There's a story I sometimes tell about myself (or tell on myself, perhaps). I minored in art as an undergraduate. The long studio hours tried my patience, but I craved the repetitive tactile sensations of building or painting. In my first sculpture class, the instructor provided basic safety instructions for all the tools and machines… Continue reading Failure Landscape
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Reading Roundup: September 2019
Exhalation by Ted Chiang. The short stories in this book are fascinated with how technology affects the human condition--but technology is very broadly defined, from sci-fi innovations (such as a device that records your memories as video) to the ancient technology of writing. I was delighted with the opening story, which--like my favorites in the… Continue reading Reading Roundup: September 2019
Reading Roundup: August 2019
Except for the first weekend in August, when I needed a gently used paperback to take to the beach, I pulled all of this month's reading from the stacks in my university's library. I've started a couple of books on my phone--The Poppy War, and Tor's free ebook of the month, The Necessary Beggar--but I've… Continue reading Reading Roundup: August 2019
The artichoke
Have you ever cooked an artichoke? They are a pain in the ass to prepare. If you want to steam a whole fresh artichoke, you first have to snip the spiny tips of every outer leaf so that they don't draw blood. You have to cut off the stem so that the vegetable sits upright… Continue reading The artichoke
Reading Roundup: July 2019
It was an absolutely blazing July, with temperatures approaching 100 in Philly, so how about some HOT TAKES? Hot in terms of opinionatedness, not in terms of timing--July's Literary Hot Takes twitter thread has cooled down by now. I never like to participate in those, though, because as strong as my opinions are, there's always… Continue reading Reading Roundup: July 2019
The Return of Gaming Summer
Last summer was a social, exploratory Summer of Gaming. Last year I finally gave myself the gift of an up-to-date console, pre-packed with half a dozen games I'd already reserved for free. Game-playing became a delightfully communal experience: I scheduled low-key hangouts with other gaming friends to try out new-to-me games (like Oxenfree, which thrilled… Continue reading The Return of Gaming Summer
Sara Davis 