June 2005
"One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea"
- Walter Bagehot (1826-1977)
June 2005
Desperately Seeking Ideas
by Allan Gregg
Politics has been reduced to a guessing game about what voters want. Here’s a thought: how about an election fought on real issuesIllustration by Leif Parsons
Science
Totally Genius
by Dan Falk
The smartest scientists in the world still haven’t solved a basic question: are minds like Shakespeare, Mozart, and Einstein born or made?
Religion
Under The Sheltering Crescent Moon
by Ray Conlogue
Can our nation’s multiculturalism embrace Islamic radicals and reformers?
More Stories in this issue
Sporting Life
To Catch A Fish
by John DeMont
The perfect escape is just a gasoline slick away for the dedicated urban angler
Field Notes
The Wealth Of Shamans
by Allan Coukell
hovsgol province/ulaan baatar—On a sunny afternoon, a man sits on the floor of his teepee (or ortz) in the
Field Notes
Who Ya Gonna Call?
by Jake MacDonald
vancouver—As she strolls through the streets of her working-class neighbourhood lined with bungalows and
Field Notes
The Kurdish New Wave
by Yigal Schleifer
diyarbakir—Every weekday morning, Hekim Aydin hops on board a beat-up moped and rides to Diyarbakir city hall.
Music
Off Beat
by Li Robbins
How world music went from something new and wonderful to a generic branding exercise
Books
Has Childhood Gone awol?
by Don Gillmor
Both picture books and young readers seem to be disappearing as a new target market takes shape
Field Notes
A Sidewalk Tour Of Yucatán
by Fraser Sutherland
mérida—The best way to see Mérida, the heat-smitten capital of Mexico’s Yucatán state, is to stroll head
Comedy
Striking Back At The Empire
by Andrew Clark
How comedians throughout history have raged against the machine
Food
Frontiers Of Flavour
by Nelson Handel
A team of explorers follows in the footsteps of Marco Polo—only this time the quest is for the world’s most elusive sensations of taste
Fiction
If Things Happen for A Reason
by Sara O’Leary
This will be something to tell our children. That’s the first thing she remembers him saying to her. They
International Affairs
The Peace Wager
by Kathy Cook
As the killing in Darfur continues, the question arises once more: why can no one stop it?
Sightings
Missing Mordecai
by Ken Alexander
The Pope. Prince Rainier. Terri Schiavo. Numerous murders in Toronto the Good. More Iraqis. Satire. Context.
Letters
June 2005
by The Walrus Readers
Sand Storm
Thank you for Don Gillmor’s article on the Alberta oil sands (
Visual Art
Trauma Mama
by Daniel Baird
Angry, eloquent, fragile, native artist Rebecca Belmore takes her new work to the Venice Biennale
