This is kind of how I feel now I'm thrilled to announce that I am a new columnist for 3 Quarks Daily! Once a month my weekly 52 Mini-Essays Project post will appear on their website. The whole series will still be available here.
Fifty-Two Mini-Essays
Weekly Mini-Essays Project A little while ago I decided that in order to stay sane in the coming year, I was going to promise myself 30 minutes of fun writing every day. So I started a little project: 52 short (funny-ish) essays, one a week. I solicited (random/goofy/serious) topics from friends and have committed to … Continue reading Fifty-Two Mini-Essays
My Father’s Things
The photo I nicknamed "The Great Gatsby." When my father died a few years ago he left behind a wife with advanced dementia, a large collection of memorabilia from the Franklin Mint, and every one of his tax returns dating back to 1964. Of course he left other things too, including a house and a … Continue reading My Father’s Things
Early to Rise
Unlike—I think—most people, I have no idea if I’m a morning person or a night owl. I’m able to act like either one under the appropriate circumstances, and both modes seem attractive to me for different reasons. There’s nothing quite like the self-satisfied feeling of getting up at dawn (or on the 49th parallel in wintertime, several … Continue reading Early to Rise
The Unraveling of “The Unraveling of America”
I have a rebuttal to Wade Davis's hit piece "The Unraveling of America" over on Medium. Patriotism, grocery prices, health care, chagrin—read all about it! tinyurl.com/davis-rebuttal
Six Hours to Go
Tomorrow we embark on a 14-hour flight to New Zealand. It will be the 8th time I’ve done it, so I have my routines and tricks to get through the ordeal. But the truth is: I sort of love it. The flight, I mean. Its phases and rhythms. At first everyone is excited and fresh … Continue reading Six Hours to Go
Larry & Banana
The first time we saw Larry he was rolling around in the dirt. Scott and I were on one of the long morning walks we had resolved to start taking when we moved into our current neighborhood. Before moving here we had been living in a tiny condo in a concrete building near the (then-future) … Continue reading Larry & Banana
The Tenants
Surely there is a medical term for the unholy rage one feels upon returning to a house that’s been sublet for any length of time. For it’s clearly a psychological complex, an anger wholly irrational and out of proportion to the perceived offense. As I ransack my kitchen looking for the measuring spoons and nearly … Continue reading The Tenants
The Rock
The partner and I went to buy a mattress. We both like a firm bed, so went into the store armed with cocky certainty about the kind of item we were looking for. It took a while to convince the salesman we were serious when we said hard. He showed us to one disgusting cloud … Continue reading The Rock
Arrival: Not Quite There
My house is extremely clean. WARNING: TOTAL SPOILERSOnly a cranky, elitist misanthrope could fail to love this perfectly pitched middlebrow confection. All your friends loved it, right? Amy Adams is reliably adorable as a brilliant yet weirdly underaged linguist whose work is admired at the highest reaches of government. (The way we know she’s brilliant … Continue reading Arrival: Not Quite There
Dr. Waffle 