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Overused, hackneyed, and stupid

The “He’s playing chess and everyone else is playing checkers” thing is done. Okay? It’s really, really done. There may have been a time when this metaphor seemed clever and biting, but I doubt it. Either way, it’s become a meaningless bit of syllabic drivel. It’s stupid-speak. Unoriginal and lazy. If you use this overused,…

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Being critical doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.

Yesterday I wrote about my annoyance over dining at a restaurant that has banned straws but still jams unnecessary and unrequested lemon wedges on the sides of soda glasses. In response, a surprising number of people expressed concern about my ability to enjoy myself as a result of my annoyance over what I perceived to…

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No straw but plenty of lemon? Absolutely stupid.

Elysha and I went to dinner on Saturday night with friends. I ordered a Diet Coke. When it arrived, it was adorned with an unrequested wedge of lemon but no straw. When I asked for a straw, I was informed by our server that the restaurant had eliminated straws in an effort to be more…

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Speak Up #34: Chion Wolf

On episode #34 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Elysha Dicks and I talk storytelling! In our followup segment, we hear from a listener who hosted an evening of stories at this home with great success. We also resume our debate about jokes within a story.  In our Homework for Life segment, we talk about…

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Wonder Woman and Mary Poppins Returns: Two excellent films with stupid, sexist endings

Spoiler alert: I’m about to reveal the stupid, sexist, asinine endings to Mary Poppins Returns and Wonder Woman. If you were hoping to experience the stupid, terrible endings of these films in an unspoiled fashion, stop reading now. For those of you with me… Mary Poppins Returns and Wonder Woman are both very good films…

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Worst reaction to a gift ever

Yesterday Elysha and I gave Clara several birthday presents. Books, accessories for her American Girl doll, and a canopy to create a book nook in her bedroom. Happily, Elysha was in charge of choosing the gifts and ran the choices by me only after her selections were made. She knows that if I was in…

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Clara turns 10 years-old today.

Clara is ten years-old today. Double digits. I can’t believe it. From the moment I learned that Elysha was pregnant, I started writing to Clara, and later to Charlie, on a blog called “Greetings Little One.” I wrote a post to the kids on that blog every day from 2008 until late 2015, about eight…

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They love themselves more than they love their children.

Greta Thunberg, age 15, is a climate activist who addressed the U.N. plenary last month in Katowice, Poland, condemning global inaction in the face of catastrophic climate change. Thunberg was brilliant. She speak for four minutes. You should watch it. She is the calmest, angriest child I have ever seen. Her most compelling argument is…

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Judge yourself by who hates you

Smart church sign. It adheres to a principle I have espoused for a long time: Judge yourself by those who hate you. In an ideal world, hate does not enter your life. Everyone thinks well of you, or at the very least, their thoughts are neutral about you or perhaps they don’t think about you…

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Charlie can kiss all he wants. He just doesn’t want to.

I’m telling Charlie about mine and Elysha’s first kiss when I see him grimace. “Don’t worry,” I say. “You don’t need to kiss anyone unless you want to, and besides, you’re way too young to be kissing someone anyway.” “Dad,” he says, sounding exasperated. “I’m old enough to kiss girls. I could kiss girls if…

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