Idea
Theatrical wind chill factor
Credit Elysha Dicks for this gem: When you ask how long a play or musical runs, you should receive two distinct times from the usher: The actual running time The play or musical’s wind chill factor For example: “The play runs for 83 minutes, but it’s not very good. Quite dreadful in fact. With the…
Read MoreI want to be the blind man with the elephant.
Earlier this week, someone accused me of taking a position on an issue that I didn’t fully understand and suggested that I was acting like a blind man in the blind men and the elephant parable. It’s not the first time someone has used this parable against me when suggesting that I’m taking a position…
Read MoreThoreau on regret
Henry David Thoreau offered this advice on regret: “Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.” Thoreau believed in regret. He believed in tending and cherishing it. He believed in making…
Read MoreAdvice from The Beatles
So many times in my life, I see something clever, brilliant, or truly inspired, and I think to myself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Just last week, the trailer dropped for Danny Boyle’s latest film, Yesterday. It’s the story of a musician who wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed, except…
Read MoreWhy you should embrace every snow day
We had our first snow day last week. A glorious, slightly unexpected day off. Many teachers hate snow days, knowing how each one eats into our summer vacations. A day off in February means another day of work in June. But they are wrong to think this way for one simple reason: It’s exceedingly presumptuous…
Read MoreMy binder clip IQ test
Here’s a simple test to determine the intelligence of a small child: Pry open a large binder clip. Ask a child to put their finger in the binder clip. If the child puts their finger in the binder clip, the child is probably dumb. If the child refuses the request, the child is probably smart.…
Read MoreBe different
As a reluctant atheist, I’m not an easy sell when it comes to church attendance. At various times in my life, I have been Catholic and two different variations of Protestantism. I’ve also regularly attended Lutheran services and a church for Born Again Christians, as well as many Jewish services. None of them captured my…
Read MoreA simple suggestion to improve 2018 and beyond
At the end of each year, in addition to reviewing the progress of my 2018 goals and setting my 2019 goals, I’ll be creating a Best of 2018 list. It’s a review of all the things that happened in 2018 that were notable for some reason. Maybe they represented the first time I ever did…
Read MorePrankster satisfaction
Brilliance learned on the internet this week: Scratch haunting things into bananas at the market so when people take them home hours later and the words appear they think a ghost knows their secrets. Ingenious. Right? The one problem with this prank is that the prankster is never afforded the opportunity to witness the results…
Read MorePeople stay home when it rains. How stupid.
This is a real thing: When it rains, slightly fewer people attend our Speak Up shows. Also, when it rains, fewer people go to the theater. The movies. Even restaurants do less business when it rains. The same holds true for frigid temperatures. Even the mercury plummets below 20 degrees, people are far more likely…
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