Image: Eva Via Music

​My greatest regret of this whole pandemic is that I only had my travel guitar with me when the world shut down, rather than my Guild. Nevertheless, music has been a major source of comfort and entertainment during this unprecedented time. 
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Image: @TheHappyTalent on Instagram

Last night, like every night before it these last few weeks, was one of the most glorious of my life. It was midnight, and I was walking through the woods, alone. The trees blocked most of the moonlight and starlight, but above and below and all around me, I was surrounded by fireflies. 

All at once, I felt secluded in nature, and like I was scuba diving, and like I was riding Space Mountain, and like I was on some kind of drug that just makes you love everything around more than you thought possible. 

"What about y'all?" a friend asked recently after during our nightly Zoom call. He'd just introduced everyone to his newborn baby and shared the birth story. "What's new with you?"

"Ummmm..."

"Errr...."

"What's... new with me?"

It's the lockdown. No one had much to report -- and certainly nothing that compares to birthing a quarantine baby. Finally, I said, "Well... I found a box of my old clothes from high school and middle school in the barn. They're in really good condition, and I think they still fit."

Spring break is canceled. Your summer travel plans are canceled. Date night is canceled. Open mic, karaoke, sports, concerts, birthdays, weddings. 

It's all canceled. 

Even your ability to hike in local parks or surf local beaches may be canceled. 

And one way to cope with these losses may be a small investment in a starry night or ocean projector. 

While traveling in Malaysia this year, I met the most amazing woman. Vivacious, brilliant, and adventurous, this girl and I kayaked several miles of open sea in search of fish species we'd never seen before. We lay on the beach all night, watching the stars and eating watermelon infused with duty-free vodka. We trekked the python- and cobra-filled jungle in search of the elusive Penis Plant. 

From: Candytopia on Facebook

A "critic" who writes for the New York Times was recently paid to attend several (five?) ​Instagramable  museums, factories and mansions. In her own words, "They nearly broke me."

And that made my heart break a little... for her.

October is the best month. It's a time to get excited about pumpkin spice lattes, leggings, leaves... and, of course, scary movies! (If you're not stoked about those things, I feel bad for you.)

So today, I wanted to share some cool facts about Wes Craven's 1984 classic horror film, Nightmare on Elm Street.

Something major happens on the first day of October (and, sometimes, the first day of September) every year:

The menu at your favorite coffee shop changes. Just a little. But it is a very big deal.

Guys! I'm, like, super proud of myself right now, for a relatively stupid and minor reason. To save myself from watching, like, 10 more hours of HBO's new show, Sharp Objects...

I Googled a plot summary of Gillian Flynn's 2007 novel of the same name so I will no longer feel the vague urge to waste my time seeing what happens next.

Image source: NWS Seattle

Last night, after the most epic of all jam sessions (there was this moment when we were harmonizing Simon Garfunkel's "America," and we looked at each other and the sound of our voices meeting was, like, totally chilling), I said goodnight to my singing buddy and headed home. 

But before I even got halfway, I messaged him: "Have you seen the moon tonight? If not, GO LOOK! Venus is really close to the moon right now."