Non-Fiction Writing
Menopause Diary—The Beginning Basics
This became a separate post once I started writing about menopause, and it went on and on and on. I hope it helps educate you and makes the medical community aware in general of the many symptoms and issues arising from perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. I’ll keep it separate from…
Pandemic Diary—Stir Fry recipe, Friendly Atheists, Abortion Support, Jimmy Carter
On my stir fry recipe: I boil ¼ cup of brown/wild rice. I also boil a small chicken thigh (I like dark meat). While the rice and chicken are doing its thing, for ten minutes, I chop up some veggies into a small to medium-sized bowl (reminder: menopausal moderation, which…
Pandemic Diary—NY Times, Sweating, Women Leaders, Christian Revisionism, Menopause
On the NY Times: I think I’m already done with that NY Times subscription. They keep sliding to and appeasing the far right socially and fiscally under the guise of the middleground, a faux liberalism, and free press. It reeks of bias and pandering to certain imperious and arbitrary powers…
Pandemic Diary—Listening, Triggers, Heavy Metal Music, Indoctrination
On listening: Someone I highly admire recommended a podcast they were on—I listened and wish I had that hour back. The host kept interrupting and using the dreaded ‘I’ this and ‘I’ that—yes, narcissism, what a shock for a podcaster←irony. The connection was bad and you couldn’t hear or understand…
Pandemic Diary—What I’m Reading & Watching, On Kindle Search
On Kindle Search: I’ve had a Kindle in some form since the second generation of Kindles and my complaint has always been the same even more so since recently—the Kindle Library search sucks. I would like to be able to search by page numbers and genres and series, etc., but…
Pandemic Diary—What I’m Listening To
On Listening to Sean Illing and The Gray Area): The Church of the Celebrity was really good. Men and Boys are Struggling had me rolling my eyes—feminists want gender equality and have been conveying that in like forever; are men not listening unless other men tell them? Don’t @ me—that…
Pandemic Diary—On Being Blonde, Age, Beauty Standards, etc.
On being blonde: Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote this essay in the NY Times about the social status of blonde. As always, her knowledge and wit combined with her empathy and writing skills, transform her subject into a clarity of self-examination and a philosophical treatise on beauty and social status.…
Dear Diary 20NOV2022
I started this diary entry on the 15th but got pulled away by work before I even wrote a sentence. On The West Wing: I’ll probably do a new thorough review but I heard something on my rewatch of The West Wing this time that I had not previously and…
Dear Diary 13NOV2022
On the Pandemic and These Posts The pandemic is not over but I’m changing these diary post headers to ‘Dear Diary’ and the date. About the pandemic—please wear a mask and get boosted. We live in a society with other people and lots are vulnerable to your cooties. On Twitter…
Pandemic Diary—Twitter, Mastodon, Voting, etc.
The pandemic is still ongoing—please get boosted and, if necessary, wear a mask; you live in a society filled with individuals and many are still dying of Covid. Care about others as much as you care about yourself and your own family. I voted early and got boosted (Covid booster).…
Pandemic Diary—On Things
On the pandemic: The pandemic is ongoing. Please take precautions. Apparently, monkeypox and polio are now health emergencies—thank you, anti-vaxxers; your compassion and dedication to society are unequaled. Wear your mask, please, and continue to be fastidious about cleanliness. Why? Because you live in a society with other people. It…
Pandemic Diary—#ProAbortion
Abortion number one was at nineteen when I fell for a guy who lived across from my aunt in a West Virginia suburb. He was not much younger than I was. I thought he was a friend and a good person—he was the typical asshole, which is something I apparently…
Pandemic Diary—Fascism
While I’m writing my next couple of chapters, I’ll drop a few lines about the current state of things. Fascism is in complete auto-mode currently given what is happening culturally and politically. The fascists have forsaken their humanity for power to inflict their amoral dogmas onto the public as a…
Pandemic Diary—Messiness
What does messiness mean to you? Are you literal where the first thing you think of is the physical messiness of your person and surroundings, like thick layers of dust or walking through the house with your shoes on or dirty clothes and unwashed hands? Or is it more figurative…
Pandemic Diary—Learning, Zombie Day, Favs
Happy zombie day! In addition to eating chocolate or whatever sinfully sensuous dessert you love to wrap your tongue and lips around, I urge you to commit some good ole fashioned Christian blasphemy as well as watch (or read) an erotic thriller (How Feminism, Blockbusters Like ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars,’…
All Things TV: Bridgerton Season 2 Review
Dearest lovelies, I’ve never loved being more wrong about something. I should’ve never doubted Chris and Shonda and team but trusted in their artistic and philosophical visions. Did I like Bridgerton Season Two? I watched it two times within the 24 hours it debuted—what do you think? First of all,…
Pandemic Diary—Book Banning
Please pay attention to what is happening in the news and in politics locally, nationally, and internationally. It is so very important that you get involved and stay involved. Here’s another piece from The Washington Post. School book bans are soaring: Although the vast majority of challenges go unreported, the…
Pandemic Diary—Shame (update)
ADDENDUM—Here (below) is my short review of Bridgerton Season two (longer review here): The Ezra Klein podcast has several great shows on Ukraine, Russia, and Putin that are a wealth of information—Fareed Zakaria, Fiona Hill, Masha Gessen, Timothy Snyder, Emma Ashford, and the latest one is Daniel Yergen, which I…
Pandemic Diary – Me No Pause, Some Book Reviews, Capitalism, Supplements, Please Buy Me a Computer
My last two posts are the result of a brain riddled with stress through the fog of menopause, and today’s life of pandemic, war, poverty, inequality, fascism, book banning; legislative cruelty, oppression, and bigotry; stupid politicians; greedy corporations price gouging everyone and everything; rich assholes lecturing us poors about our…
Pandemic Diary – Romantic Themes, War, Being Dumb
Someone needs to close that damn Hellmouth—who volunteers? Come on, don’t be shy or cowardly. Were all those superhero movies for naught? Putin is deranged, cunning, old & probably getting ready to shuffle off this mortal coil thus his psychopathic and narcissistic response of burn it all down. Remember what…
Pandemic Diary — Escapism
What makes a great romance novel? This is a personal preference, and everyone has one. My reading preferences are all over the place merely because, as I previously stated, I am purposely eclectic, unbiased, and permissive in art and literature; I would also add music to that list—that is if…
Pandemic Diary – Generational Divisions
Are generalized claims of generational differences helpful? Or what is prevalent in one generation is usually ubiquitous in all generations? Do the generalized criticisms become antagonistic, reductive, and more a means to debase and diminish than to inform, educate, communicate, and improve? With our communication and technological advances, are people…
Pandemic Diary-Questions
Someone mentioned on Twitter that wielding the “I’m just asking questions” trope can be problematic—if you have a large and powerful platform and weaponize that phrase to spread misinformation or do harm, that is a logical conclusion and that has happened several times these past few years. I also believe…
Pandemic 2022 Continues
People are aggravating the hell out of me so I’m avoiding spending long hours on Twitter. Also, the new conservative fascist overlords have tweaked their algorithm and I feel like I’m not learning as much, which is the entire point of my being on that app. I also had something…
2021 Favorite Podcasts
My favorite podcasts with a brief review listed below: Hear to Slay—My absolute favorite podcast ever. This lives on Luminary and as of this publishing date has 91 episodes hosted by the fabulously brilliant Dr. Roxane Gay and Dr. Tressie McMillan-Cottom. There is an annual subscription of $35 plus tax…
2021 Questions
I have many questions—I’ve always had many, many questions, even as a kid. Where I lived, in that culture, adults didn’t cater to the whims of children and their pestering questions, and certainly not the girl children. Our narrow and insufficient education evidenced as much time and time again—then and…
Pandemic Diary 2021
In response to a Book Riot and Out of the Box essay on documenting the personal experiences of the pandemic, this timeline will also be in correlation to the new Biden-Harris administration and the continued malfeasance and autocratic menace of the Trump-Republican fascists. Any and all essays on the subjects…
Hear to Slay Podcast Review
Starring Roxane Gay and Tressie McMillan Cottom, this podcast is sublime and so worth the annual membership. With two seasons and 75 hour packed episodes, Dr. Gay and Dr. McMillan Cottom educate and deconstruct Black feminism down to its very core with such insightful wisdom and dark puckish wit, you’ll…
Pandemic Diary 2020
In response to a Book Riot and Out of the Box essay on documenting the personal experiences of the pandemic, this timeline will also be in correlation to the ongoing authoritarian threat from the Trump-Republican regime. Any and all essays on the subjects will be posted here as links. Timeline…
Recipe: Spicy Chicken Soft Tacos
A healthy Gluten Free spicy chicken soft taco recipe—I created myself—is one of my favorite dishes.