As a child my grandparents gave me $25 for Hanukkah and $50 for my birthday, every year from the age of six to sixteen. Only once did I spend any of that money, $15 for a Barbie car, but every other check was deposited directly into my own savings account at the Bank. I still…
Tag: black holes
universe, I get it, message received loud and clear
I don’t always discuss the specifics of my life, but these are too good not to share. If you have been reading as of late, you know that I am taking a year away from being a classroom teacher to focus on my writing. It is also time for me to reflect on my career…
yell in the face of treacherous, ugly underwater hidden beasts that rule our society
What strikes me on a daily basis is how much I relied on my role as a teacher to cement my sense of a purpose in this world; that is what I miss the most about teaching. Under the blanket of paperwork, bureaucracy, media criticism, district policies obeyed or ignored, I could always point to…
the only certainty is uncertainty
This will sound outlandish, but the 9/11 attacks occurred at the perfect time in my life. I did not profit nor truly suffer from that tragedy, but it did help to frame my world view. I had already come to understand true poverty by seeing children with distended bellies and victims of leprosy in the…
only fools fall in love…with words
who would ever be foolish enough to fall in love with words, words are devilish, hiding among us waiting to pounce words contain dangers unforeseen, and we walk among them blind as can be words can communicate so much, or nothing at all. images, scents, sensations can be understood throughout this wide world. even numbers…
remedies for cabin fever from a bonafide homebody
I am an only child who was raised by parents who strongly believed that children should have their own interior and exterior worlds (also known as get out of my face and entertain yourself). Coupled with the fact that most of my dearest friends live many borders away and I have an adorable matching set…
public impotence yet aroused by tragedy porn
Things I have learned this week through simply a cursory read of my Facebook feed and pre-chewed news sites.: Israel is invading Gaza, once again the Ukraine has weapons, one strong enough that is took down a commercial airplane on that plane were key researchers trying to solve the riddle of HIV/AIDS Tracy Morgan is…
hey, so by the way, you are racist
A recent article in the guardian put words and a definition to how racism has mutated: “Gone is the overt, violent, and legal racism of my childhood. It has been replaced by a subtler version. It is a racism that is easier to ignore, easier to deny, and consequently almost as dangerous.” – Chris Arnade http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/12/america-racism-subtle-dangerous-new-york…
count all the things that might kill you
I consider myself rather immune to the fear mongering that is the media’s bread and butter, but I am always amazed by how slick they can slip ideas into my subconscious. So here are the things that might kill me that have crossed my mind today: my birth control sleeping with my cell phone on,…
where racism lives
As I try to educate this new generation of young people about history and systems of inequality, I encounter a resistance. It is not an overt denial nor an ignorance, and it has baffled me for some time. Young people today have access to more ideas and information than ever before. But within this data…
on addiction and candy crush
I think often times about neurochemicals, biological imperatives, and addiction. We loves to consider ourselves autonomous beings with self-awareness, choice, and freedom. But so much of what we do and how we think comes from electric synapses in our brain and body that we don’t ever see or regulate. One impact of how our brains…
turn 18, you are on your own
A horrific crime occurred in my city, one of many to be honest. The young man who committed this crime got more in-depth coverage than others, but media bias and the continuing racist narrative that is carried through that bias, will have to be addressed in another writing. This article examines closely the services this…
