ByGD
In November, the whole family went to Hong Kong, where the girls met their kung fu teacher’s teacher and trained with him. Because if you have a kung fu master in China, you don’t miss the chance to train with him. It was a working vacation for me, which means I didn’t write anything for this blog while I was gone, but I kept up with my paid deadlines. Read on to see what was published in November.
Read More
ByGD
Ah, back-to-school season. It makes everyone (sample size: one) feels smarter. And it makes sticking to a work schedule much easier. In case you missed anything, here is a roundup of articles I wrote that were published in September and October, and a peek behind the scenes of the blog.
Read More
ByGD
Summer is always a crazy time of juggling work and school vacations. I don’t always get around to blogging and documentation, but even in the summer chaos, I did have stories published in June, July, and August. Here is the mammoth list in case you missed anything.
In June, Avvo published my article on some of the shenanigans ICE has pulled against Asian immigrants. In July, they published my article on the progress of the Equality Act. And in August, they ran my story about new vaccination laws in response to the measles outbreak.
I wrote a lot of summer reading articles this year, and most of them showed up on Earth911.
The Roots of Climate Nonfiction
The Branches of Climate Change Nonfiction
Beach Reads to Finish Before the Ocean Rises: Intro to Cli-Fi
I finished all the major buyers’s guides I pitched at the beginning of the year, but had a few supporting articles publish this summer.
Sustainable Pavers for Cold Climates
Dishwashers for the Immune-Impaired
I started a new series about shopping your values.
How to Achieve Safer Shopping Results
Shopping for Humanely-Raised Food
Shopping Your Values: Buy Local
There’s a pretty good chance that Adding Composting Toilets to the Sanitation Mix will become a new series, too.
And then there were a bunch of other random topics.
Guinness and Other Brewers Get Greener Packaging
How Garfield Became an Environmental Mascot
A Tourist’s-Eye View of Norway’s Green Lifestyle
Citizen Scientists Work to Save Vanishing Sword Ferns
Cutting Down on Lawn: Alternatives to Grass
Closing the Loop with Architectural Salvage
I had a couple of articles in publications that I don’t write for regularly. PDX Parent published my Tips for a Perfect Pickathon. Three Imaginary Girls had me write up a TimberFest preview and ticket giveaway, then sent me to the festival to review it. (My daughter reviewed it, too.)
In honor of Eid al Fitr, ParentMap published my article on growing up Muslim in Seattle. It was a joy to write because I met so many interesting women in my research.
I wrote up the winners and finalists for two of ParentMap’s Golden Teddy Awards categories:
I wrote about two teens who launched a mentorship program for adopted youth. And then, just like that, it was time to look forward to fall. I did it in a big way with 50 Ways to Rock Back to School.
Technically, the following articles printed in the September issue. But they published online in August, so here goes:
How to Remain Involved in Your Child’s Education
20+ Fabulous Fall Performances to See As a Family
Why Liberal Arts Education is More Important Than You Think
Local Youth Strike For Climate Action
It has been such a pleasure getting to write arts pieces for the Seattle Times. I started in April with a radio show preview. In May, I had my first professional opera review (in a bar), my first formal opera review, and a feature on the Lullaby Project in May.
Okay, so that was the recap. In June, I previewed the Seattle International Dance Festival. In Julia, I reviewed an operetta about Julia Child. In August, I reviewed the touring musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and profiled Jennifer Thomas, a classical pianist known for her dramatic YouTube videos.
ByGD
Since I spent a lot of April traveling in Norway, I didn’t pitch as much as usual. But it doesn’t seem to have mattered, since I had ten stories publish in May. In case you missed any of them, here they are. (BTW, this new blog theme doesn’t underline links, and I think the slight difference in text color is too subtle. Until I figure out how to customize link appearance, please note that all titles are linked to the articles.)
Writing for Seattle Times is still new and exciting for me, so I’ll lead with the pieces I wrote for them. Only a few days after I got back from Norway, I met up with Seattle Times’ drinks columnist to celebrate the Blue Moon Tavern’s 85th birthday. The result was a new addition to the Seattle Times’ Arts Outing series: Opera in a Dive Bar.
I’m so proud of the article about Seattle Symphony’s Lullaby Project, my first real reported piece for Seattle Times. It was an honor and a privilege to hear Shawna’s story and talk to the symphony musicians who have helped women experiencing homelessness write music for their children.
I’ve been reviewing opera performances for years here on the blog. But writing the city newspaper’s review of Seattle Opera’s Carmen feels like writing the official version. I hope I did it justice; writing a professional critique of a performance that I just wanted to squeal in delight over was a challenge.
.
I got to write a review for ParentMap in May, too. Seattle Public Theater’s The Call was excellent theater, but its incisive exploration of the complexities of international, transracial adoption hit pretty close to home. I hope I did it justice; writing a professional critique of a performance that sent me home in tears was a challenge.
I love recommending books, and in preparation for summer vacation, I got to write a list pairing Books That Celebrate Summer Adventures with real-life local adventures.
.
On a related note, I got to do a book list for Earth911. Stop the Summer Eco-Slide lists summer reading books that will get kids excited about nature and the outdoors.
I also got to celebrate the winners of the Green Earth Book Awards, whose winners also aim to inspire the next generation of environmentalists.
Following up on the roofing buyers’ guide I wrote a while back, I reported on the longest-lasting roofing options in Lifetime Roofs. Following up on the dishwasher buyers’ guide, I looked at the Water vs. Energy trade-off.
In what turned out to be the most challenging buyers’ guide to research yet, I pursued The Search for Sustainable Pavers.
.
The quest for meaningful blog data continues. The number of page views jumped 35% over April, but it was only a little bit more than March. So I don’t know. I published 15 posts in May, fewer than either April or March. Here are the most popular posts in May:
So I guess what I learned is that I should go back to writing about the Constitution and stop writing about music? And promoting posts on Instagram (except for music posts) seems to work.
ByGD
I spent a big chunk of April traveling around Norway with my 10-year-old. Fortunately, I wrote enough in March to keep the publications rolling out even in my absence. No promises for May, though, so enjoy these stories now. Here is what I got published in April.
Earth Day: Does the Clean Water Act Protect Our Water?
Earth911 and You: Making a Difference
Sustainable Roofing Buyers’ Guide
Efficient Dishwashers for Tiny Kitchens
Family Movies for Earth Day and Every Day
Devi Captivates Families at ACT Theatre
“Say’s You” Radio Show Has Deep Seattle Ties
I published 16 posts in April, which is about average for this site, but traffic dropped worryingly and the bounce rate remained distressingly high. I discovered that the “Read More” button disappeared from my posts when the WordPress editor updated to Gutenberg (Curse you Aquascum 3000!). That might or might not explain things, but it’s still a problem, so, as you may have noticed, I switched to a newer theme that works better with the current editor. I got my “Read More” button back but now links embedded in text don’t really look like links, so … there’s still work to do.
If you have opinions on the new look, let me know. I’m still not sure if I’m sticking with this one and trying to tweak it, or if I’m going to keep looking for the perfect theme.