Loving Your Hometown and the Hometowns Which Adopt You
"Thanks, your tourist dollars are appreciated", Dan Jelly says to me after I my purchase four Hamilton neighbourhood maps at Hamilton's Mixed Media shop. It is March 2, 2020 and I'm visiting Hamilton to give a lecture at McMaster University. For the 2019/20 academic year, I was a Fellow-at-Large of the University of Toronto and took upGary Hart: When US Journalism Stopped Ignoring Politician's Private Sexual Affairs
When should journalists report on the personal affairs of politicians? It is a good question to which the answer reveals much about the person responding and the state of the society they are living in. I came to age during the Clinton White House sex scandal, and observed how public opinion surrounding his abuse of power has shifted, especially sinceBoxing Day Line-ups and Paper Flyers in the 1990s
Let's go back to the 1990s, specifically to the once great festival of shopping - Boxing Day. The big box store is not yet fully dominant, just-in-time efficient delivery with minimal on-hand stock is not yet dominant either. Now, I'm going to sound like an old man saying I walked to school uphill both ways. There were actually deals to
Playing St. Nicholas at UofT
Despite my attempts at deflection, it was apparent that I was the imposter playing St. Nicholas instead of Santa Claus.
Christmas Eve and Friends - Dec 24
Meals with friends, carols at St. Patrick's Church, and more camaraderie with friends - these are the Christmas Eve traditions are important to me. The friends I see, the community I'm part of, all come together on this day. It starts with Christmas Eve day lunch. My friends gather, as grandparents [my friend's parents] look after the kids, it is
Personal Blog Post: The Second Hamilton COVID Mockdown
Working from home, again. I'll miss the office, again.Political Leaders Wishing to Be Liked at All Times During COVID End-Up Failing to Be Liked at All
Ford wishes to be liked, wishes to be popular. Instead, he is increasingly unpopular as the population grows more frustrated for various reasons. Few are pleased with half-measures and indecisiveness.
Age Shall Not Wear Them, Nor The Years Condemn, 2020
I spent the summer of 2003 posted to the Infantry School at CFB Gagetown. There I served alongside many who already complete a tour in Afghanistan, many who would go to Afghanistan, and sadly some who would not return home from Afghanistan. I've been thinking much the past few days about them, and how much fun each night in theThe People Who Made Us Better Along the Way
A playlist is often more than songs, much as songs are more than words. They stir emotions, enable us to relive memories, and to relief our stresses. I listened to President-elect Joe Biden's speech tonight. His writers decision to include references to the devotional Christian hymn On Eagles Wings was a great touch to a speech which hopefully starts USQueen's Gambit - Filmed in Hamilton and Berlin
During my visit to Berlin Germany in December 2019, I enjoyed a brief tour of the Old City Hall. (Cause, if you are me, an Old City Hall is what you go to see). During the tour, we entered Bear Hall which was set up for filming of some upcoming Netflix. I took a few pictures of the hall, and
A Collection of Thoughts, Because This is My Blog
It's the evening of Halloween 2020, in the middle of a pandemic. This means I'm doing the same thing I do nearly every other night of this damn pandemic - sitting at my computer (actually standing, I have one of those desks now). I spend much of my time these days on random thinking. My thoughts tonight turned to theNYT Piece on Small Theatres
The revival of small, often one screen, theatres in the past few years has been something to celebrate in communities across English North America. Hamilton has seen the revival of the Westdale and the Playhouse. (Sadly, the Zoetic did not survive 2019 - it was ahead of its time) Like all entertainment businesses, theatres are being hard hit by theOpen Courts and Living Rooms Visible Due to Video Conferencing
Video hearings is how the courts and adjudicative bodies (and municipal councils etc) function now to the pandemic. There are many access and privacy issues with this. Adjudicator Ian Mackenzie provides a good summary of this in a piece published on Slaw this morning. Of note, for me in my journalism practice, is how I may perceive individuals based upon