So guys. Recession: 2008-present. We still in it, and it don’t look like it goin’ nowhere. It stickin’ around for a wee little while longah. And how many of us have wished, at least once, perhaps occasionally, perhaps on a semi-daily basis, that it were over with? That we could return to the days when…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Amira K.
Writer, explorer, and keeper of Alder the dog.
Oregon on B&W
This last month in Oregon has been pretty revolutionary for me. For a number of reasons, not least of all my dramatically changing life plans due to my inability to find a job. Curse you, shitty job market! Curse you, unemployment rate! But “revolution” is a word that implies both upheavals and excitement, and Oregon…
Read MoreMake Way, Joseph Heller, for Dostoyevsky
“THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV is a joyful book,” begins the introduction to the Pevear and Volokhonsky 1990 translation. These were the first words within the hard copy that I read when setting out on this adventure, and given what I knew about its subject matter, this seemed a strange and perplexing statement. How could a book…
Read MoreBook Review: Slant of Light by Steve Wiegenstein
Blank Slate Press, a young, indie publishing company in St. Louis, Missouri, is putting out a new historical fiction book this spring called Slant of Light. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of the book, because I’m also lucky enough to be able to call the founder of Blank Slate Press “Mom”. So…
Read MoreThe Political Language of War
This morning, I got an email from CREDO Action, a liberal, grassroots activism website that keeps me up to date on political campaigns, circulating petitions, and key Democratic issues. The subject of the email was: “Take Down these six Tea Partiers”. The message continued: “Even in the most extreme Congress in history, these six stand…
Read MoreDigital Photography & Environmental Preservation
Hey world! I recently watched two videos featuring some incredible time-lapse photography out in the wild of the Pacific Coast. The first, entitled “The Majesty of Oregon” instilled in me a tremendous desire to go look at all of the places featured in the video, especially since I was living in Oregon at the time.…
Read MoreA Walk In The Wood on Christmas Day
My family decided to do a theme of “Zen” this year for the Christmas spirit, meaning we all had to buy or make gifts for each other that encouraged, for either the gift giver or the gift receiver, a state of peace, calm, and contentment. In that spirit, I cannot think of a better way…
Read MoreLetter to Barack Obama re: NDAA
Dear Mr. President, I urge you to veto the National Defense Authorization Act. A veto is the only way to prevent this dangerous and unlawful bill from destroying the personal liberties we hold dear and have fought so hard to maintain. This bill is a direct contradiction of the 5th (“no person shall…be deprived of…
Read MoreAllergies, locavores, honey, oh my!
Whoa, Nelly! I may have just made an extraordinary, completely unscientific but completely logical discovery, and it pertains to the fact that for the past twelve-thirteen years or so, I have suffered from that dreaded vicious disease known as hay fever, or more scientifically, seasonal allergies. I suffered particularly bad allergies in St. Louis, where I spent…
Read MoreThings I Learned While In Oregon
1) Oregon is the best-kept secret in the United States. 2) “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes!” is a saying commonly attributed to the following states: Oregon, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Washington, Idaho, Montana, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin,…
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The Z-Axis 