I've been pretty honest in this blog about my (so far unsuccessful) career change machinations - but as my partner reminded me tonight, there is a saying that "There's the truth, and then there's the TRUTH." Tonight I'm all about cracking open that all-caps truth, in the interest of confronting and hopefully transcending it.1) I've... Continue Reading →
Purple Rain is an Effed up, Complicated Movie
Seems I’ve lately been drawn to popular media I was too young for the first go-round. (See also: my recent coverage of sex, lies, and videotape). As part of that kick I watched Purple Rain in its entirety for the first time. Turns out that was apropos, because my new album is about toxic roots,... Continue Reading →
“Any Resemblance to Actual Persons is Purely Coincidental”: Thoughts on Radical Self-Disclosure
In the music video for David Berman's late-career song “Darkness and Cold”, which is either a harrowing suicide note or a comic resignation to living depending on your perspective, Berman's actual ex-wife Cassie (erstwhile bass player and secondary vocalist for the Silver Jews) glams up in the bathroom mirror for a date with someone else,... Continue Reading →
Things to Know before You Write to People from Your Past
...you might come off like a housecat dragging home a kill. You think you've given people a treasure, but their only thought might well be, "ew". ...while you might feel unburdened, they may associate you with unwanted emotional labor, and they have the right to say to themselves, "Nope" ...you might remind them of a... Continue Reading →
Quick Reminder: If Your Career Doesn’t Fit and You Think You’re Fooling People, You’re Probably Not.
I had a performance review at work today, and it was surreal. That is not to say it was negative. By all accounts I am doing what I am paid to do, and doing it well. It was, however, suggested that recent changes to my job description might have "re-engaged" me. That is an interesting... Continue Reading →
Back on My Bullsh*t (As They Say)
(Current music: Harry Nilsson, "My Good Old Desk")I should start by acknowledging my last (tongue-in-cheek) entry and mentioning that, by all outward appearances, my "romantic prospect" has passed on my offer (turns out they are seeking a more serious commitment), so that is not a thing. Plus, working on my "marriage" has been taking up... Continue Reading →
“Dating outside the Marriage”
(Note: This will probably be the only time I feature a craptastic stock photo about relationship drama, so SOAK IT UP, PEOPLE)My last entry nodded to elder millennials getting out of marriages they chose in their twenties. Well, I, too, am continuing to feel sour toward a stale marriage I chose in my twenties, and... Continue Reading →
Cyrano: The Last Romantic Vestiges of an Exhausted Cynic
"Cyrano is one of the most romantic movies ever made, but it’s not quite a traditional love story in that nobody really finds true love in it. It’s all evasion, heartache, yearning. This is the romance of hidden thoughts and desires, of urges barely spoken (but often unabashedly sung), of a sweet pain we all secretly... Continue Reading →
A New Era.
Last summer an Instagram account I follow, whose creator (a local artist) captures forest fungi and other specimens, featured a photo of a mushroom I'd never heard of before. Laccaria amethystina, the amethyst deceiver. In addition to it being a purple mushroom, which is already mysterious and cool, the name arrested me at first sight.... Continue Reading →
Darlene.
Darlene Conner, I'm calling you my Valentine because it's nearly February 14 and you're hella important to me. But I never had a crush on you; I just identified with you deeply (as, I'm sure, did scores of mold-breaking, sarcastic-but-vulnerable, masculine-energied young girls in the 1990s). Some of us were paying closer attention than others.... Continue Reading →