Archive for 2018
Be different
As a reluctant atheist, I’m not an easy sell when it comes to church attendance. At various times in my life, I have been Catholic and two different variations of Protestantism. I’ve also regularly attended Lutheran services and a church for Born Again Christians, as well as many Jewish services. None of them captured my…
Read MoreA simple suggestion to improve 2018 and beyond
At the end of each year, in addition to reviewing the progress of my 2018 goals and setting my 2019 goals, I’ll be creating a Best of 2018 list. It’s a review of all the things that happened in 2018 that were notable for some reason. Maybe they represented the first time I ever did…
Read MoreNot a single one of them escaped alive
The Lumière brothers were among the first filmmakers in history. From 1896 to 1900, t and they shot several scenes around Paris. Recently, their footage was remastered. Among other things, it was stabilized, slowed it down to a a natural rate, and sound was added. It’s amazing. A twenty-first century look at late nineteenth Paris.…
Read MoreA beautiful act of revenge. Plus glitter.
Elysha and I had a package stolen off our doorstep recently. It was a Nordstrom order, and when Elysha called the company to inform them of the theft, they immediately shipped the item again, no questions asked. Elysha has now told about ten million people about this outstanding customer service experience, and she’ll be shopping…
Read MoreRoman numerals are stupid
You know what’s really, really stupid? Roman numerals. Americans have an alphabet . It consists of 26 letters and is derived from the original Latin alphabet. There are other alphabets in the world today, including Cyrillic, Arabic, Greek, and Braille. but here in the United States, we use just one. We also have a system…
Read MoreLet the anger go
Someone was annoyed with me this week because, in her words, “You’re always great.” Sadly, she was not implying that I’m a persistently remarkable person. In fact, I suspect that she thinks I’m not persistently remarkable in any way. Instead, she was annoyed that I don’t allow much to bother me. Petty disagreements, disputes over…
Read MoreSpeak Up Storytelling: Erica Donahue
On episode #28 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Matthew and Elysha Dicks talk storytelling! In our followup segment, we talk about upcoming Speak Up events, offer insight on Tasmanian Devils, respond to some listener emails about PTSD, and apologize for failing to record a new episode last week. Next, we talk about finding and collecting…
Read MoreLook! Real American heroes! And no capes!
Looking for heroes this holiday season? Look no further than Judith Jones and Carolyn Kenyon, who raised $12,500 to buy up medical debts from creditors on the rate of a half-cent on the dollar. Then, with the help of the non-profit RIP Medical Debt, they forgave that debt, meaning that roughly 1,284 people in debt…
Read MoreDane Best: Child hero
Dane Best, age 9, ended the ban on snowball fights in his hometown of Severance, Colorado last week. After discovering the 100 year old law during a field trip to town hall, the young activist went to work, lobbying successfully to have a law banning snow balls repealed. Best told the town board that if…
Read MoreThank goodness that I’m smart enough to listen to my wife
Photos like these remind me of how stupid I can be. About eight years ago, Elysha began talking about wanting a second child. While I was agreeable to the prospect of one more kid, I was also perfectly happy with just Clara. She was a happy and healthy little girl who filled my heart with…
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