Culture

Ten generations of Shaws, from Thomas Alfred Shaw of Inverness, Scotland, to John Shaw Schaw in Down, Northern Ireland, to Osro "Rowe" Shaw in Fillmore, Minnesota, to South Dakota and me.

Art  & Lit

Lebanese designers have been creating the highest-end fashion through civil war, economic collapse, the 2020 port explosion, and now genocide. These designers pour their souls and identities into their creations; the proof is in the stitching.

Health

Have you heard that you need a "detox" or "cleanse"? Did it help? Did it cost a lot of green? I'm hoping you haven't been a victim of wellness industry rhetoric, but the possiblity is definitely there.

Politics

Americans' geographical distance is real, and so is our moral distance. The isolation and individualism we have created as the backbone of American identity are deeply ingrained in every political decision we make.

Culture

February 2007, Brittney Spears shaved her head. February 2026, I shaved my head. There was much more uproar about her new look. She got an unreasonable amount of hate, just as every other woman in the public eye who has chosen to shave her head. Why are we such haters of women's hair choices again?

Culture

I've stumbled onto a sixth century Irish abbess and herbal healer who shares my name, uses honey as medicine, and found her convent by following nine white deer. Oh and there's a sepia photograph of a deer that has been hanging on my wall for years.

Culture

"Bread and circuses" (panem et circenses) a.k.a. the ancient Roman m.o. of providing food and lavish entertainment to keep the poor from revolting. We have our met gala... but where's the food?? Oh. Right. McDonalds.

Health

Hmmm. This GLP-1 era is looking a little too similar to the 2016 Tumblr era. If you're feeling the need to show your clavicle and hollow cheeks like everyone on your screen, maybe read this first.

Art  & Lit

Are the pictures in this essay unlocking your subconscious mind? If not, maybe you should paint like the surrealists to unlock what's within!

Art  & Lit

Are you tired of the English invading Irish spaces? I'm sorry... I have one more example for you! But at least this one discusses an author who cared what it was actually like for the Irish all those years ago.

Politics

Physics is involved in every. single. thing. Which is why it’s the only science I liked in high school. It’s like math with a purpose. What else can it give a purpose to? Politics?

Musings

Some of my favorite thought journeys have occurred after a glass or two of champagne or light, bubbly wine. This time, I was lucky enough to be reading my palm to predict my life, and I think I'm psychic now.

Health

So I'm thinking fires burn ecosystems... rude. But if we let nature take its course, we see nothing but generative growth and resilience! Can this force of nature live within us as well? Within our immune systems?

Musings

I grew up in Catholic school, and it was a determining factor in who I am today and how I process the world around me. As my very dear, Catholic mother says, "It's Catholics like those that give the rest a bad rap."

Culture

Are you using social media or is it using you? Is the app the product... or are YOU the product? Are you creating the content with your thoughts? Or is the content you're consuming forming your thoughts? Uh oh.

Culture

As a fashion girly who loves shoes and clothes and all things expressive, even I can admit that there are many dark sides to the fashion industry. But this particular essay discusses a documentary. Fast fashion. And how we consume.

Art  & Lit

This essay covers the depiction of violence against minorities in media and whether or not it brings awareness or crosses the line into exploitation. Touchy subject, and maybe even more important to talk about because of that.