veganarky

I attended a local, annual gig which raises funds for suicide prevention recently. I had not been to the show for a few years due to living elsewhere, being too ‘busy’, and my time being taken up with other projects. Where I live has a long history of progressive politics rooted in a worker struggles, a longstanding immigrant community and campaigns for justice. The music scene here reflects, embraces, and in many has ways provided leadership for decades. This was again clear in the festival, the bands, the discussions and the audience. Woman continue to play a key role in organising and runni…

Episode 20 of Escape Velocity Radio, hosted by Derek Hogue and Chris Hannah (of Propagandhi) — a monthly podcast which journeys into the depths of science, philosophy, history, ethics, the origins of consciousness, professional hockey and the very nature of reality itself—included what they called a ‘leftist defence of genetically‐edified foods’ by Leigh Phillips. Whereas the content of the episode was not the first with which I had a different view to the hosts and their interviewees, there was a stark distinction between my views and theirs. What also stood out for me was…

I was at a bar recently which had an arcade machine with a punching bag. It would display a score related to how hard it was hit. Over the course of a couple hours I watched different groups of people using it, three in particular. What I found of interest was how they performed masculinity with regard to their perceptions of themselves and their perceptions of others perceptions of themselves. In essence, they were acting in accordance with patriarchal biopolitics. What came to be of most interest was the second group, or more specifically an individual who parlayed with the machine on his ow…

I sporadically reflect on everyday interactions, some times (and some interactions) more than others. Recently I witnessed—perhaps voyeured is a more apt term here—contrasting actions that highlight some of the serious issues we as a society still face. I was provided a very striking example of how prominent, normative, performative and ubiquitous patriarchy is, in perhaps one of its most extreme forms. How this came about is not suprising—I was at a bar. What may be surprising is that I have some optimism situated alongside my pessimism (rooted in a nuanced awareness of injustice — related to…