Archive for 2015
The Book With No Pictures: Best testimonial for the book ever
BJ Novak’s The Book With No Pictures is one of those ingenious books that I wish I had written. Same holds true for books like The Day the Crayons Quit, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and The Quiet Book. Clever ideas brilliantly executed. And I am not the only one this thinks…
Read MoreChange can happen. Change does happen. You probably don’t believe this. So let me show you this bicycle.
I am constantly confronted – most recently on my new podcast Boy vs. Girl – with the belief that large scale change is impossible, and more specifically, that large scale change cannot be started by an individual or even small group. I am often advocating for change in macro segments of our culture. Most recently…
Read MoreMy latest appearance on Mom and Dad Are Fighting: Discussing violent tragedy with children
I made another appearance on Slate’s parenting podcast Mom and Dad Are Fighting, talking about how to handle discussions with children about horrific tragedies like the terrorist attacks in Paris or the mass shooting in San Bernardino (which was actually taking place while we recorded my segment).
Read MorePerspective
A simple test to determine if a food is objectively tasty
My friends, Kim and Andrew, were kind enough to include a dish of canned jellied cranberry sauce on their Thanksgiving table for me. I love canned jellied cranberry sauce. I also brought canned jellied cranberry sauce to my class’s annual Thanksgiving feast and was shocked to learn that 13 of the 18 students present had…
Read MoreBoy Vs. Girl: Episode 4: Barbie, Heels, and Penis Doodles
Episode 4 of our new podcast, Boy Vs. Girl, is now available. In the episode, Rachel the Sociologist and I debate the new Barbie television ad, heels, and the reasons why men doodle penises in restrooms and other public location. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, or you…
Read MoreThe Moth: The Great Stargazing Betrayal
On December 29, 2014, I took the stage at The Moth StorySLAM at The Bitter End in Manhattan to tell a story. The theme of the night was Rewards. I told a story about an evening of stargazing with my students that went terrible wrong. I finished in first place. Here a recording of the…
Read MoreResolution Update: November 2015
One month to go, so I decided to take a measure of my progress so far in terms of percentage of goals completed. Of the 32 goals set for the year: 19 have already been accomplished. 3 will not be accomplished regardless of my efforts. 19 may or may not be completed with varying degrees…
Read MoreNaked booby traps: It’s apparently a thing. Sadly, my wife is not involved.
My kids and I have been playing Monster, It’s a game that I played with my brothers and sister when we were young, and it’s a game our father played with us before the divorce forced him from our home. In the game, I am the monster. I chase my kids. That’s essentially it, though…
Read MoreFour pieces of perfect truth on the nature of writing and work by Dan Kennedy
Dan Kennedy is an author, storyteller, screenwriter, and host of The Moth’s podcast and their live shows. I first met Dan in 2011 when I took the stage for the first time and told a story at The Moth. He was hosting that night. I took the stage, shook his hand, and told my story. I…
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