Back in 1993, George Costanza committed a faux pas that became an instant part of American culture. George was at a funeral and was caught double-dipping his chip, causing a mourner to exclaim, “You double-dipped the chip! You dipped the chip, you took a bite, and you dipped again! That’s like putting your whole mouth … Continue reading 27 Years Later, Seinfeld Episode More Relevant Than Ever
Harry Chapin is one of the all-time great singer-songwriters who died way too young. One of my first blog posts five years ago ever was about Harry, and it remains one of my favorite posts. If you don't know much about Harry, that post can get you up to speed. It was my future wife … Continue reading Music Monday: Harry Chapin on Writing, Performing, and Making a Fool of Yourself
Maybe I'm just lazy. I think I have enough favorite music from the late 60s and 70s to get me through the rest of my life. Plus, many of the artists from back then continued to put out great albums for years, and sometimes decades, later. (one example, of course, is Bruce Springsteen). I'll admit … Continue reading Music Monday: Music with a Message
One of the things I was most looking forward to as part of my teaching over in Singapore for a few months was taking a break from what seemed to be the constant bombardment of negative news back in the U.S. Most of that negative news was of a political nature. I know I could … Continue reading Does the News Always Have to Be Stressful?
We didn't know what was going on. We were having dinner this past Friday night in Bangkok at the Iconsiam Mall (side note - the most amazing mall I have ever seen) when many people around us all stood up and stopped talking. As a result, we could more clearly hear the music that was … Continue reading Music Monday: I Love This Wonderful Thai Tradition
For the second time in three years, we had to watch the Super Bowl at an odd hour. Two years ago, we were in London when my hometown Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. The game didn't start until 11:30 at night, and I'm not a night person. But fortunately, the game was on a … Continue reading It Looks Like I’ve Got My Finger on the Pulse of the Nation
We've been in Singapore for three weeks now, and absolutely loving it. There are obviously lots of things that are different here than back home in the U.S., but I think the picture above says a lot about the differences. We were walking around parts of Chinatown tonight, and most of the stores were closed … Continue reading This Would Not End Well in the U.S.
Grace Hauck, a reporter for USA Today, put together an interesting story that looked at 20 predictions that were supposed to have taken place by 2020. I won't go over each one since you can read the full article for that. I thought I'd just take a look at a few of the more interesting … Continue reading So How Did These Predictions for 2020 Work Out?
Sayre's Law states: "In any dispute, the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake." By way of corollary, it adds: "That is why academic politics are so bitter." Sayre's law is named after Wallace Stanley Sayre (1905–1972), U.S. political scientist and professor at Columbia University. The quote is often attributed to … Continue reading Who Knew There Was a Law to Explain My Obsession with WordPress Stats
Reporters Suzanne Kapner and Dante Chinni had a fascinating story in this week's Wall Street Journal that looked at the consumer behavior patterns of Republicans vs. Democrats, and how those patterns have changed over the years. The Journal analyzed 15 years of consumer surveys conducted by MRI-Simmons, a research firm. The research, which studied 2,528 … Continue reading Here’s How to Show Support for Your Favorite Political Party
Borden's Blather 