I promised some posts on Bury the Chains, and I’m so glad that several of you have purchased the book. It’s well worth the investment–Hochschild is not only a fine historian and journalist but a master storyteller. Even if you don’t plan to read it, this question may interest you: When do we […]

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I made a couple of blog-related connections today. Someone whom I have long respected (professionally and personally) stumbled on the link and kindly took the time to tell me how some of the things written here had touched their life.
Later, I had lunch with kindred spirit Elaine Frei (who generously contributed the guest post […]

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This is the second segment of a four-part, prize-winning, semi-autobiographical story. If you haven’t done so, you’ll want to read Part One first.

The next day, we followed the hearse in my Uncle Hisao’s minivan. He was always ‚ÄúUncle‚Äù to me, although he never married my Aunt Kazumi. When I was nine and living with […]

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I’ve always wanted to be an author–not just a blogger, but a bona fide, writing-is-my-day-job and at the local Barnes and Noble there’s a few colorful books with my name on the spine.
I haven’t blogged much about my fiction. In fact, writing for Mind on Fire often leaches what little time and compulsion […]

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Starbucks has a flash game called Planet Green. It’s part of their Earth Month thing. You drive, walk, or bike around the township of Evergreen (which has a Starbucks, of course) improving various things. It’s not a fun game but it’s a fun way of learning easy ways to improve your footprint: at the local […]

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by Kathleen McGowan
When walking through the airport last year sometime, I ran out of airplane activities (I’m somewhat limited these days) and found myself in an airport bookstore. Two books caught my eye: Labyrinth, by Kate Mosse and the Expected One, by Kathleen McGowan. Both appeared to be (in the little time I had to […]

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Barack Obama won (27.9%) the MoveOn straw poll on Democratic candidates and Iraq, scoring just ahead of Edwards (24.8%) and leaving everyone else, including Clinton (10.7%), in the dust. The more I hear about Obama, the more I like. What thoughts do you all have?
Jana is the Girl Anachronism. Our musical tastes don’t always overlap […]

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I am not Buddhist, except in the Japanese cultural sense, which involves a lot of incense and cute statues and little meditation.  Belief in karma, deities, salvation, etc., is optional.  That said, I get a lot of mileage from Buddhist concepts.  One of these is attachment.
I use attachment to indicate those things that I could […]

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This is the final half of Elaine Frei‚Äôs two part review and reflection of Krakauer’sUnder the Banner of Heaven.
In Part I of this review, I explored the story of Ron and Dan Lafferty and how they came to murder Brenda and Erica Lafferty, the wife and daughter of their younger brother, Allen.¬† While that story […]

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n. 1 a fertile spot in a desert where water is found figurative a pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult, troubled, or hectic place or situation
Living, as I do, in a populated desert and, perhaps a figurative desert, depending on who you ask, I cherish the few oases I […]

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