the one with Marisa Tomei and GMOs

Here's a link to "Marisa Tomei Was Pissed When the GMO Labeling Proposition Failed. So She Got Some Friends Together..." my first feature-length story for the LA Weekly's A Considerable Town.

The story wasn't supposed to take a stand on GMO labeling, and I don't know enough to do that anyway. At least not in any official capacity. But here in my own space I'm free to say that the not knowing, the major and probably intentional holes in public information I encountered during my research on GMOs, is what convinced me that labeling is necessary. GMOs haven't been proven harmful, but they haven't been proven safe either. And the fact that there's so much resistance to labeling feels like something is purposely being hidden.

This isn't a cause blog so for now I'll stop with that. The article has received 1.8K Facebook likes in less than four days, so I'm probably on a least a couple watch lists anyway, which is funny considering I've been living out of a suitcase for three weeks. Or maybe it's more threatening, because I have so little to lose...

don't call it a comeback

It's not a comeback. I'm still feeling my way around on the floor in the dark, only now my eyes are starting to adjust.

Here's that other post I mentioned last time, thrown together at the request of my editor, immediately after the Elemental post went up. There are parts of it I actually like and really I was proud just to finish. It's been so long since I published twice in one week.

I also wrote a third piece that week, a long form article for the Weekly's People issue. It won't be published until May, but I can't wait to share it. It feels distinctly mine. You'll see what I mean when it goes up.

first of the year

Here's my first paid post of the year, Elemental Superfood Seedbars: Gluten-free and Still Delicious, posted yesterday, the 5th of March. In defense of my (indefensible?) sloth, it was a hard one to start with. For some reason I felt I needed to legitimize gluten-free as alternative food blog fodder, so I started with sentences like "Grapes are gluten-free and they're delicious" and "Channing Tatum ate gluten-free to get into pants-dropping shape for Magic Mike, so it can't be all bad." Also it dealt with autism, so aside from being bad, lazy writing, it didn't feel appropriate to take that approach.

Anyway I'm happy with the final draft. Mostly happy. And the next post should be up at the end of the week.

Finally, somewhere in my notes I wrote "It's the difference between using MSG and sacrificing a whole steer into a beef stock; the MSG's good, but it's not a fucking cow." I can't remember what it had to do with the post, but it has sound logic, applicable to a number of things, and gusto, so I'm keeping it here for posterity. 

a criterion feast

These days it seems I can't get anything done unless it's preceded by an emotional breakdown. That's what happened with this post. I sat down, I cried, and then I birthed out a couple of decent paragraphs. But it feels good to care. To remember that I do. To put on some weight and anchor myself again.

Thank you Shawn for the tip and for always showing me that there are more good things.

Here's A Cinema Feast from the Criterion Collection.

10 paletas

10 Best Paletas in Los Angeles is the fruit of enormous collaborative effort by everyone we live with, have lived with, lived with on a temporary basis and friends who just stopped by. I had icy, chili powder diarrhea during the month we were working on this baby and, since you're likely someone I coerced into "helping with my research," it's likely you did too. First, I am so sorry. Second, I hope that reading the final post and seeing at Aaron's spectacular photos justifies your pain, even just a little.

dieting logic, a not-crazy conversation in text message

ive done some things

during my radio silence:
Michael Voltaggio + Homeboy Industries at L.A. Film Festival Wednesday
10 Best Milkshakes in Los Angeles

I've baked some things too and started a new project. But I don't really care. Not really.

People have been asking me what's new. I tell them I'm reading 50 Shades of Grey and I realized that I've pronounced "exasperate" wrong my whole life. They laugh but it's no joke. Clearly, I'm in crisis. Maybe I need to go to grad school.