Grist From the Mills (Page 2)

Recommendations for the overwhelmed

Vol. 87 In This Issue: ESSAY/RECOMMENDATIONS | NOW READ THIS | FINAL FRAME First: Petition to make June into Queer Vacation Month. Yes, Pride, of course…but also, please just let us rest. I am tired. (This is a very short way of explaining why I haven’t written anything here

A group of people stands along a roadside holding signs in the air that hold messages of support for music and LGBTQ+ rights.

“When walls are built, music simply plays over them”

Vol. 86 In This Issue: ESSAY | ME, ELSEWHERE | NOW READ THIS | FINAL FRAME Have you heard of the Streisand Effect? The term comes from an incident in 2005 when Barbara Streisand tried to suppress the publication of a photograph of her Malibu home, taken to illustrate the problem of cliffside

Alas, the left isn’t immune from loud, obnoxious grifters

Vol. 85 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | I WON A THING! | FINAL FRAME I’m so tired of loud, obnoxious “liberal” men who think they’re the only ones who can save us. Current example/reason for my deep, Marge Simpson-like groans: Minocqua Brewing Company owner and

A rocky red landscape is dotted with low, bushy green trees and a bright blue sky overhead.

In the Land of Enchantment

Vol. 84 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | PHOTO GALLERY There’s been a lot on my mind lately. Hard to know what to focus on long enough to write about. So much pain and stress and suffering in the world around me. People everywhere under threat, all of

Close-up shot of a person using a hot iron to put text on a black t-shirt. The text reads, "Abolish ICE."

No more police cooperation with the ICE agenda

This post originally appeared at The Recombobulation Area, part of the Civic Media network. FUN NEWS: A column I wrote for the RC last year has won a Milwaukee Press Club award for "Best Single Editorial, Statement of Editorial Position or Opinion" category! Many thanks to Dan for

A white man carries a Confederate battle flag through a lobby inside Congress during the January 6 insurrection.

The Trump regime doesn’t need to import its form of terrorism. It’s an American original.

Vol. 82 In This Issue: Essay | Take Action | Now Read This | Final Frame | REMINDER: I'd be very grateful if you'd take a few moments to fill out this quick survey about this newsletter. It'll help guide my work for you going forward! Thank you.

A flyer taped to a light pole shows a photo of Renee Good with the caption, "RIP Renee. Murdered by ICE." An electronic votive candle flickers below.

I believe that we will win

Vol. 81 In This Issue: ESSAY | TAKE ACTION | NOW READ THIS | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME REMINDER: I'd be very grateful if you'd take a few moments to fill out this quick survey about this newsletter. It'll help guide my work for you going forward!

A sign that reads "LEGALIZE" and has illustrations of pot leaves on either side is hoisted in the air in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol building dome.

It's high time for Wisconsin to legalize it

Vol. 80 In This Issue: Essay | Now Read This | Take Action/Donate | Please Take My Survey! | Final Frame This essay was originally published by The Recombobulation Area, part of the Civic Media Network, on Dec. 22. Since publication, there’s been a curveball thrown into the mix that only confuses

A view looking out over a drum set, with band members on stage in front, speakers overhead, and a crowd beyond.

Refuse to evacuate your life

Vol. 79 In This Issue: ESSAY | FAVORITE MUSIC OF THE YEAR | WISCONSIN NEWS | NOW READ THIS | FINAL FRAME If you’re at all online in December, it’s likely you’ll come across a friend or relative posting their Spotify “Wrapped” lists. This annual tradition gives people a chance to

A group of four large buffalo runs across an open field.

Gratitude and good news

Vol. 78 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | LISTEN UP | TAKE ACTION | FINAL FRAME I’ve started and stopped writing this newsletter something like five times over the past month. My writer’s block often manifests as too many ideas and not enough time or mental bandwidth to sit

Two cops stand watch over a line of protesters holding giant inflatable palm trees outside the Wisconsin State Capitol building in winter.

Frogs, palm trees, and humor as resistance

Vol. 77 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | FINAL FRAME I’m sure you’ve seen it by now: People showing up to protests against ICE and Trump wearing big, silly, inflatable animal costumes. It began when one person in Portland faced off with federal goons in a blow-

An old black and white photo shows a solder dressed in a Union Civil War uniform, with a musket on his shoulder.

Chasing queer history

Vol. 76 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | RESOURCE LIBRARY | GOOD THINGS | FINAL FRAME For at least the last ten years, when people ask me what I’m working on, I’ve sighed and said, “my novel.” The earliest date on a document related to the project is from

A freckled orange butterfly perches with wings open on top of a purple coneflower.

Sowing and reaping, etc.

Vol. 75 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME The last two weeks have been rough. I threw out my back at the gym and then hobbled home to the news about professional conservative troll Charlie Kirk being shot and killed during a speaking event on

The Progress Pride flag flies underneath the Wisconsin and U.S. flags on a pole over top of the ornate facade of WI State Capitol building.

Wisconsin needs a candidate for governor who will defend LGBTQ people

Vol. 74 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | Now Read This | Get Outside This essay originally appeared in The Recombobulation Area, part of the Civic Media Network. With Tony Evers’ announcement last month that he will not be seeking a third term in office, the field for governor is wide open. As

A bar with large round weights mounted on either end, set on top of black gym mats.

Lifting Heavy Things

Vol. 73 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | RESOURCES | FINAL FRAME One of my favorite arguments against the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude is this: You don’t go to a gym and use a forklift. The point isn’t just to move heavy things

A black and white photo shows an old Ford minivan parked along a cracked roadway, with a flat field of grass and flowers behind it.

On staying.

Vol. 72 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | RESOURCE SHARING | BOOK NOOK | FINAL FRAME On Staying. This past weekend marked the 25th anniversary of my moving to Madison. A whole quarter century lived in the same place. It’s sort of wild to think about, even after all this

Screengrab from the 1995 movie “Hackers” shows Johnny Lee Miller’s face, with a flurry of equations superimposed over it.

Breaking Up With Social Media

Vol. 71 In This Issue: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | TAKE ACTION | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME I have been online since 1994. I was 13 years old and my family purchased a Macintosh Power PC that had a whopping 14.4 bps modem included. It was the first time we owned

Two, side-by-side staircases leaded up to an ornate doorway, flanked on either side by hallways lined with tall columns.

A win for checks and balances and a win for actual expertise

Vol. 70 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | Now Read This | Listen Up | In Person | Final Frame This essay originally appeared in The Recombobulation Area, part of the Civic Media network, on July 23, 2025. Earlier this month, Wisconsin saw an important win for checks and balances in our state government. It

A group of roller derby skaters and coaches carry a large Palestinian flag overhead as they skate and walk in a procession.

The Roller Derby World Cup and a borderless future

Vol. 69 (nice) IN THIS ISSUE: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | TAKE ACTION | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME It’s no secret that I love the sport of roller derby. I’ve been involved since 2012, when I finally worked up the courage, time, and money to try out for my local

Three people sit along a curb, talking with one another.

(Interview) USAID Matters: An Interview with Jessica Benton Cooney

Vol. 68 In This Issue: INTERVIEW | TAKE ACTION | NOW READ THIS | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME [Give me a tip on Ko-Fi!] Several lifetimes ago, during my senior year at Edgewood College, a small, Catholic, liberal arts school, I became co-editor of a campus newspaper that had fallen into

Close-up photo shows a black microchip on a green circuit board.

How AI is harming Wisconsin’s path to renewable energy

Vol. 67 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | Listen Up | Now Read This | Final Frame This essay originally appeared at The Recombobulation Area, part of the Civic Media network. We’ve long been primed by popular culture to expect some kind of robot apocalypse. From the cyborgs of the “Terminator” franchise to

Two simple gold wedding bands on top of a rainbow Pride-colored fabric.

I gay married my friends

For love, for resistance, for revolution. Vol. 66 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | Take Action | Now Read This | Final Frame I got an out-of-the-blue text early last week from a friend, J: “Do you know anybody who is legally ordained as an officiant? My partner and I are

A wooden sign reads “Welcome to Emily” in large white font, with the painted image of an eagle soaring above it.

What’s in a name?

Vol. 65 IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | In Person | Now Read This | Final Frame I had a dream recently in which I was being introduced to a class full of young children. One of them, a little girl, asked for my name so she could tell the others. When I told

A wide shot of the Wisconsin Assembly Chambers, with members seated at wooden desks and a balcony gallery filled with guests. Gov. Evers stands at a podium at the front of the room.

We should get rid of the partial veto. Eventually.

Vol. 64. IN THIS ISSUE: Essay | Now Read This | Listen Up | Final Frame This essay originally appeared in The Recombobulation Area. Thanks, as always, to Dan for inviting me to contribute. Please be sure to subscribe over there for award-winning, Wisconsin-focused reporting and commentary! Do the means justify

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