Stories

The other day I wrote about the Times I Cried. Those times were occasions of loss or sadness. I had also thought of I time I laughed so hard I cried. I went back and forth about including it but decided against it. I could have included it since it fit the category and the contrast might illuminate. I decided against it because I didn't think I could convey the humor. Telling why something is funny is usually a sign it isn't. The recent time I cried from laughing so hard Then a couple days later, for the first time in years, I found myself laughing so hard I cried. The muscles for smiling hurt from being unable to stop smiling while laughing. It happened…

I had the idea for this post at least a year ago. I have a list of post ideas for days when I can't think of any. This post idea has been on it as long as I can remember. When I think to write it, it makes me feel vulnerable. Does writing about me crying related to what I usually post about? Will I be sharing weaknesses? Will people see patterns I don't notice and make me feel awkward? What might people I don't know think of me? I also know the pattern of feelings like this: I feel awkward writing it, people respond that they love learning more about me for sharing, people share their similar stories and we connect more, I learn…

I was browsing OpenSecrets' page on lobbying by "the fossil fuel lobby." Who is OpenSecrets? They track who lobbies whom in the US. According to its site: "OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. We provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens." Their page on climate change lobbying is sobering. Here's one quote: The oil and gas industry spent around $2.8 billion on federal lobbying from 1998 to 2023, OpenSecrets’ analysis found. Since the early years of Exxon’s campaign to diminish concerns about the use of oil and gas, the fossil fuel lobby has expanded its influence to create obstructions to emissions-reducing measures at every step…

I try to avoid shopping online. Actually, I try to avoid shopping. I buy food and a couple pieces of clothing a year. Recently I bought some piping when my kitchen pipes had rusted through. But as I wrote in I love where I live but it’s being destroyed, part 2: Online delivery, "Amazon: save pennies, ruin your community." Still, I'm like everyone. I balance values to make things work. That's how I can keep my garbage to one load since 2019. I can't afford to be extreme like most Americans, filling landfills, practicing imperialism and colonialism by dumping waste on others' land, effectively appropriating it. Case in point: my computer uses a track point: little joystick in the middle of the keyboard instead of…

In my clubbing days over a quarter-century ago, I used to have to work to meet people to get into cool clubs and VIP rooms. I went for the music and dancing, but New York City clubs are like status sorting machines. At first I didn't know many people, but over the years I met and befriended club owners, DJs, staff, and friends of all these people. They could bring me to VIP areas, behind the booth, and so on. Cash could get you past most velvet ropes and closed doors. I saw cash as a crass way to show status, or rather to fake it. When I showed my art at Crobar when it was the biggest club in the city, being a resident…

NHK is a public broadcaster in Japan. For a weekly segment NHK@nyc, they interviewed me, recorded me charging from solar in the park, at my home, volunteering, and more. Click here for the page. There's a video, pictures, and text. Most is in Japanese, but plenty of the video is in English and the web has plenty of translator tools. You get to see pictures and video of me picking up litter, chopping vegetables to ferment, charging in freezing weather, talking to the interviewer and more.

Living in Manhattan means people visit. Even with an apartment under five hundred square feet and only a thin, very firm futon, people sleep over. Nearby hotels cost a few hundred dollars a night. A friend who stayed with me in July, while walking around seeing the sights, texted me "Do you want a free bike?" The backstory: some neighbor was throwing away a bicycle with many broken parts so, I guess to feel better about themselves, put it on the street with a sign that said "Free." Or maybe hoping what ended up happening would happen. My friend brought it back to my place. I couldn't throw it away, but I didn't know what to do about it. Since I'm on the Bike New…