Whew! We made it through a dreary week of April showers, and are now truly treated with May flowers.
I’ve had Springsteen’s “Glory Days” going through my head (and, on the not so rare occasion, my vocal chords). Perhaps it’s from seeing videos of Michelle Obama’s appearance singing the song with Springsteen in Barcelona.
But I’ve also been yearning for the simple pleasures of my childhood—getting lost for hours in a world (whether outside, or in a book, movie, game, or so on), having a broad sense of possibility (rolling hills always seem to come to mind), always learning so much (encountering things for the first time, more on average than later in life, will do that!)—and perhaps “Glory Days” is also about that, even if the lyrics aren’t really.
I chalk it up to our emergence from dreary weather to spring- and summer-like days, with all the feelings that evokes.
- Thursday night, I attended the opening panel of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, with David Moscrop hosting Paul Wells and Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah for “When the Convoy Came to Town”. For Wells, a chance to draw on his research for An Emergency in Ottawa; for Owusu-Akyeeah, her experience as a commissioner for the Ottawa People’s Commission on the Convoy Occupation. It was a very Ottawa event—most people there with Wells’s book had either a Perfect Books bookmark or tote bag along with it—with the three panellists each offering a helpful view on the Convoy experience. I’d encourage you to read the People’s Commission reports—there’s much to reflect and learn from in their work, particularly their 25 “recommendations to rebuild the community’s trust”. (I recommend Paul Wells’s book, too, though I link him often enough hereabouts!)
- For a helpful, critical perspective to contrast with Geoffrey Hinton’s post-Google media room tour, listen to this interview with Emily Bender and Timnit Gebru. Consider also Ted Chiang on whether “AI” might become the next accountability-laundering tool, supplanting the role consultants play today, in which he also reflects on its broader economic implications. (In government, at least, the consultants will still have a rich role to play in facilitating access to various “AI” tools, earning immense cash to swivel in their chairs between a government-supplied device without access to modern tools and their consultancy-supplied off-network device that can actually do this work.)
- I enjoyed this reading note from Erin Kissane on connections between adrienne maree brown and Christopher Alexander.
- Finally, this map is a great interface to viewing federal government property across the country (be sure to adjust layers to include “OGD Buildings”, though maybe wait until you’ve zoomed into an area of interest, since it can be quite a slow load otherwise). A much more accessible interface to one of my favourite government datasets, the Directory of Federal Real Property. What I appreciate about this is how it renders tangible the federal government’s presence across the country—including the places where it’s not very present, physically. (Though allowing remote work by default could do much to distribute the workforce, just saying!)
All the best for the week ahead!
Lucas