Random Riffs
A Music Wild and Dangerous
December
17
2011
On the first Sunday of every month, the musicians of Getting in the Groove make music in the wonderful, reflective space of St. Jude’s Anglican Church in Oakville. I was looking for a seasonal reading suitable for the December jazz vespers and came across Anne Porter’s poem, “Noel.” It seemed perfect.
Believing is Seeing … the Tyranny of Common Sense
November
23
2011
It ain't so much what we know that gets us into trouble. It's what we know that just ain't so.
Mark Twain or Josh Billings or …
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
Albert Einstein
Someone once told me that he couldn’t possibly have been influenced by …
Thinking Takes Practice; Talking Isn’t Enough.
September
30
2011
A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
Winston Churchill
These days not changing ones mind and not changing the subject is called “staying on message.” And “staying on message,” as I learned when I randomly sampled the 57,200,000 hits Google turned up for me, is considered to be a very …
Beyond the Rant: Deliverables, Part Two
September
9
2011
I suggested in the July Random Riff that we might avoid the slippery slope of “deliverables” by making a distinction between “outputs” and “outcomes.” Specifically, I had in mind what claims those of us engaged in the business of transforming social systems can make without saying more than we know. (These musings, of course, will be of little or no interest …
A Wee Hot Weather Rant
July
21
2011
I attribute my grumpiness to the weather. It’s 36 degrees Celsius with a humidex of 46. For readers in Liberia, Myanmar (nee Burma) and the USA, that’s 97 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
James Lipton, host of “Inside the Actors Studio,” ends each interview by asking his guests a number of questions, one of which is “What’s your least favourite word?” …
