My kids aren't really interested in the movies I like. They actively avoid the music I listen to. I've gotten them copies of the books I love and they give up after a few pages. They get bored with the games I played as a kid.
My dad loves Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the Whole Earth Catalog, and Bruce Springsteen. I do not. If he wills me his copies, I will keep some out of guilt and then my kids will have to throw them away.
I'm trying to curate a few hundred photos for my kids. I've written a couple of bios of relatives. I'd like to record something like a story for them. If they want to trash it, that's fine, but at least there will be something meaningful for them if they want it.
Nobody wanted my grandparents collected crap. Or their photos. Or their books. I tried giving them away. I tried consignment. I tried posting them on Facebook. Most ended up in a landfill.
Keep in mind that your descendents probably won't care about a huge majority of what you leave them. Photos annotated with a date, time, people in them, and an explanation, maybe, but generally my generation hasn't given a shit about the tonnes of books, music, photos, furniture, knick knacks, and antiquities bequeathed to us. It would be bizarre if our kids didn't maintain that tradition.
Shore says she's devastated that she can no longer rely on her country to defend democracy. As a scholar who has studied the arc of fascism in Eastern Europe, she saw the red flags waving well ahead of many others.
Doesn't the US have a pretty well documented record of undermining/destabilizing/overthrowing governments to further its own interests?
I think it's fair to say that the current US president no longer regards Canada as an ally, but I'm not sure they could ever be relied on to defend democracy.
In 2014, Ursula Le Guin accepted the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, saying: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”
Harfoush reflects on this quote often. It underscores the fact that “this world we’ve created is ultimately a choice”, she says. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
I don't have a problem with paying a premium for necessary painkillers, but
Only a fraction of the medicine, most of which arrived after the shortage had eased, was ever distributed to hospitals and pharmacies. In May of 2023, health officials ordered staff to stop using the imported acetaminophen in neonatal intensive care units after deeming it a risk to patients when administered through feeding tubes. Within two months, there was a hospital-wide transition back to using standard children’s medications.
Paying a premium for painkillers that could not be administered, and did not arrive on time is nonsensical.
And that's before we get to the allegations of corruption.