We can make some sense of the extent and pervasiveness of our present environmental problems by considering the ideas of Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher and media theorist who died in 1980. In describing the effects on ourselves of the things that we invent, he coined the expression “the medium is the message”, which was playfully modified to “the medium is the massage”. He summarized the process by saying, “We invent things, thereafter they invent us.” He also aptly described the effect of instantaneous electronic communication as having created the “global village”.
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Folk U: Ruth Ozeki Talks About ‘A Tale for the Time Being’
Tune in on Dec 12, 2025, for a pre-recorded episode of FolkU with author Ruth Ozeki, who sits down with the Cortes Island Academy for a deep, generous conversation about her book A Tale for the Time Being. Ruth shares how the novel emerged from Zen teachings, natural disasters, and we chat about the mysterious voices that spark creative work.
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The Lost Words – The Quadra Project
After Oxford University Press released its 2007 edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary, a keen reader noticed what was not included in its more than 10,000 entries. Some 40 common words had been removed, like dandelion, bramble, heron, leopard, oyster and newt. They all related to nature. And they were replaced with terms such as blog, bullet-point, and voice-mail.
Oxford’s explanation to inquiries about the deletions was that many children no longer live in rural environments so such words are not familiar to them. Other words that were deleted were blackberry, clover, hamster, herring, lark, minnow, almond, mussel, otter, ox, adder, ash, beech, bluebell, catkin, cowslip, cygnet, ivy, nectar, wren, raven, bramble, magpie, starling, weasel and panther in favour of analogue, graph and celebrity.
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An Owl’s Reality – The Quadra Project
As Carl Safina’s book title suggests, Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe should ostensibly be about the adventures of the author and his wife as they raise to adulthood a nearly-dead baby Eastern Screech Owl that they found on the ground. So it joined their larger family of non-humans, including two dogs, four chickens, a king snake, a parrot and a parakeet.
Alfie, a female, was eventually released to the back yard where she learned to hunt and live independently. But she remained a family member, visiting for extra mice, even establishing with her mate, Plus-One, a nest in a box on the side of the house where the pair successfully raised three chicks. Throughout the book, Safina closely documents the life of the owl and her family.
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Gumboots in the Straits Comes To Gorge Hall
Book #4 of the Gumboot series, ‘Gumboots in the Straits’ is coming to Gorge Hall on Cortes Island on Saturday, September 20.
From 1:00 to 3:00 pm, six Cortes Island authors featured in this volume will give free public readings from their contributions.
Later in the day, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, food and drinks will be available for purchase, followed by an evening of dancing to Cortes Island’s own He Said; She Said. Tickets for the dance are $25 and can be purchased at Marnie’s Bookstore and the Cortes Island Museum.
In this morning’s interview, we’ll be joined by Jane Wilde, the originator of the Gumboots series. She’ll also share short readings from some of the Cortes writers featured in Gumboots in the Straits.
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