Archive for March 2023

A Waukesha, Wisconsin school has banned students from singing “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton because they believe children are too immature to hear this song. They claim it focuses on “controversial issues.” The lyrics in question are as follows: “Living in a RainbowlandThe skies are blue and things are grandWouldn’t it be nice…

My grandparents, Al and Irene Mandeville, who their grandchildren referred to as Mémère and Pépère (always in that order), were married 80 years ago last week. The date was March 22, 1943. The location was New Orleans, LA. My grandfather had recently graduated from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was stationed in…

Author Elee Reeves wrote a children’s book about a turtle that explores the state of Mississippi. The initial print run was paid for by a national foster care foundation. $28,500 for 33,000 copies. But an investigation by Mississippi Today found that thousands of more copies of “Fred The Turtle” were printed with $10,000 in federal…

This week, on NPR’s radio show “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” host Peter Sagal mentioned that people are now subscribing to a theory that lobster doesn’t objectively taste good. “Now subscribing to?” As far back as 2008, I was writing about this subject on this very blog, arguing that lobster is not an inherently tasty…

I work for a technology company that recently laid off 22,000 employees. I work for another company that laid off 5,500 people last month. Big numbers. Astounding numbers, really. Tens of thousands of jobs are suddenly not being done, yet the company moves. Twitter – a company that has not been profitable since 2019 –…

I look for hope and progress wherever I can. Relentlessly so. We can choose to be optimistic. We can search for sources of optimism. Seek them wherever they might be hiding. Treasure them as tiny as they may be. Here are the first crocuses of spring. Hope. It springs eternal.

After more than a year and hundreds of requests, I am very excited to announce the return of my very popular Humor Workshop: A one-day virtual workshop to help you strategically deploy humor and become a funnier person. Join me on Sunday, April 16, from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST for this strategy-packed, instantly…

My doctor, who I like, canceled a recent physical because her schedule changed, but she could not reschedule that physical until October, which is, of course, horrendous. How does she or her office not see this as abhorrent, disrespectful, and unprofessional treatment? I hope I don’t die from something easily corrected before October, or I…

I watched an episode of The Simpsons last night with Charlie. Before we could even get through the opening credits, we had stopped four times so I could explain references to him, including: Sammy Davis Jr. I explained who Davis was, and we watched him sing and dance on YouTube. What is reincarnation? I explained…

In September of 1990, the band Extreme released their balled “More Than Words” off their album Extreme II: Pornograffitti. Unlike anything the group had ever done before, the song features just two of the band members singing while playing acoustic guitar. By January 1991, the song had hit #1 on the Billboard charts. I loved…