mediocre - ijeoma oluo (2020)

persuasive premise (it's on the cover).

strident tone. there's a chip on her shoulder.

pretty eloquent writing.

unfinishable. bah.

i am too old to read stuff that takes itself too seriously.

one education superintendant's charge to new teachers, circa 2010 (?).

i am enchanted by his exhortation: teach students to win with class and to lose with dignity. ...teach them that there is a lot more to being a winner than the final game score. ...teach them to root for their team to win, not for the other team to lose. ...what to do when they lose.

good for him and his community, i think. for the country's sake, i hope they get their act back to around here.

consumer society

standing in the aisle

looking at the goods

wondering at the sellability

and amazed at the traffic

old tyme books

two lovely reminders of earlier phases in my life, courtesy of the clovis antique malls:

laura ingalls wilder's magical series (and nancy drew!) from before the dawn of awareness political correctness and feminist expectations.

i remember watching this and then reading the book in paltry paperback. here is the hard cover version!

old towne clovis

we spend a pleasant saturday morning rummaging.

thru the farmer's market some thrift stores (self-described antique stores) vintage buildings and even the town museum. the sun's warmth balances the nip in the air. 

picturesque-ness notwithstanding, HOM buys his baking pan from marshalls home goods. one must needs be pragmatic.

endless cycle

this is A's day, running on repeat:

• reading (not)
• playdoh
• playground
• lego
• sketch-a-doodle
• mop the floor

accompanied by a running commentary in gibberish punctuated by tantrums.

same as ever - morgan heusel (2023)

unusually for a modern american book, this one serves up new ideas right to the last chapter, with some gems along the way too. especially the thought, what have you experienced that i haven't that makes you believe what you do?

punchy story-telling in short attention-maintaining bytes.

i enjoyed it.