Billboards are a plight on the environment that also negatively impact our mental health – so why do let them exist? In Sao Paulo they banned billboards a long time ago and their local economy wasn’t negatively impacted while the wellbeing of the people in the city increased. It seems
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wmtc: an obvious life hack: how to make streaming more affordable and still enjoy ad-free viewing
Much ink is being spilled, metaphorically speaking, about the changing trends in subscription-based streaming services. Headlines scream that shows on Netflix and Prime will now include ads, implying that users will pay the same rates plus see ads, as we did with cable TV. But that’s not true (at least not
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Meta’s Temper Tantrum Is Partisan Politicking
So, if you use Facebook and reside in Canada, by now you’ve noticed that anything resembling news articles are being blocked. At first, you might look at it and say “oh, that’s just Meta having a temper tantrum over Bill C-18”. You wouldn’t be wrong. It is a corporate
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Kendra Pierre-Louis discusses the need for journalists to cover the massive health risks posed by COVID-19 even as (or even because of) the failure of governments to do so. – Jed Anderson calls out the increasing privatization of universities in Canada (facilitated
Continue readingThings Are Good: The FBI Wants You To Block Ads
The FBI finally agrees with culture jammers. Online advertising has gotten so bad that the FBI now suggests everyone should make use of tracking blocking software, also known as ad blockers. During the last big consumerism celebration in December, the FBI noticed malicious actors paying for ads to solicit unaware
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Tom Frieden offers a primer on what we know about long COVID – and what we should be doing to avoid it. And Eric Topol interviews Linsey Marr about the importance of clean air to alleviate the spread of COVID-19 and other
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Bright Lights, Small Cities: Alberta may be calling but it’s doubtful Toronto is listening
Is it just me, or is it kind of embarrassing to see lame-duck Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and a couple of little-known United Conservative Party MLAs from rural Alberta hanging around the Toronto Transit Commission’s subway station at Young and Dundas trying to tout the bright lights of Wild Rose
Continue readingThings Are Good: Given the IPCC Report, Let’s Ban Oil Propaganda
Today the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released data that proves the world has rapidly warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, and is now careening toward 1.5 degrees. They are calling it a red alert for the planet. Obviously this isn’t good news. The oil
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Unifor uses Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney to target ‘the new 2021 O’Toole’
With election fever running high throughout the land, Unifor’s new third-party political advertisement started showing up on social media yesterday and it was too good not to share in the final hours of this August long weekend. It’s an attack ad that mimics the cliches of automotive advertising, and Erin
Continue readingScripturient: Failures in Cwood’s Typography and Design
Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form. Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (Hartley & Marks Publishers, 2001) I’m neither a graphic designer nor a typographer, but I spent many, many years working with design and type, as well as designers and typographers,
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on Reading Literature
There’s a passage from the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog (by Muriel Barbery, Europa Editions, 2008, p. 116-117) that so delighted me when I came across it that I read it aloud to Susan: “Mildly hemorrhagic urine” is, to me, a form of light entertainment: it has a nice
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Boxing Day reading. – Kyle Hanniman and Trevor Tombe examine the relative fiscal positions of Canada’s federal and provincial governments – concluding that while there isn’t a need for austerity anywhere, there’s a lot more room to maneuver at the federal level than in most provinces
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On asymmetrical warfare
In the wake of this week’s U.S. elections – featuring a closer-than-expected contest for the presidency, and down-ballot results which look to disappointingly leave substantial power in Republican hands – there’s been an outpouring of commentary criticizing the money that was put into campaigns which ultimately lost. If there’s a
Continue readingScripturient: It’s *NOT* Junk Mail
I recognize that we all like to apply labels to categorize things, as shorthand in communication and in conversation, and to identify common views and beliefs. I do it myself; we all do: labels are our everyday metaphors. They are fast and easy shortcuts. But I weary at times of
Continue readingwmtc: five reasons streaming is still better than cable, even if the price tag is the same (plus a long story mostly for myself)
If you stream movies and TV series, you know that the proliferation of streaming channels has had mixed results for consumers. Many shows that were formerly on Netflix have been pulled by their media parents, and are now found on different streaming apps. At the same time, Netflix’s monthly price
Continue readingThings Are Good: Be Happier by Blocking Ads
A debate has been going on for years about the effectiveness about advertising and how the exposure to ads makes us feel. We now have an answer. Advertising is effective and makes us wants things we otherwise wouldn’t and that makes us unhappy. This is good because it provides us
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the instant pot bible
I’ve never reviewed a cookbook before, but then I’ve never been this enthusiastic about a cookbook before: The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Why I love this book Before I bury the lede with a lot of explanation, I’ll tell you why I find The Instant
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the instant pot bible
I’ve never reviewed a cookbook before, but then I’ve never been this enthusiastic about a cookbook before: The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Why I love this book Before I bury the lede with a lot of explanation, I’ll tell you why I find The Instant
Continue readingwmtc: mlb rule changes: more disregard and contempt for baseball’s core fans
I stopped following this baseball season a while back. The 2019 Red Sox are not very good, and I’m perfectly happy to enjoy my first summer on beautiful Vancouver Island without them. But it’s not just the lackluster Red Sox that are keeping me away. I’m disgusted and deeply saddened
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Justin Fisher laments the fact that we’re still talking about first steps toward combating a climate crisis after decades of understanding the problem. Jake Woodier points out that Brexit has been the UK’s recent distraction from the most important issue facing humanity. And
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