-
New camera: Canon G7X
Before going to Japan in March, I sold my Canon 60D and all my lenses. My intention was to buy a Sony RX100iii or a Canon G7X. I agonized over the differences. I like the Sony’s eye piece and fully flexible…
-
Quarterly review: FY16Q1
Each quarter I do a quick roundup of the book and film reviews that I do on Goodreads and Letterboxd. These reviews are too short and too off-the-cuff to be included with the more in depth reviews I do on this…
-
Shinran and the Buddhist Evangelical movement of Japan
A fifth of Japanese โ about 25 million people โ identify as practitioners of Jลdo Shinshลซ, the largest denomination of Buddhism in Japan. My family in Japan are all Jลdo Shinshลซ, also known as “Shin” Buddhism. I am currently here in…
-
Recommended reading: Religion and neoliberalism
James Chappel reviews four books in the Boston Review that dig into the link between neoliberalism and religious institutions. I found this piece enlightening just from its perspective on the rise of neoliberalism in general. The idea that neoliberalism is merely…
-
The superficiality of living small
Downsizing (or minimalism) is often portrayed as anti-consumerist and eco-friendly. Living small means you buy less stuff, produce less trash, and have a smaller environmental footprint in terms of heating/cooling your home. Plus, if you position your home close to amenities,…
-
Will Kelowna make it?
After years describing China to Americans, James Fallows has returned and is now explaining America to Americans. In his most recent feature in The Atlantic “How America Is Putting Itself Back Together” Fallows visits medium-sized cities and finds positive signs that…
-
Sectioned โ On tech coverage in local media
Our mayor ran on a platform including tech. Our premier seems to have shifted her economic policy to tech. Our downtown is physically changing thanks to tech. Dozens of new tech companies start here each year. Dozens die, too. We are…
-
Learning about the Syrian crisis
The five year long Syrian Civil War is one of the largest conflicts in our world at this time. 250,000 dead (possibly more than 470,000 by some estimates), 6 million refugees, 11 million IDPs โ the Syrian Civil war is a…
-
New support for refugees in Kelowna โ CBC Daybreak South interview
The Okanagan Refugee Coalition for Advocacy (ORCA) is a grassroots organization that aims to support the activities of all the neighbourhood groups in the Okanagan sponsoring individual refugee families. On average, it takes about 12 people to provide all the social…
-
Are we a “hapa” family?
Family portrait by MAUD. In One Big Hapa Family Jeff Chiba Stearns investigates why there is such a high rate of interracial marriage (95%+) amongst Canadians of Japanese ethnic heritage (otherwise known as Nikkei). Through interviews with his family and other…
Got any book recommendations?