Nov 27, 2021Sondheim, Stage Kisses, and Connection After IsolationThoughts on Stephen Sondheim at the news of his passing — Four or five years ago, they did a revival of Sweeney Todd in New York City where you could eat meat pies, a main plot element in the Stephen Sondheim musical, right in the theater before the show began. My now-husband, then-boyfriend’s mother and grandmother had an extra ticket and…Theater5 min read
Jun 28, 2021Don’t Start Monday Morning With Inbox CatchupA new week of work requires inspiration, not box-ticking — Pretty much every Monday morning of my career so far, I have started the day with inbox catchup. …Email2 min read
Jun 21, 2021The Politics Show I Watch When I Don’t Want to Get CrankyAn American love letter to the BBC’s Question Time — It feels like a hard time to both enjoy political debate and care deeply about political outcomes. Maybe this was always true; maybe each generation has to discover this for itself. …Politics4 min read
Jun 14, 2021What I’ve Learned From 2 Years of RunningTips for those of us who are not natural-born runners — First things first: I am not a natural-born runner. I never played sports in school, and when we had to do the mile run in fourth grade, I finished second-to-last at a time of about 12 minutes. …Running4 min read
Published in Creators Hub·May 6, 2021A Simple Trick for Knowing When to Use ‘and Me’ or ‘and I’The most valuable lesson a substitute teacher ever taught me — In the past couple weeks, I’ve seen multiple tweets involving confusion about when to use “and me” or “and I” (including some would-be know-it-alls giving incorrect advice). As a bit of a know-it-all myself, this is my excuse to share the best grammar lesson a substitute teacher ever taught me…Grammar2 min read
Mar 12, 2021The Entertainment Getting Me Through the PandemicFour works and voices that bring me cheer — There are many books, movies, songs, and streaming services that have been a balm to me in the last year, but a few rise above the pack for their therapeutic value. The common denominator: they forced a change of perspective. 1. Yoga With Adriene There is nothing surprising or alternative about including Adriene on…Pandemic Reflections3 min read
Published in GEN·Jan 6, 2021A Photograph We’re Not Going to Forget for a Long TimeA quick tableau of white supremacy—how it started, how it’s going — Like so many images of the Donald Trump era, this photograph has the broad outlines of farce, but what it depicts is deadly serious. After storming the Capitol building, a Trump supporter stands on a pediment next to a statue of former president Gerald Ford; the supporter’s mouth is wide…Donald Trump2 min read
Published in GEN·Dec 22, 2020Getting Married in a Pandemic Helped Me Get Through This YearIn a year of uncertainty, at least we could take control of our marriage — My husband and I weren’t alone in having to choose between postponing our big autumn wedding because of the pandemic, or becoming one of those viral (pun intended) news stories about selfish couples hosting superspreader events. We chose the former. It was an easy decision, made easier by having plenty…Marriage4 min read
Published in Creators Hub·Dec 14, 2020When Writer’s Block Is About Your Fear of HumiliationAlexander Chee writes about the ‘destructive fantasies’ we engage in when we’re stuck — We often talk about writer’s block as if it’s some event that descends from the sky, with no origin or purpose. …Writing2 min read
Published in GEN·Nov 30, 2020Looking Back at Covid From the Year 2100What will the great upheaval of 2020 look like in hindsight? That’s one question that writer Peter Leyden is addressing in his new speculative fiction series The Transformation. In its first installment, the fictional Stuart Rand—perhaps a reference to the Whole Earth Catalog editor Stewart Brand—reflects on the changes he’s…Covid 191 min read
