When I was a kid, it seemed like TV shows ran from the beginning of September to almost the end of school. Now it seems like TV shows start in mid October and end in March. I liked the show 24 primarily because I knew going into it I was going to get 24 episodes. That was clear and succinct communication.
Well, I started writing my weekly postings in late October and now I’m wrapping up the year. Does that seem early? Well, you are entitled to your opinion, but I did 25 postings, if you include this one. I figure if 24 was good enough for the show 24, then I’m doing alright.
To follow the TV analogy, this posting (#25) is like one of those weak flashback episodes that were always so disappointing on TV shows, where they just re-used old content with some weak plot line to tie it all together.
In my defence, I’m not going to sully myself by faking a weak plot line to tie it all together. This is to let you know what you might have missed during the year, like a Table of Contents:
Environment
My postings are categorized under environment, social or political. Here are the environment postings, in order I posted them:
1) Carbon Opportunity Plan. November. It’s about the federal Carbon Tax. It is like hearing half a phone conversation, so it is a little experimental but hopefully also amusing while it makes a point (hopefully that’s a recurring theme here).
2) The Infallible Truth About Polar Bears. November. I am not usually a populist, though I ranted on TV once about municipal taxes. This post is northern populist. This was the week of meetings for a new Polar Bear Management Plan. It’s time to spread some new truth.
3) Alright, Who Broke Our Super Fantastic Toy? December. This one comes from one night walking the dog up over the hill under some of the best northern lights I’ve ever seen, only to find cars of people sitting at the look out with their lights on. This coincided with COP 24, the big climate change meeting. This post is about climate change, but it is also about wonder, and darkness, and seeing wonder in the darkness.
4) When A Lot Is Still Not Enough. February. This posting is about water conservation. It is perhaps my most amusing posting (at least it is to me…). How could it not be? Water conservation is so naturally funny…
5) Of Pipelines and Pipe Dreams. February. It is pro-pipeline, while still being anti-climate change. You don’t think that makes sense? Read it!
Social
Eleven other postings where on social matters, including social policy and societal tendencies we need to be mindful of.
1) When Inner Lives Burst Out. November. This post is about suicide, driven by the crisis in Puvirnituq, but connects also to the synagogue attacks in Pittsburg and the election of a populist president in Brazil. It is really is about the inner lives we all have. This was one of the most emotional posts to write.
2) 100 Years Of Remembrance. November. On the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1, I reflected on remembrance, on how war has changed, and on what I will be remembering.
3) Time To Wake Down – And Up. November. This posting really describes the raison d’être for WakeIMake.com. It is about the butterfly effect, our footprints, and the wakes we make – good and bad.
4) Dear Ed. December. This has been my most-read posting up to now. This one is about Inuit language and culture in the Nunavut school system. It is very much specific to Nunavut, and very much about government policy.
5) Thought For Food is Food for Thought. January. This posting is about the new Canada Food Guide, and includes my instructions on How To Make Cheap Unhealthy Food.
6) Let’s Listen. January. This posting connects to Bell Let’s Talk Day. This also connects to my earlier posting When Inner Lives Burst Out. It is about listening, about how we communicate, and about giving others the invitation to talk, especially if they really, really need to.
7) Rebottling Genies. February. This one is about the Chinese scientist that genetically altered two babies, and about one of humankind’s biggest flaws: we can’t rebottle genies.
8) North versus South – Part 1 and Part 2. March. It has been twenty years since I came to Nunavut, and to commemorate it, I put my 20 years of cross-cultural experience to the frivolous use of comparing northern and southern Canada in this two part top-ten where I score points for the north and the south. See who wins…
9) Seeing Future Pasts. April. This time it is Nunavut’s turn to have a 20th anniversary. I look forward to looking back in another twenty years and seeing what we are about to accomplish. First, though, we have some walls to stop running into, and start climbing over.
10) GN HR IEP SMH. April. On the occasion of Nunavut creating a new department of Human Resources, I discuss Inuit employment. It’s vital to Nunavut’s success, it has been a goal for as long as Nunavut has been conceived of, and yet we aren’t getting there. We can and here are three government policies that can go from being part of the problem to part of the solution.
Politics
1) Legal Pot – Better Than a Boot to the Head? October. This was my very first posting, written when pot just became legal in Canada. It got me worked up enough to launch this website.
2) A Big Week For Democracy Across Canada. October. The BC electoral reform referendum ballots were mailed out, London Ontario had a ranked ballot election, and an attempt to end the post-election impasse in New Brunswick. Three very interesting developments in Canadian democracy.
3) Is the Party Over? December. Three of the oldest and most established democracies in the world are also three countries in political turmoil and are three countries where the public is working around political parties, not with them.
4) How To Get There From Here: Bridging the Electoral System Debate. This is a four-part series published once a month from January to April on electoral reform. Part 1 looks at the results of the BC referendum, what the results mean, and what the different election system choices are. Part 2 looks at what is really at play with electoral reform and at my preferred system, including a mechanism of my own invention to bridge the divide and get us to successful reform. Part 3 is on why electoral reform isn’t succeeding and how it could. It looks at electoral change around the world and at the system that is our best hope as a pathway to change, even if it isn’t the system everyone wants. Last week in Part 4, I look at the results of the PEI referendum on electoral reform and on why a hybrid system just might be the best ending as well as the way to get over the hump and have successful reform.
5) Canada Getting Good at Saying Sorry. March. This piece was published as the Prime Minister came to town to apologize to Inuit for their treatment during the TB epidemic starting in the 1950s. I also talk about the Prime Minister’s surprising (and welcome) acknowledgement of the sled dog slaughters hidden in the apology. It touches on reconciliation and the inner dialogues we all have and must deal with. It is almost like a third part to When Inner Lives Burst Out and Let’s Listen, which also deal with inner struggles.
I hope you found something new and interesting somewhere in these piles of words. If something happens in the news over the next few months and I have something unique to say about it, I will put up a post about it. Otherwise, I will start posting again in the fall.
Have a good summer, and remember, no one reads these unless people share them – there are share buttons just down below…
