Guest Post: When Asked for Photos
“I know we offered to pay you for your hard work, now how about you give us something extra for free because we’re cheap?”
Stuff I Liked This Week
Once upon a time I was one of those skinny black clad cyclist types who rolled uphill like a goddamn freight train. I was broke and angry and had an immeasurable supply of energy and everything was my bicycle. Now I’m much meatier and angry a lot less of the time and I’m not working …
Neighborhood Superheroes
It was windy and the flowers had fallen over. The note on the door said that the Wing Luke Museum, right behind me, would be collecting the notes and gifts left here, archiving them for the family. I didn’t know who the guy was or what had happened, only that it wasn’t that long ago …
Dahlia Obsessions
Jeff Sandys was gently pulling each petal of a miniature dahlia and pasting it into a 10×10 grid. There’s a raffle and the winner who guessed the number of petals on this particular flower would win, “Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s 25 dollars,” Jeff said, waving his long hands. “Do you grow?” Jeff …
Mount Rainier, August
The snow has receded so much from the peak of Mount Rainier that the caldera — the round crater of the volcano — was visible, a thin line of black stone against the white of what little snow there is. The snow pack is half what it should be this year and 50 inches less …
Some Thoughts After Book Passage 2015
1. Things Happen at Writing Conferences In the middle of my second day at the Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference, I went to get coffee. I shared the counter with a Bay Area literary agent. “What are you doing here?” the agent asked, and then he saw my faculty tag. “Oh, you’re teaching. …