I’ve been writing for nearly a year now – inspired and motivated by the work of people like Dr. Dwayne Donald, my urban planner and documentary filmmaker cousin Kamala Todd, and researchers like Dr. Tough – about how Edmonton frames itself as a largely non-Aboriginal space. Through the language of buildings and the poetry of… Read More
{on that note}
This is the perfect video for today. http://vimeo.com/7799870
Mysterious city, cruel spring
I have often wondered at the happenstance way that our lives are thrown into the path of another’s at the most unexpected moments. Walking, cycling, and rambling through the city for most of my life has given me an especially keen sense of fate and mystery. I am amazed by those split second shifts that… Read More
Cairngorms
the measure of a man
I squint into the light exactly the same way my dad does I stick out my tongue when I’m concentrating just like him I yell at cars who nearly run into me as I walk down city streets I seek out the solace of the water and the trees I listen to his stories and… Read More
at home at home
I can see, now, how Scottish workers and farmers and migrants were able to make a life in Canada. On several occasions I’ve found myself lost in landscapes here, amazed by how much they remind me of home. In some cases it is a physical similarity, a striking resemblance between spaces that could fool even… Read More
Oil City Malaise
Someone on twitter posted a video that explores how Aberdeen – viewed as one of the most prosperous cities in the UK – struggles with hodgepodge/slapdash approaches to urban design, economic inequality, and pressure from wealthy investors to accept their money (with strings attached) to ‘revitalize’ the city. Sound familiar? I’ve been struck time and… Read More
I’ve been a-travelin’
Montreal. Oxford. Orkney. 3 places in three weeks. Luckily my Mom brought along her traveling gnome from Canadian Tire. The bartender at the hotel in Kirkwall kept asking ‘is that a hot gnome?’; she was delighted to discover she could order her own through the Canadian Tire website. (Not sure if they deliver to the… Read More