A black man finally snapped and killed cops in revenge for the ongoing murders of black men across this country. Yes, he was mentally unstable. Aren’t they all? The ones who crack, pick up a gun, a blade, a suicide vest? Still, it usually takes a perceived injustice to bring the house of cards tumbling down, slicing and cutting as it goes. And what do we call innocent victims of senseless violence and war? Collateral damage. Always despised that term, Read More…

Remember when having an opinion was no big deal? You would read about something outrageous like, well, just about everything in the news lately. Let’s pick a random story from last week: New Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte won the election even after saying he would have liked to be first in line to rape an Australian missionary who was gang raped and murdered during a 1989 prison riot in the Philippines. Or George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin, decided to Read More…

I know Valentine’s Day is yesterday’s news — we’re past chocolate-covered hearts and onto chocolate-coated Easter eggzz and baby chixx. Wait, what am I thinking? Our next national holiday is the Oscars! But I’m still contemplating love. Everybody wants it, needs it, feels deserving of it, but what is it, exactly? You’ve probably read quite a bit about love recently, but love never gets old and it never goes out of fashion. We’re fixated on the stuff! So here are Read More…

For reasons you may find cloying, last week I experienced renewed love, affection and appreciation for my dog Tulip–not the wonderful movie My Dog Tulip–I’m talking about my actual, real-life dog Tulip. But precisely because of this overwhelming gratitude for my fabulous 11-year-old (You’re SUCH a good girl!), I wound up watching White God, an award-winning Hungarian indie film released in the States in July 2015, and currently available on Netflix, which summed it up like this: When a cruel Read More…

My new favorite word is suffering. I endeavor to use it in my writing and in everyday life as much as possible. This is because I’m reading Elena Ferrante’s delicious novel quartet, which recounts the tale of a complex friendship between two women from a very young age into their sixties. The story takes place in Naples, Italy. The neighborhood is run down, the girls’ clothing, drab; but the characters’ emotions are so alive! And the narrator’s repeated use of Read More…