Culture
When they write the obituary of the COVID-19 pandemic there will be a chapter in there somewhere about how it got us, through gritted teeth and lots of resistance, to move away from a model of labour relations derived from a century-old American legislation to something better suited to highly-educated,
Culture
The other day I took Middle Child to the movies because A) that child loves movie theatres and B) they’re actually such a keen observer that they’re secretly doing half the reviewing and note-taking work that I wind up using. Just don’t tell the kid. They’ll
Culture
There are school plays that one only likes, sort of, because one’s personal offspring is in them. Many of us have, er, enjoyed a few of those performances over the years. It can be hard for me, especially when it comes to musical theatre. I’m a musician and
Urbanism
My Ottawa Citizen column this week was inspired by the announcement, from the City, that the busking program was going to make a comeback on the LRT. We knew this was coming. It had been floated earlier as a way to bring back riders. And after I was done rolling
Culture
Now that the month is finally over, I have things to say. What the fuck is March supposed to be about, huh? Beginning of spring my foot. If you had to write a marketing campaign for March, you couldn’t. Not that you’d want to. Sounds way too much
Culture
This shirt is one of my kid’s favourite. If you don’t pull down the pocket it’s a perfectly innocent cat. But of course nobody is innocent, especially not cats. Or children. All this to say, enough with the hypocrisy already. We all swear, think dirty thoughts (some
Culture
Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. Now replace with chicken. And good luck. Not to boast, but I’m pretty up on Golden Arches lore. I remember the McDLT that came in a double-wide styrofoam container so the lettuce and tomatoes wouldn’
Gender
Among the missteps I’ve had the misfortune of taking in my life, two years as morning face on the brashly conservative (or, rather, Conservative) Sun News Network has to be way up there with getting bangs when what’s-his-name dumped me. You can see that profound unhappiness reflected in
Culture
What is work, really? We all have our own relationship to work, which is as unique as we are. It tends to combine some form of settling — because bills don’t pay themselves — and ideally some form of satisfaction because paying bills, while necessary, is not enough by itself to
Travel
Dear Diary, On Sunday I went to Buc-ee’s. And it was about as ridiculous as you’d expect. You did not know this, but there are tourists who make a point of stopping at Buc-ee’s beause it’s so quintessentially American you can’t believe it until you
Culture
On Thursday, after two flights, I arrived in my beloved Huntsville, Alabama for a few days of happiness and work (and warmer weather) and thought to myself, self, I thought, what a beautiful thing it is to be able to work from anywhere. Including on flights when your aircraft offers
Culture
“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living.” Indeed. But also: “It’s all taking and no giving.” In case you were wondering why St. Dolly had been inducted into not just one but two halls of fame — don’t. She’s just that awesome. She popped