Tag: life
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The rules are there ain’t no rules
There’s a scene in Grease where Leo, the head of the rival Scorpions gang, says to Travolta’s Danny Zuko before they drag race: “The rules are there ain’t no rules.” It’s one of the many random lines that has stuck in my head from a lifetime of movie watching. I think about it a lot…
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This is my backpack
Part of the This Is My series. Thanks to the magic of email, I know that in March 2009 my mom asked if I wanted anything from REI. She had a coupon that was about to expire but didn’t need anything for herself. REI is one of those stores I love in principle but don’t…
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Build it up, knock it down
My favorite new game with 7 Months is to build a small tower with his rubber blocks—to almost as tall as he is when sitting—and watch him knock it down. He never does it the same way twice. He’ll grab the top one and bring it to his mouth, the whole tower leaning towards him…
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This is my wallet
Part of the This Is My series. Usually I’m a bifold wallet guy. I don’t like how trifolds make two bends in paper money. But once I realized I could just fold whatever bills I have in half and stick them in the middle section of the bill area, my wallet options opened up. Which…
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Camcorders and the quotidian
Two things my wife and I are really glad to have are a camcorder and a digital SLR camera. We got both of them several years ago, the camera as a wedding gift and the camcorder from my mother-in-law. Mostly we wanted them to be able to document family get-togethers, trips, and our nieces growing…
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This is my pocketknife
Part of the This Is My series. When my grandpa died in 2007, I informally inherited several of his possessions. Nothing from an official will, mind you—just my grandma saying “You should take this” as we were clearing out his stuff. That’s how I got, among other things, his wallet, a few shirts, an old…
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This is my jacket
Part of the This Is My series. If you have met me in the last 15 years, there’s a decent chance you have seen me in this orange jacket: I acquired it in 2004 on a trip from Madison to Kansas City with a few people from my youth group to attend a conference. We…
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When we make our art
“When we make our art, we are also making our lives. And I’m sure that the reverse is equally true.” — Wendell Berry, in the beautiful documentary Look & See. Might have found my new life motto.
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How Helen met Cliff
Today would be the 75th wedding anniversary of my grandparents Cliff and Helen. In the oral history of her life, Helen talked about how she met Cliff: I was nineteen when I met him. He asked me if I was twenty-one and I said no. He was twenty-seven, so he was an older guy. I…
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Going to the movies is a gift
As the due date of my first child approaches, I’ve tried to account for and appreciate things I can do now, pre-parenthood, that won’t be quite so easy soon. Quiet nights reading, hassle-free dining, uninterrupted sleep, and keeping a tidy home come to mind. But chief among these activities is moviegoing, one of my most…
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Queer Eye and Straight Guys
Karamo Brown of Queer Eye recently gave a free talk nearby, so I availed myself of the opportunity to see him in the flesh. He was the same as you see on the show, except this time he made himself cry. He got emotional as soon as the talk began because an old college friend…
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Now available: ‘The Wonder Of It All’, a new album of old demos
Surprise! I just released a new album of old demos called The Wonder Of It All, now available on SoundCloud. Since 2010, when I first got my MacBook Pro, I’ve used GarageBand to record song ideas. Some of them remain fragments and half-songs, but many have become full songs. This album is a collection of…
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New words for obscure sorrows
I love learning new words. (And writing them down.) All the better when they are invented words. John Koenig’s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a collection of words Koenig has created—inspired by real etymology—for specific emotions that don’t have precise English words to describe them. Tell me you haven’t felt every one of these: Sonder:…
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Music we leave behind
There are two works of art I associate with an ex. One is the music of Mayer Hawthorne, specifically A Strange Arrangement, which had come out a few months before our brief relationship and was a primary jam for me that winter. The other is the Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog, which…
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Grandma’s dressers
It’s been a year since my Grandma Helen died. I inherited several things from her before and after her death, including a Selectric typewriter and typewriter desk. But of these heirlooms, what I now notice most frequently, and what most often remind me of her, are the dressers. One horizontal and one vertical, they are massive…