PicoBlog

I was born in 1974, which was a bad year all around. People have different opinions on this, but most demographers estimate that all people born between 1965 and 1981 are members of Generation X. Being born in 1974 means I am pretty much smack in the middle of it. Generation Xers are a cynical bunch. I am friends with a bunch of Xers on Facebook, and people like to trade memes about how we were the last generation allowed to play outside until dark.

To my trusted readers: I am going to do this for real now. From today forward this newsletter will publish a minimum of twice weekly. Access to both editions will cost a modest subscription fee. Access to one will remain free, though I'll warn you now that the public newsletters will generally steer clear of subject matter that might incite SNL head writers and/or hordes of angry comedy fans, if that’s important to you.

Visceral Self: Writing Through the Body & other events below (manage/upgrade membership here). All Zoom links emailed day of events. See you soon! xo 🕯️TONIGHT!! Wed May 1, 8 PM CT, Candlelight Yoga Nidra on Zoom (founding) 📝 Fri May 17, SPECIAL FREE in-person and hybrid event at University of MN: Planting Seeds of Radical Hope Symposium (FREE, open to all, in person and virtual, Jeannine leads a collaborative writing session during the symposium)

I recently found myself on a fairly last-minute trip to São Paulo, Brazil for almost a week. Most of that week was spent working. However, I did have some free time and, because I am me, one of the first things on my list was seeing how different McDonald’s was in South America than in the United States. Guess what? It’s way different. So I decided to give it a taste test, getting a few assorted items, trying a bite of each, and seeing what I thought.

I originally intended to send out my weekly “Things I Want to Buy This Week” post today, and the first item on the list was the Yeezy Foam Runner. But I decided to switch it up after actually buying a pair. I’ll still send out the shopping list ASAP! So, I know what you’re thinking: How did this happen? Why did it happen now? What am I thinking? Okay, okay. For the last few months my interest in the Foam Runners has quietly shifted from “nah to “probably not,” to “well maybe,” to “I need ‘em like Pusha T needs coke bars,” and yesterday just happened to the tipping point day.

Friends, and mama! There are a couple of sexual references in this piece that you might not wish to read. Da pwanes are still tigh-tigh. I make this remark as our rental car approaches Glasgow Airport. It is not quite 5:00AM, but since we’re in Northern Europe in late spring, it is already half-light outside. It is June 2001, and Elizabeth and I are at the end of our Scottish honeymoon, getting ready to catch the first in a series of flights home to California.

I got the crazy idea to compare the bestselling books of all time with the bestselling books last year. Curiosity rabbit hole. Well, cripes. First thing I found was this. According to Guinness World Records, the Bible is the bestselling book ever written. As of 1995, 5 billion copies. Up next are other religious texts. 800 million copies of the Qur'an and 190 million copies of the Book of Mormon. They don’t know how many copies of the Bhagavad Gita have been sold, but they know one publisher alone sold 140 million.

I Don’t Fuck With You by Big Sean and E-40 I recall one of my German friends mistakenly using the phrase ‘I don’t fuck with you’ as a way of saying whether or not he’d sleep with someone. Men and women would pass by us and he’d regularly say, ‘ah yes, I would definitely not fuck with that person.’ Or: ‘Wow. Now that’s the kind of person I fuck with.’

I don’t want to grow up.  I never have. I once wrote in my diary that I wanted to stay 13 years old forever. I think I would still choose that today if I could.  I can see so many of my peers making peace with their aging, but I don’t want to make peace with mine. I think youth is one of the most beautiful and precious things, and I don’t want to lose it.