unmentionables
I’ve always thought it a little strange that we as a culture are conditioned to believe that certain topics are taboo. Unmentionables, if you will. I’m not sure who decided what made The List. Perhaps it was the same unmentionable “they” who are so often referred to in cultural lore: “They say…
emoti-cons
Yusif is a talented writer. He’s completed one novel. He’s several drafts into another novel and has two more in the works. I know Yusif personally. I’ve read his work. We’ve brainstormed together often. He’s creative and his ideas are truly unique, never derivative. What’s more, I’m certain that…
we are the world
My new book, TRIED & (Still) TRUE, just launched this past week. It’s been cause for much celebration. It’s also been cause for a major lack of sleep. And staying in sweats all day. And not showering some days (which, if you knew me, is really saying something). And, if I’m being completely…
where i've been
Well, my poor blog has lain neglected for just over six months. In the past few years, such an absence would have been sure sign that I'd run afoul of some mysterious and prolonged illness or other. I'm happy to report that this time, that is not the case. In fact, I'm quite well! You may also…
if i can do it today
I was a skinny kid with a big butt. Just calling it like it is. By skinny, I mean that I’ve been five-foot-nine since eight grade—haven’t grown an inch—and yet, when I graduated high school, I had a 26-inch waist and weighed 105 lbs. Alas, a disproportionate amount of that sleight weight was…
what if
“How are you?” “How’s it going?” “What’s new?” While I’ve often had full-blown, soul-bearing conversations result from my posing these simple prompts, the typical range of expected replies remains fairly limited: “Good, and you?” “Eh, you know…” “Not much. You?” I suppose these exchanges serve…
up
I’m not a film critic—at least that’s not the point of this blog, though I do seem to have snuck a few reviews in from time to time (e.g., Beauty and the Beast, Singin’ in the Rain, Cinderella, and a few others) where they illustrate a best-advice-so-far kind of observation. Well, as it turns out,…
even though
I was talking with a friend recently. I’ll call him Ralph here. Ralph’s relationship with his brother has been on the outs of late, and he was trying to understand what had happened and what he might be able to do at this point to improve the relationship. I asked a series of questions. This…
unplug (kindly)
Let me say up front that this post may not be for you. Who is it for then? Well, it’s for people like me: who love people and whose natural tendency is to talk with and listen to others who tend to have high interpersonal output most of the time who sometimes find themselves running on fumes who…
peepers
Snow fell well into spring this year. So whenever a day’s temperate now peaks 50°, there’s a palpable buzz in the air that feels more like summer. As far as the eye can see, sidewalks teem with bikers and joggers, dog walkers and pullers of little red wagons. By the time essential work wound down…