Thursday, April 17, 2025

Carney

 


Who is Mark Carney? (Part one)


#MarkCarney #cdnpoli #canadianelection2025 


YouTube:

https://youtu.be/K5zIoHki1Kc

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

New forms of literature?

 


I recently came across a social media post in which a Canadian author (whose publishing house has a logo emblazoned with the Maple Leaf) was waxing enthusiastically about an American hospital drama on Netflix. Several of her followers — also Canadian, and also patriotically utilizing the Maple Leaf in their IDs — were similarly giddy about the Netflix series. Normally, nothing worth paying attention to about this; it’s common practice in anglophone Canada.


But … but … the threat to Canada’s sovereignty has not magically disappeared, even though the aggression of the threats has moderated somewhat. So what does the future hold? Where Canada’s sovereignty is concerned, nothing pleasant if Canadians don’t change — and in a very radical way — their habits of cultural consumption. English speaking Canada is a highly colonized zone. This leads to the bizarre spectacle of Canadians (like the author mentioned above) spending a lot of time online denouncing American neo-imperialism while simultaneously binge watching US pop culture. And there’s no point in going online oneself and pointing out to these people what they’re doing; emotionally, they’re like teenagers who want “freedom” while demanding an allowance.


So, since people don’t like being told they SHOULD watch or read or listen to certain cultural works (for example, Canadian), this means that the producers of Canadian culture need to think in new ways.


A few years ago, I established a micro press called BridgeText. One of its ideas is that we need more novels that are experienced as movie scripts are.


More here: Toward a New Literature

https://youtu.be/TTux0NcjCHc


And here: https://youtu.be/NALcaQ3QCYs?si=76rj7dAePOZRsZZT


*


Je suis récemment tombé sur une publication sur les réseaux sociaux dans laquelle une auteure canadienne (dont la maison d'édition arbore un logo arborant la feuille d'érable) s'extasiait sur une série américaine sur Netflix, mettant en scène un hôpital. Plusieurs de ses abonnés, eux aussi canadiens et utilisant la feuille d'érable par patriotisme, étaient tout aussi enthousiastes à propos de la série Netflix. Normalement, rien d'intéressant à ce sujet ; c'est une pratique courante au Canada anglophone.


Mais… mais… la menace à la souveraineté du Canada n'a pas disparu comme par magie, même si son agressivité s'est quelque peu atténuée. Alors, que nous réserve l'avenir ? En ce qui concerne la souveraineté du Canada, rien de réjouissant si les Canadiens ne changent pas – et de manière très radicale – leurs habitudes de consommation culturelle. Le Canada anglophone est une zone fortement colonisée. Cela donne lieu à l'étrange spectacle de Canadiens (comme l'auteure mentionnée plus haut) passant beaucoup de temps en ligne à dénoncer le néo-impérialisme américain tout en regardant des séries de culture populaire américaine. Et il est inutile d'aller soi-même en ligne et de montrer à ces gens ce qu'ils font ; Émotionnellement, ils sont comme des adolescents qui aspirent à la « liberté » tout en exigeant une allocation.


Ainsi, comme les gens n'aiment pas qu'on leur dise qu'ils DEVRAIENT regarder, lire ou écouter certaines œuvres culturelles (par exemple, canadiennes), cela signifie que les producteurs de culture canadienne doivent réfléchir différemment.


Il y a quelques années, j'ai fondé une micro-édition appelée BridgeText. L'une de ses idées est que nous avons besoin de plus de romans qui se vivent comme des scénarios de films.


Plus ici : Nouveau futur littéraire?

https://youtu.be/9muSm6LScHE

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Does Canadian culture have a future?

 



 All these people — each and every one — are self perceived Canadian nationalists. And all of them are giddy over an American Netflix series. Normally, nothing worth paying attention to about this; it’s common practice in anglophone Canada.


But … but … the threat to Canada’s sovereignty has not magically disappeared, even though the aggression of the threats has moderated somewhat. So what does the future hold? Where Canada’s sovereignty is concerned, nothing pleasant if Canadians don’t change — and in a very radical way — their habits of cultural consumption.


However, people don’t like being told they SHOULD watch or read or listen to certain cultural works. It rankles, and seems scolding. That means that the producers of Canadian culture need to think in new ways.


A few years ago, I established a micro press called BridgeText. One of its ideas is that we need more novels that are experienced as movie scripts are.


More here: https://youtu.be/NALcaQ3QCYs?si=76rj7dAePOZRsZZT


And here: https://youtu.be/g40XxM8phDI?si=U690nbROcWeqZHth


Tous ces gens – chacun sans exception – se perçoivent comme des nationalistes canadiens. Et tous sont enthousiasmés par une série américaine sur Netflix. Normalement, rien d'intéressant à ce sujet ; c'est une pratique courante au Canada anglophone.


Mais… mais… la menace à la souveraineté du Canada n'a pas disparu comme par magie, même si son agressivité s'est quelque peu atténuée. Alors, que nous réserve l'avenir ? En ce qui concerne la souveraineté du Canada, rien de réjouissant si les Canadiens ne changent pas – et de manière très radicale – leurs habitudes de consommation culturelle.


Cependant, les gens n'aiment pas qu'on leur dise qu'ils DEVRAIENT regarder, lire ou écouter certaines œuvres culturelles. C'est critiquable et semble réprimandant. Cela signifie que les producteurs de culture canadienne doivent repenser leurs façons de penser.


Il y a quelques années, j'ai fondé une micro-édition appelée BridgeText. L'une de ses idées est que nous avons besoin de plus de romans qui se vivent comme des scénarios de films.


Plus ici : Nouveau futur littéraire?

https://youtu.be/9muSm6LScHEI’m 

Friday, April 11, 2025

Spring flowers and micro geographies

 


How the patterns of blooming flowers are affected by micro geographies #ecology #springflowers #진달래

https://youtube.com/shorts/94_akRRuGOM?feature=share

Saturday, April 5, 2025

Who is Mark Carney?

 


Who is Mark Carney? (Part one)

https://youtu.be/K5zIoHki1Kc

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Job cuts two

 


What will be the effect of massive job cuts in the US federal govt? What will be the repercussions of making large numbers of employees jobless? 


Full video at YouTube: What will be the effect of massive job cuts in the US  govt? Good employees jobless. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/AXHiObm9gZs?feature=share

Friday, March 28, 2025

Job cuts

  

Massive job cuts with govt employees thrown out of work. Economic disaster to follow? #doge #trump
https://youtube.com/shorts/1iBakoN84hQ?feature=share

Monday, March 24, 2025

Mark Carney et al

 


Mark Carney, Mike Myers and what it means to be Canadian #markcarney #cdnpoli #canadianelection

https://youtube.com/shorts/t_yAFPqh99s?feature=share

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Fine dust

 


Air pollution in Korea: How bad is it? #airquality #microscopicfinedust #미세먼지

https://youtube.com/shorts/Tg9UOWcOze8?feature=share

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Big temperature fluctuations in Korea

 


Big temperature fluctuations in S. Korea. How about where you live? 


#springweather #temperaturedrop

https://youtube.com/shorts/


Full video at YouTube: MrRgdUc3Wrc?feature=share

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Spring flowers and climate change

 

 Spring flowers are blooming earlier these days. Why?


Full video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/wqoTX9JunyM

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Development in Seoul

 


The Life Span of Apartments in Seoul. What development patterns tell us about wealth and income distribution.

#seoullife #gangbuk #apartmentlife #seoulhousing

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Trump Decimates America’s Military Industries

 


This is the pattern. Trump’s inability to maintain alliances and his complete obliviousness to what he’s doing raise  questions about his reason.

More: he decimated his own military/industrial complex. He’s alienating entire political spectrum.

YouTube: youtu.be/TYg2I5GKey4

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

A tale of two wintry cities

 


A Tale of Two Wintry Cities: Indicators of Climate Change in Toronto and Seoul


#Toronto #seoul #climatechange 


Full video at YouTube:

https://youtu.be/FlbbH-qM6Vo

How do you dress for winter?

 


How do you dress for winter? #outerwear #winterclothing #parka #toque #겨울옷 #vetements

https://youtube.com/shorts/GRJEW6RpWXM?feature=share

Friday, February 21, 2025

Qualities of Snow

 


What are the different qualities of snow? 


#snowfall #snowquality #winter #canada #hokkaido #korea


Full video at YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Je0saSbPkSE?feature=share

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Winter in Two Cities

 


Winter in two cities: Toronto and Seoul


 #winterweather #canadianwinter #koreanwinter #한국겨울 #캐나다


Full video at YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/SPNPyz1PPBQ?feature=share

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Outtakes from Baram Writer

 


 Outtakes from a Baram Writer project 


The word baram is a transliteration of 바람, or wind.


The project started twelve years ago, with a very crude moviepoem rendered in MovieMaker on a wheezy second hand laptop. (If curious: Baram Writer

https://youtu.be/oPHzuqDuAec )


It’s been through several versions since then, the most recent here: Baram Writer (new version)

https://youtu.be/Oc9PS6vXd40 )


I’m trying to capture “fugitive sensations” in the project; the sorts of thoughts and emotions one has while walking with loved one in nature, and experiencing a mix of happiness and anxiety, the latter a recognized of the worlds “objective” — that is, savage — nature.


The photos and settings of this extended project are changing: the one in the foreground is a spot near Lake Ontario that has personal significance after the deaths of my brother, mother in law, father, maternal aunt, and mother. What is the connection between the living and the dead? Memory, obviously. But there seems to be something more too, and the austere seasons of autumn and winter connect rather directly to that something.


*


BARAM WRITER


EXT. SEOUL. WINTER. LATE AFTERNOON.


It’s a greyish day, and Mats feels a mixture of coldness and clammy, wet mildness through his clothing.


Then the temperature starts to drop…


Wind blows through trees, rustles dead leaves, makes branches sway in a creaking, slow dervish.

VO [male]: The wind has its own tone, its own feeling. It’s like … coldness, thinness.

It’s like hunger.

The wind has a body. The wind is someone.

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Cat food redux

 


What’s the best cat food? The one they prefer? Or something else? #catfood #catshorts

https://youtube.com/shorts/xnsyFZh1g3s?feature=share

Sunday, February 9, 2025

What’s a Canadian?

  

What does it mean to be Canadian? #canadianpolitics #canadian_identity #annexationthreat #canada
https://youtube.com/shorts/QmISYN1ZFz0?feature=share

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

When is a cat family too big?

 


When is a family of semi-feral cats too big? #cats #feralcats #countrycats #시골고양이

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Semi feral cats

 


A family of cats/ 시골 고양이의 가족 #고양이가족 #ruralcats #countrycats #catfamily #semiferalcats #한국시골 #cats

https://youtube.com/shorts/3SkElDoD2fI?feature=share

Trump versus Canada

 


Which Cdn politician has the strength to fight Trump? #threatofannexation #annexation #trumptrudeau

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Our parents’ cycles

 


The cycles of our parents’ lives.


#parentalcare #lifecycles


https://youtube.com/shorts/h49P-Gj57po?si=dLg_JtSaSNx84Acx

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Quiet in the city

  


Quietness in a big city #quietness #seoul #meditation #도시생활

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Urban nature

 




Stills from Instruments of Noise, Instruments of Evolution.


YouTube link: https://youtu.be/zW8xfTisUOI?si=gdFAye_gfKf2RtaE


Nature in urban settings is a theme I keep returning to. This is one of the first projects I did on the theme. 

Friday, January 3, 2025

Seoul’s nature

 


Nature reserves in Seoul: Possible despite population  #seoul #tokyo #urbannature #서울공원 #cityparks

https://youtube.com/shorts/A91mqslYXw0?feature=share