Category: Smile

Smile

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Long ago, I read Ayn Rand. But then I grew up and realized that unfettered self-interest is not good and altruism is not destructive. Unlike Rand, I believe that communities are richer when people interact, cooperate and assist those in need. However, I understand Rand’s appeal to young people who are emerging from their family and trying to establish a sense of adult independence. Almost a decade ago, Daniel M. Lavery wrote a piece for The New Yorker that imagined how Ayn Rand would have reviewed certain famous movies…

Street art

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As 2024 dawns, warmongers, arms dealers, and defenders of genocide show us the depths of human malice. But looking elsewhere, we find street art displaying the heights of human tenderness and creativity.

Remembering

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This item was first published in 2010. It reappears with minor editing. I think it might stimulate memories of fellow seniors and alter the minds of people who think the good old days were actually good old days…

Naval deployment

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As a change from the usual subjects at In-Sights, here are photographs taken by Lorne Simpson of Victoria, a friend of 50 years or so. Lorne is a keen observer and a multitalented artist. To record scenes, he might use a paint brush or his phone, but he might also use a 4″ X 5″ large format camera. I think these photos might interest readers of In-Sights.

A special day

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Some folks think social media is a toxic cesspool and avoid it. Other search for valuable content and find it. Many have found Zachery Dereniowski, creator of this video, which had had about 10 million views when embedded here.

Learning politics

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A British television series broadcast in the 1980s may explain public administration better than any political science journal or textbook. This video clip from Yes Prime Minister could be about British Columbia’s approach to climate change, or it could be about the BC NDP’s response to COVID-19, or flooding, or about any emergency that confronts the province.

Vancouver Town

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Rolf Harris was a popular entertainer in Vancouver during the 1960s and early 1970s. I enjoyed him numerous times performing at The Vancouver Cave Supper Club on Hornby Street. Later in the UK, he was disgraced.

Porky pies

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Porky Pies: Cockney slang for Lies. New York Times is willing to broadcast this about the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I doubt they’ve done likewise for American Presidents, particularly the recent one who had even less regard for truth than Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.