James and I get a pretty good complement of magazines at our house, from National Geographic to the New Yorker, from Harper’s to the New York Review of Books and other random things that happen upon our doorway. It’s a pretty amazing spread of information and thought–the only problem is …
Let’s get the disclaimer out of the way: I have no idea if the new Portlandia show is any good, nor do I have a huge intention to watch it.For those of you who don’t know, click on the link. I don’t feel qualified to explain what it’s all about …
It’s ugly and rainy out, the kind of insistent drizzle that’s never a downpour but nevertheless leaves you completely soaked. This morning, it was almost 8:30 before it even seemed like the sun would rise (I’m still not sure it did), and the clouds are a uniform, oppressive grey. If …
An integral part of not owning a car is knowing how far away from home I can logistically expect to do certain things. When I was looking for teaching jobs, for example, I didn’t even look at districts that were more than 20 miles away, because I knew I didn’t …
I’m flying. Not continuously, but my feet pick up and touch down softly, fleetingly, and shoot me forward again, leaving me a few glorious moments of weightlessness. I would say I’m pounding down the trail, but that’s not it: I’m flying down it, hardly aware that I’m hitting the ground. …
Start: Isla Vista End: Santa Barbara! Miles biked: about 32– 15ish to Santa Barbara, 17ish more biking around the city The downside of bike touring–at least, if you’re into spectacular mileposts–is that if you’re not on the big highways, you often don’t get a “welcome to…” sort of sign. So …