words words

On publishing stuff at medium.com...

So I've been re-publishing a few of my published stories on medium.com this month. Medium can be described as many things, but one thing it is... is a site that looks beautiful where people can self-publish their writing. It has been on my mind to do this, because many websites - even sites that post amazing content - are not so pretty. Either they are poorly designed or they have intrusive advertising or something else. I have no grand plans here, I just thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite stories on this uncluttered site so a few people could read and enjoy them. Or at least if they don't enjoy them - it is entirely my fault. So here they are, in case you want to check a few of them out. Most are quite short...

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20: Hey Jealousy

In this podcast episode, my wife and I talk about jealousy -- her jealousy of me and my jealousy of her. Although a certain amount of jealousy is allowed in our relationship, are we jealous enough???

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podcast podcast

19: Drawn to Women

In this podcast episode, my wife and I analyze why we typically prefer to talk with women more than men. This isn't an across the board thing though -- we both have close male friends -- and so we try to untangle why it's that way. Hopefully no genders were harmed in the making of this podcast...

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18: Sex and Marriage

In this podcast episode, we actually try to talk about our sex life — or at least our struggle with getting sex into our busy lives. WARNING: This discussion is not so sexy...

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podcast podcast

17: Resentment and You

In this podcast episode, we talk about resentment. Or at least we try to talk about resentment — a little bit of my resentment and a little bit of my wife’s resentment. We bicker about our messy home. You’ll also learn a brilliant (or horrifying) technique for saving time when folding (or not folding) your laundry...

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16: New Frontiers of Vulnerability

In this podcast episode, we discuss vulnerability, shame, and my own craziness. We talk about Brené Brown’s research and we talk about the essay I recently published. Join us for this delightfully vulnerable romp...

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video video

Creative Sprints (failvid-17)

In this Failed Writer video, I talk about how I chip away at my creative projects. I'm definitely no model for success — every week I consider dumping my novel — but I still manage to keep doing creative projects every week. So here is my tactic, sort of...

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14: Money Trouble

In this podcast episode, we talk about money. Or more specifically, we talk about our money problems. Or more specifically, we talk about our relationship problems that relate to our money problems...

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13: Repair Attempts

In this podcast episode, we discuss something known as a repair attempt. It's a term coined by John Gottman. He is a psychologist who has done 40 years of research on relationships and marital stability and divorce prediction. This repair attempt thing relates to the way a couple tries to reconnect after a fight. If you want to get the most out of this episode, here is one way you can do it...

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12: Marrying an Insecure Angsty Depressive

In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about what it is like to be married to an insecure, angst-ridden, depressed person. Is it as sexy as it sounds? I was particularly insecure and full of anxiety in the first few years of our relationship and we talk about how that impacted our relationship. Join us for this delightful romp! (p.s. The podcast name has changed to Neurotic Tornado. Sorry. The podcast feed is the same -- you don't have to do anything to keep receiving episodes.)

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video video

Stand-up Comedians (failvid-16)

I've been obsessed with stand-up comedians lately... and what writers can learn from comedians about finding their voice. Or something like that. Just watch the video and tell me if you think I'm crazy...

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9: Our Unromantic Romance

My wife and I recorded this podcast episode on Valentine's Day after having NOT celebrated V-Day, so it seems fitting that we talk about how unromantic we are. Though we end up finding romance in our marriage in less typical places. I again try (and fail) to pick a fight with her. I again get us to talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even when it is off topic. I again worry if you're enjoying this ride with us...

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8: Our Dark Periods

In this podcast episode, I talk to my wife about our "dark period." Actually, she clarified for me that we have had several dark periods -- these are periods in our marriage where we have really struggled to connect, nearly to the point of it all falling apart. Not only do we talk about our dark periods, but we talk about my obsession about talking about our dark periods. And we talk about my (previous) fear of having kids. What's not to like?

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7: Never Good Enough

In this episode, I bully my wife onto the show. Listen to her talk about my various failings as a husband. Everything from my failures as a lawn mower-er to my inability to plan trips with the family to our combined attraction for Angel, the brooding vampire with a soul from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What's not to like?

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video video

Taking Risks (failvid-15)

The idea of taking a risk has been on my mind lately. In particular, I've been thinking about those risks people take that don't necessarily end with a fabulous success story. So here's a video about it.

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