OK, I admit it: I am also Jeanne d'Arc of Body and Soul. OK, not really. But we're both in a bit of a funk lately.

My father has been up and down, which is trying. My wife ditched grad school a few months ago to devote herself to local politics, which makes us very busy nearly every night. I've just begun writing a book collecting the material I've been working on for the past three years, which is hard. And more. Except for my father, it's all fun.