Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
Did you know Anti-social means something entirely different here? I much prefer the UK definition. Here, anti-social behaviour is something that actively goes against society. Something that disturbs the peace, and negatively affects the neighbourhood. Noise complaints, public drunkenness, vandalism – anything that blights the quality of individual and community life. I’ve been trying hard … Continue reading Anti-Social
Moms of all stripes are up in arms, as usual, this week thanks to a feature article in the Atlantic (and responses to it) trying to tackle the latest chapter in the war-on-moms-slash-work-life-balance-myth. The latest can of gas being thrown on the fire being the assertion that it’s anti-feminist to be a Stay-at-Home-Mom. The rant … Continue reading Work-It
Did you know it’s Fire Prevention Week? Me neither. I do recall an early-school-year project from my elementary days when we all made “escape plans” for our homes and learned to “stop, drop and roll” our way out of suddenly bursting into flames. But I hadn’t thought about fire prevention for many years, until I … Continue reading Fire Prevention Week
I saw quite a few people recently tweeting about a bullying article. If you don’t care to click through, the reader’s digest version is: a cadre of bullies picked on a girl (Phoebe), using the usual teenaged-girl-bully tactics of social pressure, name calling and other psychological barbs. These bullies have apparently not been curtailed, and … Continue reading Fighting the Wrong Battle with Bullies
When I was invited to an event from the fine folks at Preventable (@preventable on twitter) last night on winter sport safety, I found the timing quite fortuitous. I’m heading to Sun Peaks over New Years for a ski vacation, and being the utter wuss that I am, I was definitely interested in knowing how … Continue reading Watch Your Nog(gin) this Winter
… I do not think it means what you think it means! I’m talking about Sustainability. The latest in a long series of buzzwords that’s been appropriated to make people feel better about their choices – not the first, and certainly not the last. But definitely the one I find most annoying right now. sus·tain·a·ble … Continue reading You Keep Using that Word
I spent the past week in Chicago, which coincided with the final few days’ run-up to the decision on their bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. I’d forgotten how crazy Vancouver had gotten about the Olympic bid in 2001 July 2003, with the huge effort by government and businesses to show their support and … Continue reading Apparently No, Sometimes We Can’t