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Recent Posts: M Thomas Apple Author Page
Uranus and Neptune may be rocky…but who cares?
The evidence that Uranus and Neptune must be icy is “all indirect, it’s all circumstantial,” says Jonathan Fortney, a planetary astrophysicist at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz. “This was always in the back of people’s minds: that the planets could be more complicated.” https://www.science.org/content/article/uranus-and-neptune-may-not-be-ice-giants-after-all But all the claims are based on computer models, […]
The Broken Valley: The Hidden German Civil War of the American Revolution
This is the third of a series of posts introducing the five-part historical fiction novel Unbowed, which will be published in November 2026. All five parts are based on true events and real people – my ancestors. The first post described the outcome of the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and one of its survivors, […]
Mind your own business!
If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be? As my Anglo-Irish immigrant ancestor Thomas Bushell wrote in his Will and Testament: “Live and let live.” Far too many people want to know what’s happening in other people’s bedrooms. You do want you want to do, and leave […]
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© Matthew Apple and Taking Leave, 2009-2020. Duplication of this material without express and written permission is strictly prohibited. If you would like to post or copy brief excerpts from the blog, please provide a link to the original URL along with an author’s credit.
Category Archives: parenting
Year 2: Colleague Reactions
Just over 5 months ago, my year-long child care leave ended and I went back to work. Since then, I haven’t posted on this blog for a very good reason: I was insanely busy. Of course, not too busy to … Continue reading
Posted in colleague reactions, gender roles, Japan, parenting, Paternity leave
Tagged child-raising, family leave, fatherhood, Japan, Japanese, parental leave, Paternity leave, work, workplace hostility
2 Comments
Don’t panic: Japan is not sinking
My last post, about something now that seems totally innocuous, was on Friday, March 11th, at 10 or 11 in the morning. Japan time. We all know what happened just a few hours later.
Posted in Japan, media, natural disasters, parenting, Paternity leave, Uncategorized
Tagged child-raising, earthquake, family leave, Fukushima, half-Japanese, hysteria, Japan, Japanese, media coverage, Miyagi, Paternity leave, radiation, Sendai
9 Comments
‘Tis the Season…al Flu
These past few weeks have reminded me of an old Catholic joke. St. Peter’s at the Pearly Gates, and he’s checking his list of the recently departed when a new soul suddenly arrives without warning. St. Peter glances down at … Continue reading
