Remember Portlandia? Portlandia is Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s cheeky comedy series centered around the people of Portland, Oregon; the people you’d expect to meet in that great northwest brew town that embraces its quirkyness. Thanks to my friend, Johanna, I first encountered Portlandia through their, Put a Bird On It sketch where “put on … More Put a light on it
Is it okay to laugh? We are in the middle of a global health crisis (there is no way to spin this, folks) and 99% of us are doing our best to stay healthy and to act in such a way that keeps others healthy. Hard. Not hard. Officing at home: Many folks have officed … More Is it okay to laugh?
How are you? Any better today? What worked to elevate your good heart in the last 24 hours? Do tell. For me, it was this: We are in the middle of a thing. And with things like this, our feelings tend to ride roughshod over us. Folks are wondering where they will live, if they’ll … More Not the corona I asked for …
How are you? No really. How are you? The world has gone a little more nuts than we thought it would … or could. Which is saying a lot. A novel virus has been introduced into humanity and the world collectively holds its breath. But after leaving one growing family in a quieting southern town, … More How are you?
I’ve been quiet lately. A baby was born. Winter’s chill. A February where grief and great joy mixed and mingled into a cocktail of feels. Several times in this changling season, I’ve thought I’d earned a gold or silver star … a merit badge like the scouts award their faithful. Then I ran across the … More We deserve badges
I tried to buy a house last week. A sweet white bungalow-ish in a nearby walkable neighborhood with a porch swing waiting for use and a need for paint, a few appliances and little more. Someone else liked it as much as I and they were able to wrap up the sale before I could … More I tried to buy a house last week
It has been a week. Wednesday evening, I left work and headed to a local indie bookstore where I sat in a tiny kids’ chair surrounded by hopeful stories, and made a plan. I made a plan because the acquittal of a politician who has admitted to initiating unwanted sexual contact on women, and who … More What’s next?
Have you read Joan Didion’s Year of Magical Thinking? It’s a love story shrouded in grief — the author’s travelogue through loss and the sorting out of what is left. I read it a few years into our family’s remaking … re-imagining our lives. Actually, I wasn’t re-imagining my life. I was still mired in … More Wishful thinking
If you have lived or driven through the Midwest during winter, you may have encountered rain as ice and liquid creating a hard slippy shell over the fields. Like hoarfrost only heavy, slick and dangerous. It coats and stops everything. It is beautiful. During yesterday’s “ice day,” I realized at 11:30 a.m., neither the pup … More Beautiful.
Immolation: comes from the Latin word immolat-, meaning “sprinkled with sacrificial meal.” Immolation always involves a sacrifice or offering of some sort. The word often invokes burning, a common method of sacrifice.* Self-immolation: the act of killing oneself for political or religious reasons, particularly by burning. It is often used as an extreme form of protest … More Self-immolation
