Derek Mah

Designer of web technologies and illustrator of books.

[BrandGully @BrandGully]

Wait, that #AppleTV brand mark and swivel motion as seen in their new sonic logo (see left) is NOT computer-generated?

Turns out the whole thing was made with real glass, using real lights and swivels, captured by humans behind real cameras. It’s such a delight to learn about this detail. Makes you see this work in a whole new light now?

Props to #Apple’s agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab and to everyone who partnered with them on this. Great work.

Craft matters. It always has. And always will.

New Sonic Logo Behind The Scenes

[Margaret E Atwood @MargaretAtwood]

Here's a piece of literature by me, suitable for seventeen-year-olds in Alberta schools, unlike -- we are told -- The Handmaid's Tale. (Sorry, kids; your Minister of Education thinks you are stupid babies.)

John and Mary were both very, very good children. They never picked their noses or had bowel movements or zits. They grew up and married each other, and produced five perfect children without ever having sex. Although they claimed to be Christian, they paid no attention to what Jesus actually said about the poor and the Good Samaritan and forgiving your enemies and such; instead, they practised selfish rapacious capitalism, because they worshipped Ayn Rand. (Though they ignored the scene in The Fountainhead where “welcomed rape” is advocated, because who wants to dwell, and also that would have involved sex and would de facto be pornographic. Well, it kind of is, eh?) Oh, and they never died, because who wants to dwell on, you know, death and corpses and yuk? So they lived happily ever after. But while they were doing that The Handmaid’s Tale came true and Danielle Smith found herself with a nice new blue dress but no job. The end.

[Ryan Reynolds @VancityReynolds]

Terry Fox started a marathon against cancer but couldn’t finish it. Others have been running in his honour since 1981. His battle was with cancer but his legacy is bringing people together. @TerryFoxCanada

[Rachel Notley @RachelNotley]

I write with mixed feelings to announce that today I will be sending a letter to the Speaker of the Alberta Legislative Assembly, advising of my intent to resign my position as the MLA for Edmonton Strathcona, effective December 30, 2024.

It was last January this year when I announced I would be stepping down as leader of Alberta’s NDP. I was excited and proud to see our membership swell to over 80,000 members as four worthy contestants sought their votes in June of this year.

Naheed Nenshi’s selection represents a tremendous opportunity for all Albertans seeking practical solutions to the affordability crisis, along with a genuine commitment to fixing our healthcare so that all Albertans can get the support they need no matter where they live or how much they earn.

It has been an indescribable honour to represent the people of my neighbourhood and community for almost 17 years. Edmonton Strathcona is a diverse constituency, defined by an unparalleled level of connection between its residents that plays out every day at festivals, independent small businesses of all types, theatres, schools, playgrounds, parks, trails, and community leagues.

To all of my constituents, thank you for putting your trust in me over these many years, and thank you for your support, advice and engagement along the way. To the staff and volunteers who worked beside me to make life better for Albertans, your work contributed to doing just that, in so many ways. To my fellow caucus members, you’re a dedicated, caring and fun team. I’m going to miss you, but mostly I can’t wait for you to form government so you can get to work building a better future for all Albertans.

Finally, to my family, thank you again for supporting it all.

See you on the trails!

[Christopher Webb @cwebbonline]

PONDER THIS…

Have you ever noticed that when shit goes down, people demand that minorities be held responsible for their entire ethnic group? White folks are exempt from that demand.

When a Black person does something bad, the entire Black community must answer for it. Why is that?

Why are we holding all Latinos responsible for Trump when they’re only 13% of the electorate, and less than 50% of that group voted for him? White people are 70% of the electorate and vote for Trump more than 50% of the time.
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[Nate Erskine-Smith @beynate]

In a bizarre speech to start the session, Poilievre warned that pricing pollution would cause a nuclear winter and shut down our entire economy.

Does he think we’re suckers and that we can’t see the Canada Carbon Rebate land in our bank account 4 times a year?

[Stephen Best @BestStephenD]

Listening to today's budget coverage on @PnPCBC. I find unfortunate that a prevailing sentiment is that government spending is inherently "bad" and less spending is "good." None of the benefits that the "spend less" worshippers promise will come with balanced budgets or low/no government debt has ever been realized, anywhere in the word. There are no examples of 'austerity' ever benefiting people, like most of us.

Why this self-destructive zombie myth about the moral goodness of low government spending can't be killed eludes me.

One day it would warm my economics trained heart if a pundit or host on programs like @PnPCBC would ask the obvious question. To whom is the interest payments on the debt being paid and what are they doing with money? It's never asked. No one even seems curious.

Most of the government's debt, in fact, is owed to the government itself. That's what's so cool about having a central bank. People still don't get it that the government of Canada's debt and our personal or corporate debt are entirely different things. How different? This different. The notion of love between two people is not the same as love in tennis. Same word, different things.

Lastly, all--yes, all--the economic issues we're facing and that 'BUSINESS' is whining about, and asking the federal government to fix, is caused entirely by the private sector, the free market. Business people are the problem.

The housing 'crisis' is market failure, caused by the business community. Productivity issues? The failure of the business community.

We now have bizarre spectacle of the federal government stepping in to fix what the business community screwed up, all the while business people are screaming at the government as it saves the asses of them and their businesses.

[Bev 🇨🇦 @Garnet_2203]

“What do you all want? And by you all, I’m talking to the f**k Trudeau crowd….” 👇👇👇👇video credit @Lisab09231 👇👇#trudeau #carbontax #PierrePoilievreIsLyingToYou #PierrePoilievre #pharmacare #schoollunch #dentalcare #dougford #canada #alberta #ClimateCrisis @PierrePoilievre @fordnation

[Rachel Notley @RachelNotley]

Thank you, Alberta.

Short of having and raising my family, the opportunity to serve this party and this province has been the honour of my life.

The people of Alberta are bold, friendly, open, caring and adventurous. I’ve learned so much from them.

Thank you to all the Albertans I’ve met along the way – those who advised me, supported me, and even disagreed with me.

I love this province, and I know that our best days are still ahead.

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

@EricRWalters Aeropress + nog = man of culture

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

@EricRWalters They always jump on your laptop like that, but watchoogonnado?

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

@StephanieChan Excluding variations of salts and peppers,
garlic powder,
thyme,
rosemary,
tarragon,
mint,
cinnamon,
ginger,
paprika,
cloves,
celery seed.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

Paul Reubens wrote a message before he passed away last night.

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

@EricRWalters Cold turkey summons the trucks! It does get better. Hasten your recovery by taking a short walk when you feel the trucks approaching. 10 minutes and 1 km will help your body remember how to manage energy again. Think of it as training camp. Be well!

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Today, some of the books that shaped my life—and the lives of so many others—are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives. And librarians are on the front lines, fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone.

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

Have generally been in favour of ranked ballots. Here is an interesting look at how it might have gone in the Toronto election.

[dave meslin, KC @meslin]

THREAD: So this fellow asked me what would have happened in Toronto's election last night - if we had a ranked ballot. My ADHD impulses compelled me to drop everything I'm SUPPOSED to be doing this morning, and I spent the last hour calculating a hypothetical runoff...

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

@carter_AB @Villageicecream What is the possibility or likelihood a comma was inadvertently omitted?

“A person who, because an elector has voted or is about to vote, or for the purpose of influencing an elector to vote, for or against a particular candidate or political party, causes or permits any—“

[DKGray @TheRealDKGray]

Dearest Reasonably Reasonable Alberta Conservative Friends,

I know some things.

Like, KNOW some things.

Like, qualified by Courts of Law to give expert testimony under oath.

I always affirm rather than swear to give truthful testimony. I am not going to start by lying about what I do on Sundays.

And believe it or not, I can go days without using curse words (fucking excruciating).

On the daily, I will interact with people coming at me with their take on the Alberta electricity market, usually about renewables, typically after reading the Sun.

If I was in court, I would testify that their understanding of the nature of an electric energy-only market versus an electric capacity or spinning reserve market was incorrect and would lead to wrong conclusions.

But politics doesn’t operate in a Court of Law.

It operates in the Court of Opinion, where another jury of my peers has convicted me (again) of being a Commie, libtard, chickenshit, freedom hater.

(I am none of those things by the way. I have witnesses.)

So why is this important?

It’s because we are ELECTING people with the same incorrect, skewed and useless beliefs, with the same ear hole stuffed attitudes, and the same attitudes towards “experts”.

People think there no way to get to “truth”.

Of course there is.

Courts and tribunals do it day in and day out.

Find and weigh evidence.

Apply principles of law.

Give it all a good shaking and make a reasonable finding.

But it’s damned expensive.

Imagine if we valued the truth in politics that much, that we would pay judges and lawyers and clerks to determine what was correct, truthful and reasonable before anyone could talk about it, with the limits of what was known and unknown or unknowable clearly specified.

It would be the end of politics as we know it.

A political party has one purpose, to elect and re-elect a slate of candidates to gain or maintain power.

The many voters who perpetuate bad understandings or untruths are infinitely more useful than we “so called experts” and so they run to lead the parade of idiots marching down the street.

And we get really bad policy made by really dumb people for really stupid reasons.

Like:

It would be better if we teach kids about the climate change hoax.

Vaccines are the real killers.

Or good girls should just say no.

You know, good Christian values.

Deep in your flint-filled hearts, reasonably rational Conservatives, you have seen this coming and dreaded it.

There is a line of social tolerance and compassion that is the norm in this province that has been crossed again and again during this last term.

This TBA-influenced, Kenney-manifested, Smith-headed monster will tarnish your legacy forever, if you let it.

Nothing good ever comes from avoiding the truth.

You let Kenney lead you into a very dark place and avoided Lougheed’s warning.

Don’t ever let the preachers back in.

[Derek Mah @derekdmah]

Here you go, @nenshi @CraigBaird