More on Capitalism:
It seems most everything I read lately has to do with the failures of capitalism and what might and should replace it. When I mentioned that to my friend Mark, he sent me a link to a Boing Boing article quoting Joe Stiglitz calling neoliberalism a "failed ideology". This analysis is similar to my recent readings from Lapham, Fleming, and the 60 Minutes episode, as well as the Paul Collier book I am currently reading (more on that next week). Select the "Capitalism" category to find those articles. Stiglitz has an impressive number of books in his bibliography, if his message resonates.

Speaking of Wealth:
At a casual dinner this week for a retiring co-worker, he commented that the luxury of time to explore new ideas on one's own time frame is true wealth. Sage words. 

The U.S. Has a Fleet of 300 Electric Buses. China Has 421,000:
Is there much else to be said after a stat like that? Well maybe that the rest of the world combined has a total of 4,000 electric buses, so less than 1% of China. Crazy. The stats are from a May article in Bloomberg that I just read this week. On a local scale, ETS is in the process of purchasing up to 50 electric buses, which makes transit in Edmonton a player on the world stage if you exclude China. 

Reading pile:
My consumption of books continues, with two more finished this week, and one I forgot to mention last week. 

First up on the list is "Red Queen" by Victoria Ayeyard, a fairly involved young adult-fantasy-adults are evil-only I can save the world novel. I started reading it to the younger daughter, but she lost interest, so after a number of weeks, I picked it up again and finished it off. Completely enjoyable, somewhat novel in concept, and good enough to read the next one in the series (because don't all of these type of books come in a series?).

Second is Michio Kaku's "The Future of Humanity". Kaku is clearly intelligent and is able to convey complex ideas fairly simply. I guess I was hoping for more from this book given his pedigree. This book was interesting in parts, and it did present some suggestions on how humans could move from Earth to Mars and beyond, but there was little in the way of enthralling narrative or vision. The best part of this book was Kaku's description of a T. Rex as a walking mouth. 

Third is "Drive: Volume 2" by Dave Kellett. I love Kellet's work, and especially with Drive which allows his to tell a complex and interesting story and intersperse it with his oddball humor. I picked up Volume 1 and 2 via two of his Kickstarters, and am looking forward to Volume 3. The entire Drive comic can be read online on Kellet's site. 

New words:
Surprisingly few new words this week, even though I read a ton.

pil·lion
[ˈpilyən]
NOUN

1. a seat for a passenger behind a motorcyclist.

towheaded
[ˈtōˌhedəd]
ADJECTIVE

1. having very light blond or untidy hair.

twee
[twē]
ADJECTIVE
BRITISH

1. excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental.

TL;DR - Lots of reading, not a lot of beer, or much else for that matter. 

Book - Rosewater:
During one of my walk-around-while-on-a-call sessions a few weeks ago, I stopped by the downtown Coles and saw an intriguing book called "Rosewater" by Tade Thompson. I picked up a copy from EPL a few days later, and was hooked immediately. First-person, timeline shifting, science fantasy, with interesting characters. Really good stuff. 

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had supported a number of Kickstarter initiatives. One of them was an Afro-centric role-playing supplement called Swordsfall, which stands out in stark contrast to the typical medieval Euro-centric campaigns. With that in my thoughts as I read Rosewater, which is set in Nigeria, I realized how little African references I have. The names, places, idioms, and references were foreign to me. This was a good reminder of the need to push oneself to gain different perspectives and opinions. 

Which brings me to my next point:
A solid percentage of the items that show up in this blog come from Warren Ellis and his weekly newsletter. This quote came from that newsletter:

New music - Contemporary Protest Music:
Again from the files of a certain Warren Ellis, the four tracks linked here come from one of Ellis's weekly newsletters. This is not background music to chill to. These four songs are made to motivate and inspire, and to push the listener to action. The long version of the track names leave no doubt as to the artist's political position. For example, "The greatest trick the Tories ever pulled was convincing working class British voters, who feel left behind, to blame the EU & immigrants for their troubles while also convincing them to continue voting for the very party actually responsible."

The uselessness of precedents in the face of radical change:
In my endless pile of books with the "Currently Reading" status is "A World Lit Only By Fire" by William Manchester, a book I purchased in the mid 90s and am only now reading. It covers the history and shift in focus as Europe moved from medieval times to the Renaissance.  

Early in the book, Manchester provides a quote that perfectly captures the issues with using the past as a guide for the future in the face of enormous change:

Wisdom from the Dojang:
The fine folks at Elite Taekwondo provide this valuable advice in their most recent newsletter.

New words:
Lots of reading this week, so lots of new words as a result. (I sometimes feel so illiterate. I should have known many of these, since they weren't really "new".)

ves·tig·i·al
[veˈstij(ē)əl]
ADJECTIVE

1. forming a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable.

vi·tu·per·a·tive
[vīˈt(y)o͞opəˌrādiv, vəˈt(y)o͞op(ə)rədiv]
ADJECTIVE

1. bitter and abusive.

myth·o·ma·ni·a
[ˌmiTHəˈmānēə]
NOUN

1. an abnormal or pathological tendency to exaggerate or tell lies.

Bac·cha·na·li·a
[ˌbakəˈnālyə]
NOUN

1. the Roman festival of Bacchus.
   • (bacchanalia)
     drunken revelry.

pen·u·ry
[ˈpenyərē]
NOUN

1. extreme poverty; destitution.

plan·gent
[ˈplanjənt]
ADJECTIVE
literary

1. (of a sound) loud, reverberating, and often melancholy.

lep·o·rine
[ˈlepərīn, ˈlepərin]
ADJECTIVE

1. of or resembling a hare or hares.

des·ul·to·ry
[ˈdesəlˌtôrē]
ADJECTIVE

1. lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm.

po·grom
[ˈpōɡrəm, pəˈɡräm]
NOUN

1. an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jews in Russia or eastern Europe.

ca·tab·o·lism
[kəˈtabəˌlizəm]
NOUN
biology

1. the breakdown of complex molecules in living organisms to form simpler ones, together with the release of energy; destructive metabolism.

fet·ter
[ˈfedər]
NOUN

1. a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles.

VERB

1. restrain with chains or manacles, typically around the ankles.

ruc·tion
[ˈrəkSHən]
NOUN
informal

1. a disturbance or quarrel.

er·satz
[ˈerˌzäts, ˈerˌsäts]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else. 
2. not real or genuine.

mor·dant
[ˈmôrdnt]
ADJECTIVE

1. (especially of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting.
   "a mordant sense of humor"

fe·tor
[ˈfēdər]
NOUN

1. a strong, foul smell.

tu·mes·cent
[t(y)o͞oˈmes(ə)nt]
ADJECTIVE

1. swollen or becoming swollen, especially as a response to sexual arousal.

guile
[ɡīl]
NOUN

1. sly or cunning intelligence.

con·ur·ba·tion
[ˌkänərˈbāSH(ə)n]
NOUN

1. an extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more cities.

shrive
[SHrīv]
VERB
archaic

1. (of a priest) hear the confession of, assign penance to, and absolve (someone).

in·e·luc·ta·ble
[ˌinəˈləktəb(ə)l]
ADJECTIVE

1. unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable.

u·su·ry
[ˈyo͞oZH(ə)rē]
NOUN

1. the illegal action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest.

im·pu·dic·i·ty
[ˌimpyəˈdisədē]
NOUN
formal

1. lack of modesty.

bant·ling
[ˈbantliNG]
NOUN
archaic

1. a young child.

vi·ti·ate
[ˈviSHēˌāt]
VERB

1. spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of.
2. destroy or impair the legal validity of.

don·jon
[ˈdänjən, ˈdənjən]
NOUN

1. the great tower or innermost keep of a castle.

a·lac·ri·ty
[əˈlakrədē]
NOUN

1. brisk and cheerful readiness.

rec·on·dite
[ˈrekənˌdīt, rəˈkänˌdīt]
ADJECTIVE

1. (of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse.

es·cu·lent
[ˈeskyələnt]
ADJECTIVE

1. fit to be eaten; edible.

NOUN

1. a thing, especially a vegetable, which is fit to be eaten.