Category: character
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It says “I am a maker. I make stuff”.
Great art night tonight. I have refrained from introducing The Fellas to the medium of spray paint. It lends itself to the lazy application of color and I think I had some fantasy of researching “tagging” and “graffiti art” before we cracked open the aerosols. Krylon has presented itself anonymously from time to time – […]
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Do the Right Thing
My heart is lifted by the coverage of the Louvre’s display of Nazi-seized paintings in an attempt to return them to their rightful owners. Some times the simplest “right” thing to do is the most wonderful.
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The Closing of the American Mind
My sophomore year philosophy class took a sharp turn and redefined itself around the newly released “Closing of the American Mind” by Allan Bloom. At its simplest, “Closing” says that modern American universities have become sterilized to the point where they only push students toward pretty standard measures of life success, and do little to […]
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Unstable Immigration Perspective
Like most of my opinions and perspectives, I picked the name “only partially reasoned” for this site for a reason. My framework for immigration is fluid. Probably more so than most of my thinly considered insights. I decided to pair tonight’s State of the Union and its teasing of its more-marketing-to-the-base-than-impact immigration policy with watching […]
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Rule #27: great minds
Every day we talk about that fucking Harry Potter kid. In the car, at breakfast, during lay down, at the hot tub, I truthfully do not want to hear the origin story of the Deathly Hallows again or give a shit about their chain of ownership. We’ve been through this before with Ninjago and ninjas […]
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The King Center
There are a few historical sights/sites that stand above the rest (in my limited travels). The Lincoln Memorial for its power The Taj Mahal for its precision/magnificence/enduring beauty The ceiling in Grand Central for its ability to transport you back to another time and hear the millions of voices that have made their way through […]
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Rule #17: We Don’t Walk by Trouble
We continue to build our Vockell Guide with rules that set our personal standards as humans, and to a certain degree, as gentleman. As much as possible I like to present additions to the Rule Book “in context” for greater impact and not just make them seem like some theoretical set of good behaviors [I […]
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a big fuck up
I closed out the year with a major fuck up. It was a shitty coda to a great year. I’m not sure whether I’m super rusty in adult human interaction, if I lost some self-awareness in unexpected enthusiasm, or I’m just an asshole and it got revealed in cataclysmic fashion. Likely it was a combination […]
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What Unites Us
What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather Part of my holiday reading pile. Quick Summary: this book thrives as a contrast to some of the societal themes being accelerated by D Trump and it makes you feel good to read it. It touches on a handful of ‘mom and apple pie’ topics ranging […]
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Extreme Ownership
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Summary: captivating battle stories to illustrate some important core management skills ranging from accountability to humility to sharing the credit. If you haven’t read a book like this before, it’s a fun romp through some important leadership traits. I think I’ve […]