May 16Toxic MasculinityYeah I’m going there. Prologue: My goals and an important caveat This article attempts to understand and present a variety of factors that exacerbate toxic male behaviour. It is in no way trying to make excuses, mitigate or normalise this behaviour, its primary goal is to try to present and understand these factors so we can all…Toxic Masculinity9 min read
May 9Me and my pianoThoughts on learning piano as an adult The piano is a beautiful instrument, those 88 keys are the cheat codes to every frequency of musical happiness. Every beautiful auditory pleasure imaginable. …Piano4 min read
Nov 8, 2021Adventures in VeganismAn idiots guide to dating a Vegan — TRIGGER WARNING! Contains Scientology and the words ‘Kale’ and ‘Hog Roast’ — proceed with caution… Ok so I recently started dating a really lovely lady. Trouble is she’s a Vegan (eurgh). A total plant-based one. Not even a crafty ‘Cheegan’ (Vegan + Cheese) or a ‘Veggan’ (Vegan + Eggs). Veganism…Vegan7 min read
Oct 25, 2021Dating > Job hunting — an analogyI just went through a five-stage interview process for a new job (which I got!) and it occurred to me that the parallels for this process and finding the right partner are pretty similar. Bear with me as I present this humorous analogy to you. Intro: Being single > being unemployed Ok so you are single…Relationships4 min read
Oct 23, 2021Reframing healingMusings on maleness, communicating our feelings, and the difficult journey to happiness Tl;dr: Most men are afraid to show their emotions. This means they cant effectively communicate their trauma, seek help to heal their wounds and move towards a better place mentally. You cant fix something unless you can accept…Mental Health3 min read
Aug 13, 2021I Can’t Fix You.This is a story about self-awareness, managing expectations in new relationships, a tenuous Coldplay lyric, and moving on from divorce. “Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you” Live 8, 2nd July 2005, I was at a wedding. My ex wife and…Relationships6 min read
Aug 9, 2021On Single Dadding…Being a single dad is a complicated, wonderful thing. Let me explain… Like most single dads, my marriage ended in divorce. Despite our differences, we agreed to both put a ton of effort into keeping our two children informed, and gently taking them lovingly through this extremely difficult process, so…Parenting5 min read
Aug 5, 2021Breaking up with MedicationWARNING: this is a bunch of opinions around antidepressants. Do not take this literally or regard as any kind of ‘truth’. I am not a doctor or a psychiatrist. Any kind of ‘exit plan’ needs to be discussed with your doctor. Introduction Hello. My name is Mat and I have had…Mental Health6 min read
Aug 4, 2021My Loneliness is Killing meThis is a story of loneliness. Like most divorced, single dads, I live on my own. It sounds fucking awesome, lots of pizza, beer, videogames and movies, no-one to tell you what to do or when to stop. …Loneliness4 min read
May 23, 2021Electronic Dating: a PrimerTL;DR — Dating apps are awful. There, I said it. Dating apps have provided a way for humans to meet others for another questionably awful attempt at meeting ‘the one’. This presents a variety of issues that highlight the problems with computers trying to be ‘human’ Humans are broken You know that aisle in the supermarket, where all the unsold, nearly past its…Dating4 min read