As you can probably tell by how quiet it’s been around here, the past year has been … difficult. This year is perhaps going to be “difficulter,” but in a different way. 2011 is a Deployment Year, which means about half of my year is going to suck. The good news is, the best way …
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson My rating: 3 of 5 stars It was entertaining enough while I was reading it, but at the end I found that I was not under Larson’s spell so much that I felt compelled to read the sequels. It’s just a thriller, in the end. View …
Cup number three. It’s nearly eleven o’clock, and I’m still in my pajamas, so it feels like a lazy Saturday morning, but I’ve actually gotten some quite significant things done: I played catch with Sean, and I finally hacked my WordPress install into compliance. (I use the word ‘hacked’ in an ever-so-loose way; any minor …
Tawny port before bed. Here’s something great. A while ago, I was listening to Fresh Air and heard a remarkable interview with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. And I sort of fell in love with him. In the interview, he presents the most down-to-earth philosophy of making music I think I’ve ever heard. I almost …
I’ve been complaining a lot about feeling creatively ‘wiped out’—that is, having no energy or ambition to make something. It felt like everything was going to the son, the wife, the house, the garden. I know: completely self-indulgent. It was a feeling, and feelings have a reality-distorting gravitational pull that can be difficult to escape, …
So, the other night, we were reading one of my favorite picture books, Bats at the Library, and Sean points to the picture of the bats and says, “Bunny! Bunny butterfly!” Cuteness meter asplode.
My newest article is live on Milspouse.com. “Get in Shape (Without Hating It)” features words of wisdom from John Avelis on how he’s managed to stick with his program.
Well, what has been going on? For one thing, I find myself answering the following question a lot, lately: “What’s that, Daddy?” “Daddy, what’s that?” But a lot of other stuff has been going on, too. Like potty training. And getting used to Danielle being on sea duty, again. And putting Sean back in bed—over …
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert My rating: 4 of 5 stars What could I possibly say about Madame Bovary that hasn’t been said? It’s a classic. As the preface of my edition puts it, it’s the ‘first sex and shopping novel.’ Gustave takes his time pulling you into the story, but by 150 pages in …
