There is so much to hate about this shoe. First, there’s the terrible center of gravity created a) by the heel set too far on the dorsal side of the calcaneus, and b) the broad and thin shape of the heel. Both of these, I imagine, would put all kinds of pressure in weird places (like the achilles tendon). The…

To support myself as a dance educator and freelance writer, I have worked in the service industry for more than 20 years. During that time, I have worked primarily in fine dining and high-end catering both as a server and as a bartender. I estimate that in my two decades in the service industry I have cut over two…

I was raised LDS, and I have many not-so-fond memories of wearing prairie dresses on Pioneer Day, and remembering, amongst other things, the story of my great-great grandfather Lot Smith. Lot Smith was an unrepentant polygamist who after leading the Utah Wars which led Utah down the path to statehood, moved to Tuba,…

I could engage in a discussion about Piaget’s sensorimotor stage of cognitive development and the average time period in which a child begins to ascribe animism and magical thinking to animals, creates imaginary friends, and begins to lie (around 3-4 years old), but I’m not going to do that. Maybe we need a little…

Ugh. I live in El Paso, and I already have plenty of face time with fresas in the real world. Joder a todos, güey.

I should also say cutting in front of a child to get a selfie of yourself with Dolores Huerta talking in the background was particularly tasteless. That’s Dolores Fucking Huerta-- a heroine to the girls of this city and this region, one of the few Latinas they learn about in their school history books.  I don’t need…

I was there. I saw them there. I saw all kinds of celebrities and amateur “reporters” with no press tags and $4000 DSLR camera packs push through rows of Abuelas whispering their sorries. I saw these same people wearing full face and dressing like it was festival season, wearing their coolest distressed jean shorts…

Tell everyone to donate here:

I am an El Pasoan, and I will be there. I started a FB page to start a nationwide tip-pool set for Tuesday (the day in which the Border Network for Human Rights will be marching on the ICE processing center). If you are a service professional, a restaurant owner, management, or a former service professional; please…

The citizens of El Paso are not going to tolerate this. I have already contacted my councilperson Peter Svarzbein (who is the grandchild of Holocaust survivors and the child of two immigrants, one of whom is Argentinian) and Beto O’Rourke (our Congressperson who is running against Ted Cruz for Senate).

Just wanted to clarify that it’s flavored with nigella (aka black cumin, kalonji, or black onion seed), and mahlab.  

A recipe for madzoon (yogurt) from one of my grandmother’s recipe books:

I am Armenian and Palestinian. I was raised in a household that made its own yogurt, cheese, pickles, and cured basterma. My mother NEVER used raw milk. She couldn’t. She had systemic lupus. You can make madzoon, jajik, labneh, chankleesh, and tel banir just fine with pasturized milk if you obtain starter culture from…

Dude, I could spend hours. It’s nice to be almost 40 and well into my career as a teacher and just about done with my masters. The culture of dance, while improving, still has some major issues. The extremes of flexibility and extension that are de rigeur now for dancers in their prime (and very young dancers!) are…

That still doesn’t mean they should be coddled and wetnursed while they’re in a company. You’re absolutely right about the ratio being an issue, which is why the attitude of danseurs is different in highly competitive markets like the great ballet companies of Europe. It should be noted that POB ran as a company en…

I have SLE. I wish I could smoke a bone and chill, but most strains either inflame my anxiety or make me pass out. HOWEVER— the old abuelita trick of making a pomade and using it topically seems to work wonders on my inflammation and joint pain. I wonder how much of that lingers in one’s system though...

In her full interview with NPR, she said the Saints told her, “There are a 100 dancers willing to do your job for free.” She specifically mentioned that she was cheerleading for the Saints to advance her dance career, and was not given the ability to promote her work equally as an artist or athlete in the…

The number of times that I have been told or have witnessed another female dancer be told, “There are a 100 other women waiting to do your job for free,” are countless because I have never bothered to count them. It’s ubiquitous. If you are a dancer (especially a ballet dancer), you spend your entire life being…

My adoptive father was an LDS bishop. He’s pretty politically liberal-a mild-mannered Harry Reid type. But he made some recommendations during his tenure that I have had the displeasure to hear about decades later. I don’t believe that he counseled anyone to stay with a physically abusive spouse, but I do know that…

As a recovering Mormon, the biggest insult one Relief Society member can make about another is, “She’s not ‘Temple-worthy’.” It’s even worse in the Young Women’s program, where typical teenage cliquishness co-mingles with piety. Oh, and hypocrisy- I remember being 16 and seeing half of my MIA class drinking Coronitas…