Sixth graders are too young for middle school
My wife and I knew something was awry when Primo lost his lunch box less than two weeks into the fall term. We were pretty annoyed that we were out $10 in what seemed like record time, even for one of our boys, who both periodically...
Adventures in parenting, Part 2: Longing for some sleep
I’m writing this post while in a bit of a haze. Actually, I’ve written all the posts on this site while in a bit of a haze. So if you find any typos, please excuse them, because I’m a dad of longstanding. Let me explain. All the...
Generation X gets shafted – again
A recent study by PwC Canada of the Canadian banking sector found that Generation X – roughly defined as people born between 1961 and 1981, after the Baby Boom – are being squeezed in the financial industry by Boomers who aren’t retiring and by Boomers’ “Generation Y” offspring, who...
Why Thomas Mulcair gets it when it comes to Israel
Not surprisingly, Thomas Mulcair won the NDP leadership last month, replacing Saint Jack Layton as the man social democrats hope can rally left-of-centre voters to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. Here’s hoping he’s successful, but as I argued in an earlier post, it seems unlikely that...
Things that make me go arghhhh! Part 1
I figure that this wouldn’t be a true blog without random kvetching about nothing in particular. So in that spirit, I present semi-aimless carping about disconnected aspects of modern life, or, with apologies to Arsenio Hall, what I like to call “Things that make me go...
Even with a new leader, the NDP can’t defeat the Tories alone
I just can’t get excited about the NDP leadership race, which ends March 24 in Toronto, because irrespective of who wins, it’s hard to see it leading to a positive outcome for progressive politics in this country. Will Thomas Mulcair, the party outsider who reportedly flirted...
Adventures in parenting, Part 1: Care and feeding of Teen Wolf
It happens almost every time. (OK, not that often, but way too much.) A 14-year-old boy in a foul mood does something that drives his fortysomething dad bananas, and his fortysomething dad sleepwalks into the trap of allowing himself to be driven bananas. Before you pass...