Epistimology
First, there is not knowing,affectionately christened, bliss. Then, there is the question:is this all one can know? This leads to question after question,which is as far as knowing goes.
Mark Holmgren
Mark Holmgren is the Executive Director of the Edmonton Community Development Company.
Imagine if there were no generational differences
Imagine if there were no differences among generations. Does one of us really want the next generation to be exactly like this one? Or the one before? Generations begin as… Read more Imagine if there were no generational differences →
True Confession
In my 20’s I hung out with fashion photographers, neon sculptors, writers and artists. We were an eclectic tribe of misfits. We had parties in large lofts in a down… Read more True Confession →
I am an immigrant
I am an immigrant. I did become a Canadian citizen about 5 years after I got here. But before that I worked at a number of jobs but never once heard anyone give me crap because I took a “Canadian’s job.” I did have one rather snotty Canadian inform me (at Heritage Days no less) that now that I had left the United States I would have to abandon my melting pot mythology and accept the inherent wisdom of the Canadian mosaic. It was all rather amusing, but that was… Read more I am an immigrant →
Perseverance
My grandmother cooked on an old wood burning stove. I was always excited to visit her. She would be waiting on the front porch, her long gray hair tied up in a bun, her house dress stained from cooking and working in the garden. I raced from the car as she walked down the stairs, opening her big arms she would wrap around me and then lift me up into the air. She squeezed so tightly I could barely breathe. She smelled of bread and earth and of love. I’d… Read more Perseverance →
This is my Duck Gizzard Story. What’s yours?
One Saturday afternoon, I ventured into the Asian Supermarket. I don’t know what I expected, but when i walked through the automatic doors I thought to myself, it’s like Safeway. … Read more This is my Duck Gizzard Story. What’s yours? →
Make Some Music!
You might know that I am a singer-songwriter/musician, though not nearly as active as I once was when young and spry. Did you know my band, Mark Holmgren and Early… Read more Make Some Music! →
The New Normal Report
Everyone is talking about the “new normal” of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. We know we are facing overwhelming situations and conditions. Millions of Canadians are out of work. People are living isolated from one another (well, at least for the most part). Schools are shut down. All of them! Thousands upon thousands of small businesses are close to the edge of ruin. Stock markets tanked. The Saudis and Russians thought now would be a good time to tank oil prices. The above is more than a brief and inadequate… Read more The New Normal Report →
A Techno-Nerd Rant
I am a bit of a techno-nerd despite my graying beard and there is much about technology that has changed so many lives for the better, but this post is not about those technologies. I am getting leery of being a digital archetype whose privacy is non-existent. My identity, choices, experiences, rants, goofy pictures, cynicism, humour, not to mention my infinite wisdom are “out there”. I am millions of data bits analyzed and aggregated with one purpose in mind: control me. It feels like paranoia, but it can’t be. I take… Read more A Techno-Nerd Rant →
Access to Affordable Housing is a (Complex) Human Right
The recent reports of community resistance to a Capital Region Housing proposed development in Keheewin are yet one more example of the NIMBY-YIMBY quagmire we cannot seem to prevent. I… Read more Access to Affordable Housing is a (Complex) Human Right →
Affordable Housing is an Economic Problem
The challenges we face with respect to building more affordable housing are complex to state the obvious, and resolving them calls for an integrated set of strategies that go far… Read more Affordable Housing is an Economic Problem →
