Wednesday, June 29, 2005 by Michelle
The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
A bit of a bold heading, but this opinion article by Jared Diamond is very thought-provoking and well thought out (published in Discover in 1987). The premise is that the move from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies was one of the most detrimental changes in human existance. One quote sums it up nicely, "Forced to choose between limiting population or trying to increase food production, we chose the latter and ended up with starvation, warfare, and tyranny." Check out his article for yourself at http://www.agron.iastate.edu/courses/agron342/diamondmistake.html.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2005 by Michelle
My partner and I (Topher's blog is at topher67) embarked on a spiritual journey in late November 2004, trying to find exactly what it is that we believe. It was brewing for a while, just not articulated... until one day I said to him, "don't you think it's time we started being intellectually honest about what we believe?" He jumped at the opportunity, agreed wholeheartedly and was two steps ahead of me before I knew what happened! Turns out he'd been feeling the same way a lot longer than I had. I hope god doesn't mind that we stopped going to church and started asking a lot of questions. We started listening to tapestry on the CBC for other insights, reading all kinds of stuff to get as many perspectives as possible (although initially in my exuberance I got too many books so it'll take a year just to read through it all) and we even went to an interesting Philosophers' Cafe one evening. We decided to write out our own Statement of Faith, something we should have done years ago and I would highly recommend. No formula there - just write down what you honestly believe. It has really clarified our beliefs and sometimes even why we believe in something, where we agree and disagree about our beliefs, and who do we think god is anyway. We're not so much looking for god (or God), and certainly not religion, but trying to figure out what it is that we really do believe about life, the universe and everything (to quote Douglas Adams). How about you? I'm interested learning more about your own crisis of faith, if you've ever had one.
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Saturday, March 5, 2005 by Michelle
Are you interested in a great source of alternative news source? Read up at rabble.ca. For the bolder types, there's even a section called "Babble" where you can be part of a discussion forum. Check it out!
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Tuesday, February 8, 2005 by Michelle
First Vancouver's Science World prostitutes itself and sells its soul for 5% of its operating budget, and is renamed the Telusphere (what a STUPID name!). Next, Toronto's Skydome has been 'sold out' and will be renamed the Roger's Centre. My husband suggested that Leaning Tower of Pepsi will be next, or how about the Coke Elysees. It's ridiculous that landmarks can be sold out to corporate interests and lose their mind-share / brand recognition all for the sake of corporate vanity.
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