Feb 07
I quit Facebook. And when I quit, I stay quit. Not to protest anything. Not to make any sort of statement. I’m just sick of the platform. It doesn’t work for me. I want to get some value out of my time on the internet. That means, I want to get more out of it …
Dec 27
Is a world without billboards possible or good? Just ask the residents of Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo. Five years after banning this ‘visual pollution’ 70% of residents find the ban beneficial. Imagine a city of 11 million inhabitants stripped of all its advertising. It’s nearly impossible when the clutter and color of our current urban landscapes …
Nov 15
Occupy Wall Street live. Around 1:00am on Tuesday, November 15th, the NYPD moved in to clear Zuccotti Park of all protestors and equipment. Members of the press, both independent and mainstream, were systematically prevented from covering the story Read about the press suppression here <a href=”http://storify.com/bendoernberg/press-suppression-at-occupy-wall-street-raid” target=”_blank”>View the story “Press Suppression …
Oct 28
An article about what happened in Oakland. Well worth the read. To sum up: the only two mainstream media live-feeds switched off at precisely the same instant—the minute before fifteen police departments working together engulfed a peaceful group of protesters in tear gas. That crucial minute, when the media (whether by accident or in compliance …
Jun 16
A riot is a collective orgasm. It is a sudden and violent release of manufactured tension. For the CBC to get so damn sanctimonious about the riot, after they’ve hyped hockey for my entire life, is like complaining when the person you’re fucking comes.
Apr 25
The Conservatives are distributing talking points to their followers via Tory Nation. (The “24/7 virtual campaign office” of the Conservative Party of Canada.) Here’s the screenshots and my understanding of them. Click on any of the images for a larger version. A log-in screen to find out about calling talk radio. It’s odd that the …
Jun 29
Friday was George Orwell’s birthday. We have an odd way of celebrating such things in Toronto. We like to mark occasions like this with large art installations featuring performances by the local police. There was a moment,when I thought of the old fellow. Not in a This is so 1984 sense (that got old about …
Jun 26
G20 T-Dot from Ryan Oakley on Vimeo. A short video about the G20 Summit (Copstock) in Toronto featuring never before seen footage of my sock.
Jun 17
Porn is everywhere and WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN! Frigid women from Virginia are concerned about what they call an “epidemic” of Internet pornography. Like all puritans they cite the safety of children. In this case, not their physical safety but the safety of their “innocence.” This is, I assume, code for ignorance. Because kids …
Jun 07
It’s a subject I’ve often gone on about here: That access is used as bludgeon and bait to control media opinion. It happens with big subjects, it happens with little ones but I was surprised to see it happen in baseball. Mike Wilner, who hosts the Fan 590′s post-game, baseball call in show was suspended …
Although Ryan Oakley began his career as a simple rake (drunk) he has since become Toronto’s most renowned flaneur (no car) and notorious dandy (overdresses). A misanthropic composer of psycho-geographical fictions (sci-fi), he is also a server of food, a tender of bar and a washer of dishes. While performing all these functions with efficiency and elegance (disdain and malice), he somehow finds the time to publicly criticize friends, strangers and cultural crap.
