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When our oldest child moved out last summer, among the things she pilfered from us — the list included dishes, furniture, small appliances — was a Netflix password. With a raft of new expenses (food and rent chief among them) she elected not to add streaming services to the list and instead piggyback off our account. Well, Netflix recently announced they are putting a stop to that practice, the… → Read More
Most evenings, I finish my day by crawling into bed to watch a little TV and have a snack, maybe a bowl of popcorn or some cheese and crackers. But before I’m even settled, the blankets in place, the pillows propped up just so, remote controls in hand, the dog jumps up and plops himself on my lap: it’s a lovely scene, a man and his pooch unwinding at the end of a long day. Except the dog isn’t… → Read More
Val-d’Espoir, a little town in Quebec, has a Groundhog Day celebration similar to the one they hold in Wiarton. But when organizers went to wake their physic rodent Fred earlier this month so he could do his predicative thing, they found him “unresponsive”— a.k.a. dead. Just something else this godforsaken month has to answer for. My favourite February facts: it was one of the last to be added… → Read More
Of all the things I enjoy about my gas stove, the sound it makes when I fire it up — “click, click, WHOOSH! — might be my favourite. There are other things, of course. The instant heat. The ability to quickly and easily moderate temperature. The convection oven that has produced countless near-perfect loaves of bread and more than a few homemade pizzas. My list of complaints is much shorter.… → Read More
Turns out I’m a cycling cheat and like most athletes who benefit from performance enhancement, there’s a long-winded excuse — er, I mean explanation — as to why. So in the winter, I do this thing called Zwift. It’s part cycling training tool, part video game and it involves connecting a bike to the internet. There are a number of (mostly expensive) ways to do this but I use a spin bike that… → Read More
Hi, my name is Drew Edwards. On Facebook, my name is Drew Edwards. On Instagram, it is thedrewedwards. On Twitter, I’m @scratchingpost but only because I once had a blog by the same name and the bio is very clearly me. I have a website at drewedwards.ca (perpetually under construction) and my email address is drew@drewedwards.ca. Given all that Drewing, it is entirely possible that I am a… → Read More
This was going to be the year I learned to really love the World Cup. There are an estimated 3.5 billion soccer fans in the world but I’ve never been one of them. With Canada back in the tournament for the first time since 1986 — I was a huge sports fan in the 1980s and I have no recollection of the event at all — I figured this was my best opportunity to finally develop a true appreciation for… → Read More
I went to my usual burrito place for lunch the other day and placed my standard order, then nearly flipped out when it came time to pay: with tax and tip it was $22. For a burrito. This wasn’t a fancy burrito, either: veggie crumble with a few extra grilled vegetables but no guacamole up charge and certainly no overpriced pop to wash it down. It was, admittedly, delicious but I walked away from… → Read More
I have a confession to make: I think I might be woke. For those not up on the parlance of the day, “woke” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” The idea is that you are “waking up” and realizing the discrimination that exists around you. That doesn’t seem so bad does it? While the term… → Read More
A teacher named Jamie McIntosh changed my life. It was January 1991 and I was an 18-year-old high school student taking a co-op program in media studies. I went to interviews in three places: the daily paper, the weekly paper and the student newspaper at the local university. A few days later, I had my meeting with Mr. McIntosh, the co-op teacher. All three places were willing to take me on, I… → Read More
I hate to admit it, but the new Kentucky Fried Chicken-flavoured potato chips are finger-lickin’ good. As a middle-aged person who has worked hard to eliminate the vast majority of unhealthy foods from his diet and develop an immunity to gimmicky food trends, I am somewhat disappointed in myself for both seeking out and enjoying these edible abominations. But when social media starting blowing… → Read More
The first household repair my wife and I did together almost wrecked our relationship. This was early days of cohabitation, the two of us in a ramshackle apartment I’d shared with buddies before she moved in. Slowly but surely, she was moving us away from the free-stuff-at-the-side-of-road decorating motif I favoured to a more civilized, less rodent-forward style of living. The bathroom upgrade… → Read More
That’s kind of a funny thing to say because it never really left → Read More
He walked into the principal’s office and rattled off a laundry list of terrible, terrible things that were happening. And something unexpected happened: she listened, writes Drew Edwards → Read More
Two summers ago, my eldest smashed up what was colloquially referred to as “Dad’s car.” She was fine but the car was toast and we decided not to replace and see if we could live as suburban unicorns: the one-car family. Now 24 months into the experiment, I think it’s safe to say it’s been a rousing success — with a few caveats. First and foremost, you need to be OK with alternative forms of… → Read More
“Hey Dad,” my son said a few weeks ago. “I think I want to try camping again.” I tried to keep the surprise and mild trepidation out of my voice when I responded: “Huh. OK.” The first time we tried camping — the only time we tried camping — things did not go well. He was probably eight or nine at the time and everything about it scared him. It was dark. The people the next camp site over were… → Read More
Canada geese are an undeniably beautiful creatures with their long, graceful necks, majestic wingspan and iconic white, grey and black colouring. They are an central piece of this country’s visual identity, appearing on everything from currency to overly expensive parkas while their migratory behaviour is celebrated as a harbinger of changing seasons. They are also extremely nasty pieces of work… → Read More
“Your son is transgender,” a co-worker said the other day. “Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?” These kind of interactions make me slightly uncomfortable but it’s probably not for the reason you think. I’m perfectly happy to discuss my son, who was born female but now identifies as male. But as a straight, white, middle-aged, suburban dude I am not an expert on LGTBQ2S+ issues… → Read More
I won an award the other day. You likely didn’t hear anything about it because it did not receive any media attention and the only public reference to it was via a Tweet from an account with less than 300 followers. And yet it was one of most meaningful accomplishments of my career. Not to brag, but I’ve actually won a few awards over the years, including a bunch for this column. I’ve also been… → Read More
“Hey man, don’t call the police,” the bike thief said, his weathered face pained and mournful. “Let’s try and work something out.” We were standing in a church parking lot just off downtown. I had followed on my own bicycle after seeing him zip through an intersection riding an e-bike that looked a lot like the one that belonged to a friend of mine but had been stolen a few days earlier. Now… → Read More