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Me? Or a muzzled version of me?

Over the past three days, I have been keeping track of the number of ideas, thoughts and feelings that I was unable to share because doing so might have hurt the feelings of a friend or family member. The total: 19 This includes three blog posts that I cannot write. I find this frustrating. Equally…

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Why today’s video games suck

It happened more than a dozen years ago. I was playing a new PC game called Diablo II with some buddies and liking it very much. About an hour into the game, my character was killed by an arrow-shooting monster, and my head dropped to my chest. Damn. I’d have to start over. “But, wait,”…

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Introducing Matthew Green

My last name has caused me problems before. And many, many more that I have yet to write about. Despite the burden that a last name like Dicks has carried, I never imagined giving it up for a new name. It may not be pretty, but it’s my name. I have never been able to…

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The Rapture. Part II.

Oh good.  Just when I thought I would have to wait years for another Rapture prediction comes word that the next one is just around the corner.  Harold Camping, the minister responsible for last weekend’s prediction, announced that the Rapture began on May 21, just in a “spiritual” and not “physical” way. “But it won’t…

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The Author’s Prayer

A while back, Washington Post fiction critic extraordinaire Ron Charles tweeted: Does being stuck inside writing a review on this gorgeous day make me even more annoyed with this tedious novel? I was never able to determine which book Charles was referencing, but the comment left me wondering if a critic’s personal circumstances might impact…

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I have never been treated by an OB/GYN but I have an opinion on the subject nonetheless

Admittedly I  have almost no experience when it comes to OB/GYNs. Unfortunately that will not stop me from commenting on a piece in Slate that criticizes OB/GYN practices in Florida for establishing 200 pound weight limits for their patients. When I first read the headline, I was a little shocked. I thought, “Are these doctors…

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Unacceptable platitude #3: “That’s your opinion.”

“That’s your opinion.” For clarification, this statement, and ones similar to it, are often made after a person states an opinion in the midst of a heated argument. For example: “No, I think chunky monkey is a the stupidest ice cream on the planet.  Strawberry is clearly the best. It’s simple. It’s classic. It’s known…

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Raptured!

At least one reader decided to follow through on Wendy Clinch’s Rapture idea, which makes me extremely happy considering I forgot about it completely. I’d like to use the excuse that my daughter’s great grandmother was staying with us for the weekend and we spent much of the day at the Connecticut Book Festival, listening…

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Ice cream for dinner!

That’s right. As my wife and I were finishing our walk with the dog, she turned to me and said, “How about some ice cream for dinner tonight? She didn’t have to ask twice. And I strongly suggest that everyone try this at least once. As adults, we sometimes forget the when-I-grow-up promises that we…

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