I put down David Mitchell’s The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and bit my lip last night on the last sentence. This is the second book by Mitchell that has held me spellbound with an intoxicating narrative. What Cloud Atlas did to acquaint me with his voice (or voices), The Thousand Autumns turned on its head, and I wonder if Mitchell isn’t the most talented writer of fiction alive. Oh, to have that much…
A friend came by and brought us a Hanukkah gift – a mezuzah with a kiddie sports theme for Tin’s door and a book, Where We Know: New Orleans as Home. As part of my nostalgia tour these past few days, I began reading it last night only to discover myself described in the second story written by Sarah Inman. What was interesting is the description, “Rachel, a newly divorced redhead” was sort of jarring.…
The last 24 hours has sent me into a nostalgic ride as conversations with old friends and other situations has me looking backwards instead of forwards – but yet, I promised myself to dwell in the here and now – not forward, not backwards, here – so today when I spoke with an old friend and later when a friend sent me a photo taken two years ago (with one of my favorite dresses lost…
The other night when we stopped into the Hi Ho Lounge and saw the Stooges Brass Band, the first thought that went through my head was I wish Tin could be here. Afterwards, I kept having that same thought: if Tin saw the Stooges up on stage he would have had an epiphany of what he wanted to do in life. But you know the truth is who knows? The other night when we had…
I think everyone heard yesterday but don’t know how many of you noticed that Republican senators are trying to ban the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which basically keeps our gay enlisted men and women in the closet. If you find this objectionable, then shout out to your representatives with this easy one step process.
I was speaking to someone today who told me that they are going to try to listen more to their heart in the New Year. Good idea. I’m trying for nonattachment – a high goal – but a worthy one. Everybody is becoming uber aware of the heightened stress that the daily news is giving all of us – students protesting in London over tuition raises, uncertainty over jobs spilling into every workplace, home equity…
Robert Reich Tax Deal Confirms the Republican Worldview Apart from its extraordinary cost and regressive tilt, the tax deal negotiated between the president and the Republicans has another fatal flaw. It confirms the Republican worldview. Americans want to know what happened to the economy and how to fix it. At least Republicans have a story — the same one they’ve been flogging for thirty years. The bad economy is big government’s fault and the solution…
I figured the other day it was time to step up and be the adult I’ve become instead of still trying to hang onto notions of me as a bohemian short story writer living in a one room French Quarter apartment – a romantic notion that I secretly harbor even to this day. So I looked around the other night and being as present as I could be here is what I observed: Tatjana was…
Apparently Pantonne announced its color for 2011 – Honeysuckle – a vibrant color for a year that is supposed to be filled with dazzle. Huh? Well, maybe their tea leaves are telling them something mine aren’t. I see next year as another one of those interstitials where we let go of the trapeze in 2008 and started plunging downward in a rapid spiral in 2009, and then 2010 we were sort of floating up and…
Tax the rich, feed the poor. Oh right, no can do, because everyone is pissed off at Obama because of the economy, so now the saying goes like this: Feed the rich, fuck the poor.