SALVO

Well, so there have been rumblings and grumblings and artillery fire in the distance, and I have insisted on being very ostrich-head-in-the-sand-y about things here at Heartichoke Headquarters, but the first department meeting of the fall semester always, to my mind, constitutes the official opening salvo of the academic calendar. I feel like I’m still, [...]

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GEE, YOUR HAIR SMELLS TERRIFIC

Balsam, Wella and Alberto. Breck. Body on Tap (but don’t drink it). Breck. Silkience. Agree? Twice as Nice. Agree? Tame Dorothy Hamill’s Short & Sassy wedge. Victoria Principal for Jhirmack. LemonUp. Juicy Green Apple. Breck. Breck Girl, Twice as Nice. Breck Girl, Body onTap. Silkience Milk Plus 6 with Wheat Germ Oil and Honey Twice [...]

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CONVERSATIONS WITH MY JAPANESE MOTHER: CHICKENS AND MAGGOTS EDITION

AH: I got a new kitten. JM: You got a what? AH: A kitten. JM: A chicken? AH: A kitten. JM: Oh . . . a chicken. AH: Okay. Sure. A chicken. JM: How many chicken you have now? AH: Four. JM: What? You got four chicken? You must be crazy! AH: I got a [...]

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EGGLESTON’S COMPASSIONATE CAMERA

There was a gift of an entire idyllic day at the Chicago Art Institute earlier this summer, many hours of which were spent circling around and around the William Eggleston: Democratic Camera exhibit. I couldn’t stop looking. The dye-transfer coloring is visually beautiful, of course — something about the heated intensity of the color giving [...]

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CONVERSATIONS WITH MY JAPANESE MOTHER: DEAD MEAT EDITION

JM: Oh, you call! I surprise you call. We don’t hear from you for such long time, I don’t know what happen to you! We worry to death! And so I checking, checking all the time weather report where you are, and they say it raining there, and I think uh oh! Maybe you such [...]

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