Le Parapluie
I only have two umbrellas, which is, I suppose, one more umbrella than one really needs at a time. One of them is an ordinary black umbrella and the other is an absurd, vivdly-colored vintage umbrella that looks like a parasol.
I try to use the latter sparingly. But I left the black umbrella by the [...]
When there’s nothing else to burn…
You have to set the Gulf of Mexico on fire? Thanks for nothing, submersible robots. Mhmm, flame-broiled calamari, who’s with me? Consequently, this is stuck in my head…
“I hold hands with the fire in the ocean
whose bones are cold, never frozen
the day is ending, I’m feeling edgy
the dark is running, soon will be coming”
-”Fire in [...]
La Noyée
Drowning doesn’t seem so bad, if it’s in those eyes and that voice. Ah, la melancolie merveilleux!
H2O, NH3, C2H5, PDQU235 and a pinch of salt
“Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines…”
-Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
If you were a devotee of old Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes as a kid, surely you’ll recognize the post title as the formula for Hush-a-Boom…darling.
Can’t find a video clip of it anywhere, but I [...]
The being known as Wonder Girl is speaking, I believe
Just half a thought before I jump in the car to spend an afternoon and an evening with three of my most favorite people in the big blue world.
I’ve been so caught up in shuffling from one office to another and keeping my head down that I almost forgot to notice it was spring. Technically, [...]
From the gums of babes…
My mom found this during a spring cleaning/archiving blitz and e-mailed it to me over the weekend. It’s not as precocious a writing sample as my “Declaration of Inde-bedness” and it didn’t help me get into Northwestern like the “Why I Want to be an Astronaut” essay.
But it does tell us two very important things. [...]
Born to blog badly
I struggle…if I may steal a line from my friend Katie Rogers. I’ve barely had time to unpack in my new apartment, let alone pay due diligence to my blog.
My down-time has instead been filled with chores like… cutting my own hair, fixing a desk chair with duct tape, finding my lost car keys, finding [...]
The complications you could do without
It’s important to recognize holidays named for obscure Polish war heroes, celebrated only in the places you wish you were on those holidays.
Today I’m thinking fondly of Casimir Pulaski Day and the state of Illinois as I do my Monday in a city that’s lately been a little left of hospitable.
I was in Chicago on [...]
Oh, Carl, you’re so persistant…
Think being snowbound in a cozy urban apartment is bad? At least you’re not a pioneer woman, kidnapped from your home in the middle of the night. Imprisoned in a shoddy claptrap cabin. Stranded until spring by an avalanche.
Don’t you worry about the atmosphere
We go now to Hank, with the news from Washington. Government offices are shut down for a third straight day, Iran is possibly cooking up some nuclear weapons and… I’m almost out of crunchy peanut butter. We’re contending with some real end-of-the world type stuff here, people.
Heavy snows, 60 mph winds, whiteout conditions, suffering and [...]
Got the madness?
When most people go looking for a moral compass or spiritual guide, they probably turn to the wisdom of somebody like Moses or Shakespeare or Barack Obama.
I, well… I usually go for Jim Henson’s Muppets.
Except for a jaunt to a neighborhood bar and a Super Bowl gathering, I’ve been sticking close to the coop since [...]
