‘What are you doing, Alexa?’
The siren-loud noise of indie pop at 5 in the morning on a Saturday was not what I wanted at 5 in the morning on Saturday. My 15-year-old son tends to sleep through his alarm, […]
Author: Michael Picarella
He’s the Twain of the Inane. His work is taken straight from the Inanitarium, a vault of little stories that are literally about nothing, but maybe about everything.
Now that you’ve taken a look, it's safe to say this guy is no Twain. He’s even better, right?
Michael Picarella is an award-winning writer, amateur family man and expert in fascinations, with a taste for cookies, milk and the American Dream. His book, “Everything Ever After (Confessions of a Family Man),” is a collection of stories you can’t live without from his family humor newspaper column, “Family Men Don’t Wear Name Brands.” Additionally, Picarella is the publisher, content manager and writer of Jack-o’-Lantern Press, a monster blog for monsters only, at www.JackoLanternPress.com, and he’s also the filmmaker behind two feature-length tales of suburban noir you’ve never seen.
Picarella is a homeowner living in the outskirts of Los Angeles. He battles armies of domestic gremlins with his wife, son and their pet beagle on a daily basis. Most of their life is made up of small, inane events and manias, which they call their "everything ever after." So how about a break from the BIG, the LOUD, the EXTRAORDINARY and the AMAZING?
For more information and ways to connect, go to www.MichaelPicarella.com.
Teaching your teen is not impossible
My 15-year-old no longer has patience—not with inconvenience, not with failure and not with learning, which is often the takeaway in times of inconvenience and failure . . . if you have patience. It seems […]
Getting older leads to sleepless night
I was going to bed late, had to get up early for work—probably should’ve skipped that cup of coffee—and I was getting old. Wow, my son turned 15! I am old. I lay in bed […]
Life-threatening volcano and ‘Death Cruise’ fun for whole family
By Togo Ornottogo Staff Trav-Hell Writer MONSTER ISLAND—Nightmarish works from your mind and everyone else’s minds are now on display in the Hole of Nightmares at the peak of Monster Mountain, the mightiest volcano of […]
Dentists promote smiles but are never happy
Six months ago, my dentist said I had a cavity that needed drilling. He warned me to change my brushing habits immediately or else. My first thought: My brushing habits have kept me cavity-free for […]
Gardener? For What?
Last summer, my wife asked if I thought we needed a gardener to maintain our front and back yards. My answer was a big “No!” My dad took care of his yard work. My grandfather […]
Life is like lots of jelly beans
With the country becoming more divided by politics, hot-button issues are popping up everywhere. In fact, anything can be a hot-button issue. Even the Easter holiday comes with its own touchy topics. To eat jelly […]
Dad’s got a ticket to ride
I heard the best time to go to Disneyland is Super Bowl Sunday. That’s because no one goes on the unofficial national holiday, when even churches are closed. According to the Nielsen Company (a global […]
Val-ANT-ine’s love from the pests
I’m guilty—I haven’t done anything really thoughtful for my wife in a long time. On the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, she woke up from another nightmare. She told me that in her bad dreams I’m […]
Horrible dads attract horrible stuff
Aaaah-choo! I knew right then I had the flu, even though, days later, I was fine, not another sneeze or other symptom to be found. But horrible stuff happens all the time, so I wasn’t […]