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This last week was mildly eventful and full of change. The final three days of winter brought a stiff east wind—which locally is sometimes quite warm in winter. For three days we enjoyed temperatures in the 70s, which would be a warm day for us in summer! It was a particular relief after the nighttime…
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The Los Angles Review of Books blog has a grammatical error. “Unlike Nancy, who’s mother died when she was three, I had a mom, and my mom had read Nancy Drew when she was my age.” The contraction “who’s” stands for “who is.” The writer wanted the possessive form of “who” (whose) and failed to find it.…
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Dystopias extrapolate the fears of the day while utopias project our dearest hopes and ideals. Science fiction writers from the Golden Age of post-WW2, for example, often address the disastrous impact of the potential for nuclear powers to obliterate the planet. They were concerned about global and intergalactic peace and the trade-off in freedom resulting…
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What a Google search has to say about Anne with an E: This reimagining of the classic book and film is a coming-of-age story about a young orphan who is seeking love, acceptance and her place in the world. Amybeth McNulty stars as Anne, a 13-year-old who has endured an abusive childhood in orphanages and…
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I quit Facebook last month, and my teaching job once I’d handed in grades last week. On the beach this morning I found four small pieces of seaglass. I have painted the floor in the entry and hall a dark blue-green. Now I am sitting in the atrium, waiting for paint to dry, reading aloud…
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My students are on drugs. A few years ago, most of the students in my class were on drugs, mostly a cocktail of prescribed anti-depressants. Seriously. I know this because they told me themselves. Most were taking drugs prescribed for them by local doctors or therapists. More recently, several students told me that they too,…
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Soon after I entered the University of Washington in the 70s, my mother returned to work. She was an admissions officer at the UW through the 80s. Foreign students were a significant and invaluable presence when I was there. That diverse presence ended soon after I graduated because the State insisted on favoring local students.…
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I remember when there was only one Starbucks across the street from the Public Market and it also sold chocolate from Belgium and spices in little baggies as if cumin were something that could get you high and maybe it did. I remember when Nordstrom only sold shoes. I remember when the Smith Tower was…
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Abdul Aziz doesn’t think he is a hero. Allah had not chosen that time for him to die, and he believes he did what anyone would have done in that situation. May he be blessed for his courage and honor grace his steps. These have been days it has been difficult to stay off social…
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Screenwriter, television producer, television director, comedian, and comic book writer, John Rogers: “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal…
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