Listening to or reading the news is an exercise in rage containment. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are making me see red. Let me see if I can re-enact this weekend for you ( Read more... )

I don’t think people can be objective. Objectivity is akin to not having an opinion on anything relating to the topic at hand. And you know what they say about people and opinions ( Read more... )

The ocean scares me. Even when I go to the beach, I don't like to swim out to a place where I can't feel the bottom. I think it has something to do with the vastness of it - if I can't see the other side, I feel like I'm going to be swept away. I'm not such a strong swimmer that this irrational fear can be overcome easily or with "logic ( Read more... )

( Here thar be spoilers. )

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. I remember thinking about this event 5 years ago and wanting to write about it, but it seems even more relevant now, as the world holds its breath waiting for news from Japan. We have to mark the differences in how much is known today and how much was known 25 years ago and the ( Read more... )

I wanted to tally it all up, but it became kind of ridiculous, so in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya "no, it is too much, I'll sum up ( Read more... )

The sky is the color of lead, but it's not oppressive, it is infinite. If you look at it long enough, you may fly away and never return. The air bites at your skin and your lungs. It tastes sweet, delicious. Bare tree branches are swaying and blocking out the last of the feeble sunlight. And from behind the branches, a flock of birds bursts ( Read more... )

A few times now I have encountered songs in English that have the same melody as popular Russian songs. And every time I wonder, which is the original ( Read more... )

Fresh seasonal cooking is not an exception in most places in the world. The fact that the US somehow has to revive this idea and actually talk about it, instead of doing it naturally, may be a big clue about the state of our collective health and welfare. When we were in Prague and Vienna, mushrooms and squashes were central on the menus. I wish ( Read more... )

If 2007 was the "worst year ever" (tm), 2010 is the most traveled year, even counting last year's road trip ( Read more... )