My life has changed dramatically this year, mostly in this way:
These days, most of my writing is done with a cat on my lap. In this photo, Fluffy, a.k.a. Fluff Daddy, The Fluffer Nutter Sandwich, Fluffaroo Banzai (a different name every day is the burden and blessing of a writer's cat...), has just helped me write a new chapter of The Winning Family. For the first time in 15 years, a new edition is coming out in Spring! Read all about Mr. Fluffy!
Online screenings of The Dirndl Diaspora 10/1 through 11/16
Come to the Zoom screening of my Oktoberfest play, The Dirndl Diaspora, on October 16th, or stream it anytime between October 1st and November 16th.
Please help me get the word out about this show! People who like German culture and kitsch, costuming and couture, and hilarious stories about healing generational trauma.
YES there will be a $100 #dirndldiversity prize again this year! Sewers, get inspired!
"Holed Up" In the Park
This year I have the honor of being the first California Writers Club Writer in Residence atJoaquin Miller Park, my favorite place! I'll be working at the park one day a week, and throwing some events. Please subscribe to my weekly blog, Walkin’ with Joaquin if you'd like to follow my musings, meditations, and monkey business.
My first event is “A Blanket and a Basket of Chow” onOctober 9th. Come for the picnic, stay to learn about the writers who created this amazing city park! Featuring Oakland’s first poet laureate, Ayodele “Wordslanger” Nzinga.
My special project this year will be the Joaquin Miller Nature, Art & Song Project! I'll be hosting groups of kids & their grownups to come up for a hike, learn my song, and draw pictures. Oakland, we're going to make a book together! Learn more here!
I'm starting my next season of weekly dance fitness classes on Zoom + occasional dance adventures IRL. My motto is "sweat yourself silly" and we live up to it! The time flies by and you hardly notice you've gotten a full dose of "Vitamin X!"
If you want to join us, reply to this email for info!
More Trees, Less Meat
I've been musing on trees & meat a lot lately thanks to twobooks I highly reccomend & an inspiring friend.
More trees! When I did the calculator at 8 Billion Trees I realized I need to be planting a tree a day for the rest of my life. Join me? It's not that expensive, around a dollar per tree with mass-planting organizations. You can help plant trees in Alameda county with a donation to my friend's startup, 100K Trees for Humanity. And I always keep the Ecosia link in the bottom for you to try out.
Less meat! We've been doing Meatless Mondays for years. Now we're switching our thinking to Feedlot Fridays! Beef one a week at most. There are so many other delicious things! My son Donald (you know, the car guy) and I figured out 1 hamburger = 1 hour of gas driving = 6 lbs carbon. It's our most expensive menu item, environmentally speaking. (Have you seen my Planet of Slow Learners cartoons?) (Have you checked out my Fiberlicious! class?)
Please Please Please
Please, my friends, get vaccinated if you haven't already! My girlfriend's colleague went to a Bat Mitzvah where everyone was vaccinated except one 9-year-old. Everyone there got sick with the Delta version!!!! But...no one died! Meanwhile I am so sad to see all these anti-vaxxers dying or losing loved ones. Even though vaccinations aren't perfect, they're better than the disease and they work to eradicate killers. It's working but we need everyone's help. If you are having trouble getting one, please REPLY and I'll help you get hooked up.
Thanks for staying in touch! I'd love to hear what's up with you, too.
