Post-Holiday Peace
After my year of austerity (drastically reduced sugar, dairy and grains), I totally indulged last week when I visited familia in Houston, Texas. I ate cookies and cupcakes and pie. I also had grain-y foods like pancakes and tamales because I wanted to take a break...
Houston International Airport, 27 Dec 2015
I think what I like about being at an airport is that it's a kind of limbo. Right now I'm at IAH, where I was booked on a 7:28p flight back to Chicago O'Hare Airport. Instead, I'm now waiting for a 10:45p flight because my other one was canceled. So I sit, pace, eat a...
Review of The Lyric Opera’s Bel Canto
In 2012, work began on the impressive challenge of turning Ann Patchett's novel Bel Canto into a staged, modern opera. Now Bel Canto is playing at the Lyric Opera through January 17, 2016. I heard about it at the beginning of December and, even though I'd never been...
The Shine Is off Christmas for Me
Now that I spend more time with people who weren't born in the U.S, I see American culture differently. I'm fascinated by the things such people identify as being good and bad about us. I have new appreciation for our American never-say-die attitude and the way we're...
"Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"
[I originally posted this January 5, 2006.] What's Christmas without tradition? The Christmas tradition for my blog is the annual posting of my summary of the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. I find it extremely relevant to the annual...
U.S. Latinos – The Facts
During Chicago Ideas Week I attended Univision's seminar on "Marketing to Hispanics." This is what I learned from the data collected by Univision's marketing department. General facts There are 58 million Hispanics in the U.S. which is 18% of the total U.S....
Eliminate the Penny
The week of Thanksgiving, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story on the question of whether or not to eliminate the American penny: "Critics Wonder Whether Pennies Make Sense Anymore." I say: eliminate the penny. I agree with John Oliver and Citizens to Retire the...
This Is What I Have to Say about the Current State of Regular American Mass Shootings
This space intentionally left blank.
It’s Ugly In Here
It's ugly in Chicago. Between the police brutality that gunned down a Black teenager who stood several feet from the nearest officer to the police destroying evidence of Officer Jason Van Dyke's crime to State's Attorney Anita Alvarez refusing to see that there's been...
“No” Means “Yes” and “Yes” Means “No”
What is happening to the meanings of "yes" and "no?" I asked someone last night if he and his companion were old friends, and he said, "No, yeah we've been friends for years." On The Daily Show, Noah Trevor asked Gloria Steinem if she thought the women's movement...
Ever Lose a Pair of Diamond Earrings?
I lost a pair of custom-made diamond earrings about a year ago. They were a gift from my ex-husband (from back when we were married) and were created to my specifications. Of course, I went through all my drawers, pockets, bags, suitcases and tote bags and looked...
Chicago Protest #LaquanMcDonald
I'm too middle-aged to last long in drizzly, chilly weather, but I spent almost two hours today with protesters who are furious with the way Chicago handled (covered up) the murder of a Black 17-year-old teenager by white Officer Jason Van Dyke. I'm no reporter and...