My Heritage

  Ok so when we were little kids in school, we learned the most terrifying thing about the Middle Ages. No, not the Plague! To me, the most terrifying this about feudalism was that, whatever class you were born into, that was your job for life. Basically, if your parents were farmers, you were a farmer. If your parents were nobility,…

Mama Giuseppa’s – My Own (Generous) Helping of Red Sauce America

  I can’t cook to save my life, but I closely follow Bon Appétit online. I have never once made one of their recipes. Not. One. I’m only into it for the food culture articles, and this month, they’ve been running a series that has knocked me for a loop.   The Red Sauce America series is every bit as…

Return to the Little Red Lighthouse

  I’ve loved the Little Red Lighthouse for a long time. And I can PROVE it! HERE! With this blog post from 2012! Now, don’t be confused about the purple Chuck Taylors — it’s a pure coincidence that I was rocking these Chucks in May ’12 and happen to have a very similar pair at present: I…

I Just Wanna Know

  It hit me the other day when I was at work, on a Saturday. I had the studio space to myself and was working on a large-scale (messy) task, playing a podcast for my enjoyment (The Bowery Boys Epsiode #169 The Tallest Building In New York: A Short History if you must know). When…

Grilled Cheese and Tomato

  Let’s get first things first: I am a diner gal. I loooove a good diner. I feel reeeeal comfortable in a vinyl booth, with a laminated menu in my hands, stacking up little jelly pots and creamer pods.   I came of age in diners. I think many of you did, also. There was a Denny’s…

Living In The Moment

  I’m partly convinced that “living in the moment” is a pretty string of words that has almost no meaning.   I was thinking about it the other day — as I think about a lot of things. I mean, there’s always the thinking of thoughts. That’s what my “moments” are like. A near-constant stream of philosophizing,…

Cultural Appropriation in the Curriculum?

  So the hottest of hot topics this week is VIRGINIA, and how apparently, a rite of passage for college students in Virginia is… blackface??? Both the Governor and the AG of the great state of Virginia have been caught/admitted to it. This story’s been around a while, Twitter has already made the best jokes like “huh…

I’m Alive Today Because Of Welch’s Fruit Snacks

I have a long, long history with Welch’s Fruit Snacks.   WELCH’S FRUIT SNACKS.   Let’s start with a little trip down memory lane, shall we? Back to the Early-Mid-90’s. Now, I’m A #90sKID, so obviously, I ate a lot of fruit snacks growing up. Who among us whomst was born in the 80’s and…

Where I’m Coming From

  After ten years, I can call New York my “home town.” Those are the rules. Read ’em & weep, suckers.   But the place where I lived for most of my life — the town I grew up in — will always have a special place in my heart. I may have left Vestal,…

Dance As If Nobody’s Watching — Oh God, Are They Watching?

  You know how some people are afraid to dance because they claim that they “can’t dance”?   Hmm…. can’t relate.   Not that I’m bragging about my skills on the dance floor! Au contraire — I am openly and unapologetically an awful dancer. But I’ve always taken a special joy in dancing.   I vividly remember the excitement of having…

New York, I ❤️ You (And You ❤️ Me Back)

  Guys, let me tell you about the New Jersey Turnpike.   See, you never really know how much you love something until you lose it. This was how I realized I was stanning Sasha Velour in season 9: when it looked like she might be in danger of having to lip sync for her…

“Tradition”

  Christmas was ruuuuuuuuuined.   When I was very young, it was the tradition to go to Christmas Eve mass and pick up a sheet pizza from Nirchi’s on the way home. Then, one year, we got a deep fryer…and discovered the joy of tempura. It was decided that this year, we would come home from…