Monthly Archives: May 2002

Friday night at the World

Not much time to write tonight. I’m a bit of a techie here at the World Round, solving computer problems, posting to the weblog, snapping photos. I’ve been getting lots of kudos for the website. No one’s ever put up … Continue reading

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World Round

I’m heading to Duluth this morning, as the Big Event is this weekend. I expect to post to the weblog while I’m gone but might have to save up the posts till I get back.

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Quote of the Day

We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them. – Duc de La Rochefoucauld Bingo. Story of my life as the designated good kid in my screwed-up family. Not as … Continue reading

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Not half bad

A subscriber points to an item in WSJ’s James Taranto’s OpinionJournal earlier this week. Colbert King’s Better Half It’s fairly common for commentators to adopt a breathless tone as they report entirely unremarkable facts. Rarely, however, do they actually say … Continue reading

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C-Day aftermath

Well, my colon’s good to go, clean as a whistle. But, dang, I missed the whole thing. The sedative they gave me knocked me out completely — a little disappointing, as I was interested in the TV show with a … Continue reading

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C-Day!

I’ve got a 10 am colonoscopy appointment today… part of the deal I made with my wife (“I will if you will”). I’ve been telling quite a few guys I know that I’m having it done… part of my public … Continue reading

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More on mean girls

Bullying, Girl-Style in the LA Times (reprinted in the StarTribune) and now a “why the media mania?” article by Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe. Goodman wonders: When Rachel Simmons, author of ”Odd Girl Out,” told Oprah that being shunned … Continue reading

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Gay grief to gay pride; and boys who aren’t boys

An inspiring chronicle of a mother’s journey of self-discovery as she moves from grief to pride in her gay son. My wife and I watched the gut-wrenching movie Boys Don’t Cry over the weekend. And then this story titled About … Continue reading

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Blogs in the family

I grabbed the wigley.us domain name a month or so ago at the suggestion of one of my sons. (Thx CW). We now have a Wigley family site on our town’s community webserver. I helped my daughter get her school … Continue reading

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Working less, dying more

In Japan, death from overwork (“karoshi”) continues to rise. A culture of high-achievement matched with a culture of consumption. It’s what ails us, too.

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Are only seminarians “called”?

I’m continually bugged by the assumption that God only “calls” those who’s mission in life is the ministry, as in this article on seminarians. Like many who enter the priesthood, Keating said, he didn’t choose to become a priest. “My … Continue reading

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Lummox

I’ve started reading a book called Lummox by Mike Magnuson. The StarTribune’s book review a few weeks ago caught my eye with this line: The happily loutish book proves that regular guys can have colorful interior lives and that domestic … Continue reading

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Will your marriage fail?

While perusing the Men’s Health site after reading the online dating article (below), I stumbled upon this quick marriage quiz, based on John Gottman’s seven principles of making marriage work. (I’m linking to the Gottman site in case the MH … Continue reading

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Find a date online

The June issue of Men’s Health has an article titled Looking to Click: Online dating isn’t just for freaks and geeks anymore. Our guy met dozens of attractive, fun women–and you can, too. If you’re in the hunt, it seems … Continue reading

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June Esquire: funny, pathetically funny

If you’ve spent any time at all watching or listening to war briefings by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, you’ll appreciate his Sex Tips in the June issue of Esquire. Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: My wife and I are happily married, … Continue reading

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Photobinge

I still have my son’s fancy camera from my weekend of taking photos at the World Round site in Duluth. Last night as the sun was going down, bathing the city in a golden glow, I decided to take some … Continue reading

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Real Joe merchandise

Hats, shirts, mugs and Uncategorized other fine items are now available in CafePress.com’s Real Joe store. Prices are a buck or two over cost. There’s a separate store (hidden, natch) for paying subscribers, with all items at cost. I’ve created … Continue reading

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A no-blog weekend

I spent much of the weekend in Duluth, taking photos of the preparations for the US round of the World Championship series in Observed Trials, and then getting them up on the web site asap. It was good to have … Continue reading

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A weekend off

I’m heading to Duluth today. Our observed trials motorcycle club, the UMTA, is one of the clubs putting on the USA Round of the World Championships in two more weeks. I’ve done the website and I want to take some … Continue reading

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Sweet Mike

An insightful glimpse into the world of Mike Tyson, by fellow Northfielder Gordon Morino, in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. There’s another side to Tyson that’s not seen by the press. It took an ex-boxer philosophy professor to both see … Continue reading

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Boys and sex: what the girls are making them do

This Cox News Service article, Assertive girls cut teen boys’ sexual activity, cites a research study and journal article in which the author contends that “Boys are no longer starting sex lives in casual one-night stands. They are waiting until … Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

The urgent things in life are very seldom important, and the important things in life are rarely urgent. – Charles Hummel I’m in a slump of disorganization, and it occurred to me last night that it’s been weighing on me … Continue reading

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When God is packaged as cool

I was initially encouraged when I read the first few paragraphs of this article in last week’s Time: When God Is Cool: Children, especially teenagers, are hungry for faith. And they’re finding it in very new places. This quote in … Continue reading

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A mother’s pain makes it worse

Jacquelyn Mitchard’s May 2 column, A mother faces life’s toughest challenge, has this startling beginning. My son hates me. His friends and his brothers and my husband tell me that he is speaking his own rage and regret. But I … Continue reading

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A memorial, a gravestone, or a scattering of ashes?

It occurred to me this morning while I tried to sit, unsuccessfully, for 15 minutes at my listening place, that I’d like to have a memorial similar to this when I die. The college student memorialized here, Marc von Trapp, … Continue reading

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