The Tyranny of Planned Obsolescence

The post has taken me entirely too much time to write. Not because I’m procrastinating or writing slowly, but because I’m being held hostage by the spinning beach ball of death. I bought my current iMac in early 2011, which means that enough time has elapsed that the Apple Care warranty I purchased with it […]

Last Word

May 5-9, 2015 It was another Mother’s Week here at LWON. LWON’s Motherhood series originated three years ago when Cassie shared her angst over whether or not to have a child. “I want to want a child,” she wrote. Back then, she didn’t — did she? Now her decision is made, and she’s still got […]

Three Photos of My Mother

One of my favorite people lost her mother last week, and my friend’s heart-breaking loss left me reflecting on my own mom and how much she means to me. I love my mother for more reasons than I can articulate in one small blog post, but three of my most cherished photos go a long way […]

Journalists Should Act More Like Scientists

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” — Some wise person who wasn’t Einstein. “I don’t think we need to necessarily institute a lot of new ways of doing things,” [Rolling Stone managing editor, Will] Dana, said. “We just have to do what we’ve always done […]

G is for Goddamned Goshawk

I knew something was wrong the moment I opened the orchard gate. My guinea fowl were squawking like crazy, buckwheat!, buckwheat!, and none of my two dozen or so chickens were anywhere in sight. I scanned the area around the poultry barn for signs of a predator, but saw nothing. Until I reached the chicken […]

I Did It Dad! I LOVE This!

I’d been pondering the consequences of modern self-chronicling when Facebook sent me its rendering of my life in 2014. If Facebook’s Year End Review is any indication, my life boils down to this: adorable dogs, skiing, trail running and mountain biking. Lots of mountain biking.

Sassy Smocks and Moist Panties

  Words are a writer’s currency, and we each have our favorites. The first word I remember falling in love with was onomatopoeia. It had a satisfying rhythm, plus there was the delight of discovering, oh — there’s a word for that. That joy of discovery was exactly what I felt reading Lost in Translation, […]

The Last Word

January 5-9, 2015 Roberta tried out the Japanese art of decluttering and offered vindication to pilers like me with news of a study finding that people who organize paperwork in piles accumulate less stuff than those neatniks who file them. Guest poster Anne Sasso told us about her devotion to a pocket calculator so beloved […]