Written on 22 Jan, 2011 at 11:11 in
Announcements, Columnist, Features, Joe Campbell | Author:
Joe Campbell
I thought I knew what pro-choice means. I guess I don’t. In fact I have difficulty with most pro-choice language. Take sex-selective abortion. It’s about expectant couples who prefer sons to daughters and use ultrasound to find out what they’re going to have. If it’s a daughter, they abort her.
When I learned that pro-choicers are against sex-selective abortion, I was really puzzled. I always thought ‘pro’ meant ‘for’. I never ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 Dec, 2010 at 13:43 in
Columnist, Joe Campbell | Author:
Joe Campbell
Take care if you aspire to be a criminal. A life of crime can be bleak and unrewarding, unless you go to jail. As long as you’re on the run, you have few options. Once you’re incarcerated, you have more than you can pursue. Like most criminals, however, you may never make it to jail.
If you do, opportunities abound. Among other pursuits, you can earn a university degree, learn a ... (Continue reading)
Written on 10 Sep, 2010 at 9:43 in
Columnist, Joe Campbell | Author:
Joe Campbell If I had a second chance at life, I think I’d come back as a bureaucracy. Bureaucracies, whether private or public, seldom die. I could live with that.
Consider the March of Dimes. It was set up to raise money for the fight against polio. Well, in the 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk figured out how to get rid of polio, and it’s virtually extinct. But no one has figured out how to get rid of the March of Dimes, and it’s ... (Continue reading)
Written on 14 Jul, 2010 at 5:22 in
Joe Campbell | Author:
Joe Campbell
They stopped briefly at a statistical display of female advancement. They were particularly interested in figures that showed how women are catching up to, and even surpassing, men in smoking, drinking, swearing and swindling. Advances in female arson, assault and assassination also caught their attention.
“Women have become more assertive,” Molder said, when they had seen enough.
“Really?” said Bimson.
“They’re doing something positive about spousal abuse.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yes,” Molder said, “they ... (Continue reading)
Written on 10 May, 2010 at 11:45 in
Joe Campbell | Author:
Joe Campbell
I’ve been reflecting more than usual on writing and books. What got me thinking was a conversation with a fellow author I often meet at the neighbourhood library.
“My book is popular in the British Isles,” he said, excited.
“You mean your self-published novel that didn’t sell?”
“Copies are flying off the shelves.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “You must be pleased that readers have discovered your book’s literary value.”
“They’re not interested in its literary value,” ... (Continue reading)
Written on 20 Mar, 2010 at 18:54 in
Columnist, Joe Campbell | Author:
Light is Right
Joe Campbell
Recently, an editor who regularly rejects my articles called me a humorist. I let it pass. Editors have called me worse things.
When I was young and busy, I wrote humour for fun, and I sold the odd piece. Now that I’m old and idle, I write humour seriously, and I still sell the odd piece. So I’m keeping up. To move ahead, I’ll have to figure out how to create ... (Continue reading)
