O human people: we only can preach at other so much before our faith falters. Today I’ve read as many articles and social media posts as I can manage, written three pieces (and one vehement blog post), and walked four miles in this stupid, stupid heat. My brain is officially dry white toast. So I’m going to make lemon lobster rice and wolf it in my air-conditioned bedroom while watching episodes of “West Wing.” Who knew that show would represent a relatively halcyon era of American politics? Anywhere, here’s the recipe if you’re interested. I made it up while watching C.J. Cregg eviscerate a fashion reporter, so if it’s off, you have my ardent apologies. It tasted pretty good to me. Continue Reading →
Archive | Country Matters
To Be of Use
Michael Moore wields great influence, and his doomsayer pronouncement that “Trump will win” threatens to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, since people will not try to defeat the Republican nominee if they consider his victory already written in stone. It is highly possible that Moore is trying to rouse us to action with his words. Nonetheless, his sort of Cassandra punditry is profoundly unuseful right now, even brattily entitled. (It also smacks of egotistical link-baiting.) Many of us know that to be alive is to keep fighting–for the roofs over our heads, for fair wages, for the right to go and come as we please. Many of us know that the only way to survive is to live as if we can beat gloomy odds even when they seem unbeatable. What we require now is praxis: positive theory, positive action. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, with our sleeves rolled up to win it. These citizens are beautifully doing just that. This is how we defeat Trump and the culture of greed, hatred, and ignorance he represents.
The Church of Crab Risotto
As I write this, it is 2:23 pm, the world is exploding, I am completely stuck on all my writing projects, my sunflowers are sagging, and it is too hot to do anything outside happily. But my house is beautifully cool—I sprang for a second AC when I got an extra gig last month—and my refrigerator is brimming with good ideas: produce from the local greenmarkets, red and white wine, seafood from Chelsea Market, butter from an Upstate friend, supplies from the old-school Italian grocery down the street. So I am cooking a crab risotto, the decline of western civilization be damned. Continue Reading →