Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 434

Speak Up storyteller: Sam Dingman

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford.

Tickets can be purchased online here or purchased at the door, provided that we don’t sell out prior to Saturday.

This week we introduce you to the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

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Sam Dingman is a writer, performer, and podcaster in Brooklyn, NY. His is a winner of the Moth GrandSLAM, and his work has been featured on RISK!, SplitSider, UCB’s “A Funny Thing,” TBTL, the First Person Arts Festival, The Los Angeles Comedy Festival, Seattle Sketchfest, Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, and beyond.  He is also the host and producer of a storytelling podcast called “Dingmantics.”

Speak Up storyteller: Diana Spechler

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford.

Tickets can be purchased online here or purchased at the door, provided that we don’t sell out prior to Saturday.

This week we introduce you to the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

_______________________________

Diana Spechler is the author of the novels Who by Fire and Skinny and of stories in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, GQ, Esquire, Paris Review, and elsewhere. A six-time Moth StorySLAM winner, she has been featured on NPR and The Moth podcast. She teaches writing for Stanford University’s Online Writer’s Studio and in New York City, where she is at work on her third novel.

Nothing better than a compliment and schadenfreude sandwich

I have a 34 year-old colleague who thought that:

I was younger than him.
Our 30 year-old colleague was older than both of us. 

The combination of compliment and schadenfreude in this statement is inexplicably joyous to me.

The joy of Halloween has returned, even without the eggs.

Since graduating from high school, Halloween has taken a slow, inexorable slide toward mediocrity. Take away the candy, the eggs, the toilet paper, the soap and the seemingly endless array of late night antics, and all you have left is the occasional, oftentimes disappointing Halloween party and a handful of sexy nurse and sexy cat costumes to look forward to.

None of this comes close to frightening small children, soaping windshields with unfortunate aphorisms, raining eggs down upon unsuspecting victims or egging your high school science teacher’s home for the third year in a row.

As an adult, Halloween has lost a great deal of luster.

Then something happened. Elysha and I had kids. Our daughter grew old enough to understand and love Halloween. And though I would’ve never believed it five years ago, Halloween has instantly regained all its joy for me again.

Listening to my daughter debate costume possibilities in the weeks leading up to Halloween, watching her excitement build as the day approached and taking her out trick-or-treating has made Halloween the joyous holiday is once was for me.

There are still moments, even today, when I would love to egg a few houses and maybe even a few of the larger trick-or-treaters, but for now, a night out with my children, holding their hands, ringing doorbells and reminding them to say thank you is alright with me.

         

The peril of Pop Tarts

I can’t eat Pop Tarts anymore, even though I love them with all my heart.

I can’t buy a box of Pop Tarts because it’s impossible to eat just one bag. I have to eat the entire box in one sitting, and that’s not acceptable. 

I can’t buy a single serving bag because its mere existence is too depressing.

Add to this the news that frosted Pop Tarts actually have fewer calories than unfrosted Pop Tarts.

I love frosted Pop Tarts. They’re my favorite.

This depresses me even more.

Joaquin Phoenix is her uncle!

Astounding news, discovered only because New York magazine just happened to be lying on the table during lunch.

Oddly enough, it was this image that attracted my daughter to the magazine in the first place.

I shudder to think of the kind of boys who she’ll be bringing home someday.

Speak Up storyteller: Micaela Blei

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford.

Tickets can be purchased online here or purchased at the door, provided that we don’t sell out prior to Saturday.

This week we introduce you to the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

____________________________

Micaela Blei is a teacher, writer, storyteller and doctoral student. She was a 3rd grade classroom teacher for several years and now does all kinds of work with, for and about kids. She currently works with national nonprofit The Moth as one of their primary storytelling instructors and as manager of education program development. As a storyteller, she is a Moth GrandSLAM champion and has appeared in storytelling shows throughout New York City as well as on tour nationally with the Unchained Tour. Her stories can be heard on The Moth Radio Hour on PRX. She’s currently pursuing a PhD in Education at NYU. When it’s above 50 degrees, she can be found on her bicycle all over New York City. Find her at micaelablei.com. 

Speak Up storytellers: James Bengiovanni

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford.

Tickets can be purchased online here or purchased at the door, provided that we don’t sell out prior to Saturday.

This week we introduce you to the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

____________________________

James Bengiovanni, or “Bengi” as he is known, is a man of many, many accomplishments. He once walked 10 miles chewing the same piece of gum, never switching to a fresh piece. He watched all the episodes of Heroes, even though it jumped the shark after season one and everyone else stopped watching. Once he accidently ordered mustard on his tuna sandwich, and instead of wiping it off, or ordering a new sandwich, he simply ate it without complaining. As a wimpy kid, he often read books targeted for adults, yet as an adult, he has read The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and enjoyed it. He recently used an actual paper map, instead of a GPS, and still found his way to his destination. His accolades, too numerous to list here, would perhaps even fill two paragraphs of a three paragraph essay.

With so much talent, it is no surprise that he was named the 2013 Teacher of the Year for the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy. Bengi is also the answer to the following trivia questions “Who was first speaker at the inaugural Speak Up event on May 20, 2013 and “Who renamed the Green Team in Berlin Connecticut Junior Girls Soccer from the Soccettes to the Shockwave?”

Speak Up storytellers: Plato Karafelis

Our next Speak Up storytelling event is on Saturday, November 9, at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford.

Tickets can be purchased online here or purchased at the door, provided that we don’t sell out prior to Saturday.  

This week we introduce you to the storytellers who you will be hearing from on Saturday night. Hope to see you there!

____________________________

Plato Karafelis has lived through many adventures.  Along the way, he has collected stories, which he is happy to share if asked (or even if he is not asked).  He has practiced yoga for over 40 years and spends a great deal of time meditating.  He loves to spend time with his wife Sharon, swim, bike, hike, golf, read, organize, and drink coffee.  

My children ruined my Patriots game day perfection.

Attending Sunday’s Patriots-Steelers game was pretty great. In addition to an outstanding game, our tailgate party was about a dozen strong, including a couple friends who I hadn’t seen in a while. While we watched the early games on a television connected to the car, we dined on burgers and dogs and played some low stakes poker.

Then the Patriots hung 55 points on the Steelers, making it a perfect end to a perfect day.

Except that while I was enjoying myself in Foxboro, I was missing moments like this back home in Connecticut:

  

My friend and fellow season ticket holder asked me to sell about half of our games this year to defer costs, and while I’ve been a little sad about missing some of them (including the last second comeback against New Orleans), moments like this more than make up for staying home and watching a couple more games on the television instead of inside the stadium.