Well first of all here's the question I should've asked on Tuesday night:
What have you learned about the form of biography in writing your books? I have found it fascinating as a reader to see how each of the authors in the series has interpreted not only their subject, but also the form of biography, so I'd be curious on what you have learned as an author.
Now that that's out of the way, it's funny because that question was floating around in my head before, and only crystallized after. Wish I would've had the chance to ask it.
Other than attending one event at the writer's festival this week, nothing much is going on. Work is going ok, though I'm not sure what I'll be working on for the next few months.
October 31, 2009
October 18, 2009
On Fire alarms
How annoying fire alarms can be!
We were woken up last night by a fire alarm at 5:00 a.m. For the first time in a while my wife and I debated whether to go downstairs. We had a rash of them a while back, and they were always in the morning.
I always remember University too, where particularly at the end of my second year in residence there was a whole whack of then, and one time we ended up outside in the fresh snow in April because of a fire alarm.
Actually come to think of it, my very last day in residence ever, we had a fire alarm at 7 a.m. That brings up a related funny story, at the end of the year, there's always a rush to get everything packed up and get yourself checked out. My roommate that year waited until the very last minute, and was scared about being kicked out. He lost a lot of time that morning because of the fire alarm, but being who he is, he went back to bed instead of finishing packing! he ended up having to store his stuff with someone and figure out the details later...
Anyways it's always annoying! I guess when I move to a house it will be the end of those problems, at least then, it's either your own fault, or a real fire!
We were woken up last night by a fire alarm at 5:00 a.m. For the first time in a while my wife and I debated whether to go downstairs. We had a rash of them a while back, and they were always in the morning.
I always remember University too, where particularly at the end of my second year in residence there was a whole whack of then, and one time we ended up outside in the fresh snow in April because of a fire alarm.
Actually come to think of it, my very last day in residence ever, we had a fire alarm at 7 a.m. That brings up a related funny story, at the end of the year, there's always a rush to get everything packed up and get yourself checked out. My roommate that year waited until the very last minute, and was scared about being kicked out. He lost a lot of time that morning because of the fire alarm, but being who he is, he went back to bed instead of finishing packing! he ended up having to store his stuff with someone and figure out the details later...
Anyways it's always annoying! I guess when I move to a house it will be the end of those problems, at least then, it's either your own fault, or a real fire!
October 10, 2009
Thinking about cities
This is a bit of a disjointed post. I just finisehd reading teh very dense book Concrete Reveries by Mark Kingwell.
He's also the author chosen to write the Glenn Gould biography in the Extraordinary Canadians series. This is definitely a more accesible work, but still a challenging one. POrobably the least accessible of the series I have read so far. This may not be surprising given a) it's written by a philosopher and b) the subject, Gould who seems to be a difficult and inaccessible subject.
The book Concrete reveries got me thinking again about the nature of the "City" and urbanism more generally. It follows my reading of Jeb Brugmann's book Urban Revolution.
I also listened to an impressive mayor, Cory Booker on the podcast of On Point. I don't think I have heard such a positive elected official before. He was smart, (he's a Rhodes Scholar) and committed and charismatic, and relentlessly positive.
It was refreshing, and a reminder of what can be done by being positive regardless of the situation.
I wonder sometimes what could be done in Ottawa with some inspired leadership. Instead we get stupid "zero means zero" campaigns and a council dominated by developers and anti-transit suburban councilors.
It seems like any move to actually do something is whittled down and dimished, and ultimately becomes less ambitious through the debate at city hall.
I think it comes back to not having people who believe in government in power, and also not having a mayor who had any idea why he wanted to be there at all.
I was astonished recently to hear Stephen Harper's remarks about being against all taxes. What a crackpot statement. This goes back to something I really don't understand about a lot of modern conservatives and I think is at heart a contradiction. You have people funded by taxpayers decrying government. WHo do they think pays their bills?
He's also the author chosen to write the Glenn Gould biography in the Extraordinary Canadians series. This is definitely a more accesible work, but still a challenging one. POrobably the least accessible of the series I have read so far. This may not be surprising given a) it's written by a philosopher and b) the subject, Gould who seems to be a difficult and inaccessible subject.
The book Concrete reveries got me thinking again about the nature of the "City" and urbanism more generally. It follows my reading of Jeb Brugmann's book Urban Revolution.
I also listened to an impressive mayor, Cory Booker on the podcast of On Point. I don't think I have heard such a positive elected official before. He was smart, (he's a Rhodes Scholar) and committed and charismatic, and relentlessly positive.
It was refreshing, and a reminder of what can be done by being positive regardless of the situation.
I wonder sometimes what could be done in Ottawa with some inspired leadership. Instead we get stupid "zero means zero" campaigns and a council dominated by developers and anti-transit suburban councilors.
It seems like any move to actually do something is whittled down and dimished, and ultimately becomes less ambitious through the debate at city hall.
I think it comes back to not having people who believe in government in power, and also not having a mayor who had any idea why he wanted to be there at all.
I was astonished recently to hear Stephen Harper's remarks about being against all taxes. What a crackpot statement. This goes back to something I really don't understand about a lot of modern conservatives and I think is at heart a contradiction. You have people funded by taxpayers decrying government. WHo do they think pays their bills?
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