I couldn’t help myself. I downloaded the iPadOS Beta and it really is a proper upgrade in every respect. Sure there are some rough edges, but honestly it’s just great to see my 6 year old machine been given a real boost. Great job to the teams working on this.

How the hell did we get here?

A madman like Putin is destroying a nation, for bullshit reasons. A country like Israel is allowed to commit ethnic cleansing in view of everyone. Racist and fascist views are rampant at a government level in many countries in Europe and now increasingly in the US. There is increasingly less tolerance between humans. Our home is on fire.

Actually the question shouldn’t be how did we get here, but rather how to we get out…

I’m actually really impressed with some of the new features coming to the iPad. In most cases it’s about bloody time really (Menu bar, Files in dock and Previews). Multitasking is finally implemented in a way that I will actually use.

The Freedom Flotilla is getting ever closer to Palestinian soil. Of course the Israelis are trying to do the normal intimidation of those onboard. The world is watching you assholes.

Two Basic Issue Dads.
Putting this here so I don’t forget it.

Tee-CAF (TCAF) 2025 was on this weekend. It was at a new venue this year, was at TMU on Carlton Avenue, just a short walk from the old hood. My buddy Carl Brundtland was on a panel, so we took the boys over to see what’s what and let them get a little bit of high brow comic culture. Mixed in within a bunch of exhibitors we saw some real characters. The guy with the long leather jacket, beak mask and earphones stood out. The guy with the beard and tight red dress made an impression.

The classic display tables, such as D&Q and the Beguiling had the most polished stuff. My boy got all three Milo books from Peter Balsano. There were a couple of books that did stand out to me, but I just didn’t take a punt and buy anything. I think I just probably needed a lot more time to digest what was going on, which was a lot. This is the third time that I go to TCAF and I am starting to get a little bit more familiar with the setup, except the interaction with the people creating the books themselves.

Maybe next time I’ll actually talk to the creators and get a feel for what they have created.

🍳 Sri Lankan Chicken Coconut Curry.
Even managed to make fresh naan breads with this as well. Total autopilot in making this. Made 8 smaller naan breads, next time will make them bigger. Hydration was close to perfect. 2 cups flour, 150ml of water was all it needed.

Took the kids to see their new school today. It’s fascinating how different schools in the same school board can have that distinct flavour depending on the community it is serving, the teachers that are there and the building and facilities themselves. The kids will be back to packed rooms of over 20 kids, but I’m heartened by the support for kids with ADHD, recognising that we are built differently and need different things to thrive. Also Zane will hopefully get back into chess again, since there is a chess club.

🍿 I am soo here for the total collapse of Elon Musk and Trump’s bromance. Just get the popcorn out and enjoy the show. America’s greatest douchebag couple.

The Feather app for iPad looks amazing! I didn’t know such a think even existed. With Procreate and Procreate Dreams, these are seriously amazing tools for creatives of any description.

It’s not every day that a site you created and ran 15 years ago is fully online, including the bloody url and favicon and you have literally nothing to do with it any more. I can only think that someone is doing this in the hope that I contact them to ask for it and pay their ransom?

Flawless. I just imported 1800 posts that I had as markdown files. I’ve been sitting on these for a while now but was inspired by Jamie’s post. Incredibly my own site now goes all the way back to 2004 as well. 21 years on the internet. It is disappointing that Micro.blog didn’t exist during my lean years that would have kick started my writing online more. It’s about recording moments in your life that you can celebrate yourself and reflect on where you’ve been. Lots of cleaning up to do.

I now know however that a personal site is not a destination, it’s a journey.

🍳 Chicken Parm with garlic mash and broccoli.
Loved how this came together. Simple dish but looked elegant on the dish and the mash was full of garlicky flavour. Would have loved a little more heat in the tomato sauce, but alas kids and Yasmine are just not ready for that.

📚 Finished reading: Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman. A good book to reframe your view on humanity and what each of us can or should do with their lives.

Just finished binging on 1883. What. A. Fantastic. Show. 10 hour movie is right. Some of the gunfights with the bandits felt a little much but overall the writing, cinematography, authenticity, acting and overall story was just on point. Highly recommended if you’re even remotely inclined towards period dramas.

Certainly clamouring for more of these characters but totally understand why this wasn’t ultimately extended to a second season, it works like magic that there are only these 10 episodes that tell a complete story.

You know you have a good product on your hands when you displace said item you go out and buy a replacement immediately. That’s the case with my Prostorm umbrella. Not a big fan of umbrellas in general but this thing balances build quality with price.

⚽️ Onana is such a baby. Every time I’ve ever watched this guy he’s always mega dramatic no matter the type of foul. Baby.

My eyes always rolls back hard in my head every time I hear about ‘Israel has a right to defend itself.’ No nation has a right to do the amoral and reprehensible actions this government has chosen to do. Displacing 2M people while killing 1000s is simply unacceptable and anyone choosing to defend such depravity is themselves complicit with this type of action.

🍳 Chicken Souvlaki.
This was Ryan’s choice. He really wanted this. Forgot to put garlic in the marinade. Everything came together well. Maybe a little heavy on the yeast. Maybe needed a little more salt (but I’m always second guessing this because of Yasmine and her aversion to salt).

Powerful video from the New York Times. Is it sensationalism? For all the canaries, it is not. It’s real and it’s been happening for a while.

🍳 Lamb ‘Kokkinisto’.
Excellent tenderness. This thing was cooking in the oven for 3½ hours. Perfect on a spring day like today.

Victoria Day is a day to reset after a long and harsh winter. Great book (Moral Ambition), great beer (from Wellington Brewery). Lamb in the oven.

🍳 Orzo Pasta Salada & Muhammara.
I added chickpeas in this one, and a slight tweak on the usual dressing (mustard, honey, olive oil, lemon and oregano). I think I could have either done a little less pasta or a little more dressing, but overall nice.

Reading Rutger Bregman’s Moral Ambition. Same guy who wrote one of my favourite books ever, Humankind is back. I really love his indignation and how he presents his arguments.

🍳 Tuscan Chicken. This was super easy. Sauce was great. Roasted potatoes turned out great as well. I do think I have to find a way to keep the breast juicy - note to check video on brining.

Shame on all of us for allowing an abhorrent government like the Israeli government to get away with the inhumanity they are inflicting on children and a people.

Even bigger shame (and a colossal fuck you) on those funding, supporting and enabling these monsters.

🍳 Greek feast. Biftekia. Mustard potatoes. Tzatziki. Greek salad. Freshly braked pita bread. It all came together perfectly.

Setting things up for the spring and summer.

I really don’t know why it’s felt this way, but spring seems to have taken a really long time to get going. I am reviewing photos from last year and it seems as though last year was maybe a couple of weeks ahead of the curve. No big deal really now that things have begun moving by Mother Nature.

⚽️ Really fun game in the end. Giving goals to Mount, Garnacho and Amad being the only real positive I can see in this game. Shame we couldn’t have equalised because that would have been even better.

⚽️ Amass having a shit time of it at the moment.

⚽️ Mason Mount scored, only for the second time ever, but I’ll totally take that.

⚽️ Luke Shaw as captain. I really don’t care how this game goes but getting some minutes for kids is fun.

Trying to watch the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale and it’s all just a little too intense and weirdly close to home. Just a little too uncomfortable. Maybe I’ll be able to finish it some other time.

📚 Finished reading: No. 5, Vol. 1 by Taiyo Matsumoto. 3/4 of the way through this but just didn’t really click for me. Maybe if I was younger this might appeal more.

It was at least 15 years too late. I tried to finish reading No.5, but it just didn’t click. Some stories and character are meant for a younger me. Love the art, so going to see if Ping Pong is more to my current liking.

Trafford Watch Co is a company that I have been following with great interest. Their latest Daytripper I-70. My only comment is that $800 it is really up against some stiff competition. I would be much happier to drop $500 or $600 on this, considering it is a Miyota movement and a leather strap.

🍳 Creamy Mushroom Risotto. This turned out great. A little too much black pepper maybe, but the lemon hit at the end was a wonderful touch. Great meal after yesterday’s lamb meat fest.

Week 1 - Finished art work from Zane and I. Hopefully we can get some momentum and do the same next week.

⚽️ Never been a fan of all things Bournemouth football club. The kit, the logo and the stadium all…suck a little to a lot.

And week one is done. Have to give Zane credit for kicking my ass into picking up a pencil again and facing a blank page. One drawing per week. No more. No less.

Art session with Zane. I think we are going to make this a regular fixture in our house moving forward. Great fun.

I never get excited about spring until I start to see the first shoots of green. I’ve seen a couple this week, so give it another 1-2 weeks and spring is officially here (even in the 6 season sense). My step count has absolutely taken a nosedive this year, but it was bloody cold this winter, so really looking forward to being a lot more active in the weeks and months ahead.

⚽️ Two bloody shots the entire game and the second goes in. Just stupid.

⚽️ Op. That didn’t last long. They’re on again. Because of course they are.

⚽️ That was a pretty boring game of football. Good to see Bruno and Dalot (and uncle Casimero) rested though.

Spring book reading. And I’ve got more upstairs. Doubt I’ll be able to get through half of this stuff, but it is wonderful having all this option available to me.

Fixed the bikes for the season. Unlocking is very nearly over. I have yet to see a single green shoot from any tree yet but the weather is getting warmer and I can get out of the house without a jacket or beanie. Been a pretty long one this year.

During our move, I misplaced some of hardware for our outdoor Ikea furniture. Ikea has a replacement parts area on the website. Ordered the missing pieces, which are being replaced for free. Wonderful service.

⚽ Oh. My. God. That match was something. I was at the optometrist (first time in my life), and we’re 2-0 up. Then I go in and we’re 2-4 down!!! Then as I’m walking to the car, we won the bloody thing!

The Atlantic must have seen how popular David Frum has been recently to The Hub subscribers, so they’ve given the man his very own show, The David Frum Show.

In between all the stupidity and madness coming out of The White House, it’s good to remember that there are some seriously smart people in the US. It’s just that their political system is seriously fucked and can be manipulated by a reality TV parody mafia boss that looks like a 🍊.

This morning was another train adventure with Ryan. Go train out to Rouge Hill.

Carney’s Checkmate. How Canada’s quiet bond play forced the tariffs to be dropped. Now that is what I call a power play. The 🍊and his cronies are so dumb.

This is not a uniquely American problem. Liz Truss lasted less than a lettuce in the UK and did much damage to the economy because of sheer ignorance.

In world politics change requires diplomacy and discussion, not negotiating life a parody mafia boss you baboon.

Reminds me of one of my favourite quotes:

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.
—  Arthur Schopenhauer

Lovely new design for Blogroll.org. Type selection is on point and the colours are just right for this time of year.

🍊 He’s shorted the market. He’s fucking around with the world. Unbelievable really. Monkey with a machine gun.

This interview with Janice Gross Stein, Belzberg professor of Conflict Management and the Founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, was really wonderful and insightful against why Canadians are really scared of the consequences of this tariff war.

⚽️ The quality on this Fubo feed is going in and out constantly. First time ever. Seriously annoying as I generally only tend to tune in for 1 or 2 matches a week.

New album by The Weeknd (ok it’s 2 months old, but for me that’s as quickly as I move sometimes). On in the background while I work on my latest article. It’s been too long old friend (iA Writer).

It’s been a brutally long winter. Since moving to the new house, I’ve not really managed to do very much walking, even though our current location has a lot of walking opportunities.

I’ve also not been able to play outside with the kids (in any meaningful capacity) because it’s either too cold, too wet, to windy, too annoying.

But this week it looks like there will be a dip and then after that we are in an upward temperature trajectory. Can’t wait honestly.

Tron: Ares official trailer . Great trailer. Sets tone. Shows something different we’ve not seen before. And the second most important point, who’s doing the music? Nine Inch Nails. October can’t come soon enough. 15 years after the last Tron movie.

📍. Toronto Public Library. New library branch. Wonderful place. Can drive or walk or bike when the weather is nice.

📚 Finished reading: Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 2 by Kamome Shirahama. It’s been a while since I’ve read something pretty mindless but fun, in a Naruto sort of way. It’s not serious, but it embodies what Manga does really well, keeping the story and characters moving.

🌨️ Honestly Canada, I expected a different April shower. Full blown snow storm in bloody April. Enough of this stupid winter already

I couldn’t help myself. Had to get one. Always been a Williams fan, but they’ve not been a great team for over 20 years.

📚 Finished reading: Scalped Deluxe Book Five by Jason Aaron. Finally finished reading this series. Completed 13 years ago. i began reading it when it first came out and Vertigo Comics was still a thriving imprint. Still trying to digest how I feel about that ending. In some ways its just right.

📚 Finished reading: Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 1 by Kamome Shirahama. This was light and fun. Certainly not in the general demographic for this type of book, but it has vibes of Kiki’s Delivery Service, by way of Harry Potter.

🇨🇦🇬🇱🇩🇰 Red and white. In the fight against the big fat 🍊.

The 22nd Amendment

What has truly made me stop and take a little bit more note, is what previously would have been considered anathema, a presidential third term in the U.S, is now being spoken as easily as running for a first or second term. This article from Politico, from two months ago, explains how Trump (and Bannon) would go about this.

For myself, this is just astounding and if I was a US Citizen I would be absolutely livid. Not because of this particular amendment being broken. In other countries, having a political leader to run for longer than 8 years is very common, but the Americans have always held their sacred Amendments as untouchable. I would be livid because the frankly unethical Amendment to allow idiots to bear the right to hold semi-automatic weapons as a constitutional right.

The only good thing about breaking this 22nd Amendment would be that the other Amendment would be fair game. But in that world, democracy would have truly been ripped and America would have been plunged into a new Civil War. I’ve not been this interested in what is going on in the news cycle since Covid hit 5 years ago. Make it stop. Please.

🍳 Apple and Butternut Squash Risotto.
Only had beef stock and I think vegetable (or chicken stock) stock would have been better. Also the squash in the mix melted away but didn’t add any colour. Next time roast the squash, blitz it before adding it. The roasted pieces on the top were great. Maybe a little bit more seasoning next time.

🍳 Lamb and potatoes in the oven - with tzatziki and Greek salad.
Complete auto pilot on this one. Would have been good with a bit of my fresh pita bread but was busy this morning. Didn’t have a green pepper or feta for the Greek salad, but that’s ok.

🍳 Chickpea Curry.
Another autopilot curry. Had to adapt a little for the kids (no spinach which was annoying). I would have loved to add more cayenne, but 1/8th of a teaspoon was more than enough for the rest of the family. Basmati rice. Lemon wedges with some yogurt and coriander. The only ingredient that was missing was a red pepper. Also brown sugar is a must.

Kinda liking what I’m seeing with the new Pebble watches. Sure still pretty geeky looking but I like the charge it once a month situation.

The train museum led me to Raymond Biesinger (a Canadian artist based in Montreal), which then led me to the 305 Lost Buildings of Canada book, but also all of the prints across North America. It’s really fascinating to me how little regard for historical buildings is given in different parts of the world (Europe being the extreme opposite).

Don’t buy a Tesla. Every time you look at the passion and gritting of his teeth as he does it - he clearly means it. Someone give this guy a copy of Ryan Holidays Ego is the Enemy.

Today is a train themed day. Ryan has always been enamoured with trains (since our time in Copenhagen). He loves watching them go by and is fascinated by them. So taking him to Union Station (on the subway) to check out some trains going in and out of the station. Then we’ll walk over to the Toronto Railway Museum and probably spend a good while in the gift shop (we need some more art on our walls in the new house).

America’s position in the global hierarchy isn’t guaranteed. It can be lost with stunning rapidity when an economically illiterate con artist and a cadre of ideologues are drunk at the wheel.

From The Index article on the new world order.

🍳 Aloo Gobi. This is one of the things that I can typically put together quickly and easily. Full of flavour and a solid vegetarian dish.

Ughhh. Scratched the car getting into my tight ass garage. It was really only a matter of time. It’s a few centimeters on the bumper and honestly just annoying. I guess scratches happen.

🍳 Zaatar Chicken. Muhammara (from scratch including roasting peppers). Turkish Salad. Pomegranate molasses (made it myself this time). This all came together really well. I’m into Turkish food this month, so trying a bunch of Mediterranean food now.

It’s a Turkish cooking kinda weekend I think.

That got dark very quickly. Frum gives a little bit of flavour as to why Trump is going after Canada. It’s nothing to do with the economy, it’s about demographics and racial rebalancing. Totally agree with the thought, too ugly to make a joke about it, to stupid to talk seriously about it.

📚 Finished reading: Tokyo These Days, Vol. 3 by Taiyo Matsumoto. Really loved this series. Wonderful 3 volume edition but the very final punch was how we can all reflect on what the main character is going through as an extension of your own life. Slice of life in Japan. Just excellent.