when thanks are in order

Today is Veterans' Day. I think it's so important to take some time out to show gratitude to the people who have made so many sacrifices for the everyday freedoms we often take for granted. My dad is in the military, and has been my whole life, so I know firsthand even the smallest sacrifices armed service people and their families make in the name of serving our country. Say what you will about the wars we involve ourselves in and the politics of war - I've said them too, much to my father's chagrin - but there's no denying that as a woman, I can freely sit where I'm sitting and do the things I'm doing and write what I want to write thanks to the people who gave life and limb because they believed and had faith in something. 

So, in this week's The Local Voice, I show my slice of gratitude by dedicating my column to all the veterans who have served our country. Thank you so, so much.

as of late

I've been really busy as of late, which is really just another way of saying I have re-prioritized as of late. I am writing columns for The Local Voice (the latest is here, and I encourage you to download the whole newspaper here). I am writing more and more about culture, mostly music, at my job (here, here and here), with some more exciting things coming up. 

Also on my list of priorities, this:



When I was a little girl, this was my favorite song. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of bursting through the little plastic shutters on this little plastic playhouse in my kindergarten classroom, singing this song at what I believed to be full volume. I didn't have a lisp, and I'm confident that I wasn't anywhere near this adorable, but obviously her performance reminds me of that day.

If you watch this and don't 1. bawl your eyes out, 2. squeal and cover your mouth in delight or 3. tell someone you love them, then you should probably seek spiritual guidance because you are an empty shell of a person. Also, I realize I am two years late on this, but it doesn't matter because it is timeless.

All children are artists.

all the sweetest winds

Inspired by my recent trip to Mississippi, I reached out to the folks at The Local Voice, Oxford's alternative newspaper, and pitched a column to them. They liked the idea, and agreed to let me wax poetic about my nostalgia, longing and introspective thoughts about the South - all from the comfort of my crowded commute on the NYC subway.

You can read my first column, Somewhere In Between, here and download it here.

It feels good to be back, if only sort of halfway.