Published inArtisanal Article Machine·PinnedMember-onlyDancing Our Way Through Life While Death Whispers in Our EarsOn knowing our fate and living it up anyway — It’s funny how death dances beside us from our first breath until our last gasp. When I think about death, it’s not symbolic deaths and renewals that grip my spirit, though they are plentiful. The death of my parents’ marriage. The death of my maiden name. The death of myself…Death6 min readDeath6 min read
Published inFanfare·PinnedMember-onlyThe 5 Best TV Series When You’re in the Mood for DeathIntriguing, macabre, haunting, warped, and funny binge-worthy ‘death’ TV — Do you find yourself fascinated by the possibilities of what happens after death? Many of us do. We can let our imaginations run wild, but the truth is none of us know for sure until we’re actually dead. The following series produced captivating tales about death. There are way more…Culture7 min readCulture7 min read
Published inCurious·PinnedMember-onlyHow I Found Myself Coming of Age in the Silence of WaterOf public pools and adolescence — Maybe sometimes I went swimming with a friend, but I most remember going alone — the delicious solace of being alone in a group of strangers. I am an only child and often went solo to the pool. …Self4 min readSelf4 min read
Published inMuddyUm·PinnedMember-onlyI Don’t Have a Niche — I Have a Saucy, Multi-Layered NichewichWith all the fixin’s — I am not a plain sandwich. Do not call me Peanut Butter and Jelly on White Bread. Nope. I’m a Saucy, Multi-Layered Sandwich With a Side of Sweet Potato Fries and Special Sauce kind of gal. Don’t Niche with this B*itch! Viral writers often instruct, “Niche down! Or else…You won’t…Humor3 min readHumor3 min read
Published inAge of Empathy·Sep 6Member-onlyWhen Summer Is A Fading DreamSweating summer revelations — August/September 2023 In the deep, blustery pit of winter and ice cream headaches brought on by the season’s vicious and biting wind, we dream of warmer days ahead. As the sun’s heat pulses against my neck and I shield my eyes from the blazingest star, I recall my Pinterest board curated with…Nonfiction6 min readNonfiction6 min read
Published inThe Memoirist·Aug 16Member-onlyDirty Laundry — A Memoir UnfoldsMemoirs have been begging to leave my bones for decades. In the summer of 2021, after conversations with my loved ones, after I’d let the oldest memories begin to simmer and stew and bubble up, I began reading memoir again. And, on a summer day, in 2021, I continued my…Memoir5 min readMemoir5 min read
Published inFanfare·Jul 24Member-onlyThe Biggest Arcade in The World Scores The Biggest Zoltar MachineThis summer commemorates the 35th anniversary of the movie Big — What if when you were 12 you made a wish to be all grown up and it actually happened? That’s the premise of the hilarious 1988 film Big directed by Penny Marshall and starring Tom Hanks acting as a 12 year old in a 30 year old man’s body. If…Pop Culture3 min readPop Culture3 min read
Published inAimee’s Writing Shenanigans·Jul 22Member-onlyCreativity in The Time of Artistic AnxietyOn time travel books and stories + nature love — Greetings Creativity Fiends, Thank you for allowing me to grow and explore how I’ll utilize Substack with you — you are the reason I’m here. Artists and creatives often feel weird, different, outcasts. Most of us eventually embrace our otherness as a positive trait. I’d say a lot of us…Art4 min readArt4 min read
Published inScuzzbucket·Jul 21Member-onlyChaos in the Time of Artificial Intelligence: A PoemA Commentary On Modern Times — dripping sweat, mascara-stained faces under axed ghost limbs protestors melting in sweltering Cali sun. The laborers denied water breaks. The sun high and the heat mailbox-bread-baking-in-under-an-hour hot. summer in Texas hot. Sizzle drop splat an egg on the sidewalk AI please stand up; will the real AI please stand up? …Poetry2 min readPoetry2 min read
Published inScuzzbucket·Jun 26Member-onlyThe 21st Century Dystopia Was StealthA blurred reality in fiction — The Rich and The Lowers were beginning to wonder if they were real. Real meant biological to them. There was no way to be sure. The windstorms became more frequent, ripping swaths of neighborhoods to pieces, shredding mature trees, and creating chaos with downed cell towers and stoplights no longer…Fiction3 min readFiction3 min read