We’d been at it for several hours, side by side, each of us on our laptops. Spread on the small ottoman pressing against my knees were stacks of old tax forms. On the chair beside me, two more folders with notes and figures. We actually began the process days ago, but I couldn’t continue, and […]
The life behind the face
I am the face of the aftermath of divorce, the aftermath of layoff, the aftermath of defeat. I am the face of invisible illness, of piercing isolation, of daily hide-and-seek. Would you know me if you saw me? I am your neighbor, your colleague, your sister; I am the woman who yells at the cashier […]
Put Your Kids to Work!
Kids? Organizing? Can the two ever mix?
More on the Mystery of Huguette Clark
The plot thickens, in a mystery of monumental proportions.
Mad Men Episode 5: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
It’s a morality tale, and all about shame. About warfare and its aftermath, honor and its value, private shame according to cultural standards of the times, and personal experiences of shame. In Mad Men‘s Season 4 Episode 5, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, we feel the weight of the 1960s heavily; World Wart II is […]
Parenting Teens: Tips from a Professional Post Party Parent
Are you parenting partying teens? Care to hear my ten tips for surviving party chaos? For surviving normal chaos? The planned, the unplanned, the assumed stuff of parenting pandemonium? Yes, it’s Sunday morning. (Insert *sigh* of relief.) Yes, for the moment it’s quiet. (Sigh number two.) No teenagers as yet stirring in the kitchen, after […]
Juicy
Sometimes all it takes is a few words. Or an hour, even if it’s filled with 140-character communications, and they wind up being smart, provocative, and playful. Last evening I hopped on Twitter, restlessly, after a long day. I was well aware that the pleasure of pondering and writing about contemporary art – my usual, […]
Cake
Yes, there was one more teen party last night. Yes, I heard it. No, I wasn’t annoyed; I managed to sleep five hours anyway, and that’s good enough for the day’s mission: cake. Coffee I’ve been under the weather for a number of days, and I had plans to meet a friend for coffee last […]
Sink or Swim
Fond of clichés? Don’t they breeze into our minds and tumble out of our mouths faster than a speeding bullet? Catchy little phrases stick, don’t they? Good for what ails you? A quick fix? Oh yeah – tidy gems to sum up the world’s wisdom, like life isn’t fair, you get what you pay for, […]
Mad Men’s Women: How Would They Fare As Single Mothers?
Who doesn’t love to fantasize about days gone by, romanticizing a period in history that seems more glamorous, more exciting, or simpler? As an avid fan of AMC TV’s Mad Men, I’m as susceptible to the appeal of this award-winning drama as anyone. The portrayal of life in the 1960s is seductive, surprising, and accurate […]