I don’t want family
I don’t want friends
I don’t want a community
I want a world
A world where we all treat each other
like members of the community
like dearest friends
like cherished family
I want a world
k
Posted in Writing | Tagged creative writing, modern poetry, modern society, Poetry, vignettes | Leave a Comment »
A year or so ago, like many other stressed-out adults searching for a bubble of calm in a turbulent world, I turned to a solution that was trending through social media: coloring. It was a fairly good solution, too. Coloring, for however long I chose to enjoy it, provided a period of quiet meditation combined with guided creativity. After a tempestuous day of corporate politics and political upheaval, I could look forward to spending an hour, head down, blending colors across mandalas and designs with whatever palette suited my whim. I could listen to music or to the birds outside in the wisteria or to the simple, basic sound of pencil and paper. It was a refuge, a Fortress of Coloring Solitude.
But when my father died, I stopped. Continue Reading »
Posted in Creativity | Tagged coloring for adults, creative outlets, meditation, paint by numbers | 2 Comments »
if you
say it’s “too soon” to talk about guns
say laws and bans wouldn’t stop it
blame it all on mental illness
are against common sense gun control laws
vote for people who refuse to act
pay dues to the NRA
value your right to own an AR-15 over the lives of children
accept slaughter as the “price of freedom”
then you are complicit
Posted in Culture, Politics | Tagged columbine, gun control, modern poetry, Newtown, nra, parkland, Poetry | Leave a Comment »
A year ago, I posted about our decision to dump our cable provider in favor of a completely streaming profile.
Overall, this has been a great success. We’ve saved money (over two grand a year). We’ve found that there is a ton of terrific content out there that is available either for binge-fests or weekly installment viewing. We’ve been able to tailor or subscriptions to match more closely our TV and movie predelictions.
All has not been rosy, though. Some networks (cough cough cbs cough) think they’re all that and a bag of chips, and worthy of a subscription all on their own (they’re not). Many others have apps and services, but require a cable or satellite provider to view content, even though they broadcast free over the airwaves.
And then there is the world of sports.
I’m not a sports junkie, but sometimes I feel compelled to watch a Seahawks or Mariners game. For this, I have to put a digital antenna in the window to pick up local broadcasts. Reception is spotty, but the occasional signal breakup is only a minor annoyance so, for me, the lack of sports coverage wasn’t a big deal.
Cue the Olympics. Continue Reading »
Posted in Television | Tagged 2018 olympics, curling, cutting cable, nbc olympics, sports, streaming | 6 Comments »
Last year I got a small bonus, and I used it to buy a couple of board games in the “luxury” class (e.g., priced at $100 or more).
The first purchase, Mansions of Madness, was a huge disappointment, as the replayability and the number of supplied scenarios didn’t justify the higher price.
Unfortunately, I was unable to review my second purchase, Gloomhaven, as the release date was repeatedly extended. I ordered it back in March 2017, but the release was pushed out to August, September, November, and then December, but finally it shipped in early January of this year.
It was worth the wait.
Posted in Culture, Gaming | Tagged board games, Broken Token, Cephalofair, games, gloomhaven, old man gamer, RPG games | 1 Comment »
Hard to believe, but after almost six years of posting here on this blog, last week I got my first official troll.
I feel so . . . edgy.
It happened over on my Facebook author page, where I echo this blog, and it was in response to last week’s post about my encounter with a young woman who was being harassed on the bus. As it was one of my social commentary posts, I decided to boost it, so that it would be seen by a larger audience. And that part worked quite well.
One particular member of this larger audience definitely did not see my actions as satisfactory. In short, he considered me a coward for not challenging the woman’s harasser and didn’t think I worthy of being called a man.
I don’t bring this up to knock him down or deride him. I bring it up to discuss my reaction. Continue Reading »
Posted in Culture | Tagged #MeToo, being an ally, Sarah Silverman, social warrior, Trolls | 5 Comments »
Yesterday, as I was leaving work, it was raining. Correction: it was pissing down. La Niña, you know. Brings us wet winters here in Seattle. Sometimes snowy ones. Yesterday was definitely wet.
I started down the stairs at the bus station, saw the 41 waiting, and quick-stepped the last flight to the platform. The doors on the bus closed, so I kicked it into high gear, running alongside. The kindly driver spotted me in his side view, held off, opened the doors, and let me in. I paid my fare with a smile and a thank you, and decided to stand near the door for the trip up to the park-and-ride.
I held onto one of the vertical handholds and looked outside as we swayed onto the freeway and then sashayed northward. The streets were grey. The sky was grey. Beyond the filmy windscreen, the cars cruising past also wore shades of rainy grey. But the sounds, the shushing of tires, the spatter of rain on speeding glass, the grunting scrape of wiper blades as they smeared the rain around rather than really squeegeeing it off, I found it all rather relaxing. Cocoon-like. The world outside was cold and wet, but in the coach we were all warm and dry.
Halfway to our off-ramp, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned. Continue Reading »
Posted in Culture | Tagged #MeToo, being an ally, feminism, safe space, Seattle | 1 Comment »
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 