Rushed Bill Goes Far Beyond Taxation

So I guess "Making America Great Again" equals huge tax breaks for corporations (especially ones that deal with real estate, hmm wonder who that'd benefit?), continuing to destroy the environment (who the hell goes to Alaska anyway?), and millions of Americans without healthcare. Oh, and those of you who live in a state with income and other state taxes, you might want to see how you get f#$#ed with this one too.

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31 Plays in 31 Days

Hello July. If you follow along on this blog, you know that I love challenges, and you can read about some of them here. 

My One Little Word for 2016 is STRETCH, and I've been doing that in various way this year. As we start the second half of the year, I thought it might be fun to add another challenge that stretches me out of my comfort zone. 

My challenge? 31 plays in 31 days. I love watching plays, but don't often get around to either reading or listening to them, so this is a way to change that. To make this doable, I decided that rather than find plays to read, I'm going to leverage the Playing On Air podcast. From their home page:

"Short plays + radio = theater for the ears, available to audiences anywhere, anytime. It’s the best seat in the house, no matter where you’re tuning in.

That’s the simple idea behind Playing on Air. We’re a public radio show and podcast distributing the work of great contemporary playwrights for today’s digital audience. Our episodes feature short plays followed by conversations with their writers, performers, and directors, moderated by Playing on Air’s artistic producer, Claudia Catania. "

This works for me in a couple of ways:

1. The plays are digitally available, so I don't need to go find source material, and lug anything around.

2. It's portable. I simply download plays onto my phone using my favorite podcast app.

3. The plays are short, so they won't take up a lot of time.

4. I'll get exposed to a large sample of new and contemporary plays.

I've sketched out a monthly tracker in my newly started 2016 Volume 2 composition journal, and I've downloaded the first week of plays. I'm all set to go!

I'll post regular updates on my progress during the month of July, and will report back as to what I learn along the way. So excited about this one.

Do you have a challenge you are working on? If you love plays, I'd love to hear about ones you'd recommend.

My Favorite Things: OnBeing Podcast

My Favorite Things is a regular blog post where I will share with you something that currently delights me.

Plot line: On Being with Krista Tippett takes up the big questions with scientists and theologians, artists and teachers — some you know and others you'll love to meet. Each week a new discovery about the immensity of our lives.

I love listening to podcasts, and this one is an old favorite of mine. The show releases both an edited and unedited version of the interviews, and I tend to listen to both - I pick which one depending on the guest. 

Early this week I finished listening to the unedited version of the one with Pico Iyer: The Art of Stillness. I tell you it felt like a long, cold drink after months in the desert for my being. Another unedited episode I listened to recently was the one with Mary Oliver: Listening to the World. It  nourishes me in countless ways to listen to and connect with some of the great thinkers and teachers of our time.

You can get more information and the downloads here. If you have not already listened to it, this is a podcast worth listening to. 

My Favorite Things: Invisibilia Podcast

My Favorite Things is a regular blog post where I will share with you something that currently delights me.

Released in 2015.

Plot line: Invisibilia (Latin for all the invisible things) is about the invisible forces that control human behavior - ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions. Co-hosted by Lulu Miller and Alix Spiegel, Invisibilia interweaves narrative storytelling with scientific research that will ultimately make you see your own life differently.

I love listening to podcasts, and am delighted when I find new ones that are interesting, and fascinating, and thought provoking. This new podcast fits that bill perfectly, and will make you think and want to talk to someone after each episode.

You can get more information and the downloads here. If you have not already listened to it, this is a podcast worth listening to. 

An Interview with Mary Oliver | On Being

Often quoted, but rarely interviewed, Mary Oliver is one of our greatest and most beloved poets. At 79, she honors us with an intimate conversation on the wisdom of the world, the salvation of poetry, and the life behind her writing.

I've spent a wonderful morning listening to the unedited version of this interview. You can listen or download here.

Booktopia Vermont 2015

One of the book podcasts I listen to is Books on the Nightstand, and through them I've met a fun community of readers, both online and in person. A couple of times a year, the hosts of the show organize a weekend getaway for readers and authors. I attended one of these events a couple of years ago, and am delighted to be attending again this year. 

Here is an excerpt of an email sent to attendees yesterday outlining the authors who will be attending the Booktopia Vermont event in May:

• Josh Cook, AN EXAGGERATED MURDER - This brainy spoof of traditional detective novels features inept kidnappers, fedoras, fight scenes, and jokes about Ulysses. This hilarious debut novel is written by an independent bookseller at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA.

• Michael Crummey, SWEETLAND - Set in a tiny town on remote Canadian island, this beautiful novel tells the tale of Moses Sweetland, a man determined to remain in his home on the island, despite the will of the government and of nature itself.

• Cristina Henriquez, THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS - This heartbreaking novel gives voice to millions of Americans by telling the story of the love between a Panamanian boy and a Mexican girl--teenagers who live in a Delaware apartment block of immigrant families much like their own.

• Steve Himmer, FRAM - In a novel that thrills, entertains, and makes you think, Steve Himmer gives us the story of Oscar, a minor bureaucrat whose life is upended when he’s sent on a mission to the Arctic, a place he’s only ever seen in maps, photos, and his own imagination.

• Dylan Landis, RAINEY ROYAL - Ann fell in love with Dylan Landis’ short stories in a writing class and Michael fell in love with her novel Rainey Royal, which reads almost like a collection of linked stories. Rainey’s voyage through Greenwich Village of the 1970s is filled with tales and encounters you won’t soon forget.

• Kelly Link, GET IN TROUBLE - Eight dark tales—sometimes comic, often disturbing—make up Kelly Link’s new collection.  Already praised by Karen Russell, Peter Straub, Erin Morgenstern, and others, this book of stories may give you nightmares, but it will also give you plenty to think about and discuss.

• Megan Mayhew Bergman, ALMOST FAMOUS WOMEN - Some are women whose stories we think we know. Others we’ve likely never heard of. The haunting stories of Megan Mayhew Bergman bring to life the hidden joys and trials of women on the periphery of fame.

• Mary Doria Russell, EPITAPH - After the wonderful novel Doc, Mary Doria Russell now brings us the story of Wyatt Earp, his common-law wife Josephine, and the legendary events that took place on an October 1881 afternoon at the O.K. Corral.

Am delighted. And a little nervous. I'm not a fan of the short story, and there are several short story authors attending. Since the small author sessions allow for an intimate time with authors, I plan on adding these books to my already tottering TBR pile. Can't wait!

My Favorite Things: Serial Podcast (Season 1)

I love the Sound of Music. The movie. The play (in which I was Max in a school production). The songs. So the title is an homage. This will be a new addition to my blog where I will share something that currently delights me.



Released in Fall 2014.

Plot line: It's Baltimore, 1999. Hae Min Lee, a popular high-school senior, disappears after school one day. Six weeks later detectives arrest her classmate and ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, for her murder. He says he's innocent - though he can't exactly remember what he was doing on that January afternoon. But someone can. A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was. The trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found.

Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, and is hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story - a true story - over the course of an entire season. Each season, we'll follow a plot and characters wherever they take us. And we won’t know what happens at the end until we get there, not long before you get there with us. Each week we bring you the next chapter in the story, so it's important to listen to the episodes in order, starting with Episode 1.

I have loved listening to this first season of Serial, and have often binge listened. I love the idea of a story that slowly unfolds every week. This is an example of using podcasts in a new and wonderful way. 

You can get more information and the downloads here. If you have not already listened to it, this is a podcast worth listening to. And if like me you are exhibiting Serial withdrawal symptoms, you'll find this SNL spoof entertaining. Cannot wait for Season 2.