martinimade

• An Ode to Middle Age
• The only review of Cats you need.
• I want to go there.
• I have so many thoughts about this.
• People are always more complicated than you might think.
• What is Appalachian food?

• Shipwreck, scandal, and homesickness.
• For my money, the crew in Spotlight comes the closest.
• "... and Amazon Prime."
• For the record, the publisher of my forthcoming book also publishes some writers (like Bill O'Reilly) whose work makes me itch. However, those titles make titles like mine possible. It's a weird business.
• They key quote: "...we're actually paying more to store our stuff than we are to store ourselves."
• On being a traitor.
• Tag yourself. I'm the cobweb one.
• I spent a not insignificant amount of time in Japan being amazed by the baked goods.
• Dogs.

A bit of shameless self-promo, first. This week, I was the cohost on the Another Mother Runner podcast. We talked about the idea/quest of running a race in all 50 states. In the intro, tho, I gave Sarah the low-down on how my daughter hit our house with my new (to me) car last week. It's been ... fun? The pod is here.

• Our hills create champions.
• Empathy binge.
• This guy reminds me so much of our departed Mooch, who was also a spicy a-hole.
• Is this melancholy or is this peace?
• It's harder to be kind than clever.
• You're not going to believe this.
• Does it make you happy?
• Another entry in the "people are really interesting" file. 
• I wish I were a student again.

• "the hollowness of privilege, the toxicity of comparison, and the melancholy of accomplishment."
• I discovered how much I could be making if I were willing to write essays for college students and grousing about how my sense of right and wrong was keeping me poor. A friend pointed this out. 
• Thirteen every day, on average.
• A travel guide for NPR nerds.
• Why would this seem like a good idea?
• You should see the face I am making right now.
• People are interesting.
• I honestly have no idea where I stand on this.
• Do not police the grief of others.
• Oddly hypnotic.
• Bonjour le blob.

My latest column is live over at Another Mother Runner: A Tale of Two Runs.

• Death by a thousand cuts.
• Just knitting glass. Like you do.
• I want to party with him.
• Write to express.
• New item on my bucket list.
• The prize is given by my alma mater, FYI.
• I kinda want to play this.
• The casserole rules.
• I should print this out and put in on my nightstand.

• This is a genius app. I've put it on my phone, just in case a run goes really sour.
• Speaking of running: I had no idea this happened and it's just up the road.
• Saving for later.
• On costume design and the delightful Schitt's Creek. 
• The fundamental mysteries of live theater.
• Rotting fruit but not really.
• I, too, keep a list of things that aren't comets.
• This is an amazing piece of writing. 
• The first few paragraphs of this New Yorker piece explain money laundering really well.
• The money quote: Goop, a one-stop shop for people hell-bent on perfecting themselves, has helped sell Americans on the idea that “wellness” means buying things until you feel better. 

Some shameless promo -- I had a thing happen during a run that had never happened before. I wrote about it over at Another Mother Runner.

Many things:

• This is me.
• Related. (FYI: this piece also name checks my favorite historic nun.)
• The best satire is almost indistinguishable from reality.
• How I travel.
• This piece is as beautiful as everyone has said it is. 
• I remember running into Watergate Salad all the time as a kid during the 1970s. I wasn't a fan. I, too, wondered where it came from and where it went. Now I know.
• Ellen Raskin remains one of my favorite writers.

• From the desk of Emma Lazarus
• It's okay that it is hard.
• Nice melons.
• This has made the rounds before but it gets more meaningful for me each time I read it.
• You should be listening to Conspiracyland.
• Sounds like a great place for a summer home.
• If any of you find yourself in Cooperstown, give me a call. I'm only a few minutes away...
• I want to go here.
• Laura Lippman is my new hero.
• How are your levels of rage? Could you stand a little more? 

And in shameless self-promotion: all about a sweaty, celebratory 5K in Seneca Falls over at another mother runner.

• The Washington Post understands me.
• All of these are true.
• You'd be shocked what you can find in college yearbooks (and I say this as someone who spends a lot of time looking through them).
• Bang Bang Girl Gang.
• This is a huge problem in Otsego County, too, and there are no great solutions.
• Next time I'm in Japan (and there will be a next time), I plan to collect as many of these as possible.
• Megan Rapinoe can tell you where to put your "yes, buts."
• My expectations for pants/trousers is the same.

And some shameless promo: a word or two about the summer and running and giant roosters over at Another Mother Runner.

• I, um, wow.
• The more I read from Taffy Brodesser-Akner, the more I want to read from her. The last graf of this is perfection.
• Somehow, I am always surprised by how petty people can be.
• We fear the wrong things.
• This world is a wonder.
• This is a searing, gorgeous piece of writing that will change absolutely nothing.