A note on sauces, Romania

When Pulp Fiction informed me that people in Amsterdam put mayonnaise on their fries, I was cooperatively grossed out. Mayo was an acceptable ingredient for way down the ingredients list, but it should… Continue reading →

The Palace of Parliament, Bucharest

It is not the symbol anyone in Bucharest would choose for their city, but the massive Palace of Parliament lands in every visitor’s awareness like a walrus in the penguin exhibit. Conceived by… Continue reading →

To Romania, during covid

It’s been true for a year and a half now, but I had never felt it as acutely as I did on the flight from Amsterdam to Bucharest: this is a very awkward… Continue reading →

Interstate 580 has a secret

It’s one of those things I never noticed until someone pointed it out, and now it’s all I see. Every time I merge onto Interstate 580, where I used to only see the… Continue reading →

Daily shower: Reincarnation

Happy Today, everyone! (Whenever your today happens to occur.) Most of my energy these days goes to classes, taxes, finally leaving the apartment to go camping next week, negotiating a work contract for… Continue reading →

Covid Questions

Covid, the Great Disruptor, is helping us ask questions we didn’t ask before. For example, we could ask “Wait, I keep craving a return to my old life, but how did I feel… Continue reading →

Your daily (mental) covid vaccination

The sky is blue. In former years, that was a basic sentence for English language instruction. In 2020 it’s cause for celebration. Last week the Bay Area (and much of the Pacific Northwest)… Continue reading →

Saturday night civics lesson in Oakland

“Over a dozen protesters arrested after protest turned violent Saturday night in Oakland.” A headline too routine to read, a story so familiar the news agencies barely bothered to write it, mostly posting… Continue reading →

My neighborhood tonight

The signs appeared about a month ago on a corner near where I live. The work of local artists, each page had the face of someone killed by police, and their name. It… Continue reading →

Recommend: An Unstoppable Journey

I wanted so badly to post something worthy about what’s going on in my city, my nation, my soul, our countries. I started three different posts last week. But part of this is… Continue reading →