journal features

Rob Ford's not all bad

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2014.05.20

Rob Ford's not all bad; thanks to him, parents are having the "drugs are bad" talk with their kids waaaaay ahead of schedule. Yesterday I was able to explain a character in one of Mari's favorite Miyazaki movies to our son by using Dear Mayor as an example. The character was pushing some berries that would ease the main character's pain and fear. The main character was about sixteen, and Ken identified with him.

Maybe if you have to resort to explaining a situation via Rob Ford that should have been an indicator that the material was not suitable for kids. But when that includes every newspaper box the kid passes, month after month after month....

rand()m quote

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.

—Roald Dahl