I have problems with praise. I was thinking about this earlier this morning when a little automated internet robot informed me, with the cheery efficiency such things exhibit, that someone had left an anonymous morsel of praise on an equally anonymous piece of (whisper it!) fanfic I posted under a pseudonym some while ago, and [...]
Somehow, no matter what you do and no matter how hard you try, there is never a shortage of challenging people and situations in life. The following are five thoughts and phrases that I’ve lately been finding particularly useful in coping with life’s regrettably reliable supply of character-building exercises. Most people, most of the time, [...]
High summer is not my best season. I am a cool-weather sort of girl. The impulse to aestivate is almost unbearably strong. Got way too much to do for that, though. I’m gonna be ducking out for a long weekend so I can do some of it, but will be back on Tuesday.
This is Jan Speert’s book Iconographica Gyniatrica. This is the BeloveDad. As part of my research for a new book proposal, I’ve been reviewing the Speert volume, taking a few notes, renewing my acquaintance with some of the art and imagery of the history of gynecology. I was doing some of this whilst sitting [...]
Many of you already know that I used to be a professional classical singer. I started working as a musician when I was about 7. I retired, for various reasons not requiring rehearsal here, at 30. For those of you who care, I was a mezzo-soprano and yes, I was good enough to have gone [...]
I’ve been feeling a deep, restless need to do something DIY, with short deadlines, outstanding lipstick, and a devil-may-care smile. So I’m going to. Join me. Inappropriate Crush is a limited-edition artisanally-crafted collection of 10 pieces of exclusive organic shade-grown fair trade sometimes filthy prose (plus at least one recipe) by Hanne Blank. This collection [...]
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just signed a contract to write a followup title for Ten Speed Press / Celestial Arts that will do for movement and physical fitness what my Big Big Love does for sex. The working title is Get Out Of My Way: The Unapologetic Fat Girl Guide to Exercise and [...]
Perhaps the most immediately useful thing I ever learned about household cleaning is that messes are of two basic types. One is the kind you can reasonably let sit until a convenient time. The other is the kind you really do need to clean up now. This is not about decor, or even about organization. [...]
Perhaps it’s because I am an English teacher’s daughter, but I have a devil of a time with copyedits. The professional me understands that copyedits are actually a good thing, and that copyeditors have a vested interest in making me look smarter and better as a writer. Yet there is a part of me that [...]
In what has been a veritable orgy of technologization, I have recently acquired not only a smart phone but also a hand-me-down iPad. I’m still unconvinced that anyone really needs a smartphone, both because and although it is diverting to be able to post to Twitter from sundry locales. I’m even less convinced that anyone [...]