Category Archives: life

On his terms

Posted on 2 May 2019 by

A few days ago, at the end of the Pilates class I teach, one of my Dutch students came up to me to say she wouldn’t be in class for three weeks. This is normal; my students are mostly expats … Continue reading →

Posted in life | Tagged , | 4 Comments

DIY

Posted on 10 February 2019 by

All the DIY-ers out there will undoubtedly recognize aspects, if not all, of this story. It is the true-life account of our little chore last night: replacing a bare light bulb in the bathroom ceiling (made of plaster, brick, and … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, life | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Becoming

Posted on 31 January 2019 by

Once, while I worked at a public aquarium, I gathered eggs from one sea anemone and sperm from another and combined the two under a microscope. As I watched, one of the eggs divided into two cells, then four, then … Continue reading →

Posted in biology, life, video | Tagged | 4 Comments

On being happy

Posted on 20 January 2019 by

Two recent events have made me pause and ponder, so if you don’t mind a little philosophy… By now, pretty much the whole world has seen the video of gymnast Katelyn Ohashi scoring a perfect 10 at the Collegiate Challenge. … Continue reading →

Posted in life, sport, writing | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Long live the humanities

Posted on 23 December 2017 by

In an essay for the Chronicle of Higher Education, English professor Nina Handler laments the extinction of her species: Charles Smithson, a character in John Fowles’s 1969 novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, is a wealthy, idle gentleman who faces the … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, life | 12 Comments

A must read: “My Family’s Slave”

Posted on 17 May 2017 by

The ashes filled a black plastic box about the size of a toaster. It weighed three and a half pounds. I put it in a canvas tote bag and packed it in my suitcase this past July for the transpacific … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, history, life | 2 Comments

Curmudgeons

Posted on 29 April 2017 by

A friend sent this on with a sniffle warning, and she was right. But it’s a good kind of sniffling, accompanied by laughter. If you don’t mind the potty mouths of a bunch of Brooklyn natives, with an occasional Spanish … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, life, video | 1 Comment

Song of Saturday

Posted on 1 April 2017 by

Before I could relax, I had to hang the laundry Before I could hang the laundry, I had to water plants (because the laundry rack blocks access to the plants) Before I could water plants, I had to wash the … Continue reading →

Posted in life | 4 Comments

Questions from a young adult

Posted on 4 August 2015 by

I received a letter from a young adult who is considering leaving her home town, where her parents serve as a safety net, and going someplace completely different — perhaps out of the country. She asked me a few questions … Continue reading →

Posted in life | 2 Comments

Le Tour is coming!…and other tidbits

Posted on 3 July 2015 by

Tomorrow is a day my wife and I look forward to all year: the start of the Tour de France. For the next three weeks, we will arrange our work and social lives around the television as we absorb gorgeous … Continue reading →

Posted in life, science, sport, video, weather | 7 Comments