December 23, 1995: On a wooden basement staircase, in an empty house, with no heat, with my dog. My parents lost the house. All our stuff had been moved out. Our nervous dog wouldn’t settle. I couldn’t leave him. That was the last night I slept in the house where I grew up.

December 1998: On a basement floor near Ottawa. At least it was carpeted. Hammered after some party near a college. In the night, some angel draped a blanket over me. Best feeling of my life to that point. Some guy’s sister was kind to us.

May 2009: Coober Pedy, Australia. Slept in a hostel that was in a mine. Slept underground in a room with bunk beds and no windows. It was weird. Felt like a bomb shelter.

December 2011: Wadi Rum, Jordan. Slept outside under the stars on a sleeping mat on a rock of biblical proportion. The guy in the tent next to ours was snoring. Loudly. My partner couldn’t take it. We dragged our mattresses out onto a rock 300 m from camp. I reasoned — scorpions were less likely to find us. Coulda been wrong. Still here to tell the tale.

I’ve slept in some weird places.

That RTJ video is one of the few I’ve loved since it released.

Then, I discovered Kendrick Lamar had made a video for Alright. Wow.

2015. I didn’t see it until 2018.

Epstein. 'Nuff said. There’s even a herpesvirus.

And Douglas. This may just be in my life. Nonetheless, it is what it is.

True Grit (1969) or True Grit (2010)?

Lockpicking Lawyer

Short videos. Reminder that no lock is impenetrable. Also, April Fool’s Day videos are very special.

Kaptain Kristian

Video essays. No longer in production, high-quality reviews of some cultural artifacts. He’s moved his operation to Curiosity Stream. Made me realize it’s worth it to pay creators directly for their work rather than having advertisers and platforms like YouTube. Now, if only I had money to pay these creators. Aye, there’s the rub.

Every Frame a Painting

Expert film analysis. If it’s not, it sure looks like it is.

CGP Grey

Snarky educational. Fun! The best damn flag contest, best takedown of first-past the post voting, and best reflection on how to go forward after hitting YouTube fame. I still want to know if he and Roman Mars have talked flags.

Kutiman ‐ Thru You

Classic YouTube. 15 years ago, mans took a bunch of other YouTube videos and remixed them into each other, producing meta tracks.

Each of these is run on donations and subscriptions.

Canadaland is moving into the news space, adding to their media criticism roots. Though, I’m uncertain why Karyn Pugliese left. This thread on r/canadaland has the only clues I’ve been able to find.

Democracy Now! is my go-tonfor daily news. Amy Goodman may just be the journalist I trust the most in the world.

I know that there are problems with Substack. However, Mehdi Hasan is building something pretty special with Zeteo.

Naomi Klein. 2nded.

Act to honour and recognize all humans as human. This is Said’s Law.

Act to sustain human security. This is Cura’s Law.

Act to accept responsibility for each action, especially where it guides future actions. This is Sartre’s Law.

I also think that, perhaps, you and anyone who does his or her or their own taxes is more an adult than I.

I let my MIL do my taxes. I’ve done them myself in the past, but, I guess, I’ve regressed.

No… two different scenarios. Knowing how to file your taxes is one thing — a higher order of thinking and problem solving.

Knowing that they need to be filed is another. It is the basic acceptance that this is a non-negotiable responsibility (at least in Canada).

I think that each is its own step toward adulthood.

When I became financially and legally responsible for my parents’ choices — age 12.

Also, to anyone else out there who is a parentified child, the struggle is real. You grew up too fast. Maybe relationships are hard. Maybe you feel like you missed out on being a kid. Talk about it. It helps.

You know to file your taxes.

Bought the book. It’s the only dictionary I’ve enjoyed reading.

Inequivocal yes! Grew up with Batman:TAS.

I have never ridden a horse.

Does the work you do, if you still work for a living, follow you home? And, if you have children, are any of them still in need of your assistance for feeding, bathing, and/or toileting?

I’m really looking forward to being in my mid-50s. My youngest will be approaching 10. By then, I should be able to reintroduce video games to my life at that point.

That my parents knew what they were doing, made good choices, and were reasonable people.

No, no, … and no.

That I’d grow up to eat candy, collect baseball cards, play video games, and read comic books.

No (type II diabetes runs in my family), no (wtf is a baseball card anyway), no (video games were replaced with homework permanently), and — well, actually — yes.

I love a good comic book, graphic novel, and/or animated series.

I remember it having an English language, targeted at North Americans vibe. I could be wrong.

Also, have I posted this request incorrectly? I still count myself as new to the Fediverse. I don’t know how to access other instances. Any guidance is probably already posted online, and I would have to go looking for it. I haven’t.

It was a cycle for me:

Not swearing led to swearing.

Swearing led to learning to swear in other languages.

Learning to swear in other languages served me well as I moved out of North America to teach.

Being out of North American led to me being more humble and less the brash North American. Also, I spent a lot of time with children.

Being less brash and speaking in other languages led me to think more about what I say before saying it.

Thinking about my speech led to downgrading swearing to make a point. I’ll swear, depending on the audience.

Specifically — like L-Boogie said — “I’ll add a MFer so you ign’ant ****s hear me.” (Fugees, The Score, “Zealots”) If I’m cursing, it’s prolly because there’s some ignorance in my area.

I admit, sometimes it’s mine.

Also, the irony is not lost on me that L fell off not too long after this rhyme. Celebrity culture can be a scene full of ignorance. I don’t blame her. I blame the industry.

Loose Change comes to mind.

IYKYK.