Journal

Enough with the Shock and Disbelief Already

Matthew Eggler — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 06:54:10 +0000

I was reading through the news coverage of the Newton, Connecticut elementary school shooting a while ago, sitting in numb sadness and thinking of my own young children, when something snapped inside me. I was reading a quote from Harry Reid, he said he felt "shock and disbelief at this horrible tragedy"...

Words, words, words Pt 8: Sorry About this Post

Matthew Eggler — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:32:06 +0000

Recently, I had been having conversations with George that I was having trouble understanding. They would go something like this: George: “I’m not feeling well” or “I hurt myself”. Me: “I’m sorry, George.” George: “No. I hurt myself.”

Definitions #1 Christian Rock

Matthew Eggler — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:53:40 +0000

Christian Rock: A form of contemporary music that attempts to make Christianity cool but only succeeds in making Rock uncool.

Back to the Family

Matthew Eggler — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:03:08 +0000

Have you noticed how the Christian Right has highjacked the word “family”? Yes, of course you have but has it gone beyond that? I don’t know about you but “family” has become a bit of a dirty word for me. Every time I hear it in the name of an organization (Family Research Council, Focus On the Family, Florida Family Association, Illinois Family Institute, etc. ad nauseam) a ‘60s era robot starts spinning around in my head saying “Danger! Danger!”

The word has become a warning sign to me, as if I was driving down the highway and came across a sign reading “Caution: Hate Filled Ignoramuses Next 5 Miles.” Boy, that’s good to know; glad they put that sign there. Am I alone in this, or does anybody else feel the same about “family”?

P.S. 10 points for anyone who knows where I got the title from.

The Meaning of Christmas

Matthew Eggler — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:54:35 +0000

Please visit the Calamities of Nature web site to help raise money for Doctors Without Borders.

A Farewell to Christopher Hitchens

Matthew Eggler — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:19:04 +0000

Christopher Hitchens died last night and the world has lost one of its most polarizing and controversial figures. I know many people who loved Christopher Hitchens – and many others who couldn’t stand him. My own opinion of Hitchens was, at first, ambivalent...

Thank God for the Zoo(mazium)

Matthew Eggler — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:42:05 +0000

George and I spent the day at the zoo today. We go there a lot; we are members, it is close to our home and I have many fond memories of my father taking me there when I was a kid, so I’m always game to take the kids there. One of the newer features at the Woodland Park Zoo is the Zoomasium...

Format Changes

Matthew Eggler — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:15:54 +0000

As you may have noticed, there have been a few changes to this site, and in the next few days, there will be a few more.

First, I have given the site a new look. This was meant to have an autumnal look. It was my intention to make this change a couple of months ago when it was autumn but, since the work is done, I put it up now. I will be changing to a holiday look in a week or so.

The second change is the tag cloud I added. When it was done I saw it was a bit large and cumbersome so I will be editing my entry tags to make it more functional. Stay tuned and please send your suggestions for improvements.

What I’m Reading: A Feast for Crows

Matthew Eggler — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:15:57 +0000

Milica and I have been reading George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series for a while now and I realize I haven’t been writing much about the things I list in the What I’m Reading and What I’m listening To sections of this blog so I thought I should start. First off, most of the criticism I’m going to make in this post is negative so I just want to mention that I don’t dislike these books. After all I haven’t abandoned them and I am sure I will finish the series...

Child Safety and the Third-Time Parent

Matthew Eggler — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:14:32 +0000

George and I were in a shop the other day (for the life of me I can’t remember where now) and there was another father there with his child who was about the same age as George. I hadn’t observed him for more than a few second before I realized this was his first and only child. How could I tell? It wasn’t at all difficult...