Credit Fraud

Credit Fraud

Last week, after I laid out why I agree with Target’s new non-gender assignation policy, a handful of people on social media praised me, called me a great dad, and said they wished more people would raise their kids like I’m raising mine.

AWKWARD. I’ve never committed credit fraud, but when I get praise for being a good parent, that’s what it feels like.

I prefer when people call me an asshole and a terrible father. Because, as my regular readers know (thanks, regular readers!), that’s a lot closer to the truth.

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The Definition of Insanity

The Definition of Insanity

There are a million titles I could have used for this post:

Practice makes perfect.

Glutton for punishment.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Misery loves company.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

But for whatever reason, referencing Albert Einstein’s (but maybe not?) famous quote seemed to make the most sense.

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Categorically Opposed

Categorically Opposed

Recently, Target announced that they’d be doing away with gender-categorizations in their children’s sections. This made a lot of people happy and a lot of people angry.

I am torn between being baffled by the anger and totally understanding it. Not because I agree with it (most of the angry people seem to think Target has a nefarious agenda, which: CUCKOO!) but because I get where those people are coming from, at least on one level: human beings love labels.

Labels are comforting. Nothing scares us like stuff we don’t understand, and labels help us understand things.

My son is white. He is male. He is an American. He may be straight or gay, he may be religious or not, he may be liberal or conservative. But if I have my way, he’ll be none of those things.

He’ll just be a human being, like everyone else.

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Bummer Camp

Bummer Camp

Back in the summer of 1986, my older brother and I attended a sleep-away camp. He was twelve and going with a friend. I was only nine, but after going along on a reconnaissance mission earlier that year, I had decided I wanted to attend the camp too.

It was two weeks long, in some far off part of Connecticut (as far off as you can get in a state as small as Connecticut) and for some reason we would be joining the camp in the middle of the summer session.

It was my first time, and for reasons that will quickly become obvious, my last time, at sleep-away camp.

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[Guest Post] “Claire and the Beast” Giveaway

[Guest Post] “Claire and the Beast” Giveaway

So I have this annoying friend.

He’s also ambitious and prolific. Which is what makes him so annoying. He’s constantly writing and drawing and illustrating and just generally striving, mostly in between mind-numbing meetings at his high-powered job. All that’s on top of living with two kids and what simply has to be a really understanding wife. Like, supernaturally understanding.

This Renaissance man’s name is Joel Bernard, and he recently completed one of his many projects! It’s a children’s book he wrote and illustrated himself. This endeavor took two years, and if the following post is to be believed, a fair amount of hand-wringing. But he did it, and he’s just now starting to put it out there into the world.

He’s written a guest post (he somehow doesn’t have a blog of his own) about this new book, why he wrote it, and why he’s so annoying and stuff. Check it out; not only is his post funny and probably meaningful (I haven’t actually read it), there’s a chance for you to win a signed, hardcover copy of his new book at the end!

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