As an English-speaking white person, I’m often mistaken for a Canadian. This happens to me on the phone as well as in person, and it’s been particularly acute in the last couple weeks (doctors’ appointments plus random calls here and there). As with any other country, there is all sorts of tacit knowledge you have …
Author Archives: Jonathan Sterne
Question I’m Thinking About For Today
Can a religious state in fact be democratic? If so, how would that work? What about immigration?
Hot Weather Thoughts
–I always notice that the internet connection is slower when there’s bad weather. Lots of rain, lots of heat, whatever. What’s up with that, sympatico? –It is always hotter by at least one magnitude when you’re walking around on a sunbathed sidewalk downtown in the middle of the day. Bad idea #157 –There is something …
A New Series: On Books, “The Book,” Writing, Etc.
So I’ve decided to start using my “category” function and start doing “series” on various things. The topic that’s been on my mind a lot lately is publishing — the state of the book, the way publishing works, debates about open access and the public status of scholarship, etc. I’ve also been collecting some odds …
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One More for Old Time’s Sake
I just got news of Syd Barrett’s death from cancer at age 60. Barrett, in case you don’t know, fronted Pink Floyd in their early days. Sometimes I feel like this blog needs an obits category. I’m at that age now where contemporary musicians and writers who influenced me in one way or another are …
Just like Bono Said It Would Be + My First Bilingual Wedding
There we were on Sunday watching the world cup and the tension during the overtime was palpable. Not just because the score was tied, but because we had a wedding to attend. At the end of the first overtime, I set the digital video recorder to capture the rest of the game, even if it …
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Two Wins, One Season
Last night, the False Consciousness needed neither bagpipes nor a team more focused on hot dogs than outfielders to win. The other team tried, and we won anyway, 25-19. It was an offensive game to be sure, with more than a couple 7-run innings (there is a mercy rule in our league for such situations). …