Now I know how Joan of Arc felt

I wrote an ode to The Smiths' Bigmouth Strikes Again ... from a mouse's perspective. Read it here.

This happened because I stumbled upon the Medium Writing Prompt, which is exactly what it sounds like: a weekly writing prompt for Medium users. And the prompt was I Fell in Love with a Song.

And I started thinking about how I've had wonderful, emotional, heartbreaking relationships with songs. And about how these songs inevitably leave me feeling small — either because they've unlocked a hiding place, or they've channeled a powerful, identifying feeling so acutely I feel powerless in its wake. 

And then I started thinking about the time in the fourth grade when I tried to prove that my cat was a Bush fan. And about animals and music. And then I started thinking about Bigmouth Strikes Again (because I love it) and feeling small again (because I sometimes do). And then I wrote this. I hope you like it.

For some reason this upload has become corrupted, I have re-uploaded the video, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTKum8mIvk Live performance of Big Mouth Strikes Again by The Smiths on The Old Grey Whistle Test BBC UK

Dear Bridal Magazines: A Breakup

Last week, I paused in the middle of cleaning my apartment to pick up a previously discarded bridal magazine and flip through it in search of collage materials. 

I thought about my changing relationship with the bridal magazines — which have appeared in my mailbox every month since my engagement two years ago — and realized that it resembled a romantic relationship gone sour. So I wrote a breakup letter.

I used Medium as my publishing tool, and submitted the essay to the Dear (Blank) collection, where it was accepted and published this week!

Although a bit self-indulgent, it was a really fun writing exercise that I'm happy to be able to share with so many people. I hope to do more of it!

Read the essay/letter here.

Funemployment

Fifteen things I did this week, in the spaces outside of my job search:

1. Helped out with layout at SF Public Press. Pick up the fall edition at your local SF bookstore and/or market!

2. Reacquainted myself with Trader Joe's.

3. Drank copious amounts of wine with a dear accomplice.

4. Ran from Duboce Park to Ocean Beach with my brother — who unlocked his first 10K!

5. Ate fried chicken sandwiches, drank beer, and went bowling with my brother, to undo any possible healthy progress we achieved from running 6.3 miles.

6. Watched the Giants in the World Series.

7. Made "WE NEED ALTERNATIVE MEDIA NOW" protest signs with SF Bay Guardian publisher Marke B. 

8. Waved my protest sign at a rally against the closure of the SF Bay Guardian alongside Assemblyperson Tom Ammiano, progressive politicos, SFBG staff and supporters.

From left: Nos. 1, 4 and 8. Protest photo by Erika Rae Langdon; others by yours truly

9. Applied for unemployment.

10. Made stuffed bell peppers.

11. Donated blood at Blood Centers of the Pacific. (PSA: Donating is quick, painless, and saves lives — it's an easy way to help patients with cancers and leukemia!)

12. Caught up on Serial, my new podcast addiction.

13. Created a wine collage and transferred my article on natural wines in Paris to Medium, since who knows how long the current SFBG website will be up. 

14. Became completely obsessed with Medium. (The platform, not the show — already obsessed with that.)

15. Put in 8 miles of therapeutic running/walking with editor/writer extraordinaire Cheryl Eddy.

No. 13 — check me out on Medium: https://medium.com/@brookeginnard

HIRE ME.

A Moveable Feast

For the SF Bay Guardian's Feast issue (on stands now), I wrote a story about my husband's and my spontaneous trip to Paris, and our discovery of natural wines while there.

UPDATE: Read it on Medium here, or at www.sfbg.com here.

Monkfish at L'Agapé: course 4 of 7

Pumping iron + smoking weed

Things I learned on the photo shoot for the SF Bay Guardian's Pot Olympics cover: 

1. The secret to staying young is exercising every day (especially skiing in the winter and hiking and/or playing volleyball in the summer) and smoking weed.

2. With the right equipment, my apartment (specifically the central space connecting my kitchen, living room and bedroom) can be transformed into a photo studio.

3. If you put your energy into doing the things that you love, everything will be OK.

4. Everyone has a cannabis card.

5. My neighbors do not care if the hallway smells like weed for an entire day.

6. Michael Keeney is a fantastic photographer. (But I already knew that.) 

7. Medium is a hell of a show.

Guardian photo of Brad Olsen by Michael Keeney

Read the story here; flip through the full issue here.