Category Archive: politics

Is it safe to go to Europe right now?

To be honest, the war in Ukraine is straining my higher principles of unity, human brotherhood, and tolerance. The reptilian part of me wants to see Moscow become a smoldering ruin. It’s just… Continue reading

Ukraine and What to Do About It

My friend in Kiev sounds exhausted. Her family lost everything when Russia invaded the Donbas, and she was just getting back on her feet when this current round of menace began. “Just a… Continue reading

The Legacy of Romanian Orphanages

My eyes read headlines through layers of experiences not my own. Other places can teach us crucial lessons, and then travel there can make those lessons all the more accessible and compelling. So… Continue reading

Gratitude for Georgia

All the Renaissance masters, Roman gods, and Golden Age heroes showed up right when I needed them, no one was grievously injured, and even the weather behaved itself (for the most part). So… Continue reading

Reassured in Dharamsala

When a Buddhist monk in Myanmar sprawled out over several seats in the train, or one on the bus in Malaysia blasted a radio no one else wanted to hear, or a third… Continue reading

Scared to go to Turkey

The walls were solid and strong, despite the detritus of old neglect in the corners, the spray painted confusion, and the sense of old cigarettes. And everywhere, the kind of shadows you’re supposed… Continue reading

Would you rather…feel good?

The playground game was simple. Ask “Would you rather…” followed by two options, probably one that’s physically unlikely and one that’s gastronomically inadvisable. Both options were reliably horrendous. It was a “choose your… Continue reading

Trump is exactly what America needs

Equal Pay Day yesterday deserved a post. Something to address the crushing idiocy that women would have to work these extra months into 2018 to earn as much as men did in 2017.… Continue reading

Ghosts in the grocery store

Waiting in line at the grocery store made me think about torture and secret police. Around me shoppers huffed their indignation at slow cashiers, one of whom looked ready to cry, but my… Continue reading

Moving into 2018

Yesterday, fifth of the thirteen flights I am or was booked on in these couple weeks, had a three year old named Noah across the aisle. He was wearing a pilot’s hat and… Continue reading