Wonderful Being

Here's the opening chapter from "The Three Fleas," the novel I started writing last year as part of National Novel Writing Month. We meet Andreas Kaladro - sailor, navigator, and bounty hunter - who arrives at The Three Fleas tavern in search of Aurelia Gonzaga, the notorious proprietress of the establishment. But the tavern is full of surprises, as he finds out to his dismay...

For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

I participated in National Novel Writing Month last year. I made it to 50,000 words, but the novel isn't finished. Here's a word about my plans for participating this year. Have YOU ever done NaNoWriMo? What was your experience like? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

While watching a lot of streaming solo theater during the pandemic, I noticed that I have intense reactions to certain shows. I thought this might be a result of online viewing, but then I remembered that reactions like this started for me in high school with "Oedipus Rex." If you're too emotional to attend a talkback, how do YOU handle a strong reaction to a show? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

Today I ran across the weirdest thing I have ever seen...ASMR videos on YouTube. My faith in humanity has evaporated completely. Can someone please explain to me why people like to watch/listen to this?!?!?

I've spent the past few videos ranting about the aspects of 12 Step Programs that I don't care for. Here are some of the things that have kept me coming back for the past 10 years...especially as a neurodivergent person. What aspects of the program work for YOU? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

The word "ego" has a very negative connotation in our society, and it might as well be a swear word in the Twelve Step rooms. However, I haven't found obliteration of the self to be helpful to me in my own recovery journey. What does YOUR relationship with ego (or self) look like? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

I have always struggled with the insistence in 12 Step Programs that "God's will" is good and "self-will" is bad. At the same time, I'm grateful for having learned to surrender the things I can't control. How do YOU decide whether to push through a challenge or let it go? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

I'm working on a new show that will premiere in January as part of the virtual arm of the Tucson Fringe Festival. It's all about a struggling mid-thirties woman who is seduced into an Internet self-help program by an unscrupulous female empowerment guru. What's YOUR experience with these types of self-help programs? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

I've been attending 12 step groups for codependency issues for the last ten years. After looking at my own experiences with the program and reading three books written by women in the program, I have some questions about whether or not it actually works. What's YOUR experience with 12 step or any other form of support group (provided you're comfortable sharing, of course)? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here. 

I've been publicly sharing my art - in a gallery exhibit at work and on Instagram - even though I am not a trained artist. This is both frightening and liberating. I discuss why it's much harder to share my music with the same abandon. Have YOU ever tried creating in an art form in which you weren't trained? What was the experience like for you? For a transcript, click here. For video, click here.