Mandolin Orange, Faith, Incompetent People and Myanmar
My #ThemeSong today is a set by Chapel Hill's Mandolin Orange, a folk duo led by married couple Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, both 31. Their music is relaxing, positive, and thought provoking - perfect for the drive to or from work. (Thanks bro :-) …
Manic Monday, Everyday Jitters, and Implementation Activation
My #ThemeSong today is Manic Monday, written by Prince and performed by The Bangles. Here’s a great NPR story on how Prince came to give the song to the Bangles quite early in their musical career: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/21/734176868/how-prince-worked-his-magic-on-the-bangles-manic-monday…
Everyday Addiction
I have been off Facebook (for personal posts) for 10 weeks now. Most interesting has been the diminishing absence of the sporadic jab of anxiety that accompanies each impulse to check my notifications or post a new thought or photo…
Regarding the County Manager's Contract and Upcoming Renewal
Below is the email I sent the Durham County Commissioners regarding the current County Manager's excessive contract. If you feel remotely inclined, please send your own concerns to your elected officials and feel free to cut and paste my letter (or any part thereof). Thanks for caring and sharing, Melissa
Eulogy for My 2014 MacBook Air
Yesterday, like a sign from the Universe, I accidentally killed my MacBook Air. I felt the urge to be with my 7-year-old computer as it died there on the table. The software was still working like nothing had happened, but the hardware was clearly taking its last breaths. To pass the time, I logged into my blog and began typing the following eulogy to my old inanimate friend. …
#VoiceInMyHead Today (re Teachers)
We need to start paying teachers the salaries of both caretakers and educators if we want to maintain the system as it is. Teachers have shown they can do it, which is why we are demanding they do it now. But the current situation is not sustainable unless …
Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)
My last post concerned the debate over whether Durham Public Schools should resume in-person learning in order to accommodate state legislation mandating a return to in-person instruction within 15 days (of the legislation's passing). Discussion on the topic has become heated and personal, which I find sad and incredibly frustrating. The simple question is this: After doing remote learning for nearly 12 months, why are we forcing teachers and staff back into classrooms mere weeks ahead of ensuring they are administered the vaccination we've all been waiting for?
From a Teacher in Durham, North Carolina, on the Forced Reopening of Schools
A Durham, NC, public school teacher’s take on North Carolina’s forced reopening of schools for in-person learning, and Durham Public Schools planned response.
Lauryn Hill and Microplastics
I edited a paper about the ecological impact and human health risks of microplastics in aquaculture ecosystems. My daughter is currently doing microplastics research at Eckerd University, so it was a rare instance where I had a personal interest in the subject matter. During my subsequent trip down the wormhole, I learned that each time you use a microbead-containing facial or body wash (which, for years, has been most of them), up to 94,000 plastic microbes can be flushed down the drain - each time.
Robert DeLong, Mark Ruffalo, Barkhad Abdi, and Pope Francis
While learning about shrimp and prawns, I also came across the following quote:
"When no one is to blame, everyone is to blame." ~Pope Francis
... which has given me something to think about for the remainder of my last gray afternoon at Carolina Beach.
Sunflower, Addiction, and Skating on Thin Ice
Addiction has been a key word in my head for months now, along with facilitation, calculated risks, acceptance... so many words, each with so many shades of definition. The question is not whether a behavior is addictive, it's whether you're okay with the consequences of that repetitive behavior…
#VoiceInMyHead: "Your Rules"
My #ThemeSong today is Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett's Avant Gardner. I've been sporadically "having trouble breathing in" since I was in middle-school (maybe before) - I know it's coming on again when I have to yawn to get a good breath. This is why, for my (belated) 50th birthday present, I am spending a few days at the beach by myself…
Senzenina and Calculated Risks
I first heard my #ThemeSong today when I watched The Power of One, written by one of my favorite authors, Bryce Courtenay, and starring Morgan Freeman (one of my favorite actors). Since first hearing this song, my ears perk at any mention of African musical influence, and they are far better off as a result…
Statistician's Blues and Being Ordinary
"They say 3 percent of the people use 5 to 6 percent of their brain
97 percent use 3 percent and the rest goes down the drain
I'll never know which one I am but I'll bet you my last dime
99 percent think with 3 percent 100 percent of the time"
~Todd Snider
Kilby Girl, Incest, Rofhiwa, Electrical Brain Stimulation, and Korean Popcorn Cauliflower
I asked my 19YO daughter to send me a theme song, and she gave me Kilby Girl by the Backseat Lovers. Though the lyrics make me wish I could remember the days when I could guiltlessly "waste all afternoon," it's a snappy little tune; and I didn't mind having it in my head today…
17 Jan 2021- 6 days off Facebook (Peter Gabriel, Watched Pots, and Edible Creations)
I came upon the Peter Gabriel song below for the first time today, when looking up the lyrics to Bon Iver's Holocene (one of my son's all-time favorites), and it melted my heart. I shared the song with my musically voracious son, who surprisingly hadn't heard it; and we agreed that it's crazy that, though hauntingly beautiful in its own right, Bon Iver's version is more well-known than Peter Gabriel's original…
16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)
My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days…
14 Jan 2021 - Weaning Off Facebook, Day 3 (Sylvan Esso and Marriage Story)
I fell in love with Sylvan Esso when I first heard Coffee, the hit from their debut album. Since then, I haven’t heard a song I don’t like, and many speak to my soul in the most happy way. It helps that most of their songs can be played in the presence of toddlers. And they’re based in Durham!
12 Jan 2021 - Weaning off Facebook, Day 1 (Los Lobos and Antifa)
Apparently like many people during this Covid pandemic and election year, I developed anxiety and depression to the point of panic attacks and, as part of my recovery, decided I needed less silence and more music in my life. So each morning I listen to a "theme song" that generally sticks with me throughout the day…