I really don’t have an evil twin. It just feels like it some days. And then there’s this: I think an evil twin would come in handy. Of course, I would endow her with a complex persona, not just character flaws and secret longings. She’d be my polished pinch-hitter (for whatever I dislike), my cocky […]
Al and Tipper Gore: What do you think?
Al and Tipper Gore Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you’ve heard the term gray divorce, likely in conjunction with the news that Al and Tipper Gore are splitting up after 40 years. Of course, the original announcement was followed by a claim that Al Gore’s marital defection was in fact the […]
Where everyone knows your name
Cheers Bar It was afternoon. Late. I had to get out of the house. See people. Something different. Anything. And it was Friday. I had been chicken a week earlier. Unable to talk myself into an elegant bar just 20 yards in front of me. I wasn’t going to be chicken again, but I needed […]
Miles to go before you sleep? (Wunderkind on “Work of Art”)
You snooze, you lose? When artist Miles Mendenhall is sleep-deprived, apparently he has a tough time of it. In this week’s episode of Bravo TV’s Work of Art, he sleeps through a critical part of the challenge – time during which the contestants are to salvage material from an appliance graveyard, with which to make […]
Guerrilla Artist, Guerrilla Writer
Guerrilla Artist By her own words, artist Lavanna Martin stares at people. At times she refers to herself as a “Guerrilla Artist,” setting up in one of several local coffee shops in Austin, Texas. A possible subject of interest catches her attention, and she creates a quick portrait – a sketch or painting – achieving […]
Books, files, clothes, shoes: My life in the closet
It’s Saturday morning. I’m sipping coffee in the living room. Pouting. Glaring at two red chairs heaped with files and books and mail. I’m trying to will the mess away. So far, not so good. . . Nearby is an 8-pack of paper towels, a 12-pack of toilet paper, along with my sandals, my kid’s […]
How to recognize value
It’s been a lovely afternoon of wandering the flea market, enjoying the crowd and the diversity of antiques and vintage curiosities. You pick up a small silver fork and wonder why its tongs curve outward so delicately. You turn it over, note a hallmark of some sort, feel its weight in your hand, then glance […]
Shout Out to French Open 2010 Winners
It’s been a hectic week, but not too hectic for a quick shout out all the same. Here’s to five time French Open winner Rafael Nadal, who took the Grand Slam title earlier today in Paris, beating Sweden’s Robin Soderling, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Saturday’s Women’s Final saw powerhouse Australian Samantha Stosur fall to underdog, Francesca […]
Moment of silence
Last evening I wrote in the quiet. I watched a movie on cable. I read, then wrote some more. And settled slowly into a rhythm of 24 hours of silence. Strangely peaceful silence. Everything in me unwinds, finally, after a week of being on my own, in this observation of an hour of silence, and […]
“I can’t change. I am who I am.” Say what??
Do you believe you can change? Do you want to change – if not in a major way, then subtly – for instant gratification or something more enduring? Let’s see. There’s my messy kitchen. My disastrous closets. Oh yes, I can think of a few things I’d like to change. May I borrow from the classics […]