Skip to content

grin and bare it

A blog by Matthew Dicks

Tuesday Teaser

By Matthew Dicks | December 1, 2009

Blogger Wendy Morris of Well-Mannered Frivolity recently wrote a post about Something Missing, which I thought was interesting and unique. Wendy’s politics and mine are like oil and water, but our fondness for books might…

Read More

That’s my book!

By Matthew Dicks | December 1, 2009

Book maven, Twitter fiend, and podcaster extraordinaire Ann Kingman directed me to this photo on the website of the Northshire Bookstore in Vermont. The subject of her email: Something Missing “in the wild” As dorky…

Read More

A glimpse into the past

By Matthew Dicks | December 1, 2009

Over the last few days, I find myself constantly drifting back to WikiLeaks’ recent release of more than half a million pager intercepts from September 11, 2001. Since text pagers are usually carried by persons…

Read More

All good news

By Matthew Dicks | November 30, 2009

News of a possible sequel to The Shining is big, but I think The Guardian has buried the lead. Almost as an afterthought, writer Alison Flood mentions that King has an idea for a new…

Read More

What to say?

By Matthew Dicks | November 30, 2009

I’m still looking for a clever, witty, possibly subversive message to replace my standard “Thanks for reading my story” when signing a book. My wife likes “Buy another one” or “Makes a great gift.” While…

Read More

Tick tock… time’s a wasting

By Matthew Dicks | November 30, 2009

As a result of my many brushes with death, I seriously attempt to live every day to its fullest, knowing full well that my existence could end at any time. I have constructed a life…

Read More

Why?

By Matthew Dicks | November 29, 2009

In high school, I carved my initials alongside those of my girlfriend into a willow tree in the Japanese garden in Roger William’s Park. Not the nicest thing to do to a tree, but fairly…

Read More

Write a book

By Matthew Dicks | November 28, 2009

Earlier this month, Nathan Bransford asked: “Can anyone with enough practice be a good writer? What about a great writer? Is there a part of writing that is innate, or can anyone learn it?” As…

Read More

“I demand that she be fired!” said the moronic dolt.

By Matthew Dicks | November 27, 2009

New rule: Dissatisfied customers, angry clients, and anyone else who demands an employee be fired should be immediately terminated because of petty stupidity and a failure to understand how a job loss can impact a…

Read More

Can I put my hand on your butt without offending?

By Matthew Dicks | November 27, 2009

This morning, I played pick-up basketball with a woman, a former college player who was shooting around at the gym. Playing one-on-one with a girl you don’t know is always a little complicated, especially in…

Read More

Subscribe ToThe Grin & Bare It Newsletter

Sign up to conveniently receive my daily blog post from "Grin & bare It" into your inbox daily.

You have Successfully Subscribed!