In the summer of 1977, I wrote the Cardboard Brains song Can Stress Kill? in a moment of chance and inspiration. It all happened in the practice room I’d built in my parents’ basement at 34 Clissold Road, Etobicoke—a sleepy suburban area just outside Toronto. If you’re in a place like Romania, imagine Etobicoke as the suburb of Toronto: reliable, practical, but not exactly glamorous. I was waiting for the band to show up, and Vince Carlucci’s Les Paul was sitting there, calling my name. Vince, our guitarist, had left it behind, and I couldn’t resist picking it up and strumming a few chords. As I noodled around, my eyes fell on a copy of the Toronto Star lying nearby. In the letters to the editor section, there was a headline that stopped me cold: Can Stress Kill? Intrigued, I read the letter. It was written by a guy working in a factory who hated his job. His words were raw, honest, and dripping with the discontent that punk music was all about. Lines like: "Sometimes I feel li...

  The Roller Coaster of a Day: Reflections on Justice, Therapy, and Hope Yesterday was a lousy day. Not the worst I’ve had, but bad enough to knock me down for a bit. Looking back, I think I overdid it on Vyvanse—too much fuel for my brain, and anxiety came crashing in to remind me of my limits. The week before had been different. Inspired, focused, and riding a wave of hyper-productivity, I dove headfirst into legal and medical research. GPT-4 was my companion, helping me map out a plan to file Freedom of Information (FOI) requests with over a hundred sources to gather documentation for my legal battles. I was full of energy, teetering on the edge of brilliance—or obsession. But as usual, the crash came. That’s the problem with being an all-or-nothing kind of guy: I burn brightly, but the flame flickers out just as fast. I talked to my therapist recently—a Halifax-based professional I was connected with through Victim Services. When I shared my plans for a legal campaign, my un...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp2pIvPX6PE Title: A Hidden Gem of Punk Rock History: CINOFRENIC (1979) Here’s a blast from the archives for true aficionados of punk rock! Back in 1978, I had the opportunity to be part of a unique film originally titled CINOFRENIC . It was an experimental project that captured the raw, unfiltered energy of the punk scene at the time. I was billed as Paul Young in the film, and although it never reached a wide audience, it has lived on in the memories of those lucky enough to experience it. Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the film has resurfaced online under a new title: Shock Rock (1979) . Thanks to an "Unknown" commenter in a YouTube thread, I discovered that this rare piece of punk rock history is now accessible for fans to rediscover and appreciate. The film itself may drag a bit in its dramatic parts, but the footage of the bands is absolutely incredible—and rare! I and Cardboard Brains perform a few songs, incl...

Fighting for Justice: My Journey Through Systemic Injustice  For over a decade, my life was consumed by an extraordinary and harrowing series of events that tested my resilience and nearly broke me. What began as a promising career in the arts and entertainment industry was derailed by systemic abuse, judicial misconduct, and malicious prosecution. From 2002 to 2012, I endured repeated false arrests, imprisonments, and harassment, which left me physically and emotionally shattered. These events robbed me of more than my career—they destroyed my health, left me homeless, and plunged me into a state of fear and survival. I lived each day under the threat of further retaliation, unable to take legal action against those responsible. The system that should have protected me instead conspired to silence me. Since fleeing to Nova Scotia in 2012, I’ve slowly begun to rebuild my life. While I’ve found some peace in anonymity, the weight of unresolved injustices remains. I’ve battled the ef...