Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 16
November 3, 2022
What Disney can teach you about wishes
Holiday season is upon us. It’s a time when we’re encouraged to wish. We get “wish books” of holiday catalogs in the mail. Children tell their wishes to Santa about what presents they want to receive. We wish everyone the best for the holidays. And we wish we didn’t have to hear “Jingle Bells” for […]
October 31, 2022
I’m not leaving
I don’t like Elon Musk. I don’t like his cars, his politics, and his “I’m rich, so I can do whatever the hell I want” attitude. But I’m staying on Twitter. I refuse to run away or get pushed out because of who I am and what I believe. I feel the same way about […]
October 16, 2022
My team lost, but baseball won
As a Dodger fan, I must admit it. The NLDS with the Padres was bad for my team, but great for baseball. It was the type of series that builds lore and wins fans. Nail-biting games. The bottom of the Padres batting order catching fire and driving in runs. The drone. The downpour. The goose. […]
October 14, 2022
The dangers of being a good helper
One of the life lessons I learned from earning Eagle Scout is the importance of being helpful. This has always moved me ahead in my personal and professional lives. Finding a need and filling it. Giving assistance to someone who needs it. Being the first to come up with a solution to a problem. Being […]
October 8, 2022
The Great Man’s Funeral
He had prepared well. As loathed as he was to admit it, he knew the day was coming. Since he wouldn’t be there to supervise the occasion himself, he provided 583 leather-bound pages of detailed instructions. Everything from the paper stock in the memorial programs to the exact shade of gray in the pallbearers’ coat […]
September 26, 2022
Cheerleading and finding your passion
Even if you didn’t go to high school in the United States, you are familiar with the concept of cheerleaders. Pleated skirts, pom-poms, and all the stereotypes. I know some of our high school’s cheerleaders, and I can tell you those stereotypes aren’t true. Several cheerleaders were honor students. One of them was an editor […]
September 21, 2022
Mermaids, representation, and white authors
More than enough has been said about the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in the live-action The Little Mermaid. Let’s just say if you’re outraged that an imaginary creature is played by someone other than a white person, or you want to deny Black kids the joy of seeing a leading character who looks like […]
September 11, 2022
A life of consequence
Much has already been said about the life and death of Queen Elizabeth II. But I want to talk about what it means to live a life of consequence. It is exceedingly rare to live as long and have as much global influence as Queen Elizabeth. Yet, this is the benchmark many of us hold […]
September 4, 2022
Back to the office as a different person
It has been two and a half years since I’ve worked in the office. I’m returning as part of a hybrid program where I work part of the week there and the rest at home. My feelings about this are mixed. I miss interacting face-to-face with my colleagues. Some of my projects require me to […]
August 25, 2022
If I bought the Angels
Like most Angel fans, I was excited to hear the team might be sold. We hope a new owner can restore our beloved Halos to their winning ways and stop wasting generational talents like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. There is no way I could ever buy a baseball team. That’s a hobby for billionaires. […]
