Archive for August 2016
The Universal Comeback (I think)
I am a self-professed master of the verbal comeback. I once offered Twitter followers my services. Follow me on Twitter, and If someone says something mean, insulting, scathing or passive-aggressively cruel to you, send me the remark via Twitter and I will send you the ideal comeback. I wrote an entire novel about the perfect…
Read MoreSeeking submissions for my annual list of shortcomings and flaws
A reader once accused me of being materialistic after I wrote about my lack of a favorite number, specifically criticizing me for saying that when it comes to my salary, my favorite number is the largest number possible. After refuting the charges of materialism, I acknowledged that I had plenty of other shortcomings and flaws…
Read MoreI spent a week backing into parking spots to see if it made any sense. Here is what I discovered.
Years ago, I worked with a woman who would back into a parking spot every morning when she arrived to work. It would often take her at least half a dozen tries before getting it right. Watching this process was both hilarious and tragic. You’d think that after years of backing her car into a…
Read MoreThe Peter Principle: Understand it.
I know many people who are unhappy in their jobs. There was a time when they were happy, but then they ascended to a position that is both joyless and without satisfaction. I also know many people who are ineffective in their jobs. There was a time when they were effective, but they have now…
Read MoreMy children don’t understand the purpose or use of a sofa
I stepped into the room. They were both watching television. Like this. I’m raising a couple of lunatics.
Read MoreThe Moth: A Mop Sink and Maybe God
In March of 2016 I told the story of my interrogation and arrest for a crime I did not commit at a Moth GrandSLAM at The Somerville Theater. The theme of the night was Now or Never. I won the GrandSLAM that night. I’ve since told this story for Speak Up and other shows…
Read MoreHow the Republican Party went from Lincoln to Trump
I knew some of this history but not all of it. Very relevant and fascinating, particularly if you’re someone like me who’s been wondering if he’s been dropped into some alternate universe or possibly living within a Simpsons cartoon.
Read MoreI think my daughter is becoming cool.
Clara came downstairs yesterday morning, asked Alexa (the name assigned to the Amazon Echo) to play Francis England (her favorite musician, who she found independently on Spotify), and then just sat and listened. One of the best things about our Amazon Echo is the control it’s given our kids over the music they love. It’s…
Read MoreUnfair assumption: Leaders who park in their privileged parking spots don’t get it
You become manager, CEO, Superintendent, team leader, department head, or the like. As one of the perks to your new position, you are assigned a preferred parking spot, presumably closer to the building than the rest of the spots in the parking lot and perhaps even labeled. And then, rather than offering the parking spot…
Read MoreHow to Make a Tennis Ball (also it’s impossible to make a tennis ball)
A video like this – which is beautifully shot and fascinating – is the kind of thing that further convinces me that the complexity of the world has reached the point wherein a global collapse of basic infrastructure would lead to the extinction of so many things. Like tennis as we know it. Watching this…
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