I’ve written extensively and in depth, for decades, in two published books and over a thousand published articles, with tens of thousands of references, on the rapidly shifting state of the world, the causes and major factors and historical unfolding of these changes, what it all means and entails, and
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Intellectual Self-Defence: Time For A Reading Sabbatical
To be brief: The obsession with quantity and volume has to end. More is not always better. Quality matters most. But people in the 21st century are addicted to endless entertainment, distraction, empty and largely useless talk, and endless amounts of “news” and commentary. Unless we step back, pause, reflect,
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Yalom’s Gift
I recently binge-watched all of Group, a show inspired by a novel by Irvin Yalom, The Schopenhauer Cure. So I revisited Yalom’s non-fiction to see how closely the series aligns to his actual practices. The Gift of Therapy is a fascinating read from 2017 in which Yalom dives openly into his
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Can a Slingshot Down this Goliath?
I read Andreas Malm‘s book, How to Blow Up a Pipeline a few months ago, then watched the movie, and then was reminded of it all again by Abigail Thorn’s latest Philosophy Tube video about being plagiarized by a man. Thorn explains how subtle sexism led to free labour in the home. Even
Continue readingIn This Corner: My 2023 books worth reading (and one to avoid)
Happy New Year, readers. And since you are readers, I thought I would give you the New Year’s gift of a list of my favourite books of 2023. (You will notice that this list is composed entirely of non-fiction titles; the only fiction I read last year was The Catcher
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Yo, Podcasters! Read This.
An excellent, important video was the inspiration for this short post (linked here, below) from a generally lackluster podcast. The musings arising after watching the video, however, I would say are even more important. The podcast host asked for video ideas at the end of his presentation. Here is my
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Big Picture: Markers Of The Global Tectonic Shift, Now Underway
Or, The Big Picture: Economic Strength vs Economic Insolvency: US, Canada and Uruguay compared Uruguayan national debt in 2023:$40 billion USD(52% of GDP) Canadian national debt in 2023:$1.4 trillion USDOr$1,400 billion USD US national debt in 2023:Roughly $30 trillionOr$30,000 billion(Not including corporate and household debt, which brings the total to
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Art to Guide the Masses
Can sitcoms save the day? Back in the 80s, there was a very funny show about a detective agency, Moonlighting. It was a take on the classic enemies-to-lovers trope with a very prim and efficient Maddie Hayes up against the fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants David Addison. Of course the two fall in love. In
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, was originally published in 1995 but more recently updated in a 25th anniversary edition in 2020. Well, he added a new introduction, but no study or concept in the book was updated despite huge changes in our lives since
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Maté: Part Depth Psychology, but Part Questionable Quick Fix
He received the Order of Canada, profoundly helped many people with addiction on the streets of Vancouver, and is much loved and admired, but some of Dr. Gabor Maté’s claims feel like they don’t hold water. And some claims might actually be dangerous if blindly accepted. I’ve encountered Maté in
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Frankl’s Phases of Life in the Camps
My lovely friend and former colleague recently passed away unexpectedly. The kindest people go far too soon. We also went to teacher’s college together over 30 years ago, and his quips and just the calm and jovial way about him helped make the ridiculous assignments there far more tolerable. Sitting next to
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Mother Lode: Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver
When Dr. Zachary White and I were in the research phase of writing The Unexpected Journey of Caring, we talked about a phenomenon that we were observing in caregiver support groups online. Zachary called it “the great migration.” More and more caregivers (mostly women) were moving away from their
Continue readingmark a. rayner: Introducing Re-Creative, a podcast about creativity and the art that inspires it
After years of threatening, I’ve finally started a podcast: Re-Creative. Actually, that’s not really true. My co-host, Joe Mahoney, is really the one to credit… The post Introducing Re-Creative, a podcast about creativity and the art that inspires it appeared first on mark a. rayner.
Continue readingWelcome to samupress: It’s a LondOntLife #6 begins
83 cartoons across 52 pages It’s a Londontlife#6 is at the printers for proofs. It’s always exciting for the new book to come out. And this one is packed with 83 cartoons – a record – over 52 5×7 inch pages. Yes, I should be thinking in metric. I am
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When a Book Hits So Close to Home: The Lady With The Crown
When I was very young, I wished for some big event to happen to me, something truly dramatic – tragic, even. I hadn’t yet heard the expression “Be careful what you wish for.” I was 16 when my father had his first of three strokes. I remember the day –
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: On Claims of Porn in Schools
There’s a call to arms on a social media from a few people who think the memoir in graphic novel form, Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (e/em/eir pronouns), should be removed from shelves in school libraries for being pornographic. For the uninitiated, “graphic novel” means it’s a cartoon, not that it’s graphic
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Iskocēs Tipiskak: A Spark in the Dark – Book Review
Have you ever had one of those experiences where something comes at you out of the dark and ends up being a pleasant surprise? A time where you weren’t expecting anything but something happened anyway? Or when a complete stranger found you and you ended up kind of grokking each
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Who puts the ‘D’ in….”Dystopia”?
Okay first, right off the hop, let me just say that yes, like a twelve-year-old, I have been snickering at the question “who puts the ‘D’ in ‘Dystopia’”. Dystopian fiction used to be among my favourite genres …styles… of fiction. I still do love me a well-crafted dystopian tale, but
Continue readingsamupress: Samupress has new LondOntLife Books soon!
20 pages and 56 cartoons 6 by 8 inches perfect bound 76 cartoons in the big parade 26 pages saddle stitch It’s A LondOntLife #4 has been ready to go since last year. Without the local London Comic Con, without Words, without Tingfest, there really hasn’t been an outlet. We
Continue readingsamupress: Samupress has new LondOntLife Books soon!
20 pages and 56 cartoons 6 by 8 inches perfect bound 76 cartoons in the big parade 26 pages saddle stitch It’s A LondOntLife #4 has been ready to go since last year. Without the local London Comic Con, without Words, without Tingfest, there really hasn’t been an outlet. We
Continue reading