Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 684
July 12, 2010
This is one way to make me feel inadequate
When I start to think that writing is hard and writing novels is even harder, I will watch this video and remind myself about how lucky I am.
Some people do so much with so little.
An update on my Big Wheel dream
A few important developments since posting about my yearning for a Big Wheel:
I learned that one of my friends actually attempted to purchase the adult-sized Big Wheel for me, only to discover that it is no longer manufactured at the company in question.
Another friend managed to locate an adult-sized version of her favorite childhood today, the Hippity Hop. It is available online for anyone interested in ordering.
I did not have a Hippity Hop as a child and will not be ordering one. ...
July 11, 2010
My inner child comes alive
The Big Wheel was just about the coolest childhood toy ever. I was watching some kids on television riding their Big Wheels down the street, and I couldn't help but want one at that very moment.
So I got to thinking:
Wouldn't it be awesome to have an adult-sized Big Wheel? I should totally design one and sell the concept to some Chinese bike manufacturer for a million dollars!
I'm a genius!
I was just about ready to begin my design when I found this.
An adult-sized Big...
Word games
A friend recently told me:
The winners in life are the losers who never quit trying.
I offered this small bit of rephrasing:
The losers in life are people in life who create phrases like this in order to make themselves feel better about slamming their head against a wall without any sign of progress.
A lack of physical descriptors
It recently occurred to me that my wife's lack of physical descriptors would make it hard for me to describe her in a book.
"How would you describe me?" she asked.
"I don't know," I said. "Dark hair. Great figure. Probably wearing sunglasses. That's about all I got."
She was not amused. "Oh Yeah. Then how would you describe yourself?"
"I don't know," I said. "Scars across the chin and forehead. Missing lower front tooth. Hairy arms and legs. Nineteen inch neck. Brown eyes. ...
July 10, 2010
Have times really changed that much?
This is amusing and seems to possess a kernel of truth based upon what I read and hear (mostly from non-educators), but I have never experienced a situation like this in my dozen years in the classroom.
In fact, in the rare instance in which parents have had reservations about their child's grades, they have been more concerned that I am being too lenient rather than too harsh.
Do I stand alone?
Inexplicable loserdom
Could someone please explain to me why the Alicia Keys and Jay-Z's song Empire State of Mind causes a large percentage of men to high five, hug and slap one another on the back as if they are engaged in some meaningful, emotional experience?
In Farmington, Connecticut.
And North Granby, Connecticut.
And Plainville, Connecticut.
July 9, 2010
Caps? Bolding? Air quotes? And dare I say Comic Sans?
Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert's scathing open letter to the fans is frankly too over-the-top and hubris-laden for my taste. I prefer my NBA owners to be a little less emotional and considerably less reactionary.
And Gilbert's obsessive use of air-quotes is just stupid. Note:
"This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports...
What does she want from me?
In the latest edition of New York Magazine, Doree Shafrir writes about how her opinion of some people take a plunge once she begins to follow them on Twitter:
"…people I once looked up to, and thought were interesting and smart — who I have been forced to unfollow with extreme prejudice, because Twitter made me hate them. What Twitter has laid bare in a rather uncomfortable way is that people you may like and admire in real life can be total idiots when they are allowed to write anything...
Still thinking like a kid
I've come to the realization that the source of much of my angst with the world originates from my inability to alter my childhood view of life.
In short, I'm walking around in a 38-year old body but with the preconceived notions of an adolescent.
For example, I find myself wondering this week why anyone would require more than one bathing suit for the summer? If you are spending the majority of your swim time in a chlorine-laced pool, you barely need to wash the thing, so cleanliness is...
