Anything Else?
I have been reading the 200 page transcript that Tom L. from Australia posted online from the six years when he and Joko did dokusan, or face to face teaching, over the phone, something she did a lot. It is…
In Direct Response to High and Low
Sometimes (often, most of the time?), I forget I am a “Zen Practitioner.” This is usually a good thing because Lord knows nobody would want to be around a stinky Zen person, offering up teachings for whatever ails you. And…
Breathless. Back from the Rabbit Hole
Dang. I almost didn’t make it out. I have things to do—Deadlines, dinner, grading, art practice, big plans to make. So what a dumb time to follow a link I found in Jezebel about Victorian portraits, and the cute trend…
Joko Revisited
I had the good fortune of spending last weekend at the monastery. It was the 2nd annual senior’s retreat, which means that the 20 or so people who have gone through the process of becoming empowered as senior students…
If You’re in a Shopping Mood, you Can Pre-Order this Book (in Which I Just Happen to Have an Essay)
Last year, just as I was fixing to prepare my very first Thanksgiving dinner, the lovely people Lisa Catherine Harper and Caroline Grant asked me if I would like to write a piece about “mindful eating” for a book of…
What’s That Burning Flesh Smell? Oh, Right. I’ve Been Branded: Part Two
So the voice, which I am coming to think of more and more, as God, said: “Get a Volvo.” I listened. I have a Volvo, a 2004 Cross Country Wagon with 100,000 miles on it. It cost $8,000, and once…
This Person Should Be This Way: A Real Girl
Finally, I finished Ms. Heti’s book. Ve-ry-in-ter-est-ing. Last night T and I hung out with some neighborhood friends and I was talking to the lady, who is a famous food person and a lovely human who I really admire, and…
What’s that Burning Flesh Smell? Oh, right. I’ve Been Branded: PART ONE
It all started with my hatred for the Prius. I had been excited to trade in our inherited Subaru outback, not only to to enjoy the obvious advantages of driving a hybrid (the internal advantage being the erroneous, yet powerful…
Signed, Clueless in the Catskills
Gosh, what can I say? As promised, I have been reading Ms. Heti’s book (I am on page 133, the beginning of the chapter “They Wander the City on Drugs,” which came shortly after the chapter “Interlude for Fucking,” a…
Interior Interiors
I am getting ready for a vacation for almost two weeks. I doubt I will write at all during that time. In the meantime, I am preparing a piece for The Weeklings, the good folks who published my piece about…
