I’ve recently had a wild desire to do artsy things.  Van Gough things … although I’d keep my ears on the sides of my head.  I found myself in the art store yesterday, pricing canvases, paints, brushes.  An easel.  A palate with a thumb hole and plenty of room for wonderful dollops of paint.  I [...]

Day one: I wake with a niggling little sore throat.  By noon, tonsils have swollen to the size of Rhode Island.  By dinner, I’m thinking this might help me get out of doing dishes.
Day two: The colony has established itself overnight, staking out territories from the Upper Nasals to the Dorsal Islands.  First tiny cough [...]

This totally makes up for all those nights I sat with my father at the dining table crying, “But I don’t get it.” I still don’t understand math and, at this point, I probably never will. But this beautiful video makes the subject seem so very elegant and important.
It makes me want to [...]

Unfortunately, I can’t upload an amazing audio slide show I found, but please go here to hear today’s poet: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/03/21/nyregion/21poet-ss/index.html
Every day after she puts her 7-month old baby to bed, Tina Chang, Brooklyn’s new Poet Laureate, opens the window of her home office so she can hear the sounds of the city, the voices, [...]

Yes, here we are:  Catless in Phoenix.
I feel strange.
Before I say anything further, I want to say this … responsible pet ownership is, well, responsible.  And grown-up.  And mature.  And it should be carefully considered before assuming any care for an animal … or even a snake or a gerbil or one of those lizardy [...]

If Laverne the Cat were a bird …

Ah, Laverne the Cat … you little minx, you small screaming thing, you …. you ….
To continue with the story of what we are now calling the Year of the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Cat, perhaps I should provide a recap:
About a year ago, because of the [...]

Laverne the Cat, caught like a criminal in the act

Yes, of course … the moment I talk with a lovely woman about how Laverne the Cat won’t come downstairs because there are YUCKY dogs who live downstairs … and the moment the woman says she would LOVE to meet Laverne the Cat … and the [...]

I’m often asked how I chose the name, Dancing Birds, for my blog. My standard answer has always been because I recognize that we’re all like little birds, dancing through our days, and hopefully doing so with a song on our lips and life in our hearts.
That’s the short version.
The longer version would include [...]

Hindu devotees played with color yesterday during celebrations of Holi, the festival of colors, in the streets near the Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, India. The festival is meant to welcome spring and win the blessings of gods for good harvests and fertility of the land.
The tradition of playing with colors on Holi draws its [...]