […]
Conor McGregor — victim of an American Dream that takes far more than it gives
A global icon for whom the only constraint is none whatsoever, who wears his vulgarity, bombast and disregard for humility as a badge of honour, what does MMA star and currently Ireland’s most famous son represent if not the moral void in which sits the values of an American Dream that stand as a grotesque […]
