PicoBlog

“A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it. The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness. And we need you in these shoes not so you have meaning in your life, but so we have meaning in ours. You’re Michael Jordan, and your story is going to make us want to fly.” -Sonny Vaccaro, ‘Air’ ‘Air’ does one very remarkable thing: It makes us feel nostalgia for a time many of us never experienced.

by Lee Williams Americans have been making guns in their homes since before there was a United States of America — but not this American. My gun-building history was nonexistent. I’ve replaced some furniture and muzzle devices on a few AKs, but that’s about it. So, when David from 80% Arms called and said he wanted to send me a pistol build kit to review, I thought he’d called the wrong number.

I think a lot about writing, nearly as much as I actually write. The practice of writing has grown in importance to me over time, beginning as something I did reflexively but hardly thought about, shifting to something that feels essentially tied to my identity and work in the world. I think beginning to write poetry was part of this essential shift. Poetry begs you to think about it, to notice yourself writing it.

I have a confession to make. I’m growing tired of the word “reassurance”. I hear it probably 100 times every day in our community. “You’re seeking reassurance!” “This just your need for reassurance!” “Reassurance seeking will keep you stuck!” These are not inherently bad or wrong statements, but I think we’re collectively suffering from that disease where we use a word without necessarily always understanding what it means. Let clear this up.

Right at the top, this post owes its existence to one most flexible, good-sported, and supportive friend of Soft Earlobe, Bre. Months ago, I asked her to accompany me on my hours-long trip around the Twin Cities metro purchasing iced tea from ten McDonald’s locations. And this time, only after we’d solidified a road trip to Chicago, I insisted we stop at every major cheese shop between St Paul and the Windy City.

Randy and Kelle Rhoads grew up in the same house, attended the same schools, started a band together, and worked in their mom’s music store. After Randy joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1980, he returned home during breaks from recording and touring. In fact, he spent his final days off – a ten-day break the 1982 Diary of a Madman tour – at the family home in Burbank, California. Less than a week later, Randy perished in a plane crash.

*REMINDER! If you’re getting our emails in your promotions tab, you can change this sorting by dragging one of our emails to your main Gmail inbox. Gmail hates fun and thinks that, because we put a lot of pictures in our lovely emails, it’s an ad! Thank you for your continued support! I can still recall... being eight years old and seeing Mamma Mia! on DVD. I can’t seem to remember my first time, as it became a tradition with two very close family friends of mine: we would watch Mamma Mia at every sleepover we had.

Welcome to Souls Like Wheels: a newsletter featuring all things creative and nature-inspired. 🤓 Enjoying this read? Subscribe to receive creative content every week: I’m here to introduce you fine folks to the world of basket weaving. This craft has a rich history, allows for immense creativity, and is approachable for never-ever beginners. This week we’re kicking things off with a deep dive into one type of basketry: coiled basket weaving!

Cakes, cookies and bread are usually at the top of my list of preferred bakery items to eat or make. But lately I’ve fallen in love with pies. Last month, my husband Jeff wrote a guest post here about a tiny town in New Mexico that is literally named for pie. Then, at the suggestion of my cousin Dan and his girlfriend Beryl, we stopped in Cambria, a town of fewer than 6,000 residents along California’s central coast that’s famed for, among other things, pies—in particular those served at a restaurant called Linn’s.