Author Archives: Robert Basil

A Street Photography community

The day I started these new feeds, I came upon a video in Fstoppers by Peter Forsgård, a photographer from Helsinki, Finland, discussing what street photographers could learn from the musician Brian Eno. I watched it twice, the second time taking … Continue reading

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Our news feeds

We’ve added some arts-focused news feeds here, and taken down the ones for “Artificial Intelligence” and “Social Media Policy,” topics that are painfully ubiquitous practically everywhere else. Our “Graphic Novels” news feed is filled with tributes to Marjane Satrapi, creator … Continue reading

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The chorus

A favourite part of my morning is reading international news sites. I’m struck that it hardly matters what’s going when it comes to the prevailing tones they convey: China: We are all squared away. Russia: You just wouldn’t listen. USA: … Continue reading

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Head down

I understand how those of us living in Canada might not be mollified by CBC’s assurance that 99.9% of Canadians won’t be affected by the USA’s proposal to require “five years worth of social media information” from “visa exempt” countries … Continue reading

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“The end started slowly then happened all at once.”

‘Sad day’ as Langara pauses journalism program indefinitely. It really is. Langara has always had very fine, experienced instructors teaching in its Journalism Credential and Diploma programs. From the Vancouver Sun: “Journalism schools across the country have seen dropping enrolment … Continue reading

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Heavy morning rotation

It’s not true din without a diverse display, which we don’t really provide in my corner of the world. — — — — — My longtime staples: The New York Times (despite everything), The NewYorker, Atlantic (itself a din), and … Continue reading

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Apropos

Clarissa is not alone. On X writer Tyler A. Harper darkly assesses university administrators’ embrace of AI. “A lot of the push for AI (therapists! health care professionals! tutors!) is predicated on a tacit acceptance that the broken institutions cannot … Continue reading

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New leadership styles in academia

My friendly colleague Clarissa has vividly expressed an opinion on these: College administrators go to all sorts of business seminars and workshops on ridiculous things like leadership and all that kind of garbage. Then they come back and put everything … Continue reading

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“Whatever you think you can write.”

So says the wonderful Bryan Garner in today’s LawProse Lesson. Anything that can be thought can be written. That dictum is both challenge and liberation for the legal writer. If a concept can take shape in your mind—even faintly, even clumsily—it can be … Continue reading

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Communications Strategy

I’ve been given a communications strategy “capstone” class for the upcoming term. My students and I will be scanning for examples from around the world starting day one. Expect more frequent posting from me going ahead!

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