Blog Archives
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Stranger Things and the Weight of What We Hide
I came to Stranger Things late, expecting teenagers and monsters. What I found instead was nostalgia — and a story about vulnerability, acceptance, and the quiet courage it takes to reveal the deepest parts of who we are, on screen and in real life.
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Friendships After Five
In 27 years, I’ve only missed one Gala. Side-room karaoke, mile-long prize tables, DJs who kept us dancing until closing—I’ve got a memory for every decade. Winning a PS2 in the early 2000s even saved Christmas during my single-dad years.
And at the kids’ parties, we watched our children grow up together—at Copps, community centres, Chuck E. Cheese, and Soccer World—tiny snow boots becoming bigger sneakers, and eventually, grown-up goodbyes.
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Memorable Moments in Baseball History
From a 1992 World Series ticket won on a midnight radio call, to what that framed game stub means to me today — this postseason brought it all flooding back.
It’s been thirty-three years since that first championship night in Toronto, and as this year’s Blue Jays chase history again, I’m reminded why we play, watch, and believe.
Because the game — like life — is always bigger than us. -
Bigger Than Us
A film about faith, love, and belonging reminded me that even in a divided world, connection still starts with an open door. Because in the end, whatever we believe, it’s always bigger than us.
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The Green Conservative
Many people are dyed-in-the-wool partisans—Liberal or Conservative to the end. I was like that with the Greens. But recent years have forced me to reconsider. I’ve started thinking more about my children’s future. That soul-searching has brought me slightly right of center—like many classic Liberals around the world.
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Councillor for a Day
Are the laws, policies, and by-laws that we put in place as elected officials benefiting the city as a whole? Or, are they adding one more burden both financially and physically in a world where life is already exhausting and unaffordable?
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Beyond the Game
I was so busy admiring how beautiful Tim Horton’s Field and the surrounding area looked on this day, talking with my new friends from around Canada, and enjoying this time with my wife and my family, that the game was just where the lights were shining.
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A Winning Spirit
Perhaps it’s just a game, but life isn’t. These lessons our kids learn about being part of a team, working together towards a joint end goal, building friendships, overcoming obstacles, dealing with heartbreak and adversity with love and respect, the joy and reward in giving life their all, and the importance of being part of a broader community, that’s what this game is truly all about.
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The Theory of Enchantment
From de-robing Ku Klutz Klan members to leaving one’s faith and family because people showed compassion and patience in the face of hate – allowing someone to see the error in their ways – there are so many examples within this program that show us the ability of people to make drastic character transformations, which makes it easy to believe that the hard work of programs like the Theory of Enchantment is worth the possibilities its examples exhibit.
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Taxpayer Lunches
It seems every term of council, the argument resurfaces as to whether or not the taxpayer should be fitting the bill for catered lunches for our elected representatives. My opinion, is that they aren’t just meals. They are an olive branch of human connection.
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I Am But One Shade
Within these divided times, I think a lot about trust and truth. The purpose of public education. The place for politics. The harm in our social discourse. The worth in our labels and our relentless need for group identity. Maybe it’s time we focus on what defines our common humanity?
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The Reason It Never Worked With Anyone Else
I listened to songs like Somebody by Depeche Mode or Haven’t Met You Yet by Michael Bublé – dreaming of that love that I knew was out there. It took 42 years, and it’s everything I knew was out there for me, to make me truly feel complete. Who knew that Twitter was where I’d find forever.
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Coming Soon – Maybe
While going through the archives of my original Shaking The Tree website on the Wayback Machine, I checked to see if this URL was available again and low and behold, it was. For the $16 CDN, I bought the URL.
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Letters to Irshad
A series of letters about engaging in conversations that often divide, in an effort to find a common path forward.
