One day machines will take over the world. Or so I’ve been hearing ever since I was a child. This myth has been circulated for so long that there are those who have actually come to believe it. It’s ridiculous, really, how easily some people are hoodwinked.

I played in a D&D campaign, once, as a teen. It didn’t go well. Dungeons and Dragons? It was mainly drinks and drugs. I don’t think we made it to any dungeons and I’m certain there was never a dragon.

Dear Mother-in-law,

How many times can you hoover your flat? Turns out, I can do it every single day. I see my dark hair on the beige carpet and it fills me with anxiety. Hair, anywhere other than on my head has always been a source of revulsion. Now that I’m married to an English man, who is perhaps more used to spotting light hair on the floor, the couch or the carpet, I have to be extra careful.

May 27, 2020.  In Littleton, CO, the garbage truck had just gurgled down the alley behind our house and a gorgeous 70 degree breeze swayed the trees while the morning sun shone on our purple mountains.  This would be the perfect day for our first ever camping trip as a family.  I knew exactly where to go: out of cell phone range in this sweet little valley below Mt.  Quandary, one of Colorado’s 58 14ers.

When boiled to the bone, traditional folk songs skew toward the dark side. Below are loglines that summarize the plots of a representative selection of actual folk songs whose lyrics would harsh anyone’s mellow.