Monthly Archives: December 2006

why we do it

By xtina | Published: December 12, 2006

I asked how can you ever be sure that what you write is really any good at all and he said, ‘You can’t,’ ‘You can never be sure.’ ‘You die without knowing,’ ‘Whether anything you wrote was any good.’ ‘If you have to be sure don’t write.’ – W. S. Merwin

Posted in meta, poetry | 1 Comment

odd things are afoot at the villa straylight

By xtina | Published: December 9, 2006

Every year for the last twenty years or so I read Neuromancer by William Gibson at least once a year. I remember being 13, going on 14, when I came home to a paper grocery bag full of books. Our family friend, Jeff McDaniels, had heard that I liked to read a lot and he [...]

Posted in commentary, linkage, personal, rhetorical question, xtina | 1 Comment

tears (of a clown) of gratitude

By xtina | Published: December 6, 2006

Over the last few days I have been semi-incapacitated by allergy symptoms. Runny nose, watery eyes, scratchy throat, half-sneezed sneezes, and dry, dry skin. I haven’t had bad allergies since we left NoCal to move to SoCal over 16 years ago, so to have a resurgence of this suffering gave me some compassion for people [...]

Posted in commentary, personal, xtina | 1 Comment

On being a stand-up guy

By spider | Published: December 5, 2006

Mostly, the idea has been met with disbelief. Then, incredulity. A laugh, perhaps. I made this change recently and not a single soul I have told about it seems to agree that it is a ‘good idea’. Here are a few sample responses from close friends, when told of the change: “Why would you do [...]

Posted in consumption, creation, personal | 3 Comments

When vegetables attack

By spider | Published: December 3, 2006

Ever been injured by a raw veggie? I have. I attempted to open a package of zucchini, a plastic plate shrunk wrapped with celophane: I stabbed through a tense area of the plastic wrap with my index finger, and then, WHAM! CRASH! BURN!!! AARGH! The momentum of my hand hand penetrated the saran with great [...]

Posted in food, humor, personal | 4 Comments

Hats Off

By spider | Published: December 3, 2006

To my blog partner, Xtina, who blogged both dedicatedly and beautifully for the entire month of November, huzzah. Reading your posts was a tremendous pleasure, not only for the interesting thoughts and insights into your life, but as much for your writing style. You are talented. Your posts are interesting. I love reading them. And [...]

Posted in meta | 1 Comment