At just about every wedding reception, some uncle leans over to the groom, clinks a glass, and shares the secret to a lasting marriage: “Happy wife, happy life.” Everyone chuckles, the groom nods like he’s just been handed the key to the universe, and the phrase gets passed down to another generation of husbands. I […]

~~ Continue reading How “Happy Wife, Happy Life” Feeds Toxic Masculinity on Beyond the Rhetoric.

It’s been a while since the last time I did this, so I thought I’d pop back in to share some of the books I’ve been reading lately. I like to keep my reading list reasonably diverse, both in terms of genre and voice, as I find it’s a great way to step into the […]

~~ Continue reading Books on My Reading List Lately on Beyond the Rhetoric.

Do I sound like a broken record? When will I ever learn? What’s it going to take to get over this hump? If you’ve been a longtime reader of this blog, you might recognize that I keep returning to the same themes. This blog is really just thinly veiled advice for myself, saying the things […]

~~ Continue reading I’ve Let Myself Go (and That’s Okay) on Beyond the Rhetoric.

From YouTube to Spotify, and even LinkedIn and PC Optimum points, it feels like everyone is recapping and unpacking 2025. It’s also tradition around these parts to do a year in review, looking back at personal goals, content created and consumed, and where we go from here. Let’s dive in with my 2025, by the […]

~~ Continue reading Wrapping Up 2025 (Year in Review) on Beyond the Rhetoric.

In a month when the local gym and organic health food store might be at their busiest, I’m once again taking a slightly different approach to my new year’s resolution. Yes, I have some general goals in mind for my finances and my physical health, to be sure, but for me, it’s more about taking […]

~~ Continue reading My New Mantra for 2025 (New Year’s Resolution) on Beyond the Rhetoric.

I feel like I say this every December, but 2024 has been quite the year. It has been a mix of the usual, mundane, day-to-day surviving stuff, but also filled with many treasured highlights that I feel are worth reflecting on. One big highlight for me was appearing with James, Stacey, and Stephen on the […]

~~ Continue reading Retrospective: 2024 Year in Review (By the Numbers) on Beyond the Rhetoric.

What started as meeting some random guys I met on the internet in the middle of the woods with no cell phone reception has grown to become so much more. Dads Go Wild (formerly 5DadsGoWild or Five Dads Go Wild) is an annual (or even more frequent) tradition where us content creator dad types meet […]

~~ Continue reading Dads Go Wild 2024 at Manning Park Resort on Beyond the Rhetoric.

At the risk of sounding cliche, reading is fundamental. Whether it’s a paperback, hardcover, audiobook, or ebook, reading is reading. This is true at any age, but I would emphasize that it’s longer-form reading that is most beneficial for adults. In a world where we’re bombarded with pithy observations and rage bait in 280 characters […]

~~ Continue reading Summer Reading List: 6 Books I’ve Read Recently and Recommend on Beyond the Rhetoric.

After basically not leaving our province for four years (for obvious reasons), we finally took a proper family vacation during spring break back in March. This was my son’s first flight (he did really well both ways!) and the first cruise for both of our kids. We opted for the five-night Mexican Riviera itinerary aboard […]

~~ Continue reading Mexican Riviera Cruise Aboard the Carnival Miracle on Beyond the Rhetoric.

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I watched a lot of sitcoms. The TGIF lineup on ABC was a mainstay. As I watched those 1990s TV shows, I naturally identified more with the children. I’d see little pieces of me when Stephanie Tanner got bullied at school or Robbie Sinclair questioned the meaning of […]

~~ Continue reading Top 16 TV Sitcom Dads From the 1990s (As Voted By You!) on Beyond the Rhetoric.