Author: marylowd

The eight-year-old is playing Portal and absolutely refuses to believe me that the cake is a lie.

They’re gonna show me — they’re gonna find the cake in Portal. Continue reading “Portal Cake”

So much of the world fills me with anger. It’s not something I enjoy, but it’s something that’s true.

I’ve also accomplished a great deal, and those things can’t be separated. Much of my drive and success is powered by anger about ways the world is wrong and must be fixed. Continue reading “Anyone Can Whistle”

That feeling when you figure it out—the novel that will change your life, heal your trauma, resonate w/others & make you wildly famous—in the middle of the night, but you’re scared by the morning it won’t seem so brilliant, so maybe you should just write it & never sleep again.

I grew up watching The Wonder Years, and some years ago, I wanted to be able to share that show with my spouse.

It wasn’t available. Why? The songs and copyright.

The songs in The Wonder Years — and they had so many good songs; they’re such a part of the texture and meaning of the show — hadn’t been purchased with DVD or streaming rights in mind or somesuch. Because of course, DVDs and streaming didn’t exist when the show was made. Continue reading “The Wonder Years and Copyright”

Me, coming to the dinner table, addressing the younger child: “I’ve buried us both alive, so we’ll both be safe.”

Elder child, looking amused: *raises eyebrows*

Younger child: “What! That made perfect sense!” Continue reading “Terraria and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

Shortly after my first dog died, “The Mighty Quinn” came on the radio, and I thought, “In a few years when I’m not dealing with a 3-month-old baby, I’ll get a new dog and name him Quinn.”

Looking forward to Quinn was profoundly comforting for the next two years.

Quinn was the best dog. I love the dogs I have now, but I had a particularly special bond with Quinn. We just got each other. Continue reading “The Mighty Quinn”

The eight-year-old loves Minecraft and wants me to play it with them… but I just don’t get it.

But now we’ve found Terraria — it’s basically 2D Minecraft, and that means it looks like the side scrollers I loved when I was a kid. Continue reading “Terraria”

I have a lot of respect for giraffes, because I find having a human neck to be challenging and painful enough. They walk around their whole lives with ridiculous giraffe necks and somehow get by anyway. That’s just damned impressive.

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We’re watching Back to the Future, ‘cause the younger kid doesn’t remember it. And we decided to play the game of “Who would they cast for a reboot version?” Continue reading “Giraffes, Back to the Future, and Furry Planning”

Years ago, I was in a World of Warcraft guild, & right as we beat a big raid boss, one of the paladins said, “I hope it drops paladin gear!”

Everyone jumped on him, like he’d broken a taboo.

We were all hoping for new gear but, apparently, weren’t supposed to speak that truth. Continue reading “Hoping the Loot is For You”

Years ago, after finishing Otters In Space 3, I began outlining Otters In Space 4.

I am not good at outlining.

My outlines tend to look like a bag of small toys, a pile of tarot cards, a playlist of songs, or a vague gesture at several seemingly incompatible movies. Continue reading “Reaching the Heart of Otters In Space 4”