Category Archives: Domestic Life

Towards an Opt-Out Button in Left-Liberal Debates

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I’ve recently had a couple of interesting exchanges with valued folks about formal electoral politics and their connection to the question of what progressive politics ought to be in the United States. In terms of the debt ceiling issue in … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life, Politics | 7 Comments

The Cold Call

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Timothy Burke

We’ve known for a while that my daughter isn’t liking this year at school as much. Yesterday she revealed one of the things that’s bothering her, which is that in her perception the teacher frequently “cold calls” on her during … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic Life | 19 Comments

Fun Home

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Timothy Burke

As long as I’m talking about parenting, two anecdotes: 1) We teach on the MLK holiday, but I had time to take my no-school-that-day daughter out to lunch. We ended up talking about a bunch of things, but at one … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life, Popular Culture | 3 Comments

Smarter Than the Average Bear?

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Apparently I’m not alone in not liking Amy Chua, the self-described “Tiger Mom”. If I were a superpowered person from the comic books, she would pretty much be my opposite number. I’m the “Bear Dad”: I hibernate a lot, amble … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life | 3 Comments

Restoring Sanity One Civic Ritual At a Time

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Couldn’t make it to Washington today, much as I’d like to. As Jon Stewart said when they announced the rally, probably most of us who’d liked to have been there wouldn’t come because we have lives. For us, that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life, Politics, Popular Culture | 5 Comments

Tomato Tomatoe

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I’ve got a steady flow of tomatoes from the garden now, though I’ve lost a few to blossom-end rot this year, I think because it’s been so hot and relatively dry. So far I’ve made a spicy wine-and-tomato sauce with … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life, Food | 11 Comments

Camp Grenada

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Back from our big summer camping trip, this time in Acadia National Park. Fun, but there was a bit of a curse on this particular expedition. First the valve on our mattress broke and we slept on the hard and … Continue reading →

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Bench Pressing

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Here in the heart of my middle age, I keep thinking about living in suburbia. I remember as a college student being sure that’s what I didn’t want to do, but now I have to admit that I find it … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life | 18 Comments

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Timothy Burke

A short while before I was supposed to get on a plane last week to fly to Chicago and participate in an event at Northwestern University, something I’d really been looking forward to, I started to have the sinking sense … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic Life | 7 Comments

The Work of Cultural Capital

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Timothy Burke

This entry about the Ramey study on family time at 11d got me thinking. Laura, citing David Brooks and Tara Parker-Pope, observes that a shift towards parents spending much more time with their children doesn’t seem to have any downside. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Domestic Life | 6 Comments