Archive for August 2020

Two weeks ago, John Oliver launched into an expletive-filled rant about the city of Danbury on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.” It was part of a piece in which Oliver explored the racial disparities in the jury selection process, citing problems in a few Connecticut towns. Danbury’s problems weren’t especially egregious. He mostly attacked…

Charlie asks, “Do you like my hair?” Elysha and I look. Slicked back. Parted on the side. “Yes,” we say in unison. “Me, too,” Charlie says. “I stuck my hand in the puddle and—” “Puddle?” Elysha and I interrupt in unison.

Coronavirus cases linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have been confirmed in South Dakota and at least seven other states. Cases have been confirmed in Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and South Dakota, where the 10-day rally was held, The Associated Press reported. At least 103 cases in total have been linked to the event…

Clara read “Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.” The first of my books that she’s ever read. She read the novel in one sitting. Less than three hours in total. Honestly, we didn’t think she had actually read it. It’s about 320 pages and written for adults, so under three hours in one sitting seemed a…

I see the man as soon as I enter the 7-11. He and his son are turning the corner, heading for the Slurpee machine. Neither is wearing a mask. Signage on the door clearly requires customers to wear masks. The employee behind the counter, plus two other customers inside the store, are wearing masks. I’m…

I purchased a Black Lives Matter sign for our front lawn. I probably should’ve purchased a sign months ago, perhaps after marching with my family in a Black Lives Matter protest in our town. Or after sending an additional donation to the ACLU in the wake of the George Floyd murder. But I purchased it…

These are not easy days. Despite my oppressively optimistic disposition, I am aware that the world is harder today for many, many people than it was a year ago. I’m not blind to the struggle. I feel the struggle. I’m just constantly reframing experience through a wider, more varied, more historical lens. I’m aggressively counting…

A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research that analyzed metadata from the emails and meetings of 3 million people found that as a result of lockdowns, the number of meetings that the average person attends per day is up 13 percent. The good news is the length of the average meeting is…

Back on July 11, 2017, Donald Trump blocked me on Twitter after I tweeted at him: “If you take healthcare away from 23 million Americans, you must also give up your healthcare until those Americans have coverage.” In terms of the kinds of things I was tweeting at him at the time, this was actually…

A parent was telling me that he wants his daughter to become more confident because it will save her time and allow her to do the the things in life that she wants to do. “Save time?” I asked. “I don’t get it.” “That’s because you’re so confident,” he said. He explained that when you…