grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
All-access pass
For the price of one million dollars per year, you can have the home telephone number and 24-7 access to self-help author and motivational speaker Tony Robbins. I realize that I am not yet on…
Read MoreFarmer’s tan
A few of my friends were recently bemoaning their farmer’s tan. Basically, it’s the tan that one acquires by wearing a tee-shirt in the sun. Quite common for those of us who play golf and spend…
Read MoreTooth fish are tasty
I distrust flowery, ostentatious names, as well as any name that attempts to make something sound more cosmopolitan or international than it actually is. In this spirit of distrust, I questioned the authenticity of the…
Read MoreMartin is not obsessive compulsive. He’s like me.
I often receive emails from readers who tell me how much they enjoyed SOMETHING MISSING because of the sympathetic and honest portrayal of a character who is suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. These same readers…
Read MoreBlame my distaste of broccoli on advertising. Or the lack thereof.
I have always believed that massive amounts of money are wasted on advertising. The highway billboard, the late-night restaurant commercial, and the scented magazine ad have always seemed ridiculous to me. Intelligent people like me…
Read MoreCongrats on your respiration system
Why do people applaud after a person blows out the birthday candles on their cake? I can understand why we might rejoice in a six-year old child’s ability to blow out the half a dozen…
Read MoreDisappearing follicles?
One of my former students said that she found a “very old photograph” of me, taken during my first year of teaching, twelve years ago. "You had a lot more hair back then!” she said.…
Read MoreResolution update: May 2010
In an effort to achieve my yearly goals, I post my monthly progress here. Below are my sixteen New Year’s resolutions and my progress thus far. 1. Lose seventeen more pounds, bringing my weight down…
Read MoreYour child’s birth ain’t news
I have nothing against sending photographs of your children to friends and family. In fact, I think it’s great when someone uses their family photo as a holiday card instead of a cartoon drawing of…
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