Did you go and make some trouble in her neighbourhood?

The differences between Canada and the US in terms of healthcare are both larger and smaller than is generally thought, I think. If I understand it correctly, for you it would be like not needing insurance for hospital or clinic visits, but wait times for non-emergency issues being longer. Basically, it's triage as…

No humbling intended. I miss obvious references all the damn time.

The Seinfeld writer's room had a motto: no hugging, no learning.

The wider complex of social services pertaining to health and disability; in other words, part of the social safety net. Whether you're talking about a single-payer system like Canada or a private insurance with exceptions system like the US, there's a consistent trend towards devolution of responsibilities. In…

Honestly, online dating seems to me to basically be a matter of learning to be genuine in a totally artificial environment. It's harder than it sounds, but it's doable. People often appreciate the courtesy of a friendly greeting and an invitation to pleasant conversation - I know that I do - so that's the kind of…

In my experience, "so what are you up to" might not be enough to get a conversation started online. I've had some luck with a short introduction (name and such) and some questions regarding whatever interested me on the profile. Think of it in terms of how you'd meet someone socially in real life. There'd usually…

Being on the spectrum makes one vulnerable in ways that don't necessarily seem obvious from the outside. I've mentioned before that I've been working in respite care for a nonverbal autistic teenager for a while now. I'm still struck by how vulnerable he is. His care depends heavily on his family. His family is…

The whole style of intentionally losing the audience and then winning them back is pretty fundamental and I like watching it, even if it is well-worn. The thing with Burr is trying not to hold some of his awful fans against him. Those are the people who get won over during the part when he's trying to lose them.

I like him as a comedian pretty well - he's very skillful - but his approach risks being tired as hell, as it's such well-worn territory at this point to do the whole thing where you bring up some outrageous idea and argue your way out of it. It's tried and true, but I can see people being sick of it, sick of his…

I was still close enough to gaming culture when Gamergate got going that I have basically no sympathy for the people behind this supposed backlash. Wanting games to be "left alone", as you say, is wanting them to be terrible. Video games have this terrible problem with existing in a echo chamber, aesthetically as…

Watch any standup ever and Youtube will conclude that you want nothing more than to see PC culture EVISCERATED by Bill Burr's talk show appearances.

If General Buck Naked is a guideline, then being a warlord seems to mostly consist of behaving like one is having an extended public breakdown.

I'd believe it a bit more if Trudeau had muttered it in French. That's what I'd do if I were bilingual.

Magazines are still useful depending on what they're about. I'd be interested to see how guitar magazines are doing these days. I also occasionally pick up the ones devoted to recipes.

No one word could describe a life, least of all Andre's. He suffered from debilitating pain and likely felt pretty misunderstood. He also left an indelible mark on the world and did and saw things he couldn't even have imagined as a village kid. There's no easy way to describe that strange mix of melancholy and…

There was a comment thread the other day about how there needs to be a really well-made series about the territory days, like, yesterday. Failing that, Andre, Gorgeous George, and Dusty Rhodes definitely need cinematic treatments (we'll ignore the problem of finding actors who can convincingly portray those three for…

The funny thing is that his accent is distracting as hell for about ten seconds and then completely disappears from my consciousness. The movie really is an acting showdown between Reeves and Pacino and the former shows that he can hold his own. I'm a fan of Keanu and I think he's a better actor than he's purported…

I've never understood triggering everything on an expensive kit either (but I've also never understood getting a $2000 guitar for its "tone" and then sending it through six layers of processing). May as well use a cheapo kit and expensive MIDI gear at that point.

I see what you're saying. On the one hand, I don't really care about the whole music-as-athletics approach and thus am not much bothered over physical limitations; on the other hand, I also dislike the whole albums-that-sound-nothing-like-the-artist approach. I have gathered from talking to producers that metal…