Internet Community, or Just a New Way to Play With Yourself?

What does it mean when the people you interact with most on Facebook are the people you live with?
I like that I am connected to people in my past. And by past, I mean just the last couple of years. We recently moved across the continent, and all those folks I got to [...]

Halloween: Not Just For Kids

I’ve always loved Halloween – a pleasure that was condoned until I was 13. Now, at the ripe old age of 30-something, some people want to know, why do you still get into it? Well, I’m not alone. Sixty-three percent of Americans celebrate Halloween, with 30% of the adults joining the kids [...]

Hot Dogs

Why do we call them “hot dogs” and expect kids to eat them?
One of the first words my daughter learned was “hot,” which of course was associated with “No!”, “Don’t touch!”, and “Run for your life!” So when a plate of food was set in front of her and Mama said, “Blah blah blah [...]

The Last Paper Towel

She never envisioned herself living so intimately with poverty, at certain times of the year having its skeleton hand squeeze hers so hard she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t break.
Never thought she’d be this hard broke, this far below the line. Never in her college classroom did she plan for her career to be [...]

The Buck

Good morning boys and girls!
As part of our continuing series investigating wildlife at the Greasy Spoon, today Professor e is going to teach us about an elusive creature known as The Buck. All too often The Buck lives a solitary life, found on a dirty table once occupied by stingy, over-demanding diners who leave [...]

Before being seated…

[This is a piece I wrote a few years ago when I was waiting tables and needed to let off some steam...]
Customer Service Contract
In the true American spirit of litigation and red tape, we have developed the following service agreement to serve you better!
Please take a moment to sign this and return it to the [...]

Giving Birth

This blog is addressed to any parent who is interested in natural childbirth.From what surfing I’ve done, it seems a popular topic is blogging about pregnancy and writing up birth stories. This is great.
I do become concerned when I see a perpetuation of the normalization of traumatic birth. If all you knew of [...]

Facebook Freakout

A couple of thoughts in response to criticisms I’ve read about the latest craze.
Facebook arrives at the backlash stage.
Or maybe it really has just gone to hell the way people are complaining. But they complain in the same pompous, elitest tone that the aristocracy would use if the gardener crashed their party; “Who let [...]

Our Disposable Lives

Our possessions — we give them a monetary value; we defend them with guns, security alarms, insurance; we flaunt them to represent our identity, our status, our personal worth.
Our stuff takes up important physical space and mental energy in our daily lives.
But how much does all that stuff contribute to our well-being?

The Ten Best Things About Being a Raiders Fan

1. The coolest logo ever
2. The best colors ever
3. You can appreciate them being in Oakland the way you never did before their defection to LA
4. They can’t ever disappoint you any more than they already have
5. When they win it is as awesome as Christmas, since they are both events that only happen about [...]

West Coast Rudeness

Are people on the West Coast more rude to each other than people in other parts of the US? I know, I know, don’t generalize, there are good and bad people everywhere, individuality, etc. But you know, when you see a trend, sometimes you just gotta comment.
Earlier this year I moved to North [...]

Powerful images

Like some powerful sorceress, I could at this very second put a million dollars in my pocket, become Cleopatra, or commit murder.
Of course, it would all take place only in my imagination.

Grades are evil

A “necessary” evil, some would say. But why necessary? Because, for economic reasons, we insist on having far more students per class than an instructor can possibly give adequate individual attention to. I think most people accept the traditional evaluation process as “just the way things are” and forget that this is [...]

A Passion for Words

Though my interest is often piqued by all kinds of subjects, my biggest passion is for words. I’ve always enjoyed writing in many genres, although I have come to hate the literarily analytical essay, in the same way as if I had forced myself for years to eat chocolate at times when I had [...]

Defining different approaches to learning

I would like to define some terms so that those who are not familiar with alternative educational movements can get an idea of the differentiation between the approaches, and those who are familiar with alternative education will know my particular take on it. I recognize advantages and disadvantages to each approach, which I will [...]