Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last year I submitted my taxes over a month early, only to call and find out that the IRS “hadn’t received them.”  This, though I had proof of delivery from the post office.  Grrr.  So I submitted my taxes a … Continue reading →

it’s about a month from the end of the semester and students writing term papers begin recalling all of “your” library books.  By “your” books I mean the library books that you’ve dutifully accrued over the past year and have … Continue reading →

My favorite argument runs along the following lines: 1) I did x 2) I turned out just fine 3) So doing x can’t be bad! The more parenting reading I run into, the more I encounter this lovely argument.  My … Continue reading →

It is a gorgeous, 60-degree day here in Ithaca.  Although our yard is still a bit muddy, the crocuses are up, the hyacinths shoots are peeking out of the ground, and the birds are positively raucous.  Thank you, Ithaca! Erin

In a Newsweek article on the rise of cosmetic use and other forms of beauty “maintenance” among young girls and women: “New statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show that cosmetic- surgery procedures performed on those 18 … Continue reading →

Sydney and I are off to Syracuse for the day (yes, we’re taking our baby bags with us), where he will sit in on an Early Modern course and I’ll settle in with my books at the library cafe, which … Continue reading →

Today I had yet another of the experiences that have peppered the past few months.  I was looking at baby items (this time, baby books) and felt myself being driven to cynicism.  Rather than chime in with “Oh, how perfect,” … Continue reading →

I’m terrible at booking hotels.  Ask Sydney.  I hem and haw for hours, looking at website after website, looking for the perfect fit.  And, being something of a hotel cheapskate, I also frequently consider booking rooms at places that, according … Continue reading →

David Rothkopf in The Washington Post: “We get the leaders we demand and thus deserve. (As the United States and England were making Roosevelt and Churchill, Germany and Italy were making Hitler and Mussolini.)”

This sort of thing helps explain a variety of my preferences, e.g., why I prefer living in a rural area to living in a city, why I prefer good old-fashioned paper books to Kindles, and so forth. It strikes me … Continue reading →