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On scripts, social performance, and knowing your place in the world
“We are all born naked. The rest is drag.” Rupaul* We have these dual drives within, for Society and Self. Acceptance and Agency. We hear the messages: Strive… but not too high, or you will become vain. Succeed… within these boundaries. Find your tribe, and then stick with them. They know the ropes. But we…
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Costuming my Life
I spent the morning at the mall. There is no place quite so effective at bringing out my internal war over frugality (and the economy of my home) and responsibility (and the economy of the world). This is the site where these two things come into conflict. My usual solution to this conflict is to…
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Keeping On Keeping On
I’m not supposed to be here. Well, I’m supposed to be here, at my desk. But I’m supposed to be over there, in my word processor, working on my proposal for a radio documentary on E.F. Schumacher and appropriate technologies. But man. Demoralized. Here I am, reading a book that was published the year I…
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On Debates and Being Right
Margaret Wente has declared the debate on Anthropogenic Global Warming over. Her side has won. We have decided what we are going to do about climate change, and the answer is… nothing. Congratulations, climate change deniers. You played your hand well. Apparently our culture is unwilling to make any sacrifices to preserve an uncertain future…
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Breast Feeding, Formula and Risk Analysis
The choice between formula and starvation is a no-brainer. I had an inadequate milk supply. I did. Yes, I tried that. I tried that, too. With my first baby, I saw, oh… something like 17 doctors, lactation consultants, and midwives, including Dr. Jack Newman (the guru of Canadian breastfeeding). There were herbs, and pumps, and…
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Poem: Fenris Unbound
Fenris Unbound It all begins with an innocent act. Original sin of the kingdom: Eat. Read red nature, Tooth and claw. Life flows across our lips, cruel wisdom. And we know, dread-full This too shall pass. Hope glimmers at the edge of his hearing And he comes to us in dreams, Whispering… (All…
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My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma: no acceptable solution
Welcome to the July Carnival of Natural Parenting: Let’s Talk About Food This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about their struggles and successes with healthy eating. Please read to the end to find a…
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Making noise
The consequence of keeping your mouth shut is that you never get to meet the people that you agree with. A lot of us keep our mouths shut a lot of the time. You might never guess it from the number of fringe-dwellers that have started to speak up out here, but a lot of…
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Control that Lawn!
My day today included a scythe, a push mower, and the digging of garden beds by hand. I also made a REAL pound cake: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, one pound of each. I added a pinch of salt to the flour and a splash of lemon juice. No baking powder – it wasn’t invented yet…
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A Mom Who Blogs?
Just to be clear: I understand that I’m just about nobody in the “blogosphere”, so my reaction to the “Moms who blog” furor that recently hit after the NYT scoffed at us is a little less intense than that of women who are doing it for a living, as a calling, or for other reasons…
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School Gardens – or not?
Sierra on Strollerderby asked us what we thought about Caitlin Flanagan’s article on School Gardens in the Atlantic Monthly. I did make a comment, but it left me thinking all evening, so I guess it goes in here. If you read my last posting, you will rightly predict that I’m in favor of school gardens,…
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Review: No Impact Man
Title: No Impact Man Author: Colin Beavan Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2009 This book surprised me. I have read a LOT of the “My Year Of…” category of books, and I arrived at this one from a not-particularly positive commentary on the New York Times. I found myself with book in hand only a…
