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Resolution update: January 2015

PERSONAL HEALTH 1. Don’t die. Done! So far… 2. Lose 20 pounds. I have gained two pounds in 2015, which means I need to lose 22 pounds in 2015. Well done, Matt.   3. Do at least 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups five days a week. Done. I added a plank every morning as well. 4.…

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It’s your booger.

I was wrestling with my two year-old son. He was climbing all over me. Squeezing my face. Tickling me. Standing on my chest. Throwing himself onto my head. Then he stopped. Frowned. Pointed at my chest. “Ew,” he said. “Yucky! What dat?” I looked. I saw. “That’s your booger, Charlie. Your giant booger on my…

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Speak Up is two years old! It began with a snow day and a simple question to my wife.

Speak Up, the storytelling organization that my wife and I founded in 2013, is approaching it’s two year anniversary. It was born on a snow day much like the one we experienced in the northeast earlier this week.  My storytelling career began about five years ago with the discovery of The Moth’s podcast. A friend…

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Elsa just wants to blow me.

It was bedtime. Clara and I were fighting over her new Elsa doll. I argued that Elsa wanted to be my friend and hang out with me tonight. Clara said that Elsa hated me, which wasn’t nice. She grabbed Elsa from my hands, held her up in front of me, and then leaned in and…

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Wanted: Photographs of sofas and slippers and well appointed thermostats. Please?

My Facebook feed has been full of wine over the past couple days. Wine glasses set before roaring fires. Wine glasses being clinked in celebration. Wine glasses standing beside the spines of books and sleeping dogs and flickering candles. It’s a funny thing. I spent last night drinking cold water from a steel water bottle.…

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This guy is too damn young to be teaching.

A student from my very first class, way back in 1999, sent me this photo. It’s actually a screen grab from a video that they were watching. It’s me, of course. I was probably 29 or 30 at the time. My first and only thought was this: How could anyone hire someone so young to…

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Two important things to remember as the Blizzard of 2015 approaches

As my home state of Connecticut prepares for the oncoming blizzard, there are a few things to keep in mind:______________________ The blizzard will hit on Monday night and continue through Tuesday. But the roads will be cleared and stores will be open by Wednesday, which means we are talking about about 36 hours trapped indoors.…

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30 lessons learned from six years of parenting

My daughter celebrated her sixth birthday on Sunday. When she turned two years-old, I posted a list of lessons learned from two years of parenting. I updated that list when she turned four. In truth, I raised a step-daughter for ten years as well, so I’ve been a parent a lot longer than just six…

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Storytelling on The Gist

If you’re not already listening to Slate’s The Gist, the daily podcast hosted by Mike Pesca, here’s another reason to do so: I’ll be appearing on The Gist as a part of a new project that seeks to teach the art of storytelling to listeners. Whether you are telling stories at a dinner party or…

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