by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger Today’s vocab words: popular as in “popular” author: untalented as in “popular” fiction: talentless as in “pop” icon: super talented! and literary as in “literary” author: brilliant as in “literary” fiction: brilliantly crafted storytelling. Stepping away from my typical brooding and introspection—such as it is—about my own […]
Random Thoughts
You Say You Want a Revolution
by guest blogger Megan Mulry, writer of sexy, stylish romantic fiction “It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness.” —Alcoholics Anonymous I spend a lot of my emotional, mental, and creative energy at the intersection of acceptance and resentment. Obviously, what this AA quote states are universal […]
May Your Hearts Not Break
by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger “May your hearts not break…”—A Wish for My Children, Evangeline Paterson I don’t remember anything about my last Mother’s Day with my mom. Other than that it was in 2011. It may be because it was ordinary and the details would disappoint in their blandness. We gathered […]
Putting Yourself in Parentheses
by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger In Nick Hornby’s charming and disarmingly thought-provoking new book, Funny Girl, we meet a group of people working on or near a 1960s U.K. television comedy called Barbara (and Jim). A dazzling and talented young actress who calls herself Sophie Straw is cast as Barbara, and the […]
My Thorfties
by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger I had a startling thought the other day. I wondered if the time had come when I can no longer brood over my to-do list and shrug off thousands of undone tasks (and dreams) with my favorite catch-all phrase: “I’m pacing myself.” At this rate, if I […]
Portland in Perspective: 6 Real and 4 Bogus Clichés
by Mark Remy, writer, runner, and creator of Remy’s World I’ve lived in Portland, Oregon, for about a year now. As a result, I consider myself the world’s foremost authority on Portland, Oregon. OK, maybe not. But since moving here from Pennsylvania last summer, I think I do have a pretty good perspective on our […]
Simple Is Better, Or Spiderman Does Cry
by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger A few months ago, I wrote about my newly adopted philosophy of life: “Nothing Is Easy.” At this point, I’d like to add a corollary: “Simple Is Better.” Given a choice between an overwrought, tortured approach to a problem, or a direct, hands-on solution, simple is better. […]
The Reinvention Intervention
by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger Today’s 21st-century question: When did women of a certain age all agree that we need to “reinvent” ourselves? I must have missed the text. It isn’t my imagination. Hop onto any website’s homepage, and you’ll find some channel or thread that offers dozens of articles, tips, lists, […]
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
Order NowOrganic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
Order Now