For Those Who Asked Dateline: Paris. Against the backdrop — and in spite of — COVID, spring has arrived, inspiring thoughts of the future. I have spent four months — to the day — experiencing the pandemic in Paris. Everyone at home asks, “How is it?” December 31, 2020, at 11:50 pm, I take a […]
Blog Posts
Why I Had to Change My Medium Name: A Lament About “Tech-competence”
ATTENTION, PLEASE: “@Melinblau” — Medium’s former ID for me — Melinda Blau — whose work you read and hopefully enjoyed is gone. From now on… Please look for me on Medium as @MelindaBlau (Melinda Blau) Sorry! When I signed up for Medium, I didn’t pay enough attention to “user name.” I actually didn’t pay any attention. It was enough […]
How to Get Rid of Your “Stuff”
The Delightful But Awful Pangs Of Human Molting Photo by Alice Washington on Unsplash I first used the term “human molting” in 2015 to describe my experience of getting rid of “stuff.” A luxury problem, to be sure. Turns out, it’s still an issue, thanks to COVID. The whole world is selling and moving to […]
First COVID-Safe Theater in NYC: How Cleansing the Space Helped Open the Doors
A Story About Creativity, Connection – and Hope On April 2, an dramatic adaptation of the bestselling novel Blindness opened at the Daryl Roth Theater. It marks the first reopening of a commercial venue, on or off Broadway, since New York City went dark last March 12. If a performance venue can be tailored to […]
Easter: A Brief Ecumenical Contemplation on Religion, Spirituality, and Interfaith Marriage
Honoring A Partner’s Roots/Making Peace with the Past “It’s Easter,” I say to my partner. Ours is an “interfaith” marriage. “Let’s take a walk to Saint-Sulpice. You can light a candle.“ My partner has a checkered relationship with the religion of her youth. But this is a holiday, and Saint-Sulpice is the second largest […]