Feelings Are Not Your Enemy

I don’t know about you, but the nonstop onslaught of terrible things has made me feel raw, vulnerable and afraid. Any polish I typically can muster has been discarded. I just don’t have the energy. Everything feels heavier. Almost like gravity’s been enhanced and we’re more beholden to dirt than ever. Covered up in it. […]

My Plea to My White Friends and Family in South Carolina

If you are friends with me IRL or online, my political leanings are not in anyway hidden or tamped down. They rarely have been. I’ve been opinionated and passionate about politics for almost forty years (true story). There are many of you who do not agree with me politically about very much. Typically, we just […]

What Twitter Taught Me About The Charleston Shootings

Originally posted on The Boeskool:
Last night, nine people died while worshiping in church. The church was Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest black congregations in the country. An unknown man, described as a white man in his early 20’s wearing a hoodie, went into their Wednesday night prayer service, prayed with them…

Stories From the Streets of Nashville

A 5 year-old kid wandered in our office today. By himself. Saying he was hungry. We fed him from all the things we had brought for our own lunches. Our office is in the projects off Lafayette and yesterday I took a woman grocery shopping. She had fifteen dollars to spend for the next 7 […]

Creating a Space Where There Was None

Tenx9 Nashville hosts monthly storytelling events in Nashville and around the world. I am deeply honored to be a part of this community of people. Our motto is an Irish saying, “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” The joy, insight and beauty of true stories leaves my heart larger […]

19 Reasons You Should Hire Me

The cover letter/resume combo pack is a tedious relic, providing only the factual framework of a person’s accomplishments and features. Of course, most of the time, this is no indication of whether or not the person will be a good fit for your team. Some of this “fit” is really about identifiable characteristics like “outgoing” […]

The War on Drugs has got to end: Ethan Nadelmann speaks at TEDGlobal 2014

Originally posted on TED Blog:
Ethan Nadelmann speaking at TEDGlobal 2014. Photo: James Duncan Davidson/TED “What has the War on Drugs done in the world?” asks Ethan Nadelmann, the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance. He namechecks just a few of its results: cartel violence in Central America, a ballooning global black market, packed prisons throughout the…

October is EVERYTHING

Why yes, it is my birthday month. And the Nashville AIDS walk, the Nashville Zombie Walk, Halloween (!!!!!) — complete with pumpkin spiced anything and everything. It is also Artober. I am a fan of all of these things. The weather is perfect. PERFECT. Here are some handy dandy guides to help you maximize THE […]

Listen to Hurray for the Riff Raff’s New Song “Everybody Knows”: Premiere

Originally posted on TIME:
In the tradition of protest songs like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” comes “Everybody Knows,” from Hurray for the Riff Raff. “I wrote this song last year, on February 26th, one year after Trayvon Martin was shot…

Michael McRay – I Was Never the Same Again

Originally posted on Tenx9 Nashville Storytelling:
Here is Michael McRay’s story from Tenx9’s August theme “I Was Never the Same Again.” He tells of standing with his father in a place of death and hearing one sentence that changed his life. ?