Los Angeles filmmaker and photographer Ransom Riggs made this short film about his favorite post-apocalyptic landscape, the Salton Sea. It's quite a story. H/T: Silas...

17 May, 2011

A line from Steve Jobs propelled Emory University student Ien Chi to produce a remarkable YouTube film: Click here to view on a flash-impaired IOS device. (Impaired by decree of S. Jobs, that is!) H/T: Silas...

03 March, 2011

And why single queues, like those at Sydney Credit Union branches and Empire Theatre concession stands, work better. The Engineer Guy explains: H/T: Silas....

26 December, 2010

Mary Cecilia "Bomber" LeBlanc, shown above with L'Arche assistant Mavis at the 2007 Cape Breton Island Film Series party for l'Arche Cape Breton, died peacefully Thursday morning in her home at The Vineyard, a L'Arche residence in Orangedale, surrounded by friends and caregivers. Death came six days before her 60th birthday, and, incredibly, hours before a provincial health bureaucrats were to meet to begin planning her involuntary removal from l'Arche, over protests of family, friends, and caregivers. Mary was a small woman with a steely will and an outsized capacity for getting her own way—and then leading a chorus of laughter about...

07 November, 2010

The five occupants of this 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan — my son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren — survived a head-on collision on the TransCanada Highway Thursday evening. I offer the following details in hopes that other families will find it helpful to understand the factors that decisively improved their chances of survival. Shortly before 5 p.m, August 26, my family was westbound on Route 105 in Lexington, Nova Scotia, just north of the Canso Causeway, when a severe rain squall hit the area. Daughter-in-law Jenn had just slowed down when an eastbound car apparently hydroplaned and spun across the centerline into...

31 August, 2010

Alexis Madrigal, Atlantic's new tech blogger, poses the question this way: You hop onto a parent's computer to check your email or do a little work. But, to your dismay, the only browser available is Internet Explorer and (for whatever reason) you don't like Internet Explorer. You download Firefox (or Chrome), then install and launch it. Firefox (or Chrome) then asks whether you want to make it your (Mom's) default browser. Of course you do! But should you really make this decision for Mom? Yes, says Madrigal, quoting a mashup of Tweeted responses: "It's our responsibility to help our parents figure out technology"...

15 July, 2010

Using data from Flightradar24.com, a site that tracks most European flights, the British firm ItoWorld produced this animation of European airspace between between April 16 and 21, as traffic resumed after the ash cloud shutdown: Hat tip: Silas...

03 May, 2010

On The Moth storytelling podcast, the great Lewis Lapham reminisces about his first job, covering Oakland City Hall for the San Francisco Examiner in an era when reporters wore hats. Featuring The Horny Photographer, The One-Legged Woman, and The Unencumbered Widow. Hat tip: Silas....

11 April, 2010

Silas Donham responds to posts on the New York Times Motherlode blog criticizing those who would reject potential chemical treatments intended to improve intellectual function of infants with Down syndrome. This difficult topic provoked a debate here on Contrarian that was remarkably thoughtful and respectful. But when the Times picked up on our discussion, many commenters were incredulous that any parent would hesitate accept such treatments for their children. A few had nasty things to say. Silas responds: First, the disclosure: I am Jenn Power's husband, father to Jacob and Josh, and son to contrarian.ca, the blogger who got all this...

14 January, 2010

For those who have followed the debate over potential treatments for Down syndrome in the New York Times parenting blog Motherlode to its source here on Contrarian, I have assembled a series of links you might want to follow. Our discussion of this issue began with this post back in November. Jenn Power elaborated on her concerns here, and Dr. Ahmad Salehi, the Stanford researcher whose work touched off the discussion, responded thoughtfully here. Jenn's husband Silas Barss Donham, my son, weighed in here. Other reader commented here, here, and here. Jenn is the community leader of L'Arche Cape Breton in Iron Mines,...

13 January, 2010
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