Archive for September 2010
I learned so much more than a foreign language
I took four years of French in high school with Lester Maroney, a good teacher who was also a little crazy. Lester would hand out detentions as if they were candy and would smile while doing so. Forgot your homework? Detention. Laughed at a joke? Detention. Tripped while entering the room? Detention. At one point…
Read MorePets. Part 1.
Earlier in the summer, I posted about all the jobs that I’ve had in my life. It turned out to be a popular post, and I loved the fact that I had a complete work history saved for posterity. Recently, I thought I might do the same about the pets that I have owned throughout…
Read MoreStrangest question this year
Strangest question asked of me while on book tour this year: How have your ex-girlfriends played a role in the writing of your fiction? When I asked the woman if something in my books caused her to wonder about this, she said, “No. You just seem like the kind of guy who would have a lot…
Read MoreDisoriented but on time
Why is it that my body can wake me up every morning around 4:45 without an alarm but I have to look at my phone in order to determine what day of the week it is?
Read MoreLadies. Please. My daughter’s future is at stake.
“A 2007 study by the Workplace Bullying Institute found that 37 percent of the US workforce reported being bullied at work. Among those who mistreat their co-workers, women were more likely to target other women (71 percent), compared men who bully other men (44 percent.)” “It’s a dirty little secret among women that we don’t…
Read MoreRoses are red. Not green.
For all the talk about the importance of local foods and the impact that shipping food from around the world has on the environment, isn’t it time to take a long, hard look at the flower industry? In many cases, flowers are shipped to destinations around the world in refrigeration, and for no other purpose…
Read MoreAre wives really this rotten?
On Slate’s recent Dear Prudence video podcasts, Emily Yoffe, who plays the role as Prudence, was giving advice to a pregnant woman who was suffering from nausea while at work. Yoffe said: Oh yes, I remember in my third month my husband was heating up Chinese food for dinner. I made him eat it on…
Read MoreUnnecessary pages be gone!
When I was a kid, I used to tear out the pages of books as I finished reading each page. Read the page, look at the picture, then tear that sucker out. Sadly, we barely owned any children’s books, so destroying the few that we did own had a devastating effect on my younger brothers…
Read MoreNot nice. And not Jewish.
I just finished Jennifer Weiner’s book Fly Away Home, which details the story of the wife of a philandering Senator and the impact that an affair like this can have on a family. Weiner says that the story was inspired by Elliot Spitzer’s resignation following revelations that he was employing a prostitute. At the time…
Read MoreMy wife kissed a strange man in exchange for fruit and alcohol
Elysha and I spent Sunday at the Patriots game, a glorious 38-24 defeat over the Cincinnati Bengals that featured a kickoff return for a touchdown and an interception returned for a touchdown. A great way to start the season. While tailgating, we were approached by a large man with a container full of strawberries soaking…
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