When I put on the metallic silver unitard and homemade alien mask that rainy morning, I had no idea that I was about to embark on one of the most stressful weekends of my life. How could I? I love wearing costumes. One Halloween, I dressed as a vulture-like Skeksis from Jim Henson’s The Dark […]
Miscellaneous
Sarah Gilman enters the stage tomorrow as a New Person of LWON. I’m pleased to usher her onto the page after having been on the same team trekking across an Alaskan icefield, jammed in a tent during a white out. We survived without going at each other with ice axes. That’s a good thing. Gilman […]
October 19-23, 2015 Doctors think in narratives, not computerized drop down menus, says Ann. Let them be truly present in the examination room. On Helen’s morning walking commute, all kinds of stories are possible – growth, recovery, even a shared moment between a gourd and an ape. Craig’s quest for a portal to the Pleistocene […]
Back in 2012, I wrote about my compulsive counting habit. I’m revisiting it now, in hopes of collecting stories from other counters. If you count too, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment. For as long as I can remember, I have counted. If I’m on a train I might count the […]
In the bespangled Pioneer Saloon in Paisley, Oregon, hangs a picture on a wall of a fit, gray mustached archaeologist out in the field. Written in pen, the name at the bottom of the photo is Dr. Poop. Dennis Jenkins is his actual name, a senior archaeologist at the University of Oregon. Jenkins leads paleo digs in […]
October 12-15, 2015 Jennifer kicks off the week with a post devoted to sternutation. Bless you. No, really. On Tuesday, I return to a 2012 post about children’s imaginary worlds, where the learning is real. Craig can’t stay away from the artistry of flood water. Rose has a few pointers for all writers covering disability from her unexpected […]
Last weekend, nerds from across the US and the world gathered in Cambridge Massachusetts to discuss the media coverage of other, often bigger nerds. It is known as the National Association of Science Writers annual meeting and it’s one of the highlights of my year. This year I thought it might be fun to participate […]
Back in October 2013, Cassandra wrote a post about writers’ frustrations, sexual come-ons, and the hopeful hopelessness of the national navy in landlocked Bolivia. It’s a post so deeply horrible and so deeply sweet that we thought you’d like to read it again. For every story that makes it to print, there are scads that die […]
