Tag Archives: Parenthood

The Ticking Spine Bomb

My lower back counts me down to mortality I threw my back out. It happened as I was out for a pre-dawn run. One moment I was a gliding athletic superman, the picture of health. The next, blam!, I was hobbled … Continue reading

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Airshow!

Family fun at America’s answer to the military parade We were living in Beijing in 2009 when the Party celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic. The main event was a giant military parade that would … Continue reading

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Return to Commuterstan

Generation Z is weird about cars but I’m totally normal In what should be an epochal household shift, my son got his driver’s license a few weeks ago. This culminated months of begrudging participation in one of the main rituals … Continue reading

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The almighty soft-power princess bomb

Chinese soft-power is doomed. I came to this conclusion a couple of weeks ago. The message was delivered in the form of a guy in a mouse suit on ice skates, and I received it loud and clear when Mrs. … Continue reading

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Physics in the gaze of a thousand grannies

Imagethief was an indifferent student in high school. My success in any given class was dictated by my level of personal interest in the topic. So I did OK at biology, which I liked, great in English and composition once … Continue reading

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I suck at Christmas trees

So I’m back in the US of A for Christmas and based on a sample size of two (my parents), I can report that the political mood here is bleak. My mom’s dog of many years died a week or … Continue reading

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The zombie-slugging toy police car

Imagethief’s son, Zachary, turned two this week. I’m amazed we made it. By this I mean I’m amazed that Mrs. Imagethief and I made it. If the boy’s engine room telegraph is stuck on “full-speed-ahead”, Mrs. Imagethief and I are … Continue reading

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We’re back, plus the great Christmas pox of ’09

On Sunday Imagethief arrived in Beijing from two well-earned holiday weeks in the San Francisco Bay Area. Flying with Zachary), now 22 months, is always an adventure. He’s a well traveled kid, but a well-traveled two year old is like … Continue reading

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Illegal baby part 2: I fought the law (and the law won)

Regular readers will recall that Imagethief became a father earlier this year. Having a child requires new parents to undertake many unfamiliar responsibilities. These include the obvious, such as the care and feeding of an infant, and some things that … Continue reading

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Illegal baby part 1: The strange case of the sluggish passport

Note: This combines two original posts. In the first part, I suggest something to the Singaporean embassy. In the second part, they respond. Illegal baby part 1: The strange case of the sluggish passport July 1, 2008 Anyone within earshot … Continue reading

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