Travel

What it’s like to be a Patient Navigator for abortion services: “It’s post-Roe, 2022. I’m on a trip from Texas to New Mexico, accompanying 15 people seeking abortion, one a minor. The clinic forgets to tell us to buy her mom a ticket, and the two get separated at the airport. Mother sobbing, daughter stone-faced and angry. I’m exhausted.”

Nate and Ben of Iska Dhaaf chat with Sam Miller about their latest album: “I think writing about dark things is healthy. Our first album had themes about drone warfare and disconnection. The new EP is more about communication and wanting to be close to others, even though we often fall short.”

For the last few years, I kept checking for accessible foreign editions of some of these books. I reached out directly to Reza Dalvand, the illustrator of Ace, who put me in touch with his publisher in Iran.

“Zahra, where is that from…oh, did you know that Iraq invaded Kuwait?” “Yes, I was there.” He asked what my thoughts about the Taliban were, twice.

As long as I’ve been a fan, Martin has said the same thing: “If you choose a path to fall back on, you will.” Martin is balls to the wall.

Guest Blogger Juli Hendren: “Artists are not insignificant trinkets that people can take or leave. Artists reflect the world. They tell our stories. They bring us together. They show us what we have done and what we can do. They empower us. They teach us.”

Driving across the country solo can be one of the loneliest parts of the life of a comedian, but the open road has recently become one of my favorite job perks. Letting the thoughts flow with the asphalt has the power to put me in the zen state I need for my creativity to come alive—and podcasts can really help.

How about acting out the fantasies that you only dreamed of during “The Before Time” (which is how I think we will soon be referring to everything that happened prior to January 20, 2017)?

A lot of people I know use nights to drink and van rides to sleep. I like drinking and I love sleeping (especially on long drives). But having hours and hours of downtime, as well as visiting new places, gives a lot of opportunity for personal growth.

This scary world is suddenly a lot scarier now, I know. But there are punks and hippies and counter-culture DIY types all over the place. Find the progressive like-minded people in your community and become friends with them. Strengthen those bonds.

Young bands don’t understand that promoters can only do so much when nobody knows who the band is, or that sometimes promoters and local bands just do a bad job.

Next month, I am going on a 10-day tour. As with any trip, I will undoubtedly forget some things, but this time I’m writing a list of things that I might forget. Will it help? Only time will tell.

We’ll see how far I make it into gearheadery, but this I can tell you: An important part of deciding to get more hands-on with media production is simply accepting the inescapable fact that there’s no quick-and-easy way to do this kind of creative work.

At show’s end, the audience begins applause as they would in any western theatre production. The actors appear and bow and retreat. The audience then falls into a rhythmic clapping that accelerates as the company, looking rather sullen, returns again for individual and company bows.

We walked in, sat down, and just opened ourselves up to whatever art was about to envelop us.

I was a young, bright-eyed 19-year-old ready to take my comedy out of the country for the first time to the Montreal Fringe Festival.