Day 45: Wife

It used to be ok to be a wife. In today's world less and less women want to be wives. Men certainly don't want to be the wife and for good reason. Wives are disadvantaged when compared to unmarried women in almost every social category measurable. Wives have less money, are more likely to die a violent death, more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, more likely to battle depression and more likely to commite suicide. In comparison men seem to benefit from marriage. Married men live longer, enjoy more profession success, make more money, lead happier, healthier lives. The imbalance in marriage is unfortunate and speaks to a greater underlying gender inequality in the world. I don't always agree with the issues of the feminist movement but I think there is little doubt that the fight is necessary.

Day 44: "Because I said so"

In response to a child's question "why?" it used to be ok for a parent to respond "because I said so!". Fortunately, like other marginalized members of society, women, disabled people, visible minorities, children too have been recently granted full human status and consequently patronizing responses like "because I said so" are no longer acceptable. What's next letting women vote.

Day 43: Homemade Presents

It used to be OK for Grandma's to give homemade knit sweaters at Christmas. Now even Granny is giving up the needles and bending to the pressures of the latest designer fashions.








Wouldn't it be a better world if Grandma's crazy Christmas sweater and the pinnacle of high fashion were one in the same?

Day 42: Famous

It used to be ok to want to grow up to be a fireman or a doctor even a teacher. Today kids want to grow up to be famous.

A recent study reveals a seismic shift in career aspirations within the space of a single generation.The study reveals that for many of today’s pre-teens, traditional careers have been superseded by the desire for fame, stardom and celebrity.

I don't think I would have any real problem with this if the kids wanted to be famous doctors or famous scientists. But it disturbs me that famous is the career rather then the result of a successful career.

Day 41: Potty Time

It used to be OK to coerce, coax, bribe, persuade, entice and even mildly scold your children to use the potty. Today's parent is told to wait until the child is ready. Without bribery I've got nothing.

Day 40: Neighbors

It used to be ok (maybe even expected) to get to know your neighbors. In todays world we are lost in the technology of being connected to each other and as a result are more alone then ever.

Day 38: TV

It used to be ok to park your kids in front of the TV. Especially on those lazy Saturday mornings when all the best, and when I say best I mean most violent, cartoons were on.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under age 2 avoid all TV and kids 2 to 6 years old watch only one to two hours a day.

What are today's parents suppose to do.....

Hopefully the AAP never looks into the effects of southeast Asian immigrant raising our children.



Before we know it we're actually going to be parenting our own children and really who has time for that.

Day 37: Allergies

It used to be ok for a kid to bring a peanut butter sandwich to school. According to the American Allergy and Asthma Care of New York we are twice as allergic as we were 10 years ago. Like the dead coal mine canary I can’t help but wonder if the human immune system is trying to tell us something.

Day 36: Peanuts @ 10,000 ft

It used to be ok to serve peanuts at 10,000 feet. A flight used to include a meal, refreshments, even a pillow and blanket if requested. Flying was luxurious and as a passenger you were made to feel important and appreciated. On a flight today you are lucky to get the seat you paid for never mind any basic comforts. When traveling by air today a person is more likely to feel like a criminal then royalty. Gone are the days of the Concord and here are the days of the air-bus.

Day 35: Common Sense

It used to be ok to assume that people possessed general common sense. Apparently in today’s world this is no longer a reasonable assumption. It is however, reasonable to sue McDonald’s for serving coffee that is too hot just ask Stella Liebeck of Albuquerque, New Mexico who successfully sued McDonald's for 2.7 million.

Day 34: Sexual Harassment

It used to be ok to sexually harass women. In the office "nice work toots" followed by a firm pat on the bottom used to indicate a job well done. In today's work place this kind of appreciation would likely get you fired or at very least a some sensitivity training.

Day 33: Dandelions

It used to be ok to have a few dandelions on your lawn. It's not that people didn't care about the appearance of their homes it just didn't seem that important to have a perfect lawn. As we all expect more of ourselves and each other it seems lawn care has been added to the list of ways we can fail to keep up.

Day 32:Working 9 to 5

I used to be ok to work from 9 to 5. What happened to the 8 hour work day, the 40 hour work week. In todays world work starts at 8 am and still goes to 5.



When did that change and how did everyone not notice?

Day 31: Throw Garbage Out

It used to be ok to throw your garbage out without thinking about it. Now you are faced with multiple choices as to which bin your garbage should go into and everyone around you is watching to make sure you do it correctly.

Day 30: Old Car

It used to be ok to own and drive an old car. Next time you are out driving around take notice of the fact that there are very few old cars on the road. It seems everyone is driving something new. The only people driving old cars are old people or students. My mother didn't own a new car until she was in her 50's. As a 2 income middle class family we owned two older cars and when they broke we fixed them or had them fixed depending on the level of complexity of the issue.

Today everyone and anyone can own a new car because......

- replacement is often cheaper then fixing and really who fixes anything anymore.

- financing has been made possible for most people.
(If you have a job you car probably "afford" to lease a new car)

- We are all getting less and less adverse to carrying debt.

Day 29: Fast Food

It used to be ok to eat fast food but now we know better and are choosing healthier, more nutritionally sound foods.....right?

When I selected this topic and started researching the annal profits of some of the big fast food restaurants I expected to see declining profits with peaks long ago in the less informed carefree 80's. Instead I found that despite all we now know about heart disease, cancer and obesity, profits of fast food restaurants continue to raise.

Really?????????

Day 28: Care

It used to be OK to care about what you looked like. People used to take pride in how they looked, that was until the mid 80's when grunge first emerged. Teens in the 80's decided that it was no longer cool to care about how you looked. Most of us spent a lot of time trying very hard to look like we just rolled out of bed. It took a lot of effort for the average suburban middle class kids to look homeless.

Day 27: Watch Your Stories

It used to be OK for moms to watch their favorite soap opera's during the day. It was common for women to get together for morning coffee, do some housework and run errands and then settle in to watch their story of choice. In the 70's there were 19 different soap opera's, by the end of 2010 there will only be 6 left on the three major networks. What are moms these days spending their time doing....excuse me, I just need to go check my wall on Facebook.....and text my kid about lunch...

Day 26: Kids Sharing Rooms

It used to be OK to have your kids share bedrooms. Since the 1950's the average house size has more than doubled, from an average of 983 square feet to 2, 349. Combine that with the fact that family size has decreased in that time period, each person in the family now has approximately 900 square feet of personal space. No wonder commercials and parenting experts promote eating supper together, since you can be in the same house all day and never be in the same room!

Day 25: Patches

It used to be OK to sew patches on the knees of your kids pants. When was the last time you saw a kid with patched knees on their pants.

Patches take too much time and new pants are cheep thanks to hard working kids in other parts of the world.









Kids working for kids!

Day 24: Energy

It used to be OK to use energy. NO longer is this the case. We are now required by the laws of our privileged North American lifestyles to feel guilty for using any natural resource. There is good reason to feel guilty as to me it is clear that we are exploiting the world to maintain our impossible standard of living, its just that, like most catholics, I sometimes get tired of feeling guilty.

I think this 1947 Public Service Announcement must have been one of the first energy conservation messages ever. To be honest I really don't know what "watch your meter" really means or why it was important for the public to do so in 1947. If anyone knows please enlighten me (use the "comments" button at the bottom of the post).

Day 23: Sun Tanning

It used to be OK to Sun Tan. As a kid I remember walking home from school and people would be laying out in the sun tanning. They even made extended adjustable lawn chairs for tanning that came as one of the types of chairs in most patio sets.



I guess these chair-beds still exist only now we slather on SPF 60 before laying down.



Or we cover with an umbrella.




When was the last time you someone tanning in a movie? I don't think they made an 80's romantic comedy without a tanning scene. Either the woman was tanning as part of her "reconnect with herself" day after the break up or the neighborhood kids were pulling a prank on the unsuspecting tanning girls.

As seen in this public service announcement being out in the sun can be dangerous, although I'm not sure I would consider getting wrinkles a "health problem"!


Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer and if left undetected can lead to more serious and life threatening cancers fairly quickly. The good news is that rates of skin cancer in Canada have been declining by 1% annually since 2000 in women and 2001 in men.

Once again women have proven themselves better informed and more open to change then men. It took the men a year of nagging to put on sun screen and still I need my wife to apply it because I don't like getting my hands greasy (sad but true).

Day 22: Blue Jeans

It used to be OK to wear blue jeans while downhill skiing. Well maybe never truly cool it was certainly common sight and generally acceptable.



Now we have......

X-Bionic Energy Accumulator Medium-Length Pant



The X-Bionic Men's Energy Accumulator Medium-Length Pants have a high-tech base layer that features insulation on the hips and other fast-cooling areas to keep you warm, while air channels in the groin area stop you from overheating. Channeling air in my groin sounds fun. The Energy Accumulator Pants have sweat traps that pull excess perspiration away from your body to be evaporated but leave a thin film to ensure you stay cool without needing to perspire more. Light pressure from these pants stops your muscles from vibrating too much—this improves your performance by saving your energy. The calf-high cut accommodates your ski boots and provides less coverage for not-so-cold days.

Technology Rocks!!!!

Day 21: J-Walk

It used to be OK to J-Walk. I think this informative public service film from 1948 really says it all.

Day 20: Drink at Work

It used to be OK to drink at work. This is so insane to me I had to check and make sure it was actually true and not just a romanticized memory of life in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Apparently it was not uncommon for men and women to drink while at work especially in an office setting. Most companies didn't have drug and alchohol policies until the late 80's or early 90's although by then openly drinking in the office was frowned upon.

No wonder they didn't worry about objectifying women or the fact that there were no people of colour in the office, they were all too drunk to consider the inequality.

Ahhhh the 50's, what a magical time.

Day 19: Kill Ducks for Oil

It used to be OK to kill ducks to get oil. Syncrude was accused of acting negligently in not taking appropriate measures to protect wildlife at their oil sands operations in Northern Alberta. As a result of their lack of due diligence Syncrude has killed thousands of birds in the last 2 year and rightfully so has been found guilty and is being held accountable.

In our society this means money. To bring a company to justice we have decided that we need to make them pay as punishment. This as well seems reasonable to me as I expect creative sentencing will direct the Syncrude fine money to preserving and restoring natural habitats in Canada.



The real issue I have with these kind of stories is that the point is completely lost in the dollar value of the fine or the number of birds killed. The average Canadian (that's me and you) doesn't seem to be able to make the connection between what a company like Syncrude is doing in the oil sands and their cost of living.

We are NOT willing to pay the true cost of things.

What is the actual cost of gasoline, both in terms of dollar value and environmental impact. Not until the average, too busy to really think about it, Canadian realizes that idling their monster truck for 10 min every morning kills ducks is there going to be any real change and North Americans will continue exploiting to maintain our lifestyle.

The spill in the gulf is another perfect example. Until we all take responsibility for the oil lapping up on the shore nothing will change. It is easy to point the finger at BP, it takes much more honesty to ask how we all may have contributed. Do we not see that the standards around BP's drilling operations is a reflection of our expectations and a result of our demand for inexpensive fuel.



If you are still not able to make the connection between environmental impact and our expectations as a society the National Energy Board of Canada has made a direct connection for you.

We are about to start offshore drilling in one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world, the Canadian Arctic and our government is asking for our direct input on the requirements to be placed on drilling operations. Basically do we want to decrease the "attractiveness" of our oil and make it mandatory for companies drilling in the Canadian Arctic to have adequate preventative measures in place before they start drilling or not. These regulations will cost the drilling companies money and as they will not be able to pass these extra costs onto us as consumers(due to the fact that we don't know or care where our oil comes from) the regulation make Canadian oil more expensive to mine. The question really is are we willing to pay the true cost of the oil and provide protection to our environment or do we want to continue pretending that the way we all live if reasonable, sustainable, moral.

Day 18: Not OK

It used to be OK not to be OK, sad, down, out of sorts, cranky, hyper, over emotional, under emotional, even flaccid. Now they have a pill for that.

Day 17: Sneezing

It used to be OK to sneeze in public. I sneezed in an elevator the other day and if looks could kill the four passengers I was riding with would have widowed my wife (the toll of my death has obviously not been kind to my beautiful wife, photo left).

I sneezed into my half bent arm at the elbow as is the current protocol. Perhaps we should all start carrying handkerchiefs as is suggested in this 1953 public service announce film targeting rude sneezing in public.

I understand the reasoning for sneezing responsibly in public but I think a little more tolerance might make sense. After all sneezing is an involuntary reflex. As our lives get more and more sterile medical science warns that in our current hyper-germ-phobic state we may actually be breeding stronger and stronger bugs while weakening our own defenses.

Day 16: Taking Your Time

It used to be OK to take your time, to take time for yourself, even to do nothing. Now we are all so connected with information and each other that we have no time. I'm checking work messages while I eat breakfast, taking calls while I ride my mountain bike, looking at data and making decisions during dinner.

Even in the shower my time is measured and I'm being asked to be even more productive by new hair and body wash.


Dial® for Men
BODY WASH WITH CLEAN
RINSING TECHNOLOGY
Hair + Body
Here’s a shortcut any guy will appreciate – a liquid soap that gets your hair and body clean, without extra bottles or steps. Get clean, conditioned hair and skin in a single step. To give you more time for more manly stuff.

I'm not sure I even had this problem until Dial came along to solve it. Is the 2.5 seconds it takes for me to grab a different bottle pop the lid and squeeze shampoo into my hand really cutting into my free time.

"Where were you? I called your cell...I sent you a text.... your facebook status says your home....why didn't you answer my tweet.....I finally emailed you....what's up???"

"Sorry I was in the shower trying to think of some manly things to do with the 2.5 seconds of spare time I gained with my new Dial body wash."

Day 15: Littering

It used to be OK to litter. I'm not sure anyone would have agreed that littering was OK but I'm not sure anyone thought to ask until it became a problem. When I say a problem I mean a significant cost to local governments to clean-up litter. Unlike most government programs which simply treat the symptoms (crime rate raising = hire more police) most littering campaigns attempt to address the problem at the source. When I say the source I mean ignorant simpletons with low self-worth.

One of the first such campaigns in Canada was "Litter Picking Pete". I couldn't find a picture of Pete but I found this CBC radio broadcast introducing him.


In Edmonton we spend over 2 million a year on a public awareness campaign "Capital City Clean-up"

These campaigns are great and help municipalities reduce their maintenance costs but the fact that people need this kind of help makes me crazy. Maybe not crazy but fearful. Fearful of the kind of people I'm sharing public space with. I suppose littering is based on the same ridiculous logic that smokers use to explain their right to a cigarette in public space. Now that I think about it smokers are some of the worst offenders when it comes to littering. For some reason cigarette butts are not considered litter by most smokers.



Edmonton recently updated their littering by-law 14614 to specify address discarding of cigarette butts on the ground as littering (subject to a $250 fine). If you would like to report an offender within the city of Edmonton just call 311.