You may remember that I offloaded my automobile a couple of years ago…and am now a fierce champion of public transport. In Washington, D.C., public transport is a mixed bag. The theory is fabulous and the practice involves constant frustration and, in the worst cases, tragic accidents for passengers and staff. But, I have become [...]
Archive for the ‘Conflict’ category
Ask, tell, et cetera
Not long ago, Slate.com ran an Explainer column describing how the U.S. military ascertains whether a service member is gay, for purposes of booting them out under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Apparently, photos are the best, most reliable source. Facebook postings are another key source: Does the soldier post about having a same-sex partner? Do [...]
A Love Bizarre Triangulation
Yesterday was a very long work day for me. Lately I’ve been teaching a class that begins at 7 am, so I had to get up at the unholy hour of 5:15. After class ended at 11 am, I had a couple of meetings (one planned, one not) and then filled in for a colleague [...]
Religion is boring
This semester I keep running into religious boredom from my students. At Religious College, the students are totally entranced by the text we’re reading except when I try to say something about the religious context of the author, whom they far prefer to judge according to the standards of their own beliefs. At Secular College, [...]
Willy wonky and the dumb-ass oompa loompa factory (or why the republicans always get to set the tone of the debate)
In a recent press conference in which house minority leader, John Boehner and friends unfurled their newly penned “Pledge to America,” I noticed something odd about one of their “pledges.” Okay, I’m going to stop here: Can we please just pronounce the man’s name “Boner?” Seriously, are there any other words in the English language [...]
The Excrementalist
Hello again! Two weeks ago, I biffed, because I am a moron. But I am back. And good Lord, do I need some advice. Let us say that one works in an office where one makes the shocking discovery that some colleague has been depositing his or her excrement in some place that is not [...]
OMG – Where’s the un-send key?!
It has been a long time since I inadvertently sent an embarrassing email to the wrong party. Or, it had been until about an hour ago, anyway. Who hasn’t felt that special panic, that sudden gasp of dread, that accompanies watching an email shoot off into the ether toward the wrong recipient? I can’t remember [...]
Bad Faith
I often get the sense that people are asking me questions they don’t want answers to. It’s a kind of social blindness I have, which is weird because my parents did this all the time. You’d think I’d be used to it, but somehow I never learned to tell when it’s best just to tell [...]
Be my guest
A sleeping bag and maybe a towel⎯that’s all we used to need. Crashing at a friend’s place required no great forethought⎯a few days’ notice, maybe. But combine age, bigger incomes, more complicated lives, and greater needs for privacy and independence, and all of a sudden hospitality is a fraught issue. It’s Monday morning as I [...]
Torn and Frayed
As I walked out of our building Sunday morning, I noticed some bits of paper scattered on the sidewalk. It was a photograph that someone had torn up and thrown on the ground. Curious, I felt compelled to pick up the pieces and re-assemble the picture. It’s impossible to know what percentage of torn-up photos [...]
