Postmenopausal Pretty Hate Machine
I don't care if you hate me.
I'm not one of those women
who needs constant approval,
to be a people pleaser
The Ace
The door slammed. A photograph of the woman smiling surrounded by sons forcing theirs, fell to the floor. Glass shattered.
“He’ll be fine.”
“I’m not the guy.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
“He should.”
This New Road Will Some Day Be the Old Road, Too
Leading up to our third wedding anniversary, DMJ and I decided at first we wanted to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe but decided that August was a bit too early for the trip and we didn't want to be landlocked to the non-stop activity that takes over Edinburgh that time of year. We talked it over and decided it would be London in September with a day trip to Scotland if we wanted to in the moment.
I perused the Priceline deals and things went from a $4,800 trip to a $2,600 trip and we nailed down flights (the cheap tickets included a seven hour layover in Detroit going there) and our modest hotel and we were set. Travel guides were read, plans were planned and discarded and planned again. Ten days in London, England. Rock On.
![I Believe... [Monolithic Propaganda is a Waste of Time]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1505558691614-06XDBJ6PER33Z719LBIQ/yorick.jpg)
I Believe... [Monolithic Propaganda is a Waste of Time]
...that every bigot believes their prejudice is justified and that a hostile work environment is defined by the one the hostility is directed at.
The Trial of Agnodice
This is a re-telling of the legend of Agnodice of ancient Greece. Original story written by Gaius Julius Hyginus.
It took less than a year after Ianthe’s first birth for Agnodice’s fame and success to outshine the Athenian physicians. It was not long after that, their jealousy surpassed their admiration. Thus began the accusations and the fall of Agnodice into the hands of this very court.
Personal Science
There are a lot of other things we figure out during that time of life, as well. Basically, we are learning the rules of this new game we've been thrust into, called Life. Once certain lessons are learned, they can be internalized and you can stop testing them. Like gravity. It's pretty reliable for babies on earth. We take it for granted. In fact, if it isn’t learned and internalized, chances are that juvenile human will die.
Notes from the Post-it Wall — Week of September 10, 2017
• Maybe I should be reading instead of watching Voltron: Legendary Defender.
Sanctuary Lost
For 30 years I was afraid of one thing: my students not growing into artists. I was not afraid of challenging my students. I was not afraid of boring my students.
Feeding the White Wolf Movie Popcorn
I remember this guy I used to know who was just kind of pissed off all the time. Sure, I’m curmudgeonly and have been most of my life. (I think I graduated from cranky in my twenties, hit asshole somewhere in my thirties, went to curmudgeon in my forties and am currently working on my PhD in misanthrope. Just need a few more credits and a thesis paper.)
This guy, however, was just constantly angry. About everything. He managed to find insult to himself in almost any interaction.
I'm Not Saying There Are Aliens
I know there are all types of people in the world. I know there are types that believe in weird stuff, who don’t believe in weird stuff, who want to believe in weird stuff and can’t and who don’t want to believe in weird stuff but do. I know you’re out there. I have made contact with each of your kind.
Both Rock AND Roll is Required
It is my armor. Against the ravages of time and heartache and failure and despair. Attitudinal armor. Protection from self-pity and feeling small in a world of wars for oil, politicians spouting horseshit non-stop and the constant drumbeat of the the Big Countdown Clock. A layer of badassness that fights back the feeling that, as I get older, I'm simply going to lose everything I ever held dear and everyone I ever loved because that's just the way it is. My Captain America shield. My Bat Cape. My resolve to never allow the World to beat me.
![I Believe... [Traipsing Through London]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1504144920148-H2GWQP8U8TWZE0Y9ZQRE/yorick.jpg)
I Believe... [Traipsing Through London]
...that London is what New York will be 200 years from now—the City That Used to Be the Center of the World But No Longer.
Recent Memory, Case File #00001: The Ground Zero Mosque
And, now, a monthly look back at what had made the news over the past 5 to 20 years, and if it still matters to this day.
What Was News? The “Ground Zero Mosque”.
Not Wanting to be Married is the Secret to a Happy Marriage
I have always preferred being by myself, especially before or after big social events. And there is no bigger, more social event than one’s own wedding. I needed to focus—submerge myself under the water, fight its resistance, smooth out my breathing, stretch my muscles—become totally in tune with my whole self. This would be the last moments I would ever have to be alone as a man without jewelry. Unless, of course, I got divorced. But I didn’t want to consider that on my wedding day. I may be a cynic when it comes to matters of the heart but I’m not a monster.
Navigation Techniques in a World Designed to Send You Off Course
I am a huge fan of Survivor. I've watched every episode of every season for 15 years. This mystifies some who know me but it isn't that hard to explain. Survivor is simply an unvarnished look (yes, it is highly edited to create a narrative but still...) at how people behave in corporate society.
OK. Go with me on this for a moment.
• It's set in the jungle.
• All are in pursuit of the elusive prize of cash dangled like a toddler in front of Josh Dugger.
• It's a game with real life consequences.
• The most capable of surviving are most often voted off by the most conniving.
• No matter how honest or straight forward someone is, the game itself is like a virus that infects people and turns them into lying sacks of shit.
Notes from the Post-it Wall – Week of September 3, 2017
• I'm not big on claiming divine intervention, but when I consider the number and magnitude of the storms, and the wildfires that have beaten the hell out of our country's topography, and injured, killed or displaced so many Americans, it's difficult for me not to conclude that God actively hates America's guts and he is trying to run us out of town.
Addicted To Nice
There are those who would rather smile and sing a Disney tune than discuss racial injustice. There are those who'd rather make an eye-rolling joke about the violence in Chicago's streets than make a concerted effort to discuss the policies, systems and humans that are both responsible for and affected by the violence. There are people who don't think family dinner is a good time to talk about these types of things.
Beyoncé’s Lemonade Suckers
Box sets bring in the best and more of your previous life and remind you of what you were and what you can be. Usually, by the time these things are released, we’ve forgotten ourselves. Maybe we’ve forgotten the songs and the bands who made them. We need these box sets all these years later.
Beyoncé’s How to Make Lemonade does none of this. And not because it doesn’t have the ability to do so but because it hasn’t given itself enough time to be able to do so. It hasn’t earned enough street cred.
Your 140-Character Shaming Campaign is Weak
Shaming doesn't accomplish what you think it does. I mean, sure, it makes you feel like you're part of some sort of solution—the internet tribal equivalent to the end of Game of Thrones where the evil woman (I don't watch the show) is stripped naked and has to endure taunts and vegetation thrown at her. It does not, however, move things forward in any real way.
Avoiding Being Defined by the Aging Process
If we can avoid the perpetual complaining and bitterness, to communicate not through tragedy and unhappiness alone, and to stop fixating on all the negatives in our lives, we can avoid being defined by the aging process.
How do you want to be defined? By one action? By some opinion that could evolve? By a mistake, regrettable only with hindsight? Or by the sum of your parts? Okay, do that for other people. Start the trend.