Archive for December 2021

MUST READ from the newsletter NumLock News: A Wall Street Journal investigation set up a dozen automated accounts registered as 13-year-olds on TikTok, and found that after programming the bots to briefly pause on content related to weight loss, the app’s algorithm began to serve up an onslaught of fasting, crash dieting, and eating disorder…

Last week I was speaking to about 40 college students – future teachers – on the topics of writing, student engagement, and the realities of the teaching profession. It was a group of about 35 women and 5 men – not surprising given the teaching profession. A couple years ago, Charlie’s current fourth grade teacher…

Back in June of 2010, when Clara was still just a year old, Elysha wasn’t yet pregnant with Charlie, and I had only published one book and had yet to tell a story on a stage… a lifetime ago… I made some predictions about what future generations 25 years in the future would think of…

Did you know that 85 percent of American homes have an artificial Christmas tree? You probably do, since most of you apparently own one. Having never owned an artificial tree, I’m astounded. Equally surprising, this number is up from 46 percent in 1992. Over the past 30 years, Americans has gone from a nearly even…

This tweet became quite popular in the writing community, which I understand. It makes me happy, too. But it’s not as if this Twitter user is stating anything particularly profound. Everyone knows that writers are truly the sexiest people alive. Right, Elysha? But in answer to the question, “I don’t know why every person out…

I’m an enormous believer in the power of something I call purposeful reframing: Deliberately, strategically choosing to view something in a more positive, productive way. Some might call it delusion. Others may say it’s pie in the sky. One person has referred to it as toxic positivity. I think I’m probably happier than all of…

In Charlie’s elementary school, making a gun with your fingers and pretending to shoot the other children (and presumably teachers) is not allowed, which seems fairly sensible to me. In today’s world, even pretend shootings can be unsettling. Here’s the rub, as explained by Charlie: When teachers just told kids to stop making guns with…

It was Charlie’s turn to set the table. He decided to do things a little differently. Rather than placing functional napkins at each place setting, he opted to design personalized napkins in the shape of hearts and the lightning bolt scar on the forehead of Harry Potter. I’ve never been so delighted by a napkin…

Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, has said sex outside of marriage is not the “most serious” sin. During a question and answer session with reporters on a flight back to Italy from Greece on Monday, the Pope said, “Sins of the flesh are not the most serious.” Instead, he said that pride and hatred were “the most serious” of sins.…

Years ago, Elysha told me that she was bringing back the high-five. I’m not sure if she made any cultural impact, but she’s certainly done her part, high-fiving with enthusiasm for years. Then the pandemic arrived, and for months, I heard people state with absolute certainty that the handshake and the high five were dead.…