I encountered this list of 20 things every father should tell his daughter on Facebook. As with all things Facebook, it’s about 47-53% of the way toward real wisdom.
1) Pay attention to the way a man loves his mother. That is the way he will love you.
2) You can do anything a man can do, including organic chemistry, unclogging toilets and assembling IKEA furniture. 3) Older women wear makeup so THEY can look like YOU. Less is more. A lot less is a lot more. 4) People will judge you by the way you look. It isn’t fair, but it’s the way the world works. Keep that in mind as you pick your outfit in the morning. 5) Never let anyone do your thinking for you. There are far too many people with far too much invested in you believing what they believe. 6) Liberal arts grow your mind. Science and business keep you fed. You will need both. 7) Nothing is more attractive than intelligence. 8) Learn to drive a stick-shift. 9) Get comfortable with power tools. 10) You don’t have to enjoy them, but have a working knowledge of the rules for football and baseball. . . . → Read More: Fathers and Daughters
I, like many Americans, was very saddened to hear of the passing of Roger Ebert today. No matter what my feelings were with the quality of his reviews (I feel like, later in his life, he could often be very inaccurate on basic plot tenants when providing a summary) I still felt like his reviews MEANT something. As a kid, when a movie had TWO THUMBS UP that was always a sign that the movie was going to be good. What I think I admired most about Ebert was his ability to appreciate movies as art, but to keep his reviews in line with his midwestern sensibilities, which could be counted on by the mainstream movie goer. He loved great films, high concept films, indie films and the like, but also did not punish films that were meant to be popcorn fare and would still give them the approval of the worlds most famous and influential thumb since the Roman empire.
Many of the comments on social media speak of Mr. Ebert going to that great balcony in the sky, where he will pick his argument back up with his long time sparring partner Gene Siskel , who passed away . . . → Read More: The great balcony in the sky
This is a letter I wrote to our youngest children, recently born. I was not sure whether to “share” it, but a few friends have spoken from time to time that I should be willing to share such things, and so I will.
Charlie and Therese,
Welcome to the world. It is my firm and deepest belief that you are not new to life, but new to the world. I have been your father in practice for nearly 9 months (and in anticipation for many years), and have tried to carry out my responsibilities with that in mind.
First things – your sisters have elicited much more detailed “birth stories” than you both have. Furthermore, theirs were individual, whereas you are being lumped here.
As for the first point – this is simply because there was almost no drama in your birth. We were blessed in that way. Whereas Amelia was our first child born, and had a bit of drama in the story; and whereas Ruth had a lot more drama in hers, in the way it unfolded; yours was simply a very good birth. Your mother proved her courage and her strength, and . . . → Read More: Born.