Category Archives: Uncategorized

Does anyone else but me have lots of memories that are just that? The outside context is irrelevant. I might only guess the city if the table was unique to a place. The year is somewhat irrelevant. It’s simply a memory of people and a conversation. As I sip my breakfast tea in the diningContinue reading “A world the size of a dinner table”

I thought the spirits of my parents might have some advice about how to get rid of the regime. They were of the generation that experienced WWII. I can see them reaching for the right analogies, and then stopping short. It’s different this time. We don’t have a strong ally to look to in gettingContinue reading “It’s different this time”

It seems like it is hiding a lot on Tuesdays. It takes a special consciousness to find the bungalow. I have to keep part of me in the present and slip back in time, one or two lifetimes, at the same time. That’s easier to do when my thoughts are of existential matters, and impossibleContinue reading “Sometimes the bungalow is hidden”

Are you suffering from tariff whiplash? I certainly am. As a globalist, I find the notion of protectionism very strange and counter-productive. Not any single country can specialise in every single product. It’s impossible. Every nation has their own centres of excellence. When I think of the United States, quality wines and good technology designContinue reading “Tariff whiplash”

Last evening, a friend and I were discussing the national security debacle of Hegseth’s discussion of military actions in Yemen on an insecure chat line, with a journalist accidentally present. Memories drifted to the outrage over Hillary Clinton’s emails (“Lock her up!”) Well, then, “Lock him up!” Was he drinking, again, or is he genericallyContinue reading “Memories of a sunny day near Val-kill Cottage”

Skim through the pictures if all you want is spring fantasy. The text stands in strict counterpoint to them. The month of March and the advent of spring are always conflicted times for me. There’s the disconnect of New England weather with the folk traditions passed down from my English family. I’m still waiting forContinue reading “The reality of springtime”

It took me a week to get rid of Alexa, the Echo devices and my old smart home setup. Siri turns on the lights for me now and I managed to buy everything I needed without resorting to shopping on Amazon. I gave away the Echo devices on my local Buy Nothing group and thusContinue reading “And she’s gone!”

Alexa: “Sorry, I don’t know that one.” When I read on Bluesky that Alexa “didn’t know that one” about the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by right-wing extremists, I was appalled but not surprised. I verified it, trying many forms of the question. I even asked how many participants had been pardoned byContinue reading “Me: “Alexa, go to h*ll””

Most of the time I am a magical herbalist, selecting plants for their symbolic meanings and fashioning spell bags, herb bundles for burning, and protective charms. It’s powerful work, and yet it can leave me disconnected from the herbs themselves, since their use is largely symbolic. Sometimes I want to roll up my sleeves, selectContinue reading “The winding path of herbalism”

It saddens me so much that the old felon has frightened so many companies into abolishing or hiding their efforts at improving the workspace. I am glad to have retired, because I would not like where it is heading. Now consider that I have plenty of privilege to my credit. All I lack is notContinue reading “Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion”