
Rain, Better Conversations, and 3-D Printed Edible Steaks
I had to take a few days hiatus to work on my entries to a Ghost, Fable and Fractured Fairy Tale contest. In the meantime, we've had rain, rain and more cold rain. This morning was no different, which is why my theme song today is Lady Gaga's Rain on Me (below). Here's a great article from TeenVogue regarding the song's 22-year-old co-writer Nija Charles's experience as a young black woman making pop music…

Edelweiss and Remembering for Both of Us (ReadAloud)
Years after the book's release, Charlotte continues her involvement in improving our understanding and communication about Alzheimer's Disease, which her husband suffered before his passing. Remembering for Both of Us is *the* book to give a child (or a parent or grandparent) who has a family member suffering from Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia. Every physician/counselor in the field should have a copy of this book in their waiting room.

The Champs, Semiconductor Stocks, and The Voice in My Head Today
… Above all, you mustn’t be sedentary. Bend down and touch the floor while you are waiting for your coffee to heat, do a yoga chair position while removing laundry from the washing machine …

Mac Miller, Shorting Stocks, and Population Growth
"You can love it, you can leave it
They'll say you're nothing without it
Don't let them keep you down"

Lauryn Hill and Microplastics
I edited a paper about the ecological impact and human health risks of microplastics in aquaculture ecosystems. My daughter is currently doing microplastics research at Eckerd University, so it was a rare instance where I had a personal interest in the subject matter. During my subsequent trip down the wormhole, I learned that each time you use a microbead-containing facial or body wash (which, for years, has been most of them), up to 94,000 plastic microbes can be flushed down the drain - each time.

Robert DeLong, Mark Ruffalo, Barkhad Abdi, and Pope Francis
While learning about shrimp and prawns, I also came across the following quote:
"When no one is to blame, everyone is to blame." ~Pope Francis
... which has given me something to think about for the remainder of my last gray afternoon at Carolina Beach.

Sunflower, Addiction, and Skating on Thin Ice
Addiction has been a key word in my head for months now, along with facilitation, calculated risks, acceptance... so many words, each with so many shades of definition. The question is not whether a behavior is addictive, it's whether you're okay with the consequences of that repetitive behavior…

Senzenina and Calculated Risks
I first heard my #ThemeSong today when I watched The Power of One, written by one of my favorite authors, Bryce Courtenay, and starring Morgan Freeman (one of my favorite actors). Since first hearing this song, my ears perk at any mention of African musical influence, and they are far better off as a result…

Kilby Girl, Incest, Rofhiwa, Electrical Brain Stimulation, and Korean Popcorn Cauliflower
I asked my 19YO daughter to send me a theme song, and she gave me Kilby Girl by the Backseat Lovers. Though the lyrics make me wish I could remember the days when I could guiltlessly "waste all afternoon," it's a snappy little tune; and I didn't mind having it in my head today…

17 Jan 2021- 6 days off Facebook (Peter Gabriel, Watched Pots, and Edible Creations)
I came upon the Peter Gabriel song below for the first time today, when looking up the lyrics to Bon Iver's Holocene (one of my son's all-time favorites), and it melted my heart. I shared the song with my musically voracious son, who surprisingly hadn't heard it; and we agreed that it's crazy that, though hauntingly beautiful in its own right, Bon Iver's version is more well-known than Peter Gabriel's original…

16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)
My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days…

15 January 2021- Weaning off Facebook, Day 4 (Maria Ressa, Ruby Ibarra, and Ginger Dressing)
I heard Ruby Ibarra's A Thousand Cuts for the first time last week, when I watched PBS's Frontline documentary about Maria Ressa, a well-known journalist who is now a top target of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. I've always felt that everyone has a little God/Jesus in them, some more than others - Maria Ressa definitely belongs in the latter category…

14 Jan 2021 - Weaning Off Facebook, Day 3 (Sylvan Esso and Marriage Story)
I fell in love with Sylvan Esso when I first heard Coffee, the hit from their debut album. Since then, I haven’t heard a song I don’t like, and many speak to my soul in the most happy way. It helps that most of their songs can be played in the presence of toddlers. And they’re based in Durham!

13 Jan 2021 - Weaning off Facebook, Day 2 (Coldplay and Excessively High Blood Pressure)
Cold Play’s album, Everyday Life, was released live at the Amman Citadel, Jordan, on 22 November 2019 and broadcast live around the world. The first half was performed at sunrise, and the second half was performed at sunset. It's the first and only time the album has been performed in full…

12 Jan 2021 - Weaning off Facebook, Day 1 (Los Lobos and Antifa)
Apparently like many people during this Covid pandemic and election year, I developed anxiety and depression to the point of panic attacks and, as part of my recovery, decided I needed less silence and more music in my life. So each morning I listen to a "theme song" that generally sticks with me throughout the day…

What Exactly Do I Stand For
In April, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency calculated that fifty-five percent of monitored waterways in the United States are impaired by pollution, meaning they are too polluted for healthy recreation, public drinking water and subsistence fishing. Twenty-five percent of the nation’s beaches are under advisories or closed at least once per year due to water pollution.

When Your Relationship Is “Irrationally” Falling Apart...
I know so many relationships that have broken up this year – the Covid pandemic and the election have put tremendous stress on every one of us, and many previously ignorable concerns are bubbling to the surface as a result. My marriage has not been immune, which prompted me...

To the Marriott Organization
During my last car-camping therapy trip, I was caught out in the rain and hesitantly booked a last-minute hotel room, choosing only among those that Hotwire had given ribbons (or stars or whatever) for Covid preparedness. I only stayed one night, but it made clear to me that the hotel service in America is hardly being held to high standards with regard to air circulation and ventilation…

Visit Pilot Mountain. Stay at Jomeokee Campground (even if it's just for the day).
Jomeokee Campground in Pinnacle, NC, is one of the most beautiful places I have ever spent the night (and I have camped throughout the US, Australia, and New Zealand). I encourage you to visit and camp (if you are up for it), particularly during the week when you may have the entire grounds to yourselves.

Upon being pressed to look deeper behind the Covid “smokescreen”
Looking deeper... I see a government that is fine with letting hundreds of thousands of citizens die because they refuse to impose simple medically advised procedures (masks and social distancing) that would enable businesses to open safely; I see a government that refuses to require registration, background checks, and commonsense laws to protect it’s most vulnerable population from gun deaths that profit gun sellers, manufacturers, and lobbyists; I see…