A Canadian anthropological approach to the study of empire and the human condition
A collection of random personal thoughts, visions, poetry, etc., the kind of stuff that is usually categorized in common North American parlance as being “out there.”
If you thought the dispute between Open Anthropology and the Open Anthropology Cooperative was just about a name, then there are consequences to that too. In my view, the only role that the name played was as a symbolic expression of a political affiliation that could never be realized, and the rejection of the OAC […]
Read More…▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼ Horror and moral terror are your friends. The genius, the will, and the strength. The total revulsion, the total repulsion, the ability to sacrifice one’s own flesh and blood. These are not monsters. They fight with their hearts. They are filled with love. Moral. Primordial. Without judgment. Because it’s judgment that defeats us. No […]
Read More…The period of bifurcation, chaos, and wild fluctuations out of which will emerge a new order (but one impossible to predict in advance) is in fact the description of the third time of historical social systems, that of structural crisis. It is the view of many world-systems analysts that the modern world-system has entered this […]
Read More…Vehicles captured my attention on several occasions while I was in Vancouver, with its “sky train,” compact taxis, cruise ships, yachts, and buses — most were vehicles for commerce, tourism, and leisure. During my first night I was drawn to loud music blaring several stories below from what must have been the longest stretch limousine […]
Read More…This is my animation of a musical spoken word poem by my late friend and collaborator, Dr. Roi Kwabena. The piece is titled “Deep Obeah” and is perhaps the most musical and most sung of the pieces that he produced and that made its way onto his Y42K album. Also, so far this is the […]
Read More…The feature here is the late Dr. Roi Kwabena’s musical spoken poem, Sour Chutney, from his hypnotic Y42K album, an unrecognized treasure in my view, where every one of his musical spoken word pieces is hauntingly beautiful. This is a remake of an earlier version I posted here some months ago, having produced the first […]
Read More…Unlike my previous post on Google Insight statistics for anthropology searches, this time I am not making the mistake of closing the pages without preserving a link so that others can investigate the searches. Having conducted a number of queries using Google Insights, I realize that I risk becoming addicted to this service, with the […]
Read More…In connection with my post for yesterday, “Misunderstanding and Misrepresenting the Charges Against Ward Churchill,” I was delighted to get extra ammunition and free advertising from what appears to be a smear blog whose primary obsession is Ward Churchill, and whose intended aim seems to be the ceaseless production of libel and slander while sleeplessly […]
Read More…In using the surname of a person who may still be living, Pocius, I am doing two conflicting things: trying to maintain his confidentiality, and yet granting him credit for his ideas (lest anyone credit me). Pocius is an elderly, but robust and tall Latvian man, quite an imposing hulk of a man. He has […]
Read More…ROI KWABENA Today is the first anniversary of the death of Dr. Roi Kwabena, someone whose presence in my own work and evolution was fundamental, a mentor and guide, a great example of a publicly engaged anthropologist — completely public, in the sense of not being tied to any academic position, and inspiring some to […]
Read More…Decorating the Athens Christmas Tree, with heaps of rubbish, on Saturday 20 Dec. 2008 and …also, a report from the BBC showing how the tree looked once protesters assaulted it with bags of refuse… http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iHyxFTrpLQQ …and for more American tastes, this “special season” sees the revival of a band that makes it feel like 25 […]
Read More…(My top score is 14, and I doubt anyone can beat that) more about “Sock and Awe!“, posted with vodpod
Read More…A written commentary will follow in the next post, but for now, two videos that I made pertaining to Saturday’s rally in Montreal (see the announcement on this blog), organized by Block the Empire, in solidarity with imprisoned Iraqi journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi (yes, the famous shoe thrower). On Saturday, we were all shoe throwers. First, […]
Read More…Re-posted from Facebook: “This is a farewell kiss, you dog!” MONTREAL SHOE ACTION In solidarity with Muntadar al-Zeidi Bush out of Baghdad … Canada out of Kandahar! SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 at 1pm outside the US Consulate in Montreal (1155 St-Alexandre, métro McGill) -> Bring extra shoes and footwear to throw! Bring noisemakers! -> We strongly […]
Read More…[A break from a busy week of posts, the busiest ever in fact, 19 posts in six days, including this one, and the highest daily traffic ever received on this blog (800+ visitors per day for most of the week).] This blog receives visits from people using some very interesting search terms and phrases, and […]
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