Matthew Arnold Stern » Insights

Tebow! So?

Matthew Arnold Stern — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:15:26 +0000

Why is everyone making such a big deal about Tim Tebow? Sure, he wins football games. Sure, he’s exciting to watch. So what if he wants to kneel and pray after a great play? Anyone who complains about displays of religiosity in sports hasn’t watched baseball. I’ve seen plenty of ballplayers cross themselves before they …

Goals, not resolutions

Matthew Arnold Stern — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:20:10 +0000

I’ve said it before, but I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. It’s better to set goals, and make sure that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-targeted. But goals, like resolutions, can be set with all of the best of intentions and still be tossed aside and forgotten within weeks. How …

Why bother to be thankful?

Matthew Arnold Stern — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:26:13 +0000

Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States, but there doesn’t seem to be much reason to be thankful. The economy continues to limp along with no relief in sight. Congress appears to have failed in its efforts to end the budget impasse. Economies and governments are imploding throughout Europe. Our nation seems to be divided …

What matters most

Matthew Arnold Stern — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:43:40 +0000

I was cleaning out some old files from my home office. Some of them were my personal files from a previous employer. It was a company where things had gone well for me for many years, and then I was assigned to another manager who was a source of conflict. Even though I left the …

The Problem with Writing about Politics

Matthew Arnold Stern — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:11:49 +0000

Even though I’m finishing a novel about politics, I find it increasingly hard to write directly about current political issues. I started writing a post for this blog about the 99% who are occupying Wall Street, Los Angeles, and even Minneapolis to protest against the 1% wealthiest Americans. There is now a new group, the 53% who …

What I miss about the Valley

Matthew Arnold Stern — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:08:21 +0000

My daughter went to the San Fernando Valley this week to visit a friend who is going to CSUN. I wouldn’t want to embarrass my daughter (but as any father knows, it isn’t hard to do), but I can’t help but feel sentimental about the place where I was born and raised. Here are a …

Me Minus Appendix (Conclusion)

Matthew Arnold Stern — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:53:06 +0000

Continued from Part 2 After coming home from the hospital, I still needed time to recover. This too was a step-by-step process. Each day, I was able to do a bit more. Catching up with work emails. Entering receipts. Driving to do errands. When my body told me to take a break, I stopped. As …

Me Minus Appendix (Part 2)

Matthew Arnold Stern — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:11:27 +0000

Continued from Part 1 After my surgery, I spent the next three and a half days in the hospital. It would be a greater ordeal than the operation itself. For the first two days, I couldn’t eat and didn’t have the energy to move. I was hooked up to a number of tubes. I had …

Me Minus Appendix (Part 1)

Matthew Arnold Stern — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:24:38 +0000

I had a stomach pain that didn’t go away. A dull pressure in the center of my abdomen. A complete loss of appetite. At first, I wrote it off as something I ate. I took some antacids and rested for a few hours. After that, I started feeling better. I even started painting my son’s …

Like a pie in the face…

Matthew Arnold Stern — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:57:45 +0000

It’s hard not to follow the news these days without getting depressed. Journalism scandals. Politicians playing chicken with bankruptcy. Borders going the way of Licorice Pizza. It feels like getting hit in the face with a pie. Come to think of it, a pie would taste pretty good right now. Chocolate silk. So, what does …