Welcome to this weekend’s edition of Ramsay Writes, designed to divert our gaze from the dull and the usual, and remind us how odd and lovely life can be. 1. Tax the rich! Where you don’t expect to hear that from is the rich. But Resource Movement is a group of “children of privilege” bent […]
Big ideas in small packages Read More »
Why do arts groups argue for more funds from governments and corporate sponsors by using their second-best argument for that money? It goes like this: “The arts produce huge economic benefits: restaurants, hotels, neighbourhoods, even cities can create a Bilbao Effect, where one big attraction can transform an entire region. They also produce gobs of
Feed the Arts. Grow the Nation. Read More »
My friend in the music business told me their staff were sent an artist profile whenever the company signed a new rising star. In the bottom right-hand corner was a little box with the letters “DQ.” This stood for “Diva Quotient”, with the number 1 being “a treat to work with,” and 10, “run for your
My enormous inner child needs constant feeding and watering. Yours should too. Not with other kids. Just the two of you because only you know what nourishes the kid in you because…well, you were that kid a very long time ago. You may be a grownup now, but you’re just as curious, thrill-seeking and weirdo
Playtime for Grownups Read More »
The Washington Post ran a contest long ago for the most boring headline of the year. The winner was “Canadian initiative launched.” The word that won it for us was “Canadian” because what could be duller or less newsworthy in Washington than anything Canadian? Even “Belgian,” or “Aussie” felt more exotic. So I was surprised on
Can a ward heeler be a real healer? Read More »
The world’s best con man, Bernie Madoff, died last week in a North Carolina prison, where he was 11 years into his 150-year sentence for bilking thousands of investors out of $65 billion in the most devastating Ponzi scheme in history. In February of 2020, he asked for early release because he was in the
Where are the clients’ yachts? Read More »
People are either foxes, who know many things, or hedgehogs, who know one big thing. That 2,700 year-old idea comes from the Greek poet Archilochus. He’s wrong. People are foxes and hedgehogs, especially on the weekend when our foxes emerge and when the Ramsay Writes blog isn’t about one thing, but a lot of them.
This blog post is for your fox, not your hedgehog. Read More »
My favourite cartoon shows two European intellectuals (berets, cigarettes) at a sidewalk café. One says to the other: “Do you not be happy with me as the translator of the books of you?” The joke, of course, is that no one would ever hire this man to translate their book. But the tragic joke is
Department of Corections Read More »
What’s the one thing we all remember about the 94-page bill passed by the State of Georgia last week to “comprehensively revise elections and voting?” Exactly: It’s now illegal to give someone food and water when they’re standing in line to vote. As Line 1813 of the Act says: “nor shall any person give, offer
Gifting water and grifting politicians Read More »
Want to listen to today’s blog post? Hear it here. Heinrich Heine said that when fees to attend Harvard in the mid-1800s were $250 and not the $48,000 they are today. He didn’t mean that kind of school, of course, though in America the cost of getting educated is as high as the cost of getting
“EXPERIENCE IS A GOOD SCHOOL. BUT THE FEES ARE HIGH” Read More »
Want to listen to today’s blog post? Hear it here. The Globe and Mail is not where I’m used to seeing “snakes in your bed” headlines. But this one came close last month: “Catalyst offered up to $11-million to Israeli firm that launched sting on Ontario judge.” Catalyst Capital is a Toronto private equity company that sued one
RamsayWrites – A Justice for a Justice Read More »
Want to listen to today’s blog post? Hear it here. In 1966, Harvard researcher Timothy Leary would spend weekends with his students at a mansion in Dutchess County, New York where they’d smoke dope and drop acid. Now Dutchess county was and is one of the most right-wing counties in America, and the good burghers
RamsayWrites – The Strong, Silent, Psycho Type Read More »
