inCommunicado - eric eggertson

With the beginning of hurricane season this year, I thought about Bruce Sterling’s speculative fiction novel Heavy Weather, and its vision of the decay of infrastructure and ethics in the face of the relentless hammering of chaotic weather patterns.
The recent Hurricane Katrina aftermath images from the Gulf Coast and particularly New Orleans looked as if […]

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  Safety Gear for Small Animals    Originally uploaded by Mutually Inclusive.
The Dunlop Art Gallery presented Bill Burns’ Safety Gear for Small Animals recently and hosted a launch for his book of the same name.
Burns grew up in Saskatchewan. His safety gear show is his best known piece of work, spanning […]

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While attending the Dunlop Art Gallery’s sound performance Shhhhh! Stackwalking by Don
Stein, we wandered the Regina Public Library listening to different
soundscapes coming from speakers located in different locations around
the stacks. It was fun, because my spouse was one of the voices
used to create the sound art.
Even more amusing was the way people in the […]

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There has been considerable commentary lately about the new Tom Cruise, complete with detailed promotion of the Church of Scientology, extensive disclosure about his love life, and a bit too much exposure, even for an A-List actor.
Reuters describes the dramatic shift from entertainment PR diva Pat Kingley, who used to keep a tight rein on […]

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The University of Pennsylvania has created PennSound, an online sound archive of contemporary writing.
I’m so out of touch I only recognize a few of the many featured authors:
Ted Berrigan, Robin Blaser, Robert Creeley, Ed Dorn, Charles Olson and Jack Spicer.
Now that I’ve come across this, I’ll have to go back and listen to some of […]

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  Hello, Mom? We’re Busking!    Originally uploaded by Mutually Inclusive.
Every year the Cathedral area in Regina dusts off its dancing shoes and has an arts festival. Today the threat of rain wasn’t enough to keep people away from 13th Avenue.
The buskers were out in force, and there were definitely deals […]

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  Victor Enns Book Launch - Lucky Man    Originally uploaded by Mutually Inclusive.
My friend Victor Enns was in Regina for a reading from his new book Lucky Man on May 18.
I’ve been waiting for this book to come out for the last 10 years, so was pleased to hear that […]

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In Regina yesterday, the Queen unveiled a quite remarkable statue of herself as a younger woman riding her favourite horse, Burmese.
The large statue is actually pretty impressive.  It’s like a reminder of the days when public statuary was a common expression of appreciation or respect for society’s institutions and individuals.  You don’t see a lot […]

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(Edited)
You can’t bleeping say that!
I came across a fatuous gossip item about Tobey Maguire’s weight (complete with candid photo, posted by a minion of PR, fashion and "healthy lifestyles issues" pitchman Pierce Mattie).
When I tried to leave a comment criticizing the point of view on Mattie’s blog, I got the following message:
Your comment was disallowed […]

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Why is it that when you’re not looking for it, you come across something truly memorable?

Showcase (Canadian cable channel) on a Monday night is not where I normally look for comedy, but I found it recently. Slings & Arrows is a great series set behind the scenes at a Stratford Festival-like theatre company.

Paul Gross […]

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Since last summer, I’ve had a thing for Promo Girl, the saucy voice that runs teasers for various CBC Radio programs. Unlike the staid Corp, Promo Girl is lively, off-beat, young and willing to take a risk.
Okay, I know the voice and the writing are done by two different people, but I can dream, can’t […]

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