On being “Ironic”

Alanis Morissette’s perhaps most famous song gave stand-up comedians with a humanities degree a good five minutes of material in the 90s. The problem with “Ironic”, they said, was that it was about things that were unfortunate, or sad, or bad timing. But not irony. And we’ll come back to that. “Ironic” was on the … Continue reading On being “Ironic”

Austin in lockdown: Public artworks

I have already discussed how much I love the photo adventures curated by my partner in crime. We drive around the dark corners of Austin, TX, on a Sunday morning, coffee in hand and something appropriate on the radio.  During COVID, these adventures took on more importance as (a) we weren’t going out much, so … Continue reading Austin in lockdown: Public artworks

The Ballad of Ms. Jeanie Underfoot

To understand Miss Jeanie, the newest member of our crew, we must first discuss Phoenix. Over the Xmas and NY period, we - my estimable wife and I - wondered if we were ready to take on another pug…which is how we came to spend the two-week holiday period with Phoenix. Phoenix’s foster folk were … Continue reading The Ballad of Ms. Jeanie Underfoot