0°Recent Blog Posts - Urbane Adventurer
Sounds of Scotland
Memo-1 (birds in East Lothian) Memo-2 (seagulls) Memo-3 (bells) IMG_0934
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Memo-1 (birds in East Lothian) Memo-2 (seagulls) Memo-3 (bells) IMG_0934
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Silver linings
The sun finally came out so I am busy looking for silver linings. The entire Isle of Arran is trapped under many feet of snow. They have no electricity and elderly people are trapped in their farm houses. Grey Aberdeen doesn’t seem so bad by contrast. (I hope the storms eventually pass and ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
The sun finally came out so I am busy looking for silver linings. The entire Isle of Arran is trapped under many feet of snow. They have no electricity and elderly people are trapped in their farm houses. Grey Aberdeen doesn’t seem so bad by contrast. (I hope the storms eventually pass and ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Decolonizing the City
I have been away from Edmonton since December 12th. In that time a lot has happened back home. I left Alberta just as Idle No More was gaining traction, and over the holidays I watched videos of round dance flash mobs in West Edmonton Mall, Kingsway Mall, Churchill Square and elsewhere with tears...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I have been away from Edmonton since December 12th. In that time a lot has happened back home. I left Alberta just as Idle No More was gaining traction, and over the holidays I watched videos of round dance flash mobs in West Edmonton Mall, Kingsway Mall, Churchill Square and elsewhere with tears...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Birds at Play
Yesterday I headed over to the sea after work. It was a windy day, cold. But not miserable. There were great, tall clouds in the sky and the sun was peeking out between them. I felt comforted by the cold wind buffeting me, and as I drew closer to the beach the smell of sea … Continue readin...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Yesterday I headed over to the sea after work. It was a windy day, cold. But not miserable. There were great, tall clouds in the sky and the sun was peeking out between them. I felt comforted by the cold wind buffeting me, and as I drew closer to the beach the smell of sea … Continue readin...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
It’s Complicated (“Are You Really Metis?”)
I’ve been thinking about identity for a long time; how identity manifests for each person is complex. I’ve struggled for a long time with the inherent tensions and ironies in being a Metis woman who looks so blatantly, blaringly, undeniably white. It is difficult to reconcile my appearance (“You ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I’ve been thinking about identity for a long time; how identity manifests for each person is complex. I’ve struggled for a long time with the inherent tensions and ironies in being a Metis woman who looks so blatantly, blaringly, undeniably white. It is difficult to reconcile my appearance (“You ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
“I’m looking for a soft place to land/the forest floor/the palms of your hands” – Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur (2012) I have been looking for a soft place to land for a while now; the road can be rough and sometimes I don’t know if I’m going to find a friendly home at the end of … Continue re...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
decolonizing the body
I want to return to a topic I first broached on this blog last year, one that I have been engaging with for a very long time: body image and eating disorders. A friend recently shared this thought during a conversation about recovering from an eating disorder: “When you deny yourself food [...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I want to return to a topic I first broached on this blog last year, one that I have been engaging with for a very long time: body image and eating disorders. A friend recently shared this thought during a conversation about recovering from an eating disorder: “When you deny yourself food [...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Building and destruction
I’ve written before relating the degree to which buildings that are torn down and replaced in Edmonton contrasts with the experiences of Scotland (and London) during and after the War. I don’t know how to quantify this, but I feel like there is an unacknowledged violence in the degree to which Ed...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I’ve written before relating the degree to which buildings that are torn down and replaced in Edmonton contrasts with the experiences of Scotland (and London) during and after the War. I don’t know how to quantify this, but I feel like there is an unacknowledged violence in the degree to which Ed...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
against violence
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about when, if ever, it is acceptable to invoke violence to achieve certain means. I certainly have had to employ physical force to protect myself in the past, and the memory of that fear and terror never really leaves the body. For years afterwards I jumped ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about when, if ever, it is acceptable to invoke violence to achieve certain means. I certainly have had to employ physical force to protect myself in the past, and the memory of that fear and terror never really leaves the body. For years afterwards I jumped ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
rivulets of meltwater rushing down dusty alleyways…
That’s what I miss — the thaw and break and re-awakening that comes with a prairie spring. In Aberdeen things are just always in a various state of wet. Grey, tinged with a green that I am unable to discern as mold, moss or algae (maybe various permutations of such?). This has its own...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
That’s what I miss — the thaw and break and re-awakening that comes with a prairie spring. In Aberdeen things are just always in a various state of wet. Grey, tinged with a green that I am unable to discern as mold, moss or algae (maybe various permutations of such?). This has its own...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Ghosts of East Central Alberta, part 3: Ribstones and why I never heard about it OR The absent aboriginal
Last summer, I lived out in the country again for a while. I had just moved back to Canada after completing dissertation fieldwork in Mexico, then Alaska, and we had neither a place to live nor anything to put in it. So, I stayed at my dad’s farm for a month or so, the longest … Continue re...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
Last summer, I lived out in the country again for a while. I had just moved back to Canada after completing dissertation fieldwork in Mexico, then Alaska, and we had neither a place to live nor anything to put in it. So, I stayed at my dad’s farm for a month or so, the longest … Continue re...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
The “Struggle”
I’m back in Aberdeen. Aberdeen in all its grey, granite glory. Sometimes described as the ‘armpit of Scotland’ (or far worse), it is not the most glamorous place. When I tell English people I’m living and working in Aberdeen, they invariably wrinkle their noses and say som...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I’m back in Aberdeen. Aberdeen in all its grey, granite glory. Sometimes described as the ‘armpit of Scotland’ (or far worse), it is not the most glamorous place. When I tell English people I’m living and working in Aberdeen, they invariably wrinkle their noses and say som...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
uncompromising hope
When faced with seemingly intractable challenges, I feel myself pulled between piercing cynicism and uncompromising hope. The danger in times of crisis or prolonged struggle is to lose sight of the good things in life or to give into anger at the world for not listening. (And that’s a completely ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
When faced with seemingly intractable challenges, I feel myself pulled between piercing cynicism and uncompromising hope. The danger in times of crisis or prolonged struggle is to lose sight of the good things in life or to give into anger at the world for not listening. (And that’s a completely ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
thoughts on love
I have the great pleasure of knowing a number of really bright, really passionate, really amazing people. These people inspire me, and provide me with constant support, feedback and hope. It has been interesting to discuss trauma and crisis with these friends, and to ruminate on what it means to ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
I have the great pleasure of knowing a number of really bright, really passionate, really amazing people. These people inspire me, and provide me with constant support, feedback and hope. It has been interesting to discuss trauma and crisis with these friends, and to ruminate on what it means to ...
Published at Urbane Adventurer
