I was asked the other day how I identify someone as one of my "heroes". It was a good question... Really good, actually. To tell you the truth, I've never really thought about it. Whenever I've identified someone as a "hero" to me, it's been almost instinctive. I simply admire them and feel inspired by them. But because this isn't a very satisfying answer, I thought I would put some elbow-grease into the question: how do I identify someone as "heroic"?

Once I knew a man who was, at one point, discerning a life as a Theravadan monk. For those of you who aren't familiar with the various strains of Buddhism, allow me to explain: the Theravada School is perhaps the earliest form of Buddhism practiced in the world today. I won't claim that it goes all the way back to Buddha's early monastic community, however it would certainly love to say so.

What is ethics? Often people assume that it's something that's rule-based. "Do this, don't do that, it doesn't matter either way, etc." Certainly, that's how many ethical systems have been constructed, going all the way back to the Ten Commandments—and even before then! While they can be burdensome, on some level it cannot be denied that we like these rules since they are clear-cut.

This prayer was said long enough ago that I don't mind posting about it here. I was in—it's safe to say—a period of incredible spiritual desolation. A friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in years, messaged me asking me to pray for her. I won't say what for, but she was having a very hard time. And while at this time I was experiencing a lot of doubt about prayer and its efficacy, I would always say a prayer for someone who asked.

Especially now that it's gotten warmer, I have (on one or two occasions) found myself craving ice cream in the middle of the night. The great thing about Toronto is that there is never a time when you are completely without the possibility of ice cream, so the last time I found myself in this headspace, I took a little walk.

Recently, I had the privilege of seeing the Auschwitz exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. For those near Toronto, I would highly suggest going to see it, although it's not especially pleasant, nor should it be! There were a lot of things—horrible, damnable things—that stuck with me, but the strangest, which I never would have expected in a million years, was the prisoners' name for the storage shed where all their belongings were kept.

My mum and I have a tradition where we'll go down to Stratford (Ontario) two or three times a year to watch Shakespeare in the theatre. We've seen some great ones: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and (a wonderful parody of Shakespeare) Something Rotten. Personally, I've always loved Shakespeare's tragedies the best, but I've come to develop a love for his comedies.

Finding religion in adulthood, when you weren't raised with anything in particular, is a strange experience. I haven't met many people like that. It seems most stories are about people leaving religion, not finding it. Moreover, most of the people who have a religion were raised with it, and there wasn't the experience of wrestling with a conversion (although that's not to say there's no struggle).

Celeste has quickly become one of my favourite platform games of all time. In case you don’t know, “platformers” are games, like Super Mario, where you’re on a 2D plane, generally doing lots of jumping and falling. Celeste has a lot of that, actually, since the premise is that you, Madeline, are determined to climb a mountain—Mount Celeste. Sure, it might not be as fantastical as stomping on mushrooms and beating up turtles, but it’s a great game.

Rick and Morty is one of my favourite shows—definitely in the top-three—and this is why. It's like Doctor Who on crack—I love it! Amidst the ridiculousness and the sci-fi level grossness of it all (not to mention the adult humour), it also succeeds in grappling with some interesting ideas. Case in point is this soliloquy from the Fear Hole episode:

I'm a big fan of video essays. They're my podcasts, if I'm honest—a soundtrack to my day. And I saw a few in my recommended the other day that were about Halo. You know, the game? It was one of my favourites growing up. I had to play a bootlegged copy on my PC—no Xbox in my house—but I really enjoyed it—the modding, especially!

This has been a long time coming.... The Shining is my favourite horror movie of all-time. Having said that, when I first saw the film, I was pretty confused, especially with the ending. And I did what anyone of my generation would do: I googled responses, reading other people's interpretations, and trying to think of my own. And having thought about it for some time now, I've realised that part of what makes…

May the fourth be with you! I thought I'd do a special Star Wars post for you all, not least because May 4 fell on a Sunday this year but because of how timely and relevant I believe my thoughts are on the series. And I'll begin by voicing a deeply unpopular opinion: I love the Prequels, better than the original trilogy even!

I like a good used bookshop like I like a good pub: affordable, accessible, and diverse. Strangely enough, like pubs, there's a sense in which a used bookshop is a microcosm of the whole community. Reading attracts all types of people, after all, and you can tell a lot about someone by their taste in books. Walking into my local used bookstore, I immediately see nooks meant for each and every clique: whether your niche is in business, romance, horror, sci fi, philosophy, religion, history, art, music, film, or whatever, there is a place for you to go.

I recently finished my first basic unit of Clinical Psychospiritual Education. It was exactly this kind of experience that I wanted when I first applied to my MDiv program. I liked theology, religion, philosophy, and that kind of thing; but I also wanted to do something with that information, y'know? I felt like that was the missing link in my education thus far, and I wanted a rich, practical experience of providing to people in need.

Greetings, readers! A little bit of digital housekeeping. Welcome to my blog's new home! For the past week, I've been working on getting myself set up on a brand-new, shiny server in Switzerland for increased reliability and privacy. Not to mention, I've been among those "hosers" divesting from American big tech companies insofar as it is possible, so it seemed like the right time to make this change, which I've been thinking about for some time now.