For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Maybe it is just nostalgia speaking, but I believe that – on the whole - the music from the ‘80s and the early ‘90s is better than what is being produced today. It may simply be that I am getting old. Every generation complains that the music of the subsequent generation is loud and incomprehensible.... Continue Reading →
I have a confession. I am addicted to The Walking Dead. It’s not the zombies so much, although I think the make-up and special effects are fantastic. I don’t find gore particularly appealing. Anyway, zombies are not particularly terrifying. Any determined child with a sharp enough crayon and a penchant for violence could subdue one.... Continue Reading →
The true test of a man’s character is to give him the moral high-ground and watch how he defends it. It is one thing to be right. It is quite another matter to be right graciously. This morning I passed the test. It was with some dismay that I discovered yesterday evening that there was... Continue Reading →
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. People who need to make them are either not committed enough to make the desired change, or have no strategy for effecting the change, thus ensuring failure. It requires serious dedication to break a bad habit and reforge a new one. Not a vague, whimsical suspicion that one’s... Continue Reading →
In Series 3, Episode 12 of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon mentions that Flatland is one of his favourite imaginary places to visit. Flatland is the title of a Victorian novel by Edwin Abbott Abbott (I don’t have a problem with giving a child a surname as a second name – after all, Nathan’s second... Continue Reading →
My son is not a compliant shopper. He starts screaming the minute we cross the threshold of the store, and sometimes refuses to stop until we leave again. Here’s the thing: it is the most appropriate response to the trauma that is Christmas shopping. He is only doing on the outside what I am doing... Continue Reading →
One of the greatest lies of modern times is that happiness, like the Holy Grail, can be sought and – with the right formula, of course – found. Much of popular culture consists of some type of attempt to lure us into chasing the elusive rainbow of happiness, with promises of a pot of whatever... Continue Reading →
My Beloved Nathan I can’t believe it took me two years to write this, but in a way I am glad it did. When you discover a treasure of immeasurable worth, it gives time infinitely greater value. These past two years have left me enriched beyond my wildest imaginings. For as long as I can... Continue Reading →
After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Jeanette Winterson – my favourite writer, and one of the great thinkers of modern times – wrote an article for the New York Times (http://www.jeanettewinterson.com/journalism/twin-towers/) that profoundly shifted the way I thought about forgiveness and love. She admits she is not Christian, but even so, I think she... Continue Reading →
If you love experiences that spike your adrenaline levels, get a two-year-old child. It is, I think, a matter of time before some aspiring imperialist tyrant harnesses the destructive force that is the two-year-old boy. A reasonably small horde of toddlers could unleash havoc on a scale that quite belies their tiny frames. A couple... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 