Have the bees been excessively bothersome to anyone else this year or is it my sweet skin that draws them in?
#TongueInAssCheek
18
September
2025
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September
2025
18
September
2025
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September
2025
Dazzler of the Day: Jack Grealish
Christened by Gucci as one of the most stylish footballers, Jack Grealish earns his first Dazzler of the Day honor thanks to his style and panache on and off the field. Our road to the World Cup continues following Richarlison with someone just as enthralling. All work and no play makes Jack a dull, dull boy, and this Jack proves that with some wild party stories trailing in his wake.
18
September
2025
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September
2025
Beautiful Albany
Albany reveals its realms of beauty when you take the time to find them. Yesterday’s lunch break found me tracking up the hill near my office and finding this old fountain planted with lush tropicals. I remember when its water stopped running several years ago, which was sad to see, but at least they’ve come up with an equally-beautiful display in its stead.
My lunchtime walks in downtown Albany have been especially lovely of late, thanks to some beautiful September weather. This is where I started my state career over twenty-four years ago, just a few streets down from my current office building. Some things do come full circle. (Now I’m in that pretty building with the dome seen below.)
17
September
2025
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September
2025
Sage Won’t Save The World Now
Andy and I are fans of the practice of smudging, but when I saw this meme online the other day I smiled because the current state of the world is going to take more than a collective smudging to set right. I’m not sure it can be set right at this point, something I predicted years ago, and selfishly I’m grateful that we don’t have any children of our own to leave behind in such a place.
Still, we will try to make things better, and we will start the fall season with a sage smudge in a few days.
17
September
2025
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September
2025
Dazzler of the Day: Lauv
It seems to be a week for one-named wonders, as this Dazzler of the Day is singer and song-writer Lauv. I heard his song ‘Love U Like That’ at some clothing store in Newton Plaza, and it felt like a good summer-ending vibe. It’s rare for me to jot down lyrics so I don’t forget what to look for (and I don’t have the handy app that hears two beats of a song and instantly identifies it) but I managed to do so and that’s how I came upon Lauv. Check out that song below and the rest of his magnificence at his website here.
17
September
2025
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September
2025
Sweet Autumn Harbinger
For well over a decade, a sweet Autumn clematis formed the green archway that framed the entrance to our side yard. It grew twenty to thirty feet each year, and was a reliable foundation element. One year it simply gave up, inexplicably deciding not to return after a winter. Happily, around that same time, the slower-growing climbing hydrangea had taken over the other side of the archway, and now it more than covers the area. It is right below our attic window, making for a happy view especially when spring is in the air.
Before the clematis departed, however, it seeded several other areas with its progeny, which have been slowly creeping in accordance with its accompanying adage: the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps. One of them must be in its third year, as I found this bunch of blooms in the pine boughs of the side yard, sweetly scenting the warm air of the sunny, almost-autumn day.
16
September
2025
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September
2025
Mindfulness Over Matter
The objects were made of stone, heavy and substantial and seemingly immovable.
Yet when I closed my eyes, and breathed in deeply, I could immediately move them in my mind.
Was this some sort of Jedi trick that only a few select lucky individuals could master? Not at all – it was simple mindfulness. With some practice, and a proper shift of perspective, anyone can defy the laws of physics and the limits of this physical realm. I’ve only just begun my mindfulness journey, and at six years into the practice I feel like I might know even less than when I began. Some would say that means it’s working.
As an over-thinker, my mind was accustomed to burdening itself with over-analysis and runaway thoughts. When I began meditating, it became necessary to face those thoughts and acknowledge their presence in order to let them go. That was easier when I worked myself into a state of mindfulness – when the focus is on the present moment and what precisely is going on at a very basic level.
The cadence of my breathing – slow and deep or quick and shallow.
The sensations of my skin – cool with goosebumps or warm from the day’s sun.
The light of the room – filled with sunlight of morning and mid-day or dim with the descent of evening.
The scent of the air – a savory wafting of home-cooked dinner on the way or the sweet lingering tickle of a soapy shower.
The observations can change by the minute – they are but a few among a vast multitude, varying and infinite as the boundless world. The purpose is to notice them, to be aware of them, to let them occupy your mind and push the more bothersome and harmful thoughts away for a while. Only when my mind is calm and uncluttered can I make some bit sense of everything.
That’s the start of mindfulness – noticing and observing the here and now.
16
September
2025
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September
2025
Dazzler of the Day: Richarlison
Very few people are so uniquely talented and celebrated to be known by a single name, but Richarlison enters the vaunted realm of Madonna and Cher thanks to his impressive plays on the soccer field, and an even more impressive embrace of therapy and publicly addressing depression and mental illness. Taken together, Richarlison earns his first Dazzler of the Day honor as we begin our road to World Cup glory.
16
September
2025
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September
2025
A Summer Wind Weekend
Suzie and I celebrated my 50th birthday in Boston this past weekend – the last of my half-century celebrations – and it was the sort of charming and enchanting weekend at the end of summer that only Suzie could pull off. It began with an afternoon entry into the city, whereupon we procured provisions for dinner from Eataly and Trader Joe’s. As has been my wont these last few years, an opening charcuterie dinner at the condo is the easiest and most economical ways of starting things off for a Boston weekend. When the weather cooperates, and the breeze is divine, we open up the windows and listen to the fountain of Braddock Park send soothing sounds of water, accenting the dreamy soundtrack of a summer’s afternoon.
The summer wind came blowin’ in from across the sea
It lingered there to touch your hair and walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song
And then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts and the summer wind
Boston was still very much in bloom – the roses giving an impressive second showing after their first flush of color in June – and the skies would remain blue through Sunday. We assembled a dinner platter, dined looking out over the street, then took an evening stroll to a matcha ice cream place that Skip and I had tried a while back. We chose the matcha and ube twist, and I took mine in an ube cone.
We took our time walking back and making the most of a beautiful night at summer’s lush end. Suzie is a game walking partner, and if the weather is decent I’d always rather walk than take the T, even if the journey would constitute several stops. Summer nights will be done within the week – make the most of them while they’re here.
The next morning, we traveled to Beacon Hill for brunch at The Paramount. It was my very first time at that institution, as I’m usually not out early enough to get there before the line begins. We timed it perfectly, snagging a table just as the rush began in earnest. After that, our main purpose was to peruse the Beacon Hill Book & Cafe, another popular stop I’d never bothered to visit, and one which I’ll definitely be visiting again.
The definition of charming, it was made for the small of stature and the whimsical of mind, and the magical environs reminded us that there was still enchantment in this world. I was introduced to the story of Paige the Squirrel, and her friends proved a happy motif for books and decor and all flights of fancy. It segued nicely into our walk back through the Boston Public Garden.
Like painted kites
Those days and nights they went flyin’ by
The world was new beneath a blue umbrella sky
Then softer than a piper man
One day it called to you
I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind
Beacon Hill has always been one of those sections that I don’t often frequent – in part because I don’t want to exhaust or run through it so much that it becomes commonplace. For now, it holds a special allure because I save it for a treat – a holiday stroll or a singular summer visit – but if I spend more time in Boston (and the light of retirement’s door has finally begun to glow in the grand distance) I’d like to make this area a regular part of my daily habits.
We would return for a birthday dinner at 1928 – another Beacon Hill first for me – and the meal and atmosphere matched the winsome weekend vibes. Spending time in my favorite city with one of my favorite people is one of my favorite birthday gifts this year – and the very best way to close out a summer season.
After a meandering search for a post-dinner sweet treat, we took the long way home along the Charles River, which held its own bewitching allure. That day we walked over 11 miles, according to Suzie’s fit-bit calculations, and the happy exhaustion indicated a day well spent.
A quick breakfast at Charlie’s finished our time in Boston, and it was so lovely we ate outside, where the bees barely bothered us. I didn’t want to leave, but this kind of perfect weekend wouldn’t be perfect if it lasted too long – and summer is the same way.
The autumn wind and the winter winds
They have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days, they go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies
Through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind
15
September
2025
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September
2025
A Blasphemous Statement, Perhaps
I have always hated Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, even as a kid.
Oh, I ate it, the way kids will eat the crappiest things, but I never really liked it.
Give me Patti LaBelle’s Over the Rainbow recipe any day.
This seems to be a controversial statement.
I stand by it.
15
September
2025
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September
2025
A Recap Starting the Final Week of Summer
The world feels very heavy right now.
For a pessimist like myself, I’m never surprised by the awfulness of humanity.
More surprising are the glimmers of hope and help that we sometimes offer one another.
With that, a weekly blog recap to begin the final week of summer.
When the pots get going, and the going gets good.
“Buy the outfit, the occasion will find you.” You don’t need to tell me once.
The willpower to exist outside the realm of opulence.
What does it say when one’s phone changes ‘tears’ into ‘twats’?
Dad’s 95th birthday, in absentia.
The day this site always goes dark.
Learning a little from my nephew.
Hanging onto this sliver of summer that is left.
A diva approaches a final destination.
Dazzlers of the Day included Zarna Garg and Corey O’Brien.
14
September
2025
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September
2025
#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series
At last he realized that his entire life could be summed up as the quest to normalize the word ‘no’ as a possibility, a sentence, and an answer to life’s most confoundingly annoying problems.
14
September
2025
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September
2025
Happy Ending?
Reddish hellfire burns in the distance.
Firelight conquers darkness, but darkness never stops encroaching.
Aflame and alive, we dance our pagan dance, lighting our souls in the night.
We want for a neat and happy ending, we yearn for grace and resolution.
In the end – in our ending – it is, it will be, it was – the way before, the way after – a seed of a beginning.
This is the way you left me, I’m not pretending
No hope, no love, no glory, no happy ending
This is the way that we love, like it’s forever
Then live the rest of our life, but not together
Wake up in the mornin’, stumble on my life
Can’t get no love without sacrifice
If anything should happen, I’d guess I wish you well
Mmh, a little bit of Heaven, but a little bit of Hell
This is the hardest story that I’ve ever told
No hope, or love, or glory, happy ending’s gone forevermore
~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~
- Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
- Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
- A Purple-Hued Interlude
- Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- A Blue-Hued Interlude
- Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
- Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Milky Interlude
- Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
- A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Black & White in Briefs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Weave of Basket, Weave of Rope: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Chains of Gray to Color: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Black Jockstrap: Back Entry: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Super Fairy Interlude: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- American Psychology: Part One and Part Two.
- Jocks & Frocks: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Wigging Out Interlude
- Shedding Selves & Beating Oneself Up: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Pretty, Oh So Pretty: Part One and Part Two.
- Amber Vanity: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Bowler Hat Masked Mayhem: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Candy Everybody Wants: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Razzling, Dazzling, Running Mascara: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- All Is Skull Fucked Vanity: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
14
September
2025
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September
2025
A Last Party
At first I didn’t like that this entry was lining up to be posted on a Sunday morning – it’s such a moody and dim section of The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale – but now it feels right to be here, especially with the accompanying song. Sunday mornings are for contemplation and pause, for seeking something deeper than what appears on the surface. They’re also the time that typically follows a party, and there was always such a forlorn beauty in the day after…
There’s a party going on in here
It’s been happenin’ for many years
You weren’t invited and don’t want to stay
But keep partying anyway
DJ’s playin’ my familiar tune
Got them dancin’, shakin’ up the room
They hear the beat, but they don’t know the words
This is the saddest song I’ve ever heard
If you could look into the future, would ya?
If you could see it, would you even want to?
I’ve got a feeling that there’s bad news coming
But I don’t want to find it out
If it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Like it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Wrap your arms around, everybody
If we’re all gonna die, let’s party
Let’s party, let’s party
Who can I blame with everythin’ I’ve done?
Is this the price we pay for too much fun?
Don’t be misled; it’s not a twist of fate
It’s just what happens when you stay out late
So raise your glasses, all my kings and queens
Smash the chandelier to smithereens
Who knew that mercury could rise so fast?
Enjoy the party ’cause this is our last
If it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Like it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Wrap your arms around, everybody
If we’re all gonna die, let’s party
If it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Like it’s the end of the world, let’s party
Wrap your arms around, everybody
If we’re all gonna die, let’s party
There’s a party goin’ on in here
It’s been happenin’ for many years
And even if it all goes bad
It was the best time we ever had
~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~
- Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
- Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
- A Purple-Hued Interlude
- Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- A Blue-Hued Interlude
- Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
- Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Milky Interlude
- Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
- A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Black & White in Briefs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Weave of Basket, Weave of Rope: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Chains of Gray to Color: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Black Jockstrap: Back Entry: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Super Fairy Interlude: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- American Psychology: Part One and Part Two.
- Jocks & Frocks: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Wigging Out Interlude
- Shedding Selves & Beating Oneself Up: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Pretty, Oh So Pretty: Part One and Part Two.
- Amber Vanity: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Bowler Hat Masked Mayhem: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Candy Everybody Wants: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Razzling, Dazzling, Running Mascara: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- All Is Skull Fucked Vanity: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
13
September
2025
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September
2025
A Diva Approaches A Final Destination
Who is she?
Blonde goddess, lollipop-licking, candy perfumed, sunglass-shielding diva of divine status: who are you?
Who are we?
A million different people from one day to the next, and none of them very real, none of them very likable, none of them very authentic or genuine.
A diva’s greatest lament is in not truly knowing who she is, because a diva should always know who she is.
That’s the essence of a diva: the certainty and belief in their own self.
If that self is mutable and changeable, if that self can transform and transition, if change and transformation are the essence of this diva, does that make them any less?
One day the diva decides to take it off – the masks, the costumes, the make-up, and the sparkle – to see who might be underneath it all. The diva knows this is dangerous; there is always the risk of revealing too much, and by too much she knows this means there might be too little there to constitute anything of matter or meaning. What if it really was just a bunch of poses?
Sequins and beads turn light into daggers, and a noose of feathers coaxes itself around the unsuspecting neck. The diva will bleed for you.
Until there is nothing left.
~ The Divine Diva Tour: A Fairy’s Tale ~
- Pink Frilly Fairy: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three
- Homage to Herb: Part One, Part Two and Part Three
- A Purple-Hued Interlude
- Style & Panache: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Purple Puff Confection: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- A Blue-Hued Interlude
- Fuchsia Fabulousness: Part One. Part Two and Part Three.
- Bad Boy Bangs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Vanity Under Where: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Sugar Plum Ballerina: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Pool Frolic: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Cemetery Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Powder Blue Fur Doll: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Milky Interlude
- Rock Out, Cock Out/ Hang Out, Wang Out: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Cocktail Cocktale: Part One and Part Two.
- A Fairy’s Interlude: Part One and Part Two.
- Willy Wonkers: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- A Peacock In Everything But Beauty: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
- Swan Lake Fantasia: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Black & White in Briefs: Part One, Part Two. and Part Three.
- Weave of Basket, Weave of Rope: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Chains of Gray to Color: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Black Jockstrap: Back Entry: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Super Fairy Interlude: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- American Psychology: Part One and Part Two.
- Jocks & Frocks: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.
- Wigging Out Interlude
- Shedding Selves & Beating Oneself Up: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Pretty, Oh So Pretty: Part One and Part Two.
- Amber Vanity: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
- Bowler Hat Masked Mayhem: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- Candy Everybody Wants: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
- Razzling, Dazzling, Running Mascara: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
- All Is Skull Fucked Vanity: Part One and Part Two.
