Author: Michael Murray

Over the course of his life, Pat Robertson has said an awful lot of things that have been very hurtful to people. One of the primary leaders of the Christian right, he’s taken mighty swings at all the usual suspects, including homosexuality, feminism, abortion, pornography and liberal professors. He advocates something called Christian Dominionism—that society…

Sunday was a beautifully grey spring day that was placed right in the middle of January. An old man in a Toronto Maple Leafs toque picks up a burning cigarette from Queen Street and places it in his mouth. Blinking his eyes, he crosses the sidewalk into Jimmy Simpson Park. His eyes trained on the…

As many of you know, I skipped grade three. I’ve been blessed in my life with an unusually large intellect, one that helped me achieve acceptance from one of the six universities I applied to, and to score a 103 in the CBC Test The Nation IQ test. I’m pretty smart, and everybody knows it.…

On Tuesday night I went to see James Cameron’s 3D film Avatar. Like everybody else, I’d heard that it was the next great leap forward in movie making, and that the director had successfully created an intricate and nuanced world that existed wholly unto itself. Everybody I spoke to seemed to have been gobsmacked by…

On Rideau Street, a boy of about eight drinks an iced cappuccino at the back of the 18. A man sits listlessly beside him, his open mouth revealing a row of uneven teeth. He snaps to attention when he notices something that offends him—a passenger who is hogging an entire seat with her grocery bags.…

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 was to be more spontaneous. In this spirit, I decided to get Rachelle, who just loves animals, a pet chicken for our apartment. She has long thought that Heidi, our Miniature Dachshund, should have an animal companion, and I thought the surprise of a chicken would be…

The other night I took my dog out for a walk at Jimmy Simpson Park. While we were throwing the ball around in the middle of the field, about a dozen guys were playing a game of shinny at the rink. Truly, the acoustics of hockey are a thing of beauty. Free from the hysterics…

In front of me, getting on the #3 bus, is a woman with blonde hair. Dressed in a jean jacket and matching Levis’ that fit her fifteen years ago, she has a black bag with a picture of Tinker Bell on it slung over her shoulder. She has cougar written all over her. It’s taking…

Last week I was forcibly thrown out of a bowling alley because I had the courage to stand up for what was right. I taught many people many valuable lessons that night, I think, and I am very proud of the way that I comported myself. I live the way of The Warrior. The very…