Category Archives: Opinion piece
A Bit of Whimsy for the Week
Here are some things I captured this week
First, Butterflies and bees have serious substance abuse issues, just like humans. These butterfly bushes (not planted by me) are sugary sweet and boy do they love it! [Research: substance abuse in non-human animals]
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My Favourite Podcasts
This is a bit of a deviation from One Health and my usual posts, but I just wanted to confess something. I’m a podcast junkie.
I love learning about new stuff and topical formats have always been my favourite. Also, lately, I can’t take another second of news and current events. It’s nauseating and my brain needs a detox. I actually feel that political current events might be rotting my brain.
So, whenever I need a break, these are my go-to podcasts!
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“Artivism”
UPDATED: I was floundering in one of my unfocussed days, typing a million disparate thoughts, unable to make them meld properly. This is, perhaps, partly to do with the inherent abstract nature of art and the subjectivity surrounding it. I want to say something, but I am unable to find the right words in the right order. I’ve not rewritten, but I’ve tweeked a few lines to make them more cohesive.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we use art in activism lately. We create signs for protests, write songs and stories, make documentaries…. City streets are littered with graffiti – everything from murals depicting a civil rights event to simple written messages.
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A Haggis Hiatus
Hi, everyone! How have you been?
I just returned from my vacation in the UK (all around Scotland and then a stint to London) and decided to disconnect while I was gone, hence my silence over the past two weeks..
Can’t say I’m super thrilled to be back – the second we touched down in D.C., reality pelted us hard, right upside the head like a noxious smell you weren’t expecting. One sad or embarrassing story after another about the happenings in the grand U.S. of A. came flooding into our phones and I realized coming back was a terrible idea.
Sigh.
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What It Means to be American: Part One
It feels like the world is burning around me, literally and figuratively. Wildfires, wars, and hate-fueled politicians riling up their base to spread more hate…and an occasional Waymo car – that was us. Well, not me, specifically, but that was ‘team left of the middle’, burning with their own rage against the Federal police-state in Los Angeles. They call it a victimless crime to burn a driverless car, but there is no such thing. I can, at the very least, understand their anger, if not their actions.
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Brick and Mortar Brought us Back
The other night I was invited to watch a friend present some poetry at a local bookshop. Every second Friday of every month the bookshop hosts a Poetry and Prose night where anyone can come and present their work. As I sat there listening to the thoughts, emotions, and personal stories of the lives of strangers, I started to hear a theme weave through the words of these writers. A theme of advocacy for human rights, environmental justice, and political cries against our current Federal administration, writ large.
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A Look Back on 2020: What I Learned
I could probably write a book on this subject. I generally don’t think we talk enough about the positive things that come from tragedy and disaster. It’s probably why our culture is so fearful and morbid about death or why we are always suffering from “never enough” syndrome. I’m not a psychologist, just an internet expert, so don’t take my word for it – I’m just over here, speculating. That said here is my (not quite complete, but who has time to read these days) list of positive lessons I learned from the pandemic.
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A Look Back on 2020: Enter the Lockdown
I have been thinking a lot lately about our life during the pandemic, partly as it has come up in conversation a lot with friends. This is a blog and not a series of peer-reviewed scientific papers. I would need months to dive deep into the literature we have compiled on the “lessons learned” from the COVID-19 pandemic response, so this will not be that. Rather, I’d like to share some lessons-learned and thoughts on the pandemic that I have heard amongst my group of friends and within my family unit.
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The Disposable Society and My Current Rage
I am taking a pause this week from my Regenerating Life and Love posts to rage. There are so many things happening in my country right now. Depending on your ideologies, they might be horrifying or exciting. I’ve tried multiple times to bring myself into a space of understanding and contemplation, but I am struggling. What I am witnessing is, for me, horrifying.
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