Category: Recommendations

Risky business

Driving to work the other morning, I heard a story on NPR about a movement presently gaining traction in the midwest - risky play. This unstructured free play, which has been present and promoted in Canadian schools for decades, is thought to foster communication and cooperation between participants, two actions I believe we can all agree should … Continue reading Risky business →

My Dublin home

Most people, I think, believe that restaurants are a place to spend some time and take a meal. I suppose for many this is the basic truth. For those folks, though, I feel sad because a quality experience in a restaurant is about so much more than what goes into your mouth. I’ll give you … Continue reading My Dublin home →

Another peek into the annex – Ruth Franklin’s The Many Lives of Anne Frank

It’s been about 80 years since Anne Frank died, yet her brief life remains an inspiration to people around the globe. While her assertion that “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart,” at times rings as nothing but naively innocent, her ability to hold onto to this optimistic … Continue reading Another peek into the annex – Ruth Franklin’s The Many Lives of Anne Frank →

20 Things to do (instead of acknowledging the ceremony in D.C.) on 1/20

Listen to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Honor Michelle Obama’s refusal to attend the inauguration* by reading her memoir Becoming. Screen a David Lynch marathon. Spend some quality time with your tweezers in a mirror with good lighting. Write a check to an organization you believe in - Planned Parenthood, the Damien … Continue reading 20 Things to do (instead of acknowledging the ceremony in D.C.) on 1/20 →

Kingsolver is my Queen

I am in the midst of a royal obsession - reading and/or listening to Barbara Kingsolver’s entire catalog of work. Currently, I’m listening to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book I read many years ago with some resentment. I mean, how wonderfully privileged must one be to be able to leave one state and travel to another … Continue reading Kingsolver is my Queen →

On normal – from The Art Thieves

”What is normal?” ”Normal wasn’t so great for so many.” School massacres were normal. Genocide was normal. Corporations replacing families was normal. Drugging kids to make them obedient was normal. Dying because health care was unaffordable and too complicated and drugs that cost $13 sold for $1300 was normal. Not being able to take off … Continue reading On normal – from The Art Thieves →