Archive for October 2013
My daughter’s first manuscript
My daughter can only form a handful of letters from the alphabet, but she started writing her first book after being inspired by the television show Max and Ruby. Television promoting the written word. Who knew? In a strange turn of events, however, she insisted on writing the words herself and asked me to draw…
Read MoreHow I determine intelligence: 2013
In 2010, I created a set of criteria that I use to unfairly judge the intelligence of others. Three years later, I decided to re-examine and revise the list. Surprisingly few changes were made. Three items were tweaked for clarity. Three items were added to the list. Nothing was removed. The amount of time a…
Read MoreMy new favorite family
I watched a family of four purchase their entire dinner at 7-11 tonight. This was not a mob of destitute, depraved individuals. They were a well-dressed, well behaved, jovial bunch who arrived to their restaurant of choice in a Lexus SUV. The father held the little girl’s hand while crossing the parking lot. The mother…
Read MoreA tale of two story slams
On Thursday night, I performed alongside four other storytellers at The Wilbur Theater in Boston as part of a Moth Mainstage. We told stories to a sold out audience of 1,200. It was an amazing night. Last night I hosted a story slam at Word Up, a small, community bookstore in Washington Heights run by…
Read MoreIf you’re critical of the National Football League, I understand completely. If you’re smug while doing so, you deserve to be kicked through a goal post.
Journalist Fuzz Hogan has decided to stop watching football this season. He cites head injuries, the the use of performance enhancing drugs and the way in which the NFL contributes to corruption in college football as his reasons for forgoing the game. I have no problem with someone deciding that football is too violent to…
Read MoreSometimes even golf can be stupid
And this is one of those times. Unique golf courses and signature holes are lovely, but sometimes an idea is just too bizarre to even be considered golf, and this is one of those idea. This also strikes me as a fairly elitist construct, perfect for the kind of jackass who likes to mention the…
Read MoreAll the financial advice you will ever need
All the financial advice you will ever need, written onto one side of an index card. I am no financial expert, but this is a damn good list. I would argue that the 20% savings is high, and you could be putting more of that money to work for you (and enjoying a little more,…
Read MoreHave you ever seen two more perfect little boy photographs in your life?
My wife captured these two perfect moments from my son’s day. First, his obsession with the construction equipment operating across the street from our home. Second, his absolute love of books. I can’t imagine two more perfect moments for a little boy or his big Daddy.
Read MoreClearly drunk
We ended our morning of apple picking on Sunday with a photograph with a cardboard cutout of a Belltown Hill Orchard tractor, complete with driver. It’s impossible to get my daughter to look straight ahead in one of these photos. More disconcerting, however, was the cardboard driver of the tractor. Red nose. Red cheeks.…
Read MoreSometimes there’s a fine line between creepy and cute.
My family went to a pumpkin patch yesterday. My wife sent me some photos from their afternoon amidst the pumpkins, including this one. She’s cute as a button, and I love the photograph, but I feel like this image could be interpreted in a lot of different ways. For example: “Bright lights came from the…
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