Raise the Hammer
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Michelle Martin and her husband are raising 10 kids in Hamilton, where they relocated from Toronto 10 years ago. She has been published in both the Hamilton Spectator and Raise the Hammer.
Warning: Possibly Occupied Residence - Drivers need to behave at all times as if they fully understand the difference between themselves and pedestrians, and that someone on foot is at a distinct disadvantage in any encounter with a car. Published May 23, 2010 in Belonging
Hamilton: A Love-Hate Story - No place can meet every need all the time. Better to embrace the adventure of the inconvenient and learn to love our less-than-perfect neighbourhoods than to fly in search of the elusive perfect place. Published March 10, 2010 in Belonging
Walkability? We Can't Manage Driveability - Making changes to improve walkability and liveability would go a long way to ward improving driveability, too. Published February 20, 2010 in Belonging
On Writing for Online Publications - Newspapers whose online versions are not much better than electronic versions of what was delivered to houses won't be able to attract letter and commentary writers, and readers of same, who are interested in discourse. Published February 06, 2010 in Belonging
Mark Zuckerberg's Visiting Card - Since no one pays a monthly fee to use Facebook, it must be recognized that Facebook users are paying some other way. Published December 28, 2009 in Belonging
When Sharing Goes Bad: Student Cooperation in the Age of DRM - Can you claim that you did your homework if you got help with it? If you help someone else with theirs, is that cheating? Published September 16, 2009 in Belonging
The New Purveyors of Received Wisdom - Common sense has its place, and indeed a valuable role to play, in our day-to-day existence. Published August 25, 2009 in Belonging
Jane Austin and Jar-Jar Binks? - All is not lost, you teachers and parents of teenage boys. Simply look up the actors and actresses who play in popular sci-fi movies and stories and find out their more, well, highbrow roles. Published August 08, 2009 in Belonging
A Lesson From Laundry - Our very competence as parents, as employees and as citizens is judged in large part on our appearance - but at what cost? Published July 06, 2009 in Belonging
Bicycle Routes Support Healthy Child Development - Council would do well to remember that a healthy city makes it possible for growing children and teens to do interesting and productive things as independently as possible. Published June 18, 2009 in Belonging
Technology and Trust: How Families Can Balance Supervision and Personal Responsibility - As heart-rendingly difficult as it can be to respect your child's legitimate and age-appropriate personal freedom, the concept behind it isn't rocket science. Published June 16, 2009 in Belonging
On Belonging - We go places, we see things, we do stuff – and sometimes we complain about what we did or saw. But are we really engaged? Published May 29, 2009 in Belonging
Clogged Drains and Emo Swoops: A Family Tracklist - I thought David Bowie was cool always and everywhere, but apparently opinions are divided. Published May 25, 2009 in Belonging
On Being at the Mercy of Your Online Profile - The internet has many wonderful aspects and uses, but the inclusion of a little more wisdom, and respect for human dignity is surely a good and necessary thing. Published May 07, 2009 in Belonging
Natural Justice and School Safety - Bullying needs to be dealt with immediately, forcefully, with the full weight of school board policy and law - even in its earliest stages, even if it hasn't yet become physical. Published May 04, 2009 in Belonging
Let Yourself Be Moved - In this economic climate we may not be able to afford major concert tickets, but we can sure get out in the community and listen to our talented neighbours. Published April 21, 2009 in Belonging
Stay On Top of Your Online Profile - Managing your online profile involves more than a simple matter of watching what you say and do, which in simpler times was good enough. Published April 09, 2009 in Belonging
Shelter-Mag Porn and Hieronymous Bosch - The advent of the credit crisis and the evidence of what rampant consumerism has done to the environment have given us wordly reasons not to fall into the trap that religion has always warned against. Published March 27, 2009 in Belonging
Snark, Impatience, and Urban Living - A generous give-and-take among citizens, a willingness for us to make excuses for each other is even more important that an aesthetically pleasing cityscape. Published March 11, 2009 in Belonging
Quebec's Lessons for Hamilton - There is no reason why our fair city cannot be almost as much of a tourist magnet as the oldest city in Canada. Published September 11, 2008 in Belonging
The Air Conditioning Trap - We really tried to tough it out and do all we could afford to do to avoid the air conditioning trap, but smog and asthma made it impossible. Published July 07, 2008 in Belonging
Remembering Alex Keating, Published September 07, 2010 in People
Shaw and Chesterson and Respectful Disagreement, Published July 05, 2010 in Philosophy
Hamilton Municipal Election Website Not Accessible, Published June 21, 2010 in Municipal Election 2010
What Makes a Neighbourhood?, Published May 29, 2010 in Neighbourhoods
Balancing Books, Published May 13, 2010 in Media
The Truth Hurts Like the Dickens, Published April 27, 2010 in Media
Lawrence Road Fail, Published April 05, 2010 in Walkability Fail
RTH Online Poetry Crawl, Published March 14, 2010 in Arts
The Big Brother Customer Loyalty Card, Published January 24, 2010 in Philosophy
Can We Critique Abuses of Privacy Without Compounding Them?, Published January 18, 2010 in Media
The Disconnect of Internet Communication, Published January 12, 2010 in Philosophy
Be My Brother, Published September 29, 2009 in Arts