“… there is no greater thrill, as a kid, than looking into the gaping maw of human depravity from the comfort of your bed.”
A touch of the macabre in children’s books is nothing to be scared of (Guardian UK)
I love living near a city that holds a CatVideoFest. (Ticket sales benefit local cat charities and shelters.)
“The Hispanic community are Iowans. They have the same values as Iowans. As far as I’m concerned, they’re Iowans with better food.” (Rob Tibbetts, eulogizing his slain daughter, Mollie, as quoted in the Des Moines Register)
Random photo: Elmhurst, IL, December 2012. 📷
(One of my favorite photos—one that suddenly feels far away as F goes deeper into the tween years.)
“Surprising”?
I’ve tried four of these. Added to the bucket list: Head to Texas and try this Big Red stuff.
Five sodas that are actually worth drinking (Daily Beast)
“John McCain, in death, is performing the unifying function that the incumbent president is congenitally incapable of performing.”
As a Nation Mourns McCain, Trump Is Conspicuously Absent (New York Times)
Went Pokémon hunting this afternoon with the 10-year-old from the comfort of an air-conditioned Forester. We’ll hike around for Pokémon, like our ancestors did, when it’s not as hot as Mercury out there.
Happy National Dog Day from Winslow and me. 📷
Backpack blessed at church today; St. Paul token (top left) and St. Benedict medal attached. The fifth grader is now officially ready for school. 📷
“Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the internet. To hell with them!" (John McCain)
Reinhold Niebuhr statue, Elmhurst College. Elmhurst, IL, August 25, 2018. 📷
I really wanted No. 18 to be Mueller.
Who said it: Dorothy Parker or special counsel Robert Mueller? (McSweeney’s)
It took 8 years for me to get over leaving my old career. But I got over it.
Why you should take time to mourn during career transitions (New York Times)
So, my husband’s job takes him to grocery stores around the area, and he ended up at a Filipino supermarket that has a sizable food court. He picked up lunch for me, just like Mom and Dad used to make. And no, not a vegetable in sight. I’m happy anyway. 📷
Random photo: Dearborn Station, Chicago, IL, February 2002. 📷
In a cranky social media snit, I muted/unfollowed everybody on Twitter/FB except feeds for sports, traffic, weather, hyperlocal news in my Chicago-area suburb, and humor.
The relative quiet is nice. Next up: Muting everybody but dog photos and New Yorker cartoons on Instagram.
This is why, after 8 hours of work at a desk — and before dinner, followed by another few hours of work at a desk — I’m lying down. At least that’s what I tell myself.
Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain (New York Times)
Random photo: Preschooler in papier-mâché, Elmhurst, IL, April 2012. 📷
Adding to the bucket list: a pilgrimage to Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Sixty years of D.C. history and culture, slathered in chili (Washington Post)
Another snack obsession I brought back from Canada, along with “all dressed” potato chips and Tim Hortons Canadian maple doughnuts. Surprised I didn’t have to pay Customs duty for the extra belly fat I carried over the border. 📷
“Once I filled out all the note cards, I could tell by the depth of the stack that these flash pieces wanted to be a book …”
How to raise an optimistic human in a pessimistic world (Common Sense Media)
Has social-media usage around the world peaked? (Globe & Mail)
The more I explore and play in this space, the more I realize this is kind of how I hoped Tumblr would be. Except here, the most active people appear to be grownups who know how to spell.