Archive for November 2013
I split my pants EIGHT YEARS AGO. Strangers are still talking about it.
Not surprising: My wife knew the people sitting behind us at dinner last night. She’s knows everyone. Surprising: One of the women in the party asked if I was the elementary school teacher who once split his pants in front of his class. Surprising because the splitting of my pants in front of my class…
Read MoreLook! An airplane! Amazing! Also the Toyota Camry you just plowed into.
It’s clever. Genius, even. But I worry about the kind of interactive billboard that distracts the driver’s eyes from the road any longer than necessary. Oy. I sound like an old man.
Read MoreJuicing is dumb. But I didn’t say it.
This may come as a surprise, but every so often, I don’t write something in fear that it may offend readers. I know. Based upon some of the things that I’ve written in the past, can you imagine how awful these things must be in order for me to avoid saying them? Here’s an example:…
Read MoreLessons learned from 4 years of parenting
Two years ago, when my daughter was two, I created a list of lessons that I had learned from two years of parenting. Two years and an additional child later, I’ve added to the list based upon additional experience. The list may someday become a framework for a book or memoir. For now, I hope…
Read MoreMy son’s first steps (and a gentle shove)
My son took his first steps yesterday. We managed to capture a few of them on video. A day later, I still get goose bumps just thinking about it. In truth, Charlie could’ve walked a couple days earlier, but my wife and I had a deal (the same deal we had with our daughter): If…
Read MoreVerbal sparring 101: Acts of extreme self-flagellation are very useful
At the end of the previous school year, a colleague was upset with me for my failure to strictly comply to a policy related to her department. When she called to discuss this issue, one of my students answered the telephone, and because I was in the middle of a lesson, I told the student…
Read MoreHow many male authors, after speaking brilliantly about writing and literature, have been asked publicly about their clothes?” I have an answer, but I suspect that some of you will want to chop my head off for it.
Author M. Molly Backes recently asked the following question on Twitter: @mollybackes: How many male authors, after speaking brilliantly for an hour about writing and literature, have been asked publicly about their clothes? It’s a fair question. Let me first go on the record as saying that I don’t support questions like this in any…
Read MoreAt least we don’t throw knives at our children
Next time someone older than me complains that my generation (and subsequent generations) lack manners or spend too much time on our phones or don’t save enough money, I’ll say, “At least we don’t throw knives at our children for fun.” Every generation has something to be embarrassed about, as I rather aggressively pointed out…
Read MoreMy TED Talk (if you listen closely)
On Saturday, I gave a TED Talk on Creativity and Compassion at Western Connecticut State University. It was an interesting conference that was sponsored by the school’s Center for Compassion, which was launched earlier this year after the Dalia Lama visited the school. Once the video has been edited and published, I will post it…
Read MoreI did not like Doris Lessing’s response to winning the Nobel Prize
I was saddened to hear about the death of Doris Lessing. I read a lot of her work while in college and some of her short stories since then. I like her work a lot. That said, I wasn’t a fan of her response to winning to Nobel Prize back in 2007. While nonchalance can…
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