It seems to me that keeping a home environment nice and tidy comes down to a fundamental conflict between space and stuff. What is clutter? We talk about clutter as a noun, but I think that actually, it’s more a condition – a way of being. Clutter is the state of having too much stuff …
Author Archives: A.C. Smith
Amanda Gorman: a reminder of the beauty and power of words
I’m not sure anything else can really be said about this. What a poem. What a moment. Here’s to hope. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Drifting
Before I slipBeneath the surfaceInto the world of dreamsI just want to sayI love youAnd did you rememberTo put out the garbage Photo by Matheus Vinicius on Unsplash
The best foundations for ‘chemo-face’ problem skin
Cancer takes a lot from a person. I managed to take it in stride when I lost my breasts and my hair, but when my skin exploded, I completely freaked out. It felt like happened overnight. My face was a mess. I had sores on my scalp. It was physically painful, and a huge blow …
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Do you want to be seen – or are you trying to be admired?
Art is a process of making things visible. The thing we most often end up making visible is ourselves. In my earlier days as an artist, I wanted so strongly for the piece to be viewed as separate from me. Ideally, I wanted to disappear, and have people only see the work. I didn’t realise …
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Luxury
What would our ancestors thinkIf they could see our palatial homesTaps with cold and hot waterThat doesn’t have to be carried in a bucket Would they marvel at the microwaveHeating a TV dinner at the press of a buttonAnd the magic of mobile phonesThat let us talk to loved ones across the globe What would …
The Load
My day is a backpack Splitting at the seamsStuffed to the brimWith countless tasks and dreams My life tries to struggle onTeetering from the weightI cram more time inside itI’m still somehow always late Set it downLook aroundFeel the ground Birds take flightBecause they travel light Photo by Adam Hornyak on Unsplash
Alanis Morissette’s ‘Such Pretty Forks in the Road’ is a masterpiece (plus: a mini-manifesto on artistic criticism)
This album has been the soundtrack of my pandemic life. It first came to my attention when my mom sent me this video, which was making the rounds on social media: This song is called ‘Ablaze’, and it is a manifesto about a mother’s love for her children – declaring ‘my mission is to keep …
Why most household management advice doesn’t work
I have read a lot of books about personal development, productivity, organisation, home management, and so on, in my attempts to wade through adult life. I’ve managed to pick up a lot of good tips over the years. I think it’s fantastic that there is even more content like this on TV – Queer Eye, …
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Chicken Swimming
Oh yeah, he said, you justDrop them right in.Excellent exercise, swimming.Good for the joints. The surface of the pondWas still and clearExcept for a singleFeather floating But won’t they drown?He smiled.That’s what I’ve gotThis pole here for,To fish them outAfter a good workout. You see,The tricky part isn’tThe swimming.Those scrawny legsHave a powerful kick. The …