Escape Adulthood

Art

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The Weird Thing About the Grass on the Other Side

Sometimes I long for the days B.L. Before Lucy. Lucy is my seven-month-old daughter and first child. As an entrepreneur, I mistakenly thought my life resembled a roller coaster before this adventure into fatherhood. I realize now that I was only riding the wimpy kiddie coaster — the one without the big drops, corkscrews, and urges to vomit. Looking back, I enjoyed a lot more freedom then. I had way more time to myself, and I could come and go as I pleased. My wife Kim and I could watch more than one hour of a movie before slipping into comas. I didn’t have to deal with dirty diapers, …

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Shedding Light On What Keeps You Up At Night

When you were little, were you ever afraid of the dark? I sure was. From horns and hair to scabs and skeletons, thinking about what lurked among the shadows was an all-you-can-eat buffet for my imagination. In fact, I may not have made it through childhood without that humble but powerful life-saving device known as the night light. Although small in size and wattage, it did a remarkable job of keeping the creepy-crawlies at bay. Without it, I’m sure I’d have long been digested in the belly of a slimy beast from the netherworld known as “Underthebed.” Many lives have been saved by the …

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Late Night Laughs with Conan

Kim and I have been watching the inaugural episodes of the new Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I think he's doing a great job, and have been enjoying the shows. I've always connected with Conan's goofy brand of humor. (I did this painting of him when I was in college.) One of my favorite jokes from last night came during the "In The Year 2000" segment Conan and sidekick Andy Richter resurrected from their old Late Night days. (The skit has been updated with fancy new costumes and the title, "In The Year 3000.")... In the year 3000, Jesus returns to Earth, but due to the bad economy, is …

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Bored is Good

I remember certain summer days during my childhood in which my brothers and I, all out of ideas of what to do next, would complain to my mother that we were officially bored. I don't remember getting much sympathy. It's been a long time since I was really bored. I love what I do, and there's always an impossibly long list of things that need to be done. And, frankly, it's kind of hard to be bored in our "always on" society awash in laptops and smart phones and iPods. Well, sometimes I’m bored when I'm with Lucy. …

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The Importance of Family Dinner

In the the last hundred years or so, we’ve seen technology bring about more advancements than the rest of human history combined. We’ve come a long way, baby. For the most part, these advancements have served us well. We’re able to produce more food, travel longer distances in less time, eradicate once-deadly diseases, and improve the length and quality of our lives. Some negative consequences, such as increased pollution and more dangerous weapons, have been ushered in as well. But I think the most dangerous side effect is that we find the promise of what the future holds so compelling, …

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