GRIN & BARE IT
Read (and subscribe to) Grin and Bare It, my daily blog on storytelling, productivity, current events, teaching, my family, and other musings.
I have been posting to this blog every day since 2005.
- All
- Books
- Family
- Gratitude
- Uncategorized
It’s Elysha’s birthday today!
Today is Elysha’s birthday! She’s my wife, if you didn’t know. I’m honestly still astounded — at least from time to time — that she’s Read More
How to pull off a surprise birthday party for your wife
Last night, I pulled off a surprise birthday party for Elysha at Peppercorn’s in downtown Hartford. Everything was remarkably, unbelievably perfect. After months of planning, Read More
I re-wrote the Ten Commandments. My list is much better than God’s list.
Utah is seeing a brisk business for models with long hair and a beard who can passably pull off a Jesus look for family portraits Read More
My foundational texts
Writer Karen Attiah recently wrote about the pleasure of perusing other people’s personal libraries and then asked her followers about their “personal foundational texts.” — books Read More
New Year’s Resolutions 2025
At the beginning of every year, I establish a list of goals (or New Year’s resolutions) for the coming calendar year. I post this list Read More
Resolution Update: 2024 in review
At the end of each month, and now at the end of the year, I report on the progress of my New Year’s resolutions (or Read More
Infinite content isn’t a good thing
Animator and filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt on the difference between crate digging & streaming from a recent interview: Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but when Read More
A very gory Christmas Carol
The family and I went to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Hartford Stage on the day after Christmas. The timing was ideal. I highly Read More
Footwear and foliage
Behold! And look carefully, lest you miss it… The Sock Shrub — a rare, unappreciated indoor plant only found in the homes of boys incapable Read More
My 2024 Christmas haul
Every Christmas, I take inventory of the holiday gifts that my wife, Elysha, gives me. Some people wish for cashmere sweaters, the latest gadgets, stylish Read More
You are such a loser
If you’re not familiar with Garfunkle and Oats, I can’t recommend this comedic singing duo enough. They are almost never safe for work, but if Read More
Things that annoy me
I have many pet peeves. Most people do, I think. Most are also smart enough not to publish them for the world to see, but Read More
A Christmas memory for the ages
As we prepare to make new Christmas memories this morning, I am reminded of one from 12 years ago, when Clara was three years old Read More
Matt’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
In the event you have some last-minute shopping to do for a loved one, allow me to offer my annual gift-giving guide to the four Read More
Love a real tree
I learned this week that only 14 percent of households purchased a “real” Christmas tree last year, while 80 percent of Americans have an artificial Read More
A book about me.
Someone wrote an “authorized biography” about me, except it’s not authorized. I didn’t even know it existed until yesterday. I found it by accident. Available Read More
You’re not getting old. You are just being dumb. Probably.
People are fond of saying they know they are getting old because they can’t remember people’s names like they once did. I hear this all Read More
Three leadership ideas I can get behind
Advice from Mike Lombardi regarding leadership: Consider in advance how we will respond, not react, to adversity. Assign an assistant or teammate to monitor our Read More
From the mouths of babes
We’re talking about the Seven Wonders of the World when one of my students asks, “Why doesn’t our country have more cool things?” I open Read More
Barry Manilow jingles
Barry Manilow jokingly refers to himself as the “jingle king” of the advertising world, with his early work in commercials serving as a stepping stone Read More
