Skip to content

Revising seventeenth century essayists for the better

My friend, Shep, sent me this quote, which he liked a lot: Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. -Jean de la Bruyere, essayist and moralist (1645-1696) I liked it, too, but in my ever-present mission to get a quote in Bartlett’s Book of Familiar Quotations, I…

Read More

Our own little sweatshop

While I was mowing the lawn, my wife made a skirt for my daughter. A skirt.  Sure, it takes a long time to write a novel, and it requires a modicum of creativity and skill.  But she made a skirt.  Just whipped it out like it was nothing.  Then she made two more. And another…

Read More

Once is fine. But this is a pattern of stupidity.

I’m almost finished reading Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. Amongst the many controversies cited in the book is Jemele Hill’s regrettable reference to Hitler in a 2008 editorial about the NBA playoffs. In describing why she could not support the Celtics in the NBA playoffs, she wrote: Rooting for…

Read More

Unforgettable duet

Tonight I put my daughter to bed on my own.  She asked me to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I started singing, and then she joined me.  A first.  We sang the whole thing together.  I’m writing it down now so I won’t forget this moment, but I suspect that it won’t be necessary. 

Read More

I walk like a duck. And perhaps it’s how I should be playing golf, too. And maybe I should just quit.

I was playing golf with friends yesterday when one of them, a longtime friend and colleague who plays well and has taught me a great deal about the game, said, “I’ve been watching your feet. The way they impact your game.” “And?” “Most people walk with their feet pointed straight ahead,” she said. “But you…

Read More

Five rules to guarantee a successful the public marriage proposal

I just watched three of the most gut-wrenching failed public marriage proposals ever. The most cringe-worthy moments you could ever imagine. For your enjoyment, I have posted them (along with one of the best public marriage proposals of all time) below. As a veteran of a successful public marriage proposal, please allow me to offer…

Read More

Look! Another politician can’t simply admit to making a historical mistake.

As I’ve said before, I’m not happy when lawmakers make simple historical blunders, but I can live with them. Nobody’s perfect. It’s the refusal to admit that you have made a mistake that I cannot stand, and it only serves to make the initial mistake even worse. Today’s case in point: In an attempt to…

Read More

The stupidest simile in the whole wide world

Without question, the stupidest simile in the history of similes is drunk as a skunk. It is a simile not based upon meaning but simply upon rhyme. Skunks have absolutely nothing to do with alcohol consumption or inebriation. Skunk and drunk rhyme.  That is the extent of the simile. That makes it incredibly stupid. As…

Read More

The celebratory graduation bedsheet has gone too far

Sometimes I get unnecessarily annoyed, so this could admittedly be one of those occasions. But I don’t think so. Ever since the beginning of June, the Connecticut landscape has exploded with painted bed sheets congratulating recent high school graduates on their achievements. Hanging on fences, across bridges, and and between trees and poles, these sheets…

Read More