Brain, Child Magazine originally published my essay on hugging my tween son (why he needs it and how I screwed it up), and now, through a partnership, the essay has been reprinted in the Huffington Post HuffPost Parents section here. Nice to see the story continues to resonate with readers.
What’s more than a handshake and less than a hug? The Sudanese have the answer. From the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine (1/12/14): Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you the Sudanese hug. While working on an archeological excavation in northern Sudan, I was fascinated by a form of greeting I had never seen…
My latest essay published by Brain, Child Magazine is about why my 10 year old son needs hugs and how I screwed that up: My 10-year-old son can be a train wreck. I know it’s not his fault. His limbs are growing faster than he knows, and his brain is all over the place, from the…
Earlier this year, I worked on an excavation in northern Sudan. The most amazing thing we found were a couple of rock-cut rooms in a mortuary temple a hundred yards from the pyramids of the royal cemetery. In the rock-cut rooms, there were columns, and in one of them, capitals of unusual design. My contribution…
Grub Street is a terrific resource for writers in the Boston area — they offer classes, consultations and conferences. They also have a daily blog of writing advice. My contribution was about what I learned from listening to the “Breaking Bad Insider Podcast.” It starts: I’m among the many fans who are eagerly awaiting each…
The July 14, 2013 issue of the Boston Globe Magazine printed this letter: DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION Just a quick note to tell Jack Cheng (Connections, June 23) that he wrenched my attention away from the crossword with his first paragraph: “A 70-year-old man is blocking the base path . . . . As he stumbles, I race toward…
My original title was “The Opposite of Racism is not ‘Race-Blind’” for what it’s worth. Here’s how it starts: Only white people think the opposite of racism is “race-blind.” That was one of the first thoughts that came into my head as I heard about the process of the George Zimmerman’s trial. (Just to be…
My latest contribution to the Boston Globe Magazine came in the Connections column on Sunday June 23, 2013 begins this way: A 70-YEAR-OLD MAN IS BLOCKING THE BASE PATH. He’s clearly in the wrong here, so I shove him forward, and as he stumbles, I race toward second base. Wiffle ball is not to be trifled…
Life lessons I learned while watching two spelling bees, published in Brain, Child Magazine. My two children recently competed in city-wide spelling bees. Sitting in the audience, my vocabulary didn’t improve, but I learned a lot about life. Luckily, I took notes in the form of Twitter missives. For example: Life is not about spelling…
The journal Iraq, published by the British School of Archaeology in Iraq recently printed an academic article about Assyrian music that I wrote. The citation is: Cheng, Jack, “The Horizontal Forearm Harp: Assyria’s National Instrument,” Iraq 74, 2012, p. 75-87. Here’s the abstract: A horizontal harp, strung with 7 to 9 strings and usually decorated…
Jack Cheng, PhD 