“501s” – our only pants “Back to Basics” is the death of romance Stephin Merritt ’90: Dreaming in Tetris Even before TikTok and Instagram came along, it is not like humanity was free of comparison. Even Betty Rubble probably looked at Wilma Flinstone and thought – “Rock necklace, eh? What an uppity beeyatch!” I was…
On Valentine’s Day, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (OK, so it was Burns Lake in the year 1989) Valerie and I had our first date in the premiere Chinese restaurant in our small northern town. China Moon, run by the Lam family was in a shuttered “Mr. Mike’s” location in…
My dad is not a violent man, but he did care a lot about my well-being and growing into an upstanding member of society. A child needs lessons about how actions have consequences! You must understand that the years of my childhood were only just removed from the “strap at school” years. One day I…
In the last week or so, someone posted a note on the Facebook page for our little island in the Salish Sea. “Tell us the story of how you came to be here.” How did we get here? That is such a big question, considering how far back we have to go to untangle our…
Better Wanting As a course first designed for overachieving Yale students, it is no surprise that Professor Laurie Santos starts the week by offering some thoughts on alternatives to seeking “great” (prestigious, high paying) jobs and excellent grades. On the topic of jobs, we would be better served by finding jobs that allow us to…
Dear N, It might seem a bit odd to hear from a former acquaintance by way of his obscure blog. That’s true, especially considering it has been the better part of 30 years since we last spoke. Thanks in advance for humouring me! I am taking a course to try and improve my well-being. One…
Striking Back Against the Uncooperative Brain As Professor Santos tells the class very early in the course, the old(!) G.I. Joe cartoons were wrong when they told us “Knowing is half the battle.” It would be great if this was true. If simply being aware of our mental biases got us 50% of the way…
How Our Brains Mess With Our Happiness If we consider all the great works of art and scientific achievements through history, we might think the human brain is pretty awesome. It certainly is. It has helped guide hordes of slightly evolved apes to their current position of global dominance. When we are trucking around, we…
As I trod the trail in a fir-fragrant afternoon under a hazy sky, I “got to thinkin’” as I joke with Valerie when I have a spell of contemplation. It wasn’t a solitary walk, Dusty the ragamuffin dog alternated between lagging behind and speeding ahead depending on how interesting the scentscape was in either direction….
When I was growing up, my grandma had a great system for spending time with her grandkids. It ensured bickering would be low to nil, and the level of care quite manageable. She would invite all of us kids to spend a week with her and grandpa at their modest but cozy home during the…