Archive for July 2019
Someone doesn’t like how happy I am.
I learned this week that someone doesn’t like how happy I am. This person actually complains about my general level of joy, my persistent optimism, and my tendency to believe that all will turn out well. All of these things are true, of course. I’m a happy, optimistic person who tends to believe that there…
Read MoreMy hero… Justin Bieber?
In response to Trump’s offer to help get rapper A$AP released from a Swedish jail, Justin Bieber, tweeted this. Never thought I’d say this, but good job, Justin Bieber, social justice warrior.
Read MoreSpeak Up Storytelling: Chris Kriesen
On episode #59 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Elysha Dicks and I talk storytelling! In our follow-up segment, we inform listeners about my blog and consulting services, and we update them on dates for new shows and workshops. In our Homework for Life segment, I talk about taking multiple moments from a single week…
Read MoreI’m going to criticize you and then stop listening to you because I’m stupid.
Mike Pesca, host of Slate’s podcast The Gist, was responding to emails and tweets on Friday after listeners wrote to him in response to a segment he did on the likelihood of the pronoun “they” becoming a universally accepted, commonly-used singular, gender-neutral pronoun. Mike’s argument was simple: It’s unlikely that a word as commonly used…
Read MoreBe flexible.
During intermission at Cirque du Soleil last week, I saw a friend who told me that she was moving from her front row seats to the rear of the tent because she needed to leave early. Her step-father refuses to eat dinner after 7:00 PM, so they would need to leave the show a little…
Read MoreVerbal Sparring: If you don’t like it, leave.
A reader contacted me yesterday, asking me to reprint a post I wrote back on September 26, 2016 entitled “Verbal Sparring: If you don’t like it, leave.” I had no recollection of the post, which didn’t surprise me. When you write a post every single day of your life since the spring of 2005, you…
Read MoreAs a Disney shareholder, here are a few improvements that the parks needs now.
As a Disney shareholder, I spent much of our recent vacation to the Magic Kingdom and its surrounding parks looking for ways to enhance the customer experience. I found a few. Many were related to specific rides. My philosophy on a Disney ride is simple: It needs to make my heart skip a beat, either…
Read MoreBite, damn it!
I’m spending a week at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT, teaching 15 girls from all over the world to tell great stories. I saw this sign on a wall filled with great signs during Sunday afternoon registration and loved it so very much. The very last thing your future self would want is for…
Read MoreDisney World Shouts and Murmurs
According to our phones, we walked a total of 61 miles in 7 days, though I almost never had my phone on my person for the half-day we spent at Blizzard Beach. This is astounding given the fact that our children walked every one of these miles, too, almost without complained. The Disney World fireworks…
Read MoreWhen Harry Met Sally, and When Matt Met Elysha
Yesterday, July 14, was the tenth anniversary of my publishing career, but today, July 15, is an even more important anniversary. Today Elysha and I celebrate our thirteenth year of marriage. I was recently listening to The Rewatchables, a podcast about films that people love to watch again and again. They were discussing When Harry…
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